October 7, 2008
From A Hamburger Today
Posted by Nick Solares, October 7, 2008 at 10:30 AM
Delicatessen
54 Prince Street, New York NY 10012 (at Lafayette Street; map); 212-226-0211; www.delicatessennyc.com
The Short Order: A potentially decent burger completely ruined by a sugary brioche bun
Want Fries with That? Comes with fries but they are not very good
Price: cheeseburger $10
Notes: Open seven days a week, 7:30 a.m. to 1 a.m.
Almost everything about Delicatessen is a facade, starting with the name. Delicatessen is not a delicatessen at all. Aside from paying lip service to the name via the inclusion of a few traditional deli items—a riff on the Ruben sandwich and a Matzo ball soup—the bulk of the menu is self described as "international comfort food" and features such diverse items as fried chicken, fish and chips and, for our purposes, a hamburger.
The service is far from hospitable. The hosts, ostensibly the people who welcome and seat you, don't do much hosting. They mostly ignore you until you press them, at which point they'll give you a vague answer that a table will be available in ten minutes despite that almost half the restaurant is empty (or half full depending on your level of optimism). It's only when you express an intent on dining elsewhere that a seat will miraculously open up. The waiters are also misnamed: They don't wait on you, you wait on them. And wait and wait. Even the busboys need to be asked to actually clear your table.
But it doesn't matter—no one goes to Delicatessen because they're looking for an authentic New York deli or service that is mediocre at best. In fact, I doubt anyone goes to Delicatessen for the food at all; the principle draw here comes down to two factors: location and avocation.
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Posted by Ed Levine, October 7, 2008 at 9:45 AM
Sugar rush fans, unite and rejoice. The Vendys are going to have a dessert category this year. Given the proliferation of dessert trucks in the last year, this makes total sense. Here are the nominees:
Treats Truck (Kim Ima)
www.treatstruck.com
Dessert Truck (Jerome Chang/Chris Chen)
www.desserttruck.com
Van Leeuwen Ice Cream (Ben Van Leeuwen)
www.vanleeuwenicecream.com
Wafels and Dinges (Thomas DeGeest)
www.wafelsanddinges.com
Given the hipster-ethnic mix of the savory Vendys, it's more than a little curious that no ethnic dessert cart or truck is a dessert Vendy nominee. Surely there's a paleta cart or a churros vendor worthy of Vendy consideration. I guess there's always next year.
Related:
In Videos: 2008 Vendy Finalists Announced: Hipster Truck Is Among the Nominees
The Dessert Truck: For Desserts on the Go
First Taste of the Van Leeuwen Ice Cream Truck
Eggs rothko from Egg in Williamsburg. Photograph by Pabo76
- You can get an "Arabic pizza" of sorts at Tanoreen [Goodies First]
- The oxtail ravioli at Allegretti are great, "stuffed fat with tender, orange-accented beef, and served over chard in a light broth" [Pink Pig]
- You can get a mountain of roast pork and duck for $3.75 at Wah Fung [Fork in the Road]
- You can find all sorts of Paraguayan treats at I Love Py. Bakery Cafe [Shauna Eats Sunnyside]
- There are two grocery stores in Chinatown where you should be able to find Vietnamese ingredients [SE:NY Talk]
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, October 6, 2008 at 6:00 PM
When most people think of City Bakery, blue and white cups filled with hot chocolate, enormous wedges of caramelized french toast, and chocolate chip cookies are what usually come to mind. But I'm not most people. The peanut butter cookies are what I've come to love far more than any of the other typical favorites. The smallest of all City Bakery cookies, the peanut butter numbers are not large flat disks easily piled upon one another. Instead you'll encounter scoops, no more than an inch and a half high and two inches in diameter—a dainty baked ice cream scoop. But oh goodness, one taste and it'll be hard to return for any other cookie. It's far too easy to love the butter-rich, crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth texture; so generous, easy, and giving on the tongue. Like the melting moments of Mexican wedding cookies, powdered sugar must be a key contributor to this wonder. Playing on the lines of sweet with salty touches, why have one when you can have two? Lucky for us they're sold in pairs, and at $1.50 they're one of the cheapest items at the Bakery.
City Bakery
3 W 18th Street, New York, NY 10011
212-366-1414
thecitybakery.com/index2.htm
From Slice
Posted by Adam Kuban, October 6, 2008 at 5:45 PM
Photograph from "Boppadopoulos" on Flickr
New York magazine gives a rundown on where to get clam pizza in New York City:
- Franny's: 295 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11217 (b/n Prospect and St. Marks; map); 718-230-0221; frannysbrooklyn.com
- Bussaco: 833 Union Street, Brooklyn NY 11217 (near Seventh Avenue; map); 718-857-8828
- Lombardi's: 32 Spring Street, New York NY 10012 (near Mott Street; map); 212-941-7994; firstpizza.com
- Otto: 1 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10003 (corner of 8th Street; map); 212-995-9559; ottopizzeria.com
- Fornino: 187 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11211 (at North 7th Street; map); 718-384-6004
- South Brooklyn Pizza: 451 Court Street, Brooklyn NY 11231 (near 4th Place; map); 718-852-6018
I can't vouch for all of these. I like Lombardi's clam pie and Franny's (uh-may-zing). I'm not big on Otto's or Fornino's because they do that annoying still-in-the-shell-while-topping-your-pie thing. (That's Otto's pie above.) Based on what I've had at South Brooklyn, I'd skip the clam pie—when I've had it, their regular pie has had a tough, too-crunchy crust.
- Frank Bruni weighs in on the new Michelin guide ratings [Diner's Journal]
- Alidoro sandwiches are now available at the Randolph [NYM]
- Here is a list of restaurants that made Michelin's "cheap eats" list [Grub Street]
- Starting today, the NYC Health Department will run ads in the subway telling you just how many calories are in the fast food you eat [Gothamist]
Posted by Ed Levine, October 6, 2008 at 4:44 PM
The New York Times sent a lucky reporter on Calvin Trillin's eating tour yesterday. My favorite quote from Trillin, who leads the tour as part of the New Yorker Festival: "I'm not interested in finding the best chili restaurant in Cincinnati. I'm interested in Cincinnatians fighting about who has the best chili."
What are the stops on the tour? Some are secret, but others are not:
- A slice of potato pizza from Grandaisy Bakery
- Sandwiches from the "greens lady" on East Broadway and Chrystie Street
- Roast pork banh mi from Banh Mi Saigon Bakery
- Spanish nibbles from Despana on Broome Street (I love the tortilla cake there)
- Sopressata from Faicco's on Bleecker Street
The story did not reveal which dim sum parlor under the Manhattan bridge they stopped in for lunch. Any guesses, serious eaters?
From A Hamburger Today
Posted by Robyn Lee, October 6, 2008 at 4:00 PM
Crunchburger from Bobby's Burger Palace. Photograph by Nick Solares
Joan Starckey of the New York Times finds out who makes better burgers in Long Island: American Roadside Burgers in Smithtown or Bobby's Burger Palace in Lake Grove? The restaurants are similar for both being opened by successful restaurateurs and requiring customers to order at a counter. After judging burgers, fries, onion rings, and milkshakes from each restaurant, American Roadside Burgers comes out as the clear winner with its superior burgers and fries.
Related
Bobby's Burger Palace
All American Drive-In
From Slice
Amy Langfield of NewYorkology tells us that La Pizzetta, a new brick-oven joint on Atlantic Avenue is open and should be starting delivery tonight. 145 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11201 (b/n Clinton and Henry streets; map)
Posted by Carey Jones, October 6, 2008 at 3:00 PM
Claude, of the West Village’s Patisserie Claude, is a man you take one look at and immediately trust in the kitchen. In fact, if I were to draw a cartoon chef, it would look something like Claude: white-clad, grey-haired, and somewhat rotund. A little bit grumpy. And very, very French.
While I’d rank his croissants and éclairs among the best in town, his petite quiches are the tastiest item in his modest little shop. The quiche is one of the oldest and tiredest food clichés. But Claude’s, served warm from the oven, hardly resemble the rubbery yellow slices found elsewhere. The crumbly, buttery crust alone is memorable; it reminds you, with every bite, that Claude is first and foremost a pastry man. But that crust can barely hold back the silky egg inside—salty, creamy, barely set, and perfectly dotted with tender mushrooms. Or ham. Or spinach. Or endive and gruyere…
Patisserie Claude
187 W. 4th Street, New York NY 10014 (map)
212-255-5911
