New York Hot Dog & Coffee – 10.16.08

245 Bleeker Street
New York, NY
917-388-2608

With one of the highest turnout for a NYC venture,
the expectations for NY hotdog buzzed through the air.
Unfortunately the buzz turned out to be flies circling around a mound of dog poo.

a. bulgogi hot dog
6.5/10 with pickles
7/10 without pickles.
their most famous hot dog had a pretty good combination of lettuce, hot dog and bulkogi (bulgogi = korean meat). as a korean though, wasn’t too impressed. was extra salty with pickle, still a bit salty even without the pickle. still, it tasted pretty good. i liked the toasted bread concept.

b. J dog
6.5/10
nothing special, in fact a bit dissapointing
Jdog = pickles with relish.
c. chili cheese dog
6/10
ehh. i’ve had better. chili wasn’t really that good.

d. chicken dak kahlbi dog
5.5/10
do not try this hot dog. admire the attempt, but sometimes attempts backfire.
Overall Food:
6.5/10
bulgogi maybe is worth trying once. everything else, not.
Service
n/a, no waiter service

Decor
8/10
quite spacious, nicely lit place.

Value
5/10
considering it’s hot dogs, paying $5 for one seemed pretty unreasonable.

conclusion
the bulgogi hot dog may be worth trying once. maybe. for the novelty factor. just don’t get your hopes up.
would i consider going back there? nope. plenty of other eateries to check out in nyc.

side note:

across the street, there were 4 stores adjacent to each other,
a bakery, seafood, meat, and cheese store.
ALL RATED A 27/30 in zagat! for those of you not familiar with zagat, those are really, really high zagat ratings.

only the bread store was open at 9pm, couple of them tasted really good, the others tasted a bit stale (prob b/c it was 9 at night) but def worth checking out and buying from all 4 stores, especially if you are in nyc and want to cook. something i learned, don’t expect your food to taste great if you cook with crap. you cook with crap, you end up with crap. even the best chefs in the world cant make crap taste something more than crap.

singing off,
kangste
CDO

Bru’s Review

I wholly agree with our CDO’s review but I would like to highlight a few things.

1.  SALTY.  Bulgogi is already salty.  Add to that a hot dog and pickles and you have your salt intake for a week.  No condiments needed as they will only add to the saltiness.

2. They have a bulgogi sandwich, which is a hotdog bun and korean beef topped with the usual pickle and lettuce.  It is not bad as the flavor of the beef comes through with the added benefit of less salt from the hot dog.  Not much of a value as you get the same amount of beef as the bulgogi hot dog for the same price.

3. Decor is hip and trendy.  I was surprised by the spacious seating area in the back with wall murals, glass roof, music, and round stools.  Just dim the lights and add a DJ booth and you have yourself the hottest new hot dog lounge in NYC.

Overall, I give it 5/10 hotdog buns.  Check it out as it is something different, but there are better bulgogi and hot dogs out there…

-bru

Mamoun’s Falafel, Joe’s Pizza, 53rd and 6th, Red Mango – 08.13.2008

Mamoun’s Falafel
119 Macdougal St
New York, NY 10012
(212) 674-8685

IMO the best falafel in NYC. A village landmark, it’s more than just the falafel that makes this hole-in-the-wall joint stand out, it’s the snapshot of NYC life it captures. There is only one narrow entrance to the dimly lit 2 table dining room/ordering area/kitchen. In there amidst the chaos, to-go customers, sit-down eaters, and delivery boys shuffle around and single file line emerges with diners patiently waiting for cheap and tasty middle eastern comfort food. They have schwarma (real lamb freshly sliced from the spit), kufta, various kebabs, baba ganoush, tabbouleh, etc.  NYU students, bar hoppers, tourists, vagrants, hipsters, and professionals all make up the line that often forms out the door.

Mamoun’s falafel. Always order more than 1.

Prepared freshly when ordered, the falafel sandwich comes with 3 falafel balls mashed in a pita with lettuce, tomatoes, parsley, onions and tahini sauce. Pair it with the hot sauce (hot) that is floating around the tables in a communal squeeze bottle and prepare yourself for a flavor explosion. The fresh veggies and tangy tahini are a bright contrast to the crunchy, heavily spiced and herby fried falafel. The hummus is excellent: smooth and flavorful despite its bland appearance. How can something vegan taste so good? Truly a food miracle in my book. Grab some falafel in the quick moving line and eat outside on the bench to enjoy ethnic fast food with an eclectic view.

Joe’s Pizza
7 Carmine Street (and Bleecker St.)
New York, NY

The Sicilian slice with a dusting of parmesan.

“Without a doubt this is the best pizza in the entire city,” Ben Affleck says in a NY newpaper. I have to disagree with the Daredevil. The pizza is average. Yes, I tried it only once and yes the fresh mozzarella slice looked good but I am basing my opinion on what I consider a reliable barometer of good NY/NJ pizza: the Sicilian slice. I have no idea what authentic Italian roots it has but it doesn’t matter. I judge by your plain Sicilian slice. It was large and cheesy and for $2.50 it was a great value. The large crust was airy and crunchy with some buttery flavor but the other 2 elements of the pizza trinity (cheese and sauce) were off the mark. I may try their plain slice to give it a proper tasting but Joe’s is about as unremarkable as Gigli right now.

53rd and 6th Halal Street Cart
Corner of 53rd Street and 6th Ave. Cart across from Hilton driveway and next to water fountain.
Open 7pm-4am
New York, NY

Very messy and very tasty.

Another NYC landmark, 53rd and 6th goes by many names: street cart, halal guys, platters, gyro man, street meat…the list goes on. And so does it’s line for food served in humble aluminum trays and plastic forks; a wait that can be up to 40 minutes on any given night. Why all the fuss you ask? Juicy grilled chicken and grilled gyro meat over surprisingly flavorful yellow rice. It is true the portions have shrunk from ginourmous to now huge, and the food isn’t cooked at the cart anymore, and yes prices have gone up but you will not find a better and tastier deal for $6. And who knows the city’s best food spots than NYC cabbies: where they congregate and spend their hard earned tips for inexpensive, quick, and filling food on the go, an eater must also eat. Order the combination platter with rice and pita, slather on the yogurt sauce and atomic hot sauce, grab a spot on the nearby benches and enjoy NYC street cart dining at its finest.

Hint: The other less busy looking cart across the street and diagonal to the Hilton is run by the same guys. When the line is huge, go here. Don’t let others convince you otherwise, IT IS EXACTLY THE SAME.

Red Mango
723 8th Ave. ( @ 46th Street and 8th Ave.)
New York, NY

Red Mango frozen yogurt with mango, raspberries, and mochi.

Korean frozen yogurt, or as I call it KoFroYo, has become Eatclub’s defacto standard post-Eatclubbing dessert. This trendy hotspot serves up sweet, tangy frozen yogurt with a myriad of toppings that span from fresh fruit to dark chocolate chips to Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Its yogurt is certified active from American Yogurt Society (something like that) and according to its website, only 80 calories per serving (small). Healthy, tasty, and good for you. What more could you want? Perhaps lower prices but the quality is consistent and the shops are a hipplace to hang out and people watch. There are other KoFroYo chains out there but Red Mango was the first in the states (popped up in Cali first) and it is the best.

Correction:  Pinkberry was first in the US in 2005 but Red Mango has been around in South Korea since 2002.  Thanks to xteethx, one of eatclub’s ever vigilant readers.

All this in one night. We ate till we puked. Thanks to E, Soph, Bethany, Haeme, Annie, and YM for making it through this ephemeral eatclubbing extravaganza.

The city that never sleeps and always eats…

-bru