At the U.S. Open, a Buzzy French Dip Sandwich Is the Talk of the Tournament

The Honeydeuce will always reign supreme at the U.S. Open, but this year’s will also see the entrance of a buzzy French Dip sandwich that first shot to fame on social media. 

The $38 prime rib sandwich, topped with onions, aioli and provolone and a side of au jus, is offered by Salt Hank’s, which was founded by chef and content creator Henry “Salt Hank” Laporte in Manhattan’s West Village, which has been commanding lines down the block, and already has plans for expansion after its recent acquisition by food hall Wonder.

It joins other new entrants Cosme, a Flatiron District restaurant offering Mexican-inspired cuisine, curated by Chef Enrique Olvera, as well as Miznon, which offers Mediterranean street-food inspired from Chef Eyal Shani, as the tournament seeks to up the ante with new offerings that speak to the diverse food scene of the city.

For the restaurants, the U.S. Open also gives them one of the biggest stages to show off their cuisine, and their biggest challenge, as they contend with more than 70,000 attendees daily and try to stand out from other culinary offerings. 

“We got called up one day by Pat LaFrieda,” said Laporte. “Without a second going by we were like ‘Yes, done deal, no matter what the circumstances are let’s absolutely do it.’”

“We make 300 sandwiches, five days a week at the restaurant. We’re making 1,500 sandwiches, seven days a week at the U.S. Open,” LaPorte said, adding with a laugh, “We’ve been able to pull it off so far.”

To prepare for the demand, the Salt Hank’s team temporarily closed their West Village location and moved all staff and equipment to Queens to prepare for the increased volume. 

Doing so requires having delivery trucks traveling back and forth throughout the day, and continuous prep in the giant kitchen that houses all the booths at the U.S. Open 

“It’s kind of a ‘Lord of the Flies’ situation. Everyone’s fighting for real estate in the walk-ins, everyone’s fighting for equipment, and nothing locks at night so you have to buy your own bike locks to put them on the refrigerators at night,” said LaPorte, who noted the overall competitive atmosphere among the vendors at the Open, as he often checks to see who had the longest lines throughout the day.

“Big volume, big challenge,” said Liad Balki, a chef at Miznon and head of operations, who added that he likes the odds of his salads and vegetables against the typical stadium fare. ”There’s no better place to get a lot of foot traffic.” 

While the offerings include traditional tournament staples, like the Fuku spicy fried chicken sandwich and the Pat LaFreida burger, there’s also more premium bites including from restaurateur Simon Kim’s COQODAQ, which is returning for his third year to serve chicken nuggets topped with caviar, priced at $100, in addition to the new stand featuring the Korean dish gimbap. 

“Even if things are working really well, we know our fans are looking for some ‘Wow’ every year” Danny Zausner, COO of USTA National Tennis Center. “Fans are coming from 100-plus countries, incredibly unique palates, we want to offer something for everyone.” 

“Latin American and Mexican food have been taking more and more space in the city. You see taquerias now almost like you see pizzerias so obviously it’s part of the New York fabric now. And I think it’s nice to see it also at the U.S. Open. We think this is a representation of what’s happening in New York,” added Chef Olvera of Cosme about his offerings, which include duck carnitas and more.

In addition to taking their cues from attendee survey data, Zausner and his team spend each fall and winter year going to restaurants to find new cuisine options for the U.S. Open. When approaching restaurateurs they also warn them of the overwhelming demand.  

“It’s like cooking for Mother’s Day for 21 straight days. You have to be prepared for that kind of onslaught, 70,000-plus people a day,” Zausner said. 

The $23 Honeydeuce cocktail, made up of Grey Goose vodka, lemonade, raspberry liqueur, and a skewer of three honeydew melon balls, remains a mainstay to the degree that it has inspired its own line of merchandise proudly sported by attendees at the Open. But these drinks too require a large degree of planning. 

To prep for the close to three million melon balls that are estimated to be consumed throughout the tournament, Zausner has a team that meets with farmers in California throughout the winter to make sure they can meet the demand. The souvenir cups that come with the drinks have to be ordered by January and the three million melon balls are then scooped in the Bronx before being delivered to Flushing Meadows in Queens. 

Behind the scenes, the tennis players have their own culinary team at the U.S. Open who they text with throughout the year with menu requests. While Zausner notes that the requests include “a lot of pasta,” as the players fuel up after practices, he says the chefs in the player dining room also try to out-do the dining options each year and work to bring in specialty items specific to each player’s country. 

“For Rafa Nadal, [Chef Billy] always brought in special oil from Rafa’s hometown,” Zausner said.