slunch

Daddy-O

slunch — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:05:49 +0000

Even though some Slingers have been barred from this bar after a buy-back dispute, if you are not one of them, I’d highly recommend Daddy-O.

Not many $10 sandwiches live up to the price, but these do. The Moroccan Chicken sandwich is great, and the cucumber slaw that comes with it is fantastic. Also try the catfish sandwich, the burger, or the meatball sandwich.

For bigger appetites, try “The Plate.” It’s a lot of food, and very tasty. Your choice of two cheeseburger patties or two hot dogs, served over potatoes and macaroni. Side of garlic bread, too.

If it’s cold out, and you’re not afraid of froo-froo drinks, a hot apple betty might be called for. They know how to mix a drink. After work, try an Eastsider.

~RT

Daddy-O | 44 Bedford St

(walking directions)

Le Gamin

slunch — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 21:05:10 +0000

If you’re over the whole “Freedom Fries” thing and are ready to enjoy life and lunch again, hit Le Gamin. Is there some connection between being cowardly and making one helluva crepe? There must be. It must all be part of the recipe. Delicious.

The turkey club, one of the most ordinary menu items anywhere, was transformed into something special here. Even the tap water tasted like spring in Paris. The waitress jabbered away in French the whole time we were there, and it made the food taste better. I thanked her for the Statue of Liberty on the way out.

~RT

Le Gamin
132 W Houston St (between MacDougal & Sullivan)

Noodle Bar

slunch — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 20:10:15 +0000

If you are craving a bowl of hearty, delicious ramen check out the Noodle Bar. Being on the west side, we are deprived of the ramen kings like Ippudo and Momofuku, but this place really hit the spot.

Walker’s Pub

slunch — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 19:20:51 +0000

As an out of town guest visiting this beautiful city you lovingly call New York, I decided it was important to contribute something. I have decided my contribution will be a review of Walker’s Pub on N.Moore between Houston and Varrick. At only a little over a half mile away from the office, Walker’s is a quick and easy stop for those craving juicy burgers and amazing french fries. I ordered the french dip sandwich, and sure enough it came with creamy horseradish and a mound of fries too large for me to finish. My dining companions both had burgers, and they were cooked exactly as asked with lots of toppings. We sat outside because the day was gorgeous, and although I wouldn’t call the waitstaff warm and welcoming, they were prompt, concise and attentive. I’d highly recommend Walker’s if you are in the mood for a hearty meal with a nice walk both directions.

-Meghan Riordan
Sling Foster City, CA

Steak Frites

slunch — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 20:41:44 +0000

I’ve been a little hesitant to hit Steak Frites. Seemed like it would be one of those places that has mediocre food but charges you extra for the fancy chairs and lighting. Wrong. Very good burger at a good price (which includes a beer). The bun is an oft-overlooked facet of solid hamburger construction, but not at Steak Frites. Very good bun. Good fries, too. (Sorry I slacked and didn’t take a picture, but you know what a burger looks like, right?)

~RT

Steak Frites
225 Varick

Mekong

slunch — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:46:46 +0000

Mekong is no secret so I’ll keep this short.

You should expect the following:

• The manager will be annoyed to see you

• The servers won’t give a shit

• The busboys will bang your chair as they drag produce in and garbage out

• You’ll love the food and keep going back, just like the abused housewife that you are

After all, it was probably my fault.

Here’s what I’ve tried so far: The Vietnamese chicken soup was the perfect herbal, spicy remedy for my lurking cold. The Chicken Iron Pot was a great medley of vegetables and meat in a spicy coconut curry sauce (pictured). The sticky rice was both sticky and ricey. The grilled squid was tender and smoky. The Singha beer was ice cold (but maybe that’s because the place was freezing. I kept my coat on the entire time). The marinated lemongrass beef, along with roll-your-own rice papers, delivered.

It’s really close to the Slunch headquarters so I’m thinking about travelling down the Mekong until I’ve sampled everything on the menu.

Mekong
18 King St

Grand Sichuan… tasty.

slunch — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:29:38 +0000

Chicken lo mein… tasty. Very close. Pretty affordable.

Grand Sichuan
15 7th Avenue South (between Carmine and Leroy)

New Beginnings Drop-In Men’s Shelter and Soup Kitchen

slunch — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 22:18:56 +0000

Soft, comforting and warm as granny’s heating pad

If you’re willing to trek to the Bowery, I highly recommend this establishment. The moment you cross the threshold and the flinty bouquet of aged malt liquor and urine-infused Scott tissue penetrates the nostrils and bores into your hipothalamus, you know you’re in for a treat. The ambiance? Phlegmatic wheezing and snorting punctuate the soothing drone of mumbles and groans. The cuisine? Behold the molten cheeses and buttery baked folds engulfing a sweetest, most tender chickenesque patty known to man.

Salt

slunch — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:22:47 +0000

Went for a walk around the office, looking for something new. Didn’t take long. Wandered into Salt, a nice little sit-down spot. It’s not as cheap as I like, but it was worth the price.

I started with few honey-glazed dates wrapped in bacon. That’s right, be-yoch. You heard me. HONEY-GLAZED DATES WRAPPED IN BACON. That’s how I roll. A salty-sweet masterpiece. I would expect nothing less from a place called Salt.

Followed that with lamb burger served in a pita with yogurt, cucumbers, mint and a buncha spices I don’t know the name of. It wasn’t really like a burger, though. It was just delicious ground meat dropped into a cozy pocket of wonderful bread. Delicious.

(Btw, try the course dirty salt they offer on every table.)

~RT

The Spotted Pig

slunch — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 13:25:38 +0000

When Brian suggested the Spotted Pig for lunch on Friday I immediately thought of Frank Bruni’s review in ’06 where he referred to it as a “mosh pit”. If they made the New York Times food critic wait a half hour for a table on a Sunday what chance did we have?

I told Brian he was fucking nuts and he told me to relax. Cut to, the Spotted Pig 10 minutes later where we were seated at a comfy 5 top, toasting Pilsners. So yeah, maybe Brian was right but he was wearing Starfleet epaulets so I figure we’re even.

All the fellas got burgers, topped with Roquefort and a grilled bun, along side a decadent mound of shoestring fries with rosemary and fried garlic.

I meanwhile, was swayed towards the familiar lunch of my adolescence, Grilled Cheese and Tomato soup. But before you start thinking of grammar school lunches sitting in front of Flintstone re-runs, let me break it down.

The grilled cheese was more like a croque monsieur in that it was coated with some sort of béchamel sauce before it was grilled. The white cheddar had a nice, sharp bite and the bread was some sort of artisanal peasant loaf deal. All in all, top 7 grilled cheeses of all time.

On to the tomato soup…. or rather, the “Heirloom Tomato Soup”. In a word: luscious. Garnished with a little sour cream, olive oil and a purple basil chiffonnade, I found the soup to have a nice hint of smokiness, leading me to think that maybe they were roasted before they were soupified.

I’m no Frank Bruni, but I’m guessing the shit didn’t come from a red and white can.