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4.13.07 Soba-Ya 229 East 9th St.

Japanese Noodle House!! YUM YUM!!

Review coming soon!

4.11.07 Margon Restaurant 136 West 46th St

JOHN’S REVIEW:

Another Wednesday lunch, but worth mentioning. Margon is a very popular Cuban eatery, and it’s all business. Not the cleanest appearing place in town, Margon has lots of ethnic food if you’re brave enough to eat meat that has been swimming in oil. I had a Cuban sandwich, and it was exactly what I expect: roasted pork, ham, salami, pickles, mustard, and some sort of relish that I couldn’t identify. It was delicious. It’s not the last time I will go to Margon.

VINCE’S REVIEW:

I was not a huge fan of my Cuban sandwich….sigh. I was a little confused by it. There was salami hiding in there and I am used to the pork, ham, cheese, mustard and pickles combination. I thought that the salami was a bit much and weird and I had to remove it. I also had the red beans and rice with the plantains. This was good and filling, but there was a bit too much garlic for my personal taste. I think everything was over the top, but I am willing to give Margon another chance. There was a lot of other food to choose from, but I was in a Cuban sandwich kind of mood.

4.7.07 Sassy’s Sliders 1530 3rd Ave

Sliders at their finest

JOHN’S REVIEW:

Food:
I ordered Combo #1: 4 Cheeseburgers, Homemade fries, and a large soda. As far as sliders go, none get better than this. These little guys define of the word “slider”; a delicious, thin patty of beef, onions, a few pickles and ketchup served on a tiny steamed bun. Delightful! The regular fries appeared fresh cut, and had a nice flavor, but sadly, they were not just out-of-the-fryer hot. I sprinkled a packet of salt over my fries and sliders, added some ketchup, and scarfed it down.

Decor:
Sassy’s Sliders is adorable, filled with retro decorations and a colorful menu above the counter. Sassy’s reminded me of my childhood, and being fascinated with all things fun and colorful.

Service:
Service was fast and friendly. The four people in our group found seats (there is only about 7 or 8 stools in Sassy’s to sit). The staff made me feel like a regular, like old friends. Warm fries aside, my experience could not have been better. As a bonus, the cook brought us a few free samples of strawberry shake to taste. Nice touch!

Cost:
About $7.50 for four sliders, fries and a drink.

Proximity:
We easily made it from 30 Rock and back in an hour. We walked to 51st and 4th and took the 6 train to 86th street.

VINCE’S REVIEW:

Food:
I ordered the Combo #1: 4 Cheeseburgers, Homemade fries, and a large soda also. This is the main como and really the way to go. There are many other combo style meals at Sassy’s Sliders from turkey to vegetarian. It just depends on what your aching for that day. I did enjoy my meal. You would think that four little burgers wouldn’t fill your belly, but it was perfect. The fries were fresh cut, which are definitely my favorite. Burger joints should make this a pre-requisite. A delicious Coke made it all good.

Decor:
Very poppy and retro on the inside. They had these illustrations of various hamburger and shake-style characters. I would imagine that this is what an old school hamburger joints back in the ’50s were like, but with a contemporary New York twist. They had enough seating and standing areas, even at the height of the lunch rush which wasn’t much, but it really is an eat and run kind of place.

Service:
Service was great. Very quick. It was also a nice treat to get a sample of their strawberry milkshake at the end. So, thumbs up to the crew at Sassy’s.
Cost:
It was $7.50 for the Combo #1 of 4 Bite Size Beef Burgers, Homemade Fries, and a Large Drink.
Proximity:
Quite an easy trek. You would think that travelling to 86th street from 30 Rock would’ve been a long and arduous trip, but we got there and back all within an hour.

3.30.07 John’s Pizzeria 260 W 44th St

John’s Pizzeria, a great place for sit-down lunch

This Friday we decided to go very local, and walk a few blocks to John’s Pizzeria. John’s Pizza is a very famous New York City landmark housed in a re purposed church, and they pride themselves on the “no slices” policy they uphold.

A group of 10 co-workers showed up at John’s Pizzeria door a little after 12:00 Noon. We ordered 4 large pizzas, a few pitchers of Coke, and a few other glasses of soda.

Food:

I had one slice of pizza with mushroom, and two slices of plain pizza. It is a good, solid pizza. The crust is thin, crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside. The sauce is a little too sweet for my personal taste, and the cheese isn’t the highest grade either. All in all, the pizza is delicious and top notch compared to many “slices” you find around the city.

Decor:
The decor is very nice, the dining area has the feel of a much more expensive eatery. There are stained glass windows, a curved balcony, large murals, and exposed brick walls. If you’re interested, you could walk up to the giant open brick oven and watch the pizza cook inside. Once again, it looks more expensive than the menu implies; which is a big plus.

Service:
Our group of 10 walked in during lunch hour on a Friday with no reservations, and we were seated with no wait. Our food and drinks came out fast and fresh. Everyone was polite and on the ball. Great service all around.

Cost:
$12.00, including tip, for 1/2 of a large pizza and Cokes from the pitcher.

Proximity:
We walked from 30 Rock to John’s in minutes. Easy, and we will be definitely be going back for more.

3.28.07 Grimaldi’s Pizzeria

JOHN’S REVIEW:

This, the first but certainly not the last, time Vince and I broke the rules of Fanfoofri and grabbed a bite on Wednesday night. It was impromptu excursion that ended up with Vince and I in Brooklyn, under the famous bridge that shares its name, enjoying some of the best pizza to have touched our palates.

Review to follow soon.

VINCE’S REVIEW:

Getting to Grimaldi’s Pizza was quite the adventure. Here’s the story….It was 7:15ish and John and I were literally down the street from Penn Station to take our respective trains back to our town. I abruptly mentioned that we should run off to Chinatown and it was followed by a “Let’s GO!” from John and I retorted with a “Let’s GO!” It definitely was an “I dare you” kind of situation. I so desperately wanted to go and enjoy the city and it was more of a selfish need to take some instant pics of Chinatown with my fancy Instax Camera (Thanks Jody!!). I was throwing out the idea to John that we should get some dim sum or find another place to eat. After many discussions about places to eat and a couple of “Let’s GO!” retorts, we decided on Grimaldi’s Pizza in Brooklyn. We quickly checked our cellphones, looked up some subway maps, and asked for directions and we made it there around 9pm.

Food:
We ordered a large pizza with sausage, pepperoni, and mushrooms. This pizza was AMAZING!! At first, I felt that this pizza was not all that. I was wrong…I wish that thought never crossed my mind. After the second, third, fourth slice I was hooked. I wanted to eat more. Grimaldi’s pizza is all about subtlety. The crust was thin and crispy. The cheese, sauce, mushroom, pepperoni, and sausage tasted fresh and light. Everything was well balanced and not heavy at all. That is what I loved about this pizza. It was PERFECT. I had a Coke, my drink of choice lately, to top it off.

Decor:
I little run down is the feeling that you get when you first walk in. You see the red and white checkered table cloths, a prerequisite of pizza establishements, and tons of celeb pics on the walls. I think I was sitting under a pic of Spike Lee. There were these huge portraits of Frank Sinatra on the wall as well. It was a little tight in there. There was very little space separating the tables, but being a hugely popular place, I would have done the same. It didn’t take away from the experience, it was just much more cozy than I was expecting.

Service:
Legend has it that you have to wait in line for an hour to get in. It was a Wednesday night and fairly cold outside. I would imagine on a nice spring or summer night that this place would be hopping. We were very lucky to get in. The service here was FAST!! John and I ordered our pizza and it came out within 10-15 minutes. It seemed pretty fast. It was nice to come in, sit and eat immediately.

Cost:
Between the two of us it was $28.25.

Proximity:
I can only talk about getting there from Chinatown, which was a fairly quick ride on the A and C to Brooklyn. I think that was the best way to get there. So, if you are in midtown and need to get to Grimaldi’s, take the A or C and it literally drops you off a couple of blocks from the restaurant.

3.23.07 Cafe Habana 17 Prince St

Cafe Habana: “un-rushed, cheery and relaxed vibe”

JOHN’S REVIEW:

Food:
This was my first experience eating Mexican Corn. A few years back I visited Vince when he was living in Chicago. Many street vendors in Chicago were serving an ethnic treat called “elote”. Elote is corn on the cob dipped in mayonnaise, and sprinkled with a Parmesan cheese/chili powder mixture. I didn’t eat elote in Chicago because I am not a fan of mayonnaise. I decided to give Cafe Habana’s Mexican Corn a try. It was delicious, grilled corn sprinkled with cheese and chili powder, and… no mayonnaise. Quite a tasty treat to kick off a meal.

Moving on to the main coarse I ordered a classic: the Cuban Sandwich. Traditionally, a Cuban sandwich is roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, dill pickles and yellow mustard served on Cuban bread that is toasted in a sandwich press. Habana follows most of this formula. The roasted pork is delicious, combined with sliced ham and cheese. The pickles fell short of “dill”, and Habana serves a Cuban sandwich with a mayonnaise sauce instead of yellow mustard.

The food was unexpected on some counts, but delightful nonetheless.

Decor:
The interior of Cafe Habana is small, not unlike every other cafe in NYC. There is a rustic, authentic charm about the place that makes it feel spacious and welcome.

Service:
As every other review I’ve read for Cafe Habana has stated, it’s always crowded. However we showed up at around 12:30, and had a few seating options available to us. Our server was polite and prompt. The atmosphere encourages an un-rushed, cheery and relaxed vibe.

Cost:
$12.00 for 1 ear of corn (1/2 and order I split with Vince), Cuban sandwich and a diet coke.

Proximity:
We took the BDFV train from 30 Rock to the Broadway-Lafayette Street exit and walked the rest of the way. Round-trip our excursion lasted around 1-1/2 hours, pushing the limits of a lunch-hour.

VINCE’S REVIEW:

Food:
I also ordered the Cuban Sandwich and Grilled Corn Mexican Style with a Coke.

The Grilled Corn Mexican Style was super delish. As John wrote above, you get two pieces of corn that we shared. Good thing, because I only wanted one. For something so simple, it was just packed with flavor. The corn is skewered and grilled and topped off with some chili powder and parmesan cheese. I would say that there was butter on it also. It came with a lime wedge also which you must squeeze on top of the corn. It really does add to the overall flavor. Good starter.

I came here a couple of years ago. And I have been craving a Cuban Sandwich for awhile and I have to say that I haven’t found a Cuban Sandwich that tops this one here. I can’t say that it is a super traditional Cuban sandwich, but a decent reinterpretation of it. The pork, ham, cheese and pickles were awesome. It was juicy!! The one thing that I did like was the sauce. I thought that made the sandwich. Everything together was just delicious and filling.

Decor:
I really liked the look of this place. The first thing that I noticed once I stepped in was that everything had a fun retro look. The tables had that desaturated green table tops you would see in a 60’s diner. There was this warm light coming off of the wall sconces and the ceiling. They had palm leaves painted in certain areas of the restaurant also. Everything was understated and Just felt hip and cool without being pretentious. A bit cramped for my taste. We were tucked in the back with a small table. There were three of us that day. A lot of juggling of plates and glasses. We made it work though. But if you need to get people in for the food, I understand. I think that if it were a two person situation, it would have been perfect. You forget all of this once the food comes.

The restroom is a sight to behold though. The whole thing is bathed in a red light. For what reason, I would love to know why. It was like stepping into a horror show. I came out alive though.

Service:
We got there and as expected during a lunch hour service, it was decently full. They seated us and served us fairly quickly even during this time. I thought our server was awesome. She checked on us often. So, good stuff…

Cost:
$12.00…the same as John. Cuban Sandwich, Grilled Corn Mexican Style, and a Coke.

Proximity:
We did push the time limit on this. Prince St. is not a quick jaunt from 30 Rock. You can take the BDFV to Houston and walk a couple blocks from there to Elizabeth and Prince. It wasn’t a hard place to find and the proximity to the subway was ideal. An hour and a half with dining and travel…not bad….

3.16.07 Chipotle 129 W 48th St

What the … ?

JOHN’S REVIEW:

Vince ended up having to work through lunch this Friday, so I was on my own. I decided to join a group of co-workers and order Chipotle on-line for pick-up. Not only did everyone find the web page annoying and confusing, the rest of our experience followed suit.

Food:
Call me crazy for ordering tacos from a burrito place, but gourmet they are not. The flavor was uniformily bland and the hard taco shells where broken, squashed and limp. The Barbacoa meat was acceptable, but everyone in my group believes it’s pork not beef. Bottom line: I prefer Taco Bell leaps and bounds over Chipotle.

Decor:
I guess that’s what you’re paying for, cool decor. Every Chipotle I’ve visited was trendy in appearance, and looked as though good food was served there. I suppose everything seems better when it has a pretty wrapping.

Service:
The place was packed! We waited about 10 minutes in line to pick up our food. Chipotle forgot to give us the chips and guacamole sides they remembered to charge us for. New York, do yourself a favor and stay away from Chipotle.

Cost:
30+ minutes to order ahead of time, 10+ minutes waiting in line & $7.00+ for three sub-par hard tacos.

Proximity:
It can be accessed by the underground at Rockefeller Plaza, easy access.

Vince’s apology for John:

I am sorry that I had to miss FanFooFri and left John to his own devices. See what happens….UGH!! Work, work, work… We are definitely going to do it next Friday. So, stay tuned for our review of Cafe Habana!!

3.09.07 Supermac 348 7th Ave

Supermac is not very wide

Vince and I decided to run to Supermac for a mac and cheese lunch. When we got there, no seating was available, but people with seats were eating their food from neat HOT plates. Since there was no place to sit, unfortunately, we hauled our take-out back on the 1 train back to 30 Rock to enjoy it.

JOHN’S REVIEW: 

Food:
I ate the B & G, which is apple wood smoked bacon, thai pepper, and gorgonzola. The food had good flavor and would be best enjoyed in the establishment. Eating it take-out style ruins the magic.

Decor:
The dining area is very small. There is literally room for about 8 or 10 people to sit and eat. The entire room is about 12′ wide and maybe 25′ deep.

Service:
Supermac was jam-packed. I placed my order, waited 20 minutes to get my food, and it was incorrectly prepared for eat-in. I sent it back to be repackaged for take-out; this took a few minutes. The staff works hard, but the place is too small for the volume of customers during lunch hour.

Cost:
$8.00 for the Mega Mac size.

Proximity:
Taking the 1 train, we made it from 30 Rock to Supermac and back easily in 1 hour.

Vince’s Review:

Food:

Okay, I was sick this week… I got ill on a Tuesday and stayed home. I went back to work the next day and was really looking forward to this FanFooFri. I can’t make an accurate assessment of the mac & cheese because I couldn’t taste a thing. I am going to have to make another visit to Supermac and give you my review later. Regardless, I did pick up two mac & cheese dishes. I had the Quattro Formaggio mini mac and the Mac Burger mega mac. I did have a full belly after all of this.

Decor:
The dining area is super small. It was more like a long room. I think there were only 3 or 4 tables within the establishment. NO SEATING!! John and I and many other lunchgoers had to wait in this cramped space. So, you had people coming in to order and then we were in that mix with other people who did order. A bit confusing. They did have a pretty hip and cool interior. I really loved the orange and white decor. Nice glossy surfaces. I guess it would be cool later in the day where the traffic would be considerably less. We eventually made our way back to work in order to eat….

Service:
There were only two people behind the counter and probably 3 or 4 chefs in the back. My order came out correctly, unlike Mr. John’s. It did take about 20 minutes. I know that they you can call in your order and just pick it up. That might be the best thing next time.

Cost:
It was $5.95 for the Quattro Formaggio mini mac and $8.75 for the Mac Burger mega mac.

Proximity:
With just a simple pickup and back on the 1 train to 30 Rock, we made it back well before our allotted lunch hour.

3.2.07 Tony Luke’s (Shorty’s) 576 9th Ave

John likes pork sandwiches

Tony Who’s? The name has changed, but the owners claim the food is the same. Tony Luke’s is now known as Shorty’s. I’ve had the opportunity to eat at both Tony Luke’s, an attempt at recreating an outdoor Philly steak place, and now Shorty’s. Shorty’s is much more dressed up than the original Tony Luke’s, but the food to me is in fact the same.

JOHN’S REVIEW:

Food:
I got the Pork and Provolone sandwich. I forgot to order the peppers, but the sandwich was every bit as good as the original Tony Luke’s, which reminded me of a DeNics pork sandwich (DeNics is a small booth in NJ just ouside of Philly).

Decor:
Lots of work went into revamping the old Tony Luke’s to turn it into the new, swanky Shorty’s. I preferred standing over the stainless counter of Tony Luke’s dripping with juice and cheese.

Service:
Service was outstanding. The waitress was cute, friendly and fast. Food was hot and prepared properly.

Cost:
I forget what I paid, but I had the sandwich and a Coke and it was in the $10 ballpark.

Proximity:
It would be possible to make it to Shorty’s and back to 30 Rock in an hour, that is if you don’t take the wrong subway.

VINCE’S REVIEW:

Food:
I got the regular Tony Luke’s Cheesesteak. There was something different about it. Not sure… Was it a smaller sandwich? Was there not enough steak? I do know that the onions were a tad burnt. Just not fun, but it wasn’t bad enough to send it back. I still think that it was a pretty good sandwich. It was still juicy, but there is something about a just disgustingly juicy cheesesteak where it just starts running onto your forearm. This wasn’t that kind of cheesesteak. The bread was good, the Cheez Whiz was as expected and I had the fries. Not a big fan of the fries….I ordered them in the past and for some reason I still order them. They have that crispy coat around them which is not consistent with regular french fries. Not my favorite fries, but I needed a pairing for the cheesesteak. I had a Coke to wash it all down.

Decor:
I will have to say that I haven’t been back to Tony Luke’s since they changed their decor and name. I know that I am reminiscing a bit much, but I liked the decor of Tony Luke’s past. Yellow lighting…metal countertops that lined the walls… Just something blue collar and utilitarian. It is more like a sportsbar now. It is more inviting now than what they had in the past. I feel that would bring in more people. I have to say that I liked it much more before.

Service:
I am with John on this one…fast service even at the peak of the lunch time hour.

Cost:
I have to take a look at my receipt. Will have to give you an update on that.

Proximity:
The trip to and fro was a bit hectic. Got on the wrong train… Local good… Express bad!! The one part of the trip that was a pure joy…gulp….

And a final comment by the Swisher:

You guys see this? They changed the name.

http://search.cityguide.aol.com/newyork/restaurants/shortys/v-190302

Also, I’d like to say that I really hate it when articles about cheese steak places overreach to include with joke about how you have to say “wit” or “witout.” They wouldn’t even understand what that means at Tony Luke’s NYC, let alone enforce it. Ugh.