AlwaysStrong: Pretzel Burger and Lobster Roll at Friendly’s

Arthur Bovino — August 09, 2010

The Reese’s Pieces Sundae and the Soft Pretzel Bacon Burger at Friendly’s.

Restaurant: Friendly’s Restaurant
Address: 2640 Merrick Road, Bellmore, NY 11710
Contact: (516)221-2286
Hours: Sun-Thur, 8:00am-12:00am, Fri – Sat, 8:00am-1:00am
Grade: C-
Recommended Dishes: Ice Cream.

The Friendly’s sign, there it was, a double-sided beacon of wonder in the night, one side demanding passers-by to “TRY OUR NEW SOFT PRETZEL BACON BURGER,” the other side proclaiming, “MAINE LOBSTER ROLLS WITH FRIES AND SLAW ONLY $11.99.”

That’s not quite a swerve your car to the side of the road situation, but it’s too tempting not to investigate. Friendly’s has been around for 75 years, they must be doing something right, right?

Pretzel Burgers, Lobster Rolls, and Grilled Cheese Burgers at Friendly's >>

AlwaysStrong: Pretzel Crust Pizza at Pietro’s (East Meadow)

Arthur Bovino — May 14, 2010

Pretzel Crust Pietro’s Speciale Pizza at Pietro’s Pizzeria in East Meadow.

Location: Pietro’s Pizzeria & Italian Kitchen
Address: 476 East Meadow Ave, East Meadow, NY
Contact: (516) 794-8820
Hours: Mon-Thu, 11:00am-10:00pm; Fri-Sat, 11:00am-12:00am; Sun, 12:00pm-10:00pm.
Grade: C+
Recommended Dishes: Sesame Crust Pizza, Pretzel Crust Pizza.

You’re driving through East Meadow, nearing Pietro’s Pizzeria and Italian Kitchen and you see a neon sign declaring Pietro’s place in the universe: “Home of the Original Sesame Seed Edge Pizza.” “Really?” you’re thinking, “They invented it in East Meadow?” You pull the car over, tires squealing, but before your mind wanders far down the very winding road of the origins of sesame crust, the menu grabs your attention again: “Try Our Sesame, Onion, Garlic, Pretzel or Poppy Seed Edge – Free on request.” Pretzel Crust Pizza?

Pretzel Crust Pizza at Pietro's in East Meadow >>

FirstLook: Sigmund Pretzel Shop

Arthur Bovino — November 03, 2009

Left row, Salt Pretzels (front) and Poppy Pretzels (back). 2nd row: Jalapeño Cheddar Pretzels (front) and Sesame Pretzels (back). 3rd row: Caraway Pretzels. Right, Lina Kulchinsky.

For a city with so many pretzel stands, New York has some horrible pretzels. The dry, mass-produced street variety are good for filling the chilly fall air with the appealing scent of hot charcoals and warm bread, that’s about it. Not to say Auntie Anne’s are bad (that smell was chemically engineered for world domination), but when a chain makes New York’s best it’s a sad state of affairs. Beer gardens like Radegast Hall & Biergarten and Zum Schneider are helping to remedy this, and now there’s new hope with Sigmund Pretzel Shop on the Lower East Side (map).

Click Here for Pictures of Sigmund's Pretzels and Donuts. >>

AlwaysInvestigating: Fancy Snack Food

The Glutttoness — October 14, 2009

From left, Cod with Potato Chips (Ed’s Chowder House), Broccoli and Cheetos (Park Avenue Autumn), and Pretzel-Crusted Crab Cake (davidburke townhouse).

When Park Avenue Autumn’s (view) Craig Koketsu started the trend with Cheetos on broccoli, we were excited, but now that people are following suit and doing cool things with everyday snack foods, we are very excited. Sure, it might not be as extreme as Erik R. Trinidad turning Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Sandwich and Frosty into a “gourmet” Chicken Mole Frostano on Fancy Fast Food, but considering what’s being done with Cheetos, potato chips, pretzels and breakfast cereal (e.g. Franklin Café Southie’s Cap’n Crunch Fried Chicken in Boston), just imagine the possibilities for Hot Fries, Smartfood and Cool Ranch Doritos.

Broccoli and cheddar is a classic combination, but choosing Cheetos as your cheddar is pretty damn awesome. And Koketsu doesn’t just use ordinary Cheetos, opting instead for broken chunks of Cheetos Crunchy. Any nutritional value from steaming the vegetables is further undermined by what you don’t see, the pool of butter at the bottom of the bowl. Butter-coated Cheetos amounts to a new level of crazy deliciousness, like the savory equivalent of eating Fruit Loops in melted ice cream. It will be near impossible to ever enjoy broccoli this much again.

Click Here for Dishes with Potato Chips and Pretzels >>

Featured Restaurant: Radegast Hall & Biergarten

Arthur Bovino — August 24, 2009

Kas Spatzle with Hunter’s Bacon and Brown Cabbage.

A beer garden in Williamsburg could easily be kitschy or precious, but Radegast Hall & Biergarten is neither. Instead, it’s a warm, welcoming space on North 3rd and Berry, that rapidly changing neighborhood between Main Street Williamsburg (Bedford Avenue) and the new waterfront condos.

Stepping inside the warehouse (a project by Slovakian-born partners, Ivan Kohut and Andy Ivanov) is like entering the idea of the beer garden you always had in your mind. The dimly-lit, open-beamed, high ceiling space is filled with wood, booths and a large bar. A second, brick-walled area is filled with picnic tables. You look around half-expecting to see people singing and smashing steins together.

There are twelve beers on draft, mostly German (two Belgian, one Czech) which you can order by pint ($7), liter ($13) or pitcher ($18), and more than 40 bottled beers (23 Belgian, 18 German, one Swedish, one Czech). You’ll find Kriek, Blonde, Pilsener and Lager, Cider, Lambec and gluten-free beer. The great thing about Radegast, besides its atmosphere, the beer, occasional live music and communal ambience is that the food here isn’t an afterthought— it’s quality pub fare prepared by Ivan’s wife, Joanna Kohut.

As at Astoria’s authentic Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden, there is rib-sticking Eastern European fare. Take for example, Goulash, Schnitzel and the crusty-delicious Halusky (known by its German name, Spatzle). Quality smaller plates include the Chicken and Rabbit Liver Pâté and the unmixed Steak Tartare. Also on the menu, is one of New York City’s better soft pretzels.

For those people who enjoy Bohemian Hall and Biergarden for the feeling it gives you of getting out of New York and entering another culture, Radegast is not a substitute. But with Williamsburg’s continued new construction and the increased inhabiting of completed projects, the scruffy, black-rimmed glasses wearing natives and the now-clichéd hipster-haters are going to find themselves in increasing interaction (especially on the L), Radegast Hall & Biergarten is a great setting for them to learn to live together. It’s the kind of place that makes you wonder how the neighborhood survived without it for so long.

See new pictures of food at Radegast Hall & Biergarten on its restaurant page here.

HungryChefs: Chefs Love Lupa, Mixed on Hot Dogs

The Gluttoness — June 11, 2009

Roasted Pork Shoulder “Gyro” with Pickled Cucumber & Yogurt from Anthos at Street & Savory

Some of the country’s best chefs attended Citymeals-on-Wheels’ Street & Savory Tasting Event. We’ve already brought you pictures of all the dishes and rounded up our favorite plates, but we were also able to speak with the chefs.

Our questions were obvious: What are you AlwaysHungry for? Which New York City restaurant do you crave? And in keeping with the night’s theme: what would you serve if you opened your own street cart? Some chefs took the easy route, promoting dishes they had prepared for the evening, others were quite creative with their responses.

Click Here to read all the chefs' answers >>

AlwaysInvestigating: Philly vs. NY Soft Pretzels

The Gluttoness — May 14, 2009

I’ve never had the physical evidence to back up an assertion I’ve made many times: New York City’s street vendor soft pretzels don’t hold a candle to Philadelphia’s soft pretzels. During a recent trip to Philly I made a point of going to the Philly Pretzel Factory to bring back proof.

The Philly Pretzel Factory’s slogan is, “Real Pretzels Travel in Packs.” Stumped? Philadelphia soft pretzels come in sheets, usually rows of ten. They’re long and narrow, like squashed New York City pretzels with thicker ropes. During baking, the sides adhere to each other as they expand, creating the sheet effect (right). Enough about aesthetics— let’s focus on taste.

from left: Philly Soft Pretzel, New York Street Vendor Pretzel

Since I grew up in Philadelphia, I turned to two impartial members of the CORE:

CORE Member, The Hungry Goat:
“Philadelphia Soft Pretzels are much denser, the salt MAKES this pretzel. It’s tough and very chewy, especially the outer layer, and I wish it was softer. As far as New York pretzels go, bigger is not better. While I prefer the texture of the NY pretzel, the dough is totally bland, and there is not enough salt to make up for the lack of seasoning. It’s like eating something that has the flavor of a water cracker but in doughier form.”

CORE Member, Arthur Bovino:
“I’ve got New York pride so I’m loathe to cede ANYTHING to Philadelphia and I mean anything (I’m not even a Mets fan). So it really makes me mad that even with the significant advantage of being just bought from a vendor before I ate it, New York soft pretzels lost out to day-old Philly ones that sat overnight in a fridge. The charcoal smokiness I enjoy smelling as it wafts from the New York pretzel street carts during the winter isn’t enjoyable to taste and not only were the exteriors undersalted but they were somehow dry on the inside too. The Philly pretzel was properly salted, still moist and tasted like I remember enjoying soft pretzels as a kid. In the name of all things NY-pretzel-holy, somebody do something, please.”

Philadelphia pretzels are also a better deal wallet-wise. At the Philly Pretzel Factory, ten pretzels cost $3.00. Two pretzels from a New York City vendor cost $4.00. No contest—Philly wins.

AlwaysInvestigating: NYY Steak (New York Yankees Steak)

Arthur Bovino — May 13, 2009

The dining room at NYY Steak in Yankee Stadium.

Having thoroughly sampled the ballpark food in the new Yankee Stadium, it was time that Always Hungry visited New York Yankees Steak, the New York Yankees’ organizational attempt at creating refined dining in the new cathedral in the Bronx.

A Dish-by-Dish at NYY Steak >>