Inflation raises price of ham and cheese sandwich in NYC to $29

New Yorkers are getting priced out — of eating sandwiches.

A ham and cheese sandwich at Eli Zabar’s E.A.T.  on the Upper East Side now costs $31.57 — $29 plus tax — and Gothamites are experiencing intense sticker shock over the cost of what was once a working-class staple.

It sparked outrage among eaters when a Reddit thread with a photo of the sandwich captioned “$29 Ham and Cheese sandwich” drew more than 600 comments and 2,000 upvotes on Monday.

“The first time I bought that sandwich I was like, ‘Are you serious?’ ” an Upper East Side psychologist who lives in the neighborhood told The Post, declining to give her name. 

“It’s not the best ham and cheese sandwich, it’s not the worst, but it’s just fine. I absolutely would not have picked up the sandwich had I looked at the price,” she added.

The luxury lunch item is actually two sandwiches made from ham, Gruyère cheese, mustard and four slices of seven-grain “health bread.” But even then, it’s fairly small.

“The idea of a ham and cheese sandwich selling for $29 is ridiculous – even if it serves two portions; no matter how good the ingredients are or where they are from; or how tasty the sandwich is,” Phil Lempert, editor of SupermarketGuru.com, told The Post.

When The Post went to purchase the sandwich on Friday, an employee at the Madison Avenue eatery was so embarrassed by the price, they offered to charge us a mere $22.

They also noted that there was a full soup-and-salad meal deal with a drink for $18 at a Panera nearby.

“The owner makes the prices, we don’t make them,” another employee told The Post.

“Some people complain, but a lot of people who live around here, they know the prices, and they don’t complain because they like it [the food].”

We persisted with the $29 sandwich purchase — and found it to be reminiscent of an airport sandwich.

The bread was moist, but lacked flavor, perhaps from sitting in the refrigerator for too long. The ham and Gruyère were tasty enough, but there was hardly enough meat and cheese.

Zabar’s did not immediately return a request for comment.

The $29 ham and cheese is part of a larger trend of ridiculously priced sammies infesting the city — ranging in price from around $15 at grab-and-go spots such as Pret a Manger and Subway to anywhere from $18 and up at specialty shops.

And, while inflation eased up last month, prices in the Big Apple remain unappetizing.

“Food costs are continuously rising,” Bill Zafiros, owner of Mediterranean restaurant Ten Hope, in Williamsburg, told The Post.

For the first time ever, New York City was named the most expensive city in the world  — tying only with Singapore —  according to the Economist’s 2022 annual Worldwide Cost of Living survey.

Ridiculously priced ham sandwiches notwithstanding, restaurant owners say they’re in a bind when it comes to pricing.

“When you have politicians that never ran a lemonade stand, and you combine that with all the increases in raw goods, they’re chasing businesses in droves out of our great city,” Brooklyn Dumpling Shop restaurateur and author Stratis Morfogen told The Post.

“When we do our cost analysis on our menu, it’s based not just the cost of food, but commercial real estate. They just added a rent tax. If your rent is over $20,000 a month, which most restaurants are, you have to pay 6% tax to the city.

“Who’s going to pay for that? At the end of the day, it’s the consumer.”