AlwaysInvestigating: Cheeky Sandwiches
GutterGourmet — August 23, 2010
A half shrimp & Half oyster Po’ boy, and “Ben-Yay’s” at Cheeky’s Sandwiches on Orchard Street,
Calvin Trillin used to joke when asked where to find the best po’ boy in New York that you have to go to Queens then take a plane from LaGuardia directly to New Orleans. I agreed until I wandered into Cheeky Sandwiches on Orchard and ordered a half shrimp, half oyster po’ boy, fully dressed, of course.
In Philly, only hoagies or cheesesteaks made with Sarcone’s Bakery bread are the real McCoy. In Miami the only bread worthy of a Cubano is Cuban lard bread. So it is with the bread for Cheeky’s po’ boy. Cheeky gets its bread from John Gendusa Bakery, which, in 1929, created the New Orleans French bread without which po’ boys would be naked rather than fully dressed.
Featured Brunch: New York’s Hangover Dishes
Arthur Bovino — August 20, 2010
Hangover Pasta at Resto.
Hangovers cures are like hiccup cures— everyone has a theory about what works best. If you read the online, ah-hem, literature about what constitutes the best hangover cures you find all kinds of baloney:
Eat bananas. Peanut butter! No, prickly pear juice! Coconut water. Drink coffee. Don’t drink coffee! If you do drink coffee, drink a lot of water! Eat fried foods! But only before, not after. Have a little hair of the dog. Try a Prairie Oyster. Stop, drinking again is the worst thing to do— it causes alcohol dependency. Eat burned toast. No, drink sports drinks! Take Advil. Don’t take Advil! It will explode your liver. Take aspirin. B-6. B-12. Rosiglitazone. No, Berocca. Hey, I heard that American Indians claim that eating six raw almonds before imbibing helps prevent intoxication. Really? My friend said that eating peanut butter beforehand is an African remedy. Exercise. Sex. Sleep. No, don’t sleep!
Sshhh. Don’t scream— makes it worse. Some of these ‘cures’ sounds like torture. Exercise? Burned toast? Not sure about the last time you went on a bender, but likely you weren’t planning enough to eat almonds, or have Rosiglitazone. Recovery is about water, and what works for you.
For many, food is the best cure— something to make you feel better, placebo or not. So, it’s no surprise there are more than 40 dishes on New York brunch menus that include ‘hangover’ in name or description. There are boring ones— juices, egg platters— but intriguing ones too. Given that the last thing you want to do hungover is read gobs of text, here’s a list of interesting hangover brunch dishes.
AlwaysInvestigating: Revisiting The 5 & Diamond
Arthur Bovino — August 16, 2010
“Philly Cheese Steak” at The 5 and Diamond in Harlem.
We visited The 5 and Diamond in April to sample Ryan Skeen’s tasting menu. It was stellar. Japanese Sea Urchin with Hamachi Belly on Pork Rind, Lamb Loin and Belly with Carrot Purée, and Rabbit and Ratatouille Sausage Spaetzle. The pièce de résistance? Grilled Salmon with Wild Sorrel, an homage to La Maison Troigros’ signature L’Escalope de Saumon à l’Oseille. The only questions: 1) how long would Skeen stay? 2) would Harlem support the cuisine? Answers came quickly.
Skeen landed at Sweetiepie. But as things go, an answer begat a question. As Sarah DiGregorio reported in the Voice, The 5 and Diamond’s chef de cuisine, David Santos, had a larger role than was clear. This is to say that with an open invitation from a chef in charge of his menu it was time to revisit.
The tasting menu at The 5 and Diamond >>
AlwaysInvestigating: Philly’s Eternal Food Questions
GutterGourmet — August 04, 2010
A Philadelphia sandwich trio: a Cheesesteak from Pat’s Steaks, DiNic’s Roast Pork Sandwich, and an Italian Hoagie from Sarcone’s Bakery.
In ancient times travelers would seek answers to the eternal questions from the Oracle at Delphi. Recently, we sought food wisdom on an Odyssey in Phila-Delphi-a, but these questions were of far greater import than the Riddle of the Sphinx at Thebes:
1. Which cheesesteak is better— Pat’s or Geno’s?
2. What the hell is an Italian “hoagie” and is it better than a New York hero?
3. Is the Philly Roast Pork sandwich truly the greatest sandwich in the universe?
Always Investigating: Balkan cuisine at Djerdan
GutterGourmet — August 02, 2010
Traditional Veal Kebabs at Djerdan Burek.
On 38th Street, just west of 7th Avenue is a quiet, unassuming restaurant below street level that looks like it could be the home of the Bosnian Social Club. Fortunately for us, it’s not members only, and Djerdan Burek offers great Balkan cuisine to anyone daring to venture in.
AlwaysInvestigating: Robicelli’s Alcohol Cupcakes
Madeline G. Muldoon — July 27, 2010
.jpg)
Clockwise from top: Robicelli’s Cherries Jubilee Cupcake, Bananas Foster Cupcake, and Hot Buttered Rum Cupcake.
The crowd of post-punk kids loitering on Ludlow outside Cake Shop isn’t there for the eats. That’s understandable: the latest feature at this Lower East Side neighborhood coffee shop/venue/record store, Robicelli’s alcohol-infused cupcakes, resemble crusty, overcooked polenta topped with a flutter of hipster Cool Whip.
The Cherries Jubilee, Bananas Foster, and Hot Buttered Rum cupcakes sat in a sad cluster under clouded plastic adorned with a yellow “21+” sticker. Though the bartender couldn’t explain how, the cupcakes supposedly each contain one shot of liquor. “We’re still trying to figure that out,” he shrugged.
Though last week’s Time Out New York called Robicelli’s the answer to the “overhyped and underwhelming” cupcake phenomenon, they have yet to hit their stride as a bar-bakery sweet. In fact, the failure of these “special” desserts discourages any further sampling of the company’s other products.
The goods, no more than two ounces each and bone-dry, beg you to ask just where all that uncooked alcohol is. The cake portion barely provides a hint of vanilla. The redemption of the baked flavor wasteland is in the light frosting that tops the muffin portion. The Cherries Jubilee and Bananas Foster had edible toppings, but they were certainly not intoxicating in any way. However, the hard, Hot Buttered Rum went untouched after one bite of the cloyingly sweet butterscotch-drizzled topping.
Location: Cake Shop
Address: 152 Ludlow Street
Hours: Daily, 9:00am-2:00am
Contact: (212) 253-0036
AlwaysInvestigating: Jimmy’s Burger Shack
Arthur Bovino — July 21, 2010
Clockwise: No. 9 Burger (Fried Egg, Bacon, and Cheese) and “Shack Sauce” at Jimmy’s Burger Shack.
Summer rolls around and I want to get the hell out of Dodge, Malcolm X-style— JFK, LaGuardia, I-95, the Port Authority, and Penn Station— by any means necessary. And when you’re at Penn with time to kill, one of your best options (lest you want to brave oysters and bread bowls at Tracks) is New York Pizza Suprema. But travelers cannot live on pizza alone. Sometimes you have to shake things up. You wonder, “Can Jimmy’s Burger Shack be all that bad? It’s still there three years after opening, right?”
AlwaysInvestigating: Sandwich Planet’s Napalm Burger
GutterGourmet — June 23, 2010
The Napalm Burger at Sandwich Planet, with a cross-section.
Recently, we profiled the Hellfire Slice. Today, we’re turning up the heat by reviewing Sandwich Planet’s Napalm Burger. Because of its location near the edge of the known solar system (the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel on 9th Avenue and 39th), stumbling upon Sandwich Planet can be like discovering Pandora. In lieu of Unobtainium, Sandwich Planet fulfills our species’ need for sandwiches and variety.
AlwaysInvestigating: Panini at Salumè
GutterGourmet — June 21, 2010
The San Danielle, a Prosciutto Crudo Panini at Salumè in SoHo.
Over the past few years it seems that every deli in the city, even the Korean ones, began offering warm “panini.” Unfortunately, this quickly became equated with Italian grilled cheese. Milan native, Michele Colombo, is attempting to rectify this with his fashionable panini shop, Salumè, in SoHo. But, instead of pressing his sandwiches into Italian Cubans, Colombo’s fresh warm rolls and open-faced toasted canapés enhance the mostly Italian imported ingredients.
AlwaysInvestigating: Food Logos and License Plates
Arthur Bovino — June 18, 2010
The plates on the cars of the folks of internet guru, Matthew Weinberg.
Vanity, thy name is food. Vanity license plates that is. We’re always on the lookout for cool food-related vanity plates and delivery truck logos. You know, those clever signs and turns of phrase that provide a chuckle— a diversion from the traffic you’re sitting in.
As a preview for the bumper-to-bumper you’re going to be parked in on the Williamsburg Bridge this afternoon on the way to your friend’s grilling party, or on the Long Island Expressway en route to the Hamptons, we thought we’d share some of the food plates and logos we’d seen recently.
AlwaysInvestigating: Nine More Great Sandwiches
Arthur Bovino — June 02, 2010
Leonardo Scarpone’s Italian ‘Dagwood’ at Sanpanino.
Love the Robs, and we always look forward to New York Magazine’s epic articles and slideshows listing the City’s bests. But what’s with the numerical widows? This year’s fantastic sandwich list, “Dagwood, Eat Your Heart Out,” appears in print with 51— the online version, 101. And last year’s Most Notable Burgers numbered 82. Don’t our friends at the magazine like round numbers?
A bunch of our favorites showed up, but the heart-sinking sadness we experienced when some didn’t make the list combined with our hatred of widows, compelled us to suggest the addition of another nine sandwiches (in no particular order) to put the list out here on the interwebs at 110. Adhering to the non-burger rules that seem to have been applied to this round-up, we’ve omitted these.
As for the article title, Sanpanino’s Italian Dagwood, while commissioned, could have made the list too.
AlwaysInvestigating: Pacific Burger Battle
Arthur Bovino — May 25, 2010
Left to right: In-N-Out’s Double-Double and RUB BBQ’s Pacific Northwest Burger.
You have to love RUB BBQ’s weekly burger special. As visits for the Peanut Butter and Butter Burgers and the Bacon and the Roaring Forties Blue Cheese Burger demonstrate, we’ve found it difficult to stay away. News that last night’s weekly special was going to be the Pacific Northwestern Burger, In-N-Out-style, sealed the deal for dinner, especially since last weekend was spent in Los Angeles downing Double-Doubles Animal-style. So, how did RUB’s stack up to the real thing?
AlwaysInvestigating: Seafood Pizzas at ABC and The Mark
Arthur Bovino — May 20, 2010
From left: ABC Kitchen’s Clam Pizza, and The Mark’s Smoked Salmon with “Everything Crust.”
For all the buzz and coverage of ABC Kitchen and The Mark one of the most eye-catching, stomach-growling threads linking the pizza menus at both new restaurants deserves noting: seafood pizza.
AlwaysInvestigating: Burgers & Corn Dogs, Shrimp-Style
Maryse Chevrière — May 17, 2010
The Low Country Shrimp Burger at Blue Smoke.
Enter the dining room at Blue Smoke, and the intoxicating smell of barbecue makes it difficult to imagine ordering anything else. Why would you when there are Chipotle Chicken Wings, Brisket, and Memphis-style Baby Back Ribs to choose from? But there’s more to the menu than ‘cue— consider, for example, shrimp, in applications not typical to them: burgers and corn dogs.
Always Investigating: Marco Polo Café
GutterGourmet — May 12, 2010
Moo Goo Gai Panini at Marco Polo Café in the East Village.
Did Marco Polo introduce Italy to pasta by bringing Chinese noodles along the Silk Road in the 13th century? Who cares? His namesake café on St. Marks was conceived on what was probably a myth, but the mélange of Italian and Chinese dishes at this 8-seater on St. Marks is for real.
It culminates with the signature dish: Moo Goo Gai Panini. The owners, a husband-and-wife team (she Chinese, he Italian-American) do much of the cooking too, behind a shoji screen partitioning the room.
Start with the scallion-topped Shanghai pan-seared pork buns. Then the savory, steamed Char Siu Bao that are stuffed with minced pork. They do not suffer from the sticky-sweet red sauce found in many dim sum palaces, and are available (with a variety of wontons and dumplings) prepackaged to steam at home. Marco Polo Café also offers ravioli and dumpling pairings, and recently added a Chicken Empanada at the suggestion of their Latin American cook.
Not everything works— an Italian Tuscan Bison Meatball sandwich on spongy bread is better left untasted. But the signature dish will convert even the anti-fusion purists. The Moo Goo Gai Panini sounds like a bicycle crash involving Chinese and Italian take-out delivery boys, but it is fantastic. Tender, white chicken is blanketed by fontina, mixed with scallions and crunchy pickles, then pressed in chewy, griddle-marked bread. There are shitakes in lieu of the traditional Moo Goo button mushrooms.
Chinese? Italian? Delicious.
Location: Marco Polo Café
Address: 102 St. Marks Place
Contact: (212) 228-8456
<< Back to Thought For Food
"Unleash Your Inner Fat Kid."
Whet your appetite with a daily dose of AlwaysHungry's Thought for Food. We provide content that will improve your knowledge of food, and that will enhance your experiences with food. We do not write industry gossip.
Always Hungry Newsletter
