Fries « Two Fat Bellies

Posts Tagged ‘Fries’

Corner Bistro

Monday, April 12th, 2010 by virginia

Our friend Alex first introduced us to the Corner Bistro back in college (he went to NYU nearby), and it’s been my favorite burger place in the city ever since. Maybe I had some emotional attachment to it, because we would always hang out there with our friends from high school when we were home during breaks, but I thought the burgers were absolutely fantastic. They were always thick, juicy, and flavorful, and we would wash them down with countless mugs of McSorley’s dark followed by plates of crispy thin cut French fries.

When we eventually moved into the city after graduation, Corner Bistro was still a relatively frequent destination for us. If we were out drinking somewhere near the west village, we inevitably ended the night lining up for burgers at the always crowded bar/restaurant. And maybe I loved Corner Bistro because those burgers always tasted wonderful after a night of drunken debauchery.

After we moved uptown, however, we never found ourselves having the opportunity to go to the Corner Bistro. Anytime we ventured downtown we would usually end up at our favorite bar, Reade Street Pub and Kitchen. So over a year went by before Josh and I finally went back, after attending an open house up the block after work one day.

We got there at just the right time – there was no line for a table in the back room but a few minutes after we were seated, the place filled up and the familiar line soon snaked down the length of the bar. We both ordered our usual, a hamburger for me, a bistro burger for Josh, fries, and mugs of McSorley’s dark. I was happy to see that even after so long, prices have hardly risen. It was a welcome respite after seeing other burger places jack up their prices ridiculous amounts when they became more popular and well known (I’m looking at you, Burger Joint!).

Mugs of McSorley's dark

Our food arrived pretty quickly, and I couldn’t wait to dive in. The burger looked just like I remembered – thick, dripping with juice, on a soft sesame seed bun, accompanied by slices of tomato, onion, and lettuce. The only difference was that it was served on a plastic plate rather than a paper plate.

Hamburger with lettuce, tomato, onions, and pickles

It was huge once it was assembled, and I had to flatten it down a bit before I could take a bite. And the verdict? Disappointing.

Massive burger once assembled

The burger was cooked medium rare as requested, but the patty had sort of a gristly, crumbly texture to it. It tasted more greasy than juicy, and there was no seasoning to speak of. Even with ketchup, the meat just tasted bland. I was shocked by how bad I thought the burger was.

Autopsy shot

Maybe my disappointment was deeper because this was my favorite burger, the one that I’ve championed over the years above the Shake Shack or Burger Joint or all the other highly touted burgers. But then I thought, maybe I loved this burger because of my emotional attachment to the Corner Bistro, and back in those days my palate wasn’t the same as it is now, plus we had usually been drinking before we ate the burgers. This time I was stone cold sober, hungry but not starving, and I’ve had the opportunity to expand my palate more over the years.

Whatever the case, even though I was hugely dissatisfied, Josh still loved his bistro burger. The bistro burger is basically a bacon cheeseburger, and his was also cooked medium rare as requested. I took a bite of his burger and could see why he enjoyed it – the bacon added much needed saltiness to the burger, and the cheese provided a nice gooey texture to the otherwise crumbly patty. In that regard, the bistro burger is a better choice, because bacon and cheese can hide a lot of flaws.

Bistro burger (bacon and cheese)

At least the fries were still as good as I remembered – hot, thin, and crispy. They’re always served right of the fryer and are never greasy or soggy.

Crispy thin cut french fries

I felt pretty let down after we left the Corner Bistro, but I’m not quite ready to write the burgers off just yet. Yes, I thought the burger was really bland and unseasoned, but maybe it was an off night. Josh thinks that I should have just sprinkled some salt on the patty after I took my first bite, but I’m not in the habit of seasoning my burgers after they’ve been served to me. I plan on going back, and soon, to see if this was just a fluke. Either way, the bar is a fun place to hang out, and everything is refreshingly cheap. You can still get a burger and fries for less than $10, and mugs of McSorley’s are only $2.50 each. There are lots of TVs in the front room so you can watch a game and drink beer while you wait in line for a table. I just haven’t decided yet if the burger is still worth the wait, but I’m willing to give it another shot, if only for old time’s sake.

Corner Bistro
331 West 4th St. at Jane St. and 8th Ave.
New York, NY

Tags: Burgers, Fries, West Village
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Fleming’s

Saturday, April 10th, 2010 by virginia

So I’m going to do something that I don’t normally do, which is to review a restaurant with no photos of the food. We unintentionally left the camera in the car but I didn’t bother going back out to get it because we were a run-of-the-mill chain steakhouse, and it was Easter so I figured we deserved a break anyway. I was pretty appalled by the food we had so I changed my mind about doing a write-up, and instead I’m using this as an experiment to see how a review turns out without pictures. Given all the publicity lately about food photography (aside from Grant Achatz and Anthony Bourdain, the New York Times just ran an article about it), and the debate about taking pictures, this seemed like a good opportunity to test out what it would be like if we scaled back on photos. Please let me know what you guys think!

Josh’s mom had a craving for steak so we ended up going to Fleming’s in Edgewater for Easter Sunday dinner. I was surprised that they were open on Easter but they seemed to be fully staffed and operational, and while the restaurant wasn’t full, it was definitely more crowded than I expected it to be. We were only a party of four on this particular Sunday night so we got a nice cozy booth near the back of the restaurant, with a good view out the panoramic windows that face the city skyline.

We were given a loaf of soft rosemary bread to munch on while we looked over the menu. The bread was dense and fluffy with no real discernable crust, but I enjoyed the woodsy rosemary flavor. There were two different butters that came with the bread, one was salty and flavored with feta while the other was sweet and flavored with sun dried tomatoes. Both were pretty enjoyable slathered on the soft bread.

Josh and I had a big Easter lunch with my family and had been snacking all day so we decided to forgo appetizers. Alice and Lloyd shared the wedge, which was a quarter wedge of a large head of iceberg topped with red onion, grape tomatoes, and crumbled blue cheese. Josh and I really dislike blue cheese but I tasted a small portion of the salad and found it to be pretty good. The iceberg was crisp and fresh, the tomatoes were sweet and juicy, and the blue cheese was relatively mild compared to others I’ve tasted. I can see why this is such a popular combination for a salad.

For my entrée, I had the double thick pork rib chop that was baked with apple cider, creole mustard, and a julienne of apples and jicama. It sounded good on paper but the flavor was off in execution. It was sweet and sour in a weird way, and the flavors were muddled. I couldn’t really taste apple, or mustard, but something more maple-like and a bit smoky. The pork chop was huge but it was kind of tough and I think a bit overcooked. I had asked for it medium, which our waitress said would be pink in the center, but it was white throughout and a bit hard to chew. The julienne of apples and jicama came out like a mushy sauerkraut and had both a strange texture and flavor. Suffice it to say, I was not a fan of the dish.

Both Josh and Alice ordered the petite filet mignon. Alice’s medium rare steak ended up being more rare, so she sent it back for them to cook it a bit longer. However, Josh asked for his black and blue, and it was cooked perfectly. The outside had a nice seared crust, it was ruby red in the middle, and the seasoning was just perfect. It was a good piece of meat and pretty well executed.

Lloyd had the lamb chops served with a champagne mint sauce. I had a bite and it tasted pretty good, with a nice crust on the outside and lots of gamey flavor. Lloyd seemed to enjoy his dish and I didn’t hear any complaints.

In typical steakhouse fashion, the meats are mostly served a la carte, so there is a long list of sides you can order to accompany your main course. We got sautéed sweet corn and creamed spinach for the table. The corn was fine, with sweet kernels cooked in a buttery sauce, but it was uninteresting. The creamed spinach was mostly cream and cheese but I still thought it was tasty. It definitely could use more spinach in the mix though.

Alice and Lloyd also split a baked potato, which comes with sour cream, butter, chives, bacon and cheddar cheese. The potatoes are usually huge and fluffy on the inside, but this time their potato was only medium sized and hard in the middle. It had clearly been undercooked, so they sent it back and got another potato, which was also on the smaller side and had a big unpleasant-looking black bruise on one side that was basically inedible. Not wanting to send back a second potato, they ended up just eating around it but it wasn’t a great potato to begin with. Considering you’re spending about $7 on a baked potato, I would expect them to inspect their potatoes a bit more closely.

Josh and I split an order of the half and half, which is half French fries and half onion rings. The fries had such potential because they were thin shoestrings and obviously cut from real potatoes, but the frying left much to be desired. The fries were limp, soggy, and greasy, which was really too bad because they looked so appealing. The onion rings, however, were fantastic. Huge slices of onion were lightly breaded and fried to a perfect crisp. I wish we had a whole plate of these onion rings instead of the lackluster fries.

Overall we were pretty dissatisfied with the meal we had at Fleming’s. We’ve eaten there previously so we know it’s standard steakhouse fare, but I thought the overall execution was pretty bad. I could barely get through half my pork chop, not because of its size, but because of how it tasted. The steaks and lamb chops were better because they were simply seasoned and broiled. I think sticking with the plain meats is the way to go at this restaurant. The sides were mostly all pretty disappointing though. What makes it more unforgivable is that this is an expensive restaurant. Yes, it’s a chain, but most entrees are $30+, and they’re served a la carte. Sides are an additional $7-$9 each. The side dishes can be shared but it’s still not a cheap dinner. Service was ok but not particularly attentive. Our waitress didn’t really come by to check on us very often, and they seemed annoyed when we sent back the first potato. I just don’t think the restaurant is worth the price, and I doubt that we’ll be going back there any time soon.

Fleming’s (multiple locations)
90 Promenade, City Place Shopping Center
Edgewater, NJ

Tags: Fries, Pork, Steak
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Meatless Fridays – Minar and Kim’s Aunt Kitchen Cart

Saturday, March 27th, 2010 by virginia

Although I haven’t given up anything in particular for Lent, I have been good about abstaining from meat on Fridays. Surprisingly it’s quite tough for me not to eat meat, especially when I see other people eating it, and also because I’m not the biggest fan of fish at this moment. I do, however, love fried foods, including fried fish. On my favorite blog, Midtown Lunch, I read about a streetcart that serves a cheap, filling, and tasty fried fish sandwich, and knew that I had to try it out.

Minar

My first attempt was on a snowy Friday, which turned out to be a mistake as the cart was nowhere to be found. Neither was my back-up cart, Moshe’s Falafel. Instead, Josh and I headed to Minar where I had my first completely vegetarian Indian meal. While he went for the meat lunch special and filled up on keema and coriander chicken, I had to go for the veg lunch special and navigated through the meatless offerings with some help from the woman behind the counter.

I ended up with a container of rice topped with lentils, saag paneer, and a potato pea curry. The saag paneer was the only dish I’ve tried before, and it was as good as always. It’s a thick spinach curry mixed with pieces of Indian cheese that has the same texture as firm tofu. It’s kind of like a spiced (but not spicy) cream spinach and is very flavorful and filling. The lentils were also hearty, but a bit bland. They were cooked in a very light sauce and didn’t have much seasoning. I did welcome the protein though. My least favorite was the potato pea curry, because I only got like three pieces of potato, and the rest was peas in a super watery gravy that didn’t have much flavor.

Lentils to the left, potato pea curry on top, saag paneer to the right

To help bolster my meal, I added a piece of fluffy, fresh baked naan for $1 more. The naan was warm, nicely puffy, and had pleasingly chewy. At $1, it’s a true bargain and a great addition to any meal you get at Minar.

Fluffy naan

The lunch special also came with a foil packet filled with lettuce and raw onion, and a small container of raita. The raita is cucumber yogurt sauce that is great over most of the curries, especially the ones containing lamb.

Raita, lettuce, and onion

My container of vegetarian offerings did manage to satisfy my hunger, but not my craving for meat. What can I say; I’m a true carnivore. I did like the saag paneer though, and would definitely order that again. The lentils were ok, but I really didn’t enjoy the potato and pea curry. It was definitely a filling meal though, and all for less than $10. Not bad. I do like the meat offerings at Minar better though, so next time I’ll have to go when it’s not a Friday during Lent. The lunch specials are pretty good deals and you’ll get a lot of food. There are lots of options to choose from so I’m sure you’ll find a combination that works best for you.

Kim’s Aunt Kitchen

My second attempt to get the fried whiting sandwich was a success, and boy, was I happy with what I got. Based on Midtown Lunch’s recommendations, I opted for the fried whiting on a hero. The sandwich was massive and featured two thick fried whiting filets on a toasted hero, covered in lettuce, tomato, and mayo. I couldn’t believe the size of this sandwich, and it was only $3.50!!

The fried whiting sandwich on a hero is eight inches long!

The fried whiting was delicious – still hot, nicely breaded, flaky, and not too fishy. Most people I know are too skeptical to order food from a streetcart, and probably would never order fish from a cart. But I’m telling you, they’re missing out! This sandwich was better than any Filet o’ Fish, for sure. It was meaty, freshly fried, and just hit the spot.

Sandwich innards - packed with fried whiting, lettuce, tomato, mayo

I also got a side order of French fries for $1.50. They were packed into a Styrofoam container so they got a bit steamed on my way back to my office, but for streetcart fries they were pretty good. They were the thinner cut fries that I like, lightly salted, and topped with ketchup per my request.

Thin cut french fries

Overall I absolutely loved Kim’s Aunt Kitchen Cart. My fried whiting sandwich was better than I expected it to be and completely satisfying. I would gladly skip meat for this sandwich, and I would eat it on non-Fridays as well. There are other options at the cart as well, including chicken and bulgogi platters with lo mein, but I’ll probably stick with the fried fish sandwich. Please trust me and get over any streetcart food fears – it’s worth a taste! And the cart’s motto is also great:

Food IS love!

Minar (multiple locations)
138 West 46th St. between 6th and 7th Ave.
New York, NY

Kim’s Aunt Kitchen Cart
46th St. between 5th and 6th Ave.
New York, NY

Tags: Fries, Indian, Lunch, Midtown, Seafood
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Pizza Plus

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 by virginia

The latest delivery place on our pizza quest was Pizza Plus on 9th Ave. They left some delivery menus in the mail room of our apartment building and it looked like they had a lot of different options so we decided to give it a shot. We actually liked our pizza order so much the first time that we ordered from them again later in the week. Both times we placed an order online through their website, which also included 20% off coupon codes – that’s always a plus. The first time we ordered, our food arrived in a decent amount of time and the cheese pizza looked pretty promising.

Cheese pizza

The crust was thin and there was good cheese coverage on the slice. The cheese was flecked with oregano, giving it a bit more flavor and a fresher taste. The sauce wasn’t overly sweet or overpowering.

Lots of seasoning and herbs in the sauce and on the cheese

The crust was nicely browned and somewhat crispy, though the pizza was slightly cold when it arrived so it was a bit chewier than I would have preferred. Overall it wasn’t too bad, but it would have been much better had it been served hot.

Underside shot

We also got an order of garlic knots, which were big and puffy but didn’t have enough garlic flavor or seasoning. They were quite bland and very uninteresting.

Bland garlic knots

Deviating from the norm, we got an order of buffalo wings. I wasn’t expecting too much out of buffalo wings from a pizza place, but these weren’t terrible. They were decently meaty and covered in a vinegary hot sauce. Again, these would have been better had they been served hot, as they would up being chewy rather than crispy.

Buffalo wings

Last but not least, we got an order of french fries. These were on the thicker end of the fry spectrum but they were fried to a well done, so they weren’t too soft or soggy in the middle. They weren’t too greasy, and for delivery fries, they weren’t bad.

Decent french fries

Overall we were pretty pleased with our first order from Pizza Plus, so we decided to give them another shot in the same week, hoping that we had finally found our go-to delivery pizza place. Again we ordered online, but this time, our food took forever to come. After waiting for almost an hour, we decided to call them up and see what was going on, as they’re not located too far from our apartment. They told us that the delivery had left already, so we waited a bit more.

After another while, we got a phone call from the delivery man saying that he couldn’t find our apartment, and that he was on 58th St. and 6th Ave. Umm, that is nowhere near our apartment. We live pretty much a straight shot down 9th Ave. from where Pizza Plus is located. How in the world did the delivery guy end up on 6th Ave.?? This time it wasn’t my fault, as we had definitely put in the right address.

Needless to say, when our pizza finally showed up, it was ice cold. If I thought the pizza wasn’t hot enough the first time, the second time it might as well have been sitting in the fridge for a few hours. Don’t get me wrong, I love cold pizza as much as the next person, but I like hot pizza better. And when I order a fresh pizza from somewhere, I expect it to be served hot.

Cold and stiff pizza

The crust was hard, and the cheese had congealed into one solid mass. We ended up putting slices into the oven to reheat, which only meant that our dinner was delayed even more.

Cold and congealed cheese on top

The chicken parm hero we ordered was also stone cold, and into the oven it went as well. Even after reheating, it was pretty bad. The chicken had been chopped into smaller pieces, and they were hard and dry. The cheese on top was clumpy, and it just wasn’t a good sandwich overall.

Disappointingly bad chicken parm hero

The fries were the same kind as the first time, but they also needed reheating in the oven as they were ice cold and hard.

Cold fries

We were extremely unhappy the second time around, as we just couldn’t understand how they messed up our order. We don’t live so far from the restaurant, and they should have looked up our address if they weren’t sure where it was, even though they found us just fine the first time. How the delivery man ended up on 6th Ave. is just mind boggling to me. They ruined our dinner and didn’t even attempt to make amends in any way. That’s just service I can’t condone, and sadly, I don’t think we’ll be ordering from them again. Even though the pizza had such potential, it’s never delivered to us hot, and at that point, it’s just not worth it. And so, the quest continues.

Pizza Plus
642 9th Ave. at 45th St.
New York, NY

Tags: Chicken, Delivery, Fries, Midtown West, Pizza
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P.J. Clarke’s

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010 by virginia

Josh and I both love burgers and have hit up most of the famous spots in the city – Corner Bistro, Shake Shack, Burger Joint, and JG Melon, to name a few – but we had never been to P.J. Clarke’s. When we lived downtown, they opened up a branch in the World Financial Center, just a few blocks from where we lived. When we moved uptown we saw that there was a branch close by near Lincoln Center. But I purposely avoided both locations because I was adamant that we eat at the original location on the east side first. And for whatever reason, we never got around to going.

Finally, one Saturday afternoon, Josh was tired of my excuses and dragged me across town to the original P.J. Clarke’s for lunch. Even though it was late in the afternoon, the place was packed. There were tons of people lined up at the bar having beers and watching sports, and there was a line for the dining room as well. Fortunately the wait wasn’t too bad, and soon we were seated in the back room, which was larger than I had expected. The decor was rustic, with lots of dark wood, red banquets, dim lighting, and brick walls. It had an old-time saloon feel to it, refined, yet casual.

The menu is actually pretty extensive, featuring raw bar items, soups, salads, and a variety of steaks, entrees, and sandwiches. We were here for the burgers though, so that made our decision pretty easy. The only thing we had to debate was which side items we wanted to try. We ended up with an order of french fries and an order of onion strings. The french fries were fantastic, served piping hot and crispy. They were the thin kind that I like and were nicely salted on the outside, soft and potato-y on the inside. It was a generous portion served in a metal container but I wish that I had gotten my own serving!

Thin and crispy french fries

If the portion of fries was generous, then the portion of onion strings was ginormous. A huge tangle of thinly cut, breaded, and deep fried onions slices was piled on a large plate. When the strings first came out they were warm, flavorful, and crispy, but as they had time to sit they got really greasy and soggy. We barely got through half the pile before we had to give up. Too bad, because they started out great.

Huge tangle of onion strings

The main attraction, however, was of course the burgers. Josh opted for “The Cadillac”, a burger topped with bacon and cheese. The burger was cooked medium rare upon request and very juicy. I took a bite and thought the bacon overpowered the burger patty, but Josh really enjoyed it and inhaled it quickly.

The Cadillac burger (bacon and cheese)

I stuck with a plain hamburger, garnished only with some raw onion and ketchup. My patty was equally juicy, and you can see in the picture the bottom bun turning red from soaking up the juices.

Juicy plain burger

My burger was also perfectly cooked to medium rare, though I thought the meat was a bit mushy. The patty didn’t have a nicely charred outer crust so the texture was uniformly soft throughout. I also wish the patty had been seasoned a bit more but flavor-wise, it had sort of a nice dry-aged steak quality to it that really set it apart from other burgers that we’ve had.

Autopsy shot

Overall Josh and I both enjoyed the burgers we had at P.J. Clarke’s, though neither of us thought it was our favorite burger in the city (currently we prefer Corner Bistro). The burgers have good flavor to them and while the patties aren’t huge, they’re a decent size. The prices, however, are on the higher end, though that seems to be the trend lately. A plain burger runs about $9, and The Cadillac was around $11.50. Sides cost extra, generally about $5-$6 each. So while $15 isn’t outrageous for a burger and fries, it’s not exactly cheap either. But you can take heart in knowing that you’re paying for a quality burger, and if you go to the original location, you’re experiencing a NYC landmark. I’m glad that I held out in making my first P.J. Clarke’s burger one from the original, and now we can enjoy the closer Lincoln Center location in the future.

P.J. Clarke’s (multiple locations)
915 Third Ave. at 55th St.
New York, NY

Tags: Burgers, Fries, Midtown East
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Luigi’s

Monday, March 1st, 2010 by virginia

I realize that I’ve been slacking on my pizza quest posts, but the sad thing is that there’s just not much to post about. Our last few pizza deliveries have been very disappointing, and I think we really are going to run out of delivery options before we find a good go-to place. I scoured our remaining options on MenuPages and came up with Luigi’s, which was nearby on 8th Ave. I placed our standard order and it definitely arrived quickly, so bonus points for that. The pizza, however, left much to be desired.

Extra large cheese pizza

The cheese to sauce ratio was off, with way too much overly sweet tomato sauce overpowering the flavor of everything. The crust was pretty pedestrian and reminded me of chain restaurant pizza. It was also overly sweet and uniformly brown on the bottom, not crispy or soggy, but just kind of chewy. This pie definitely lacked any pizzazz that would set it apart.

Underside shot

The chicken parm hero was decent though. The bread was toasty enough and the cheese was mostly melted but there was also too much sauce, which made everything soggy very quickly.

Chicken parm hero

My favorite part was the French fries, which were the thinner variety that I prefer, and decently crispy. But it’s a pretty sad day when the best thing from a pizza joint is the French fries.

French fries

I was extremely disappointed with our pizza from Luigi’s. The food gets pretty decent reviews online but it was probably the worst pizza of the bunch since we started our quest. I probably would have been better off ordering from Domino’s, just to give you an idea of how bad it was (although admittedly, the new garlic crust from Domino’s does intrigue me). Too much sauce, weirdly clumpy cheese, and a subpar crust simply doesn’t merit a repeat order from us. And so, the quest continues.

Luigi’s
936 8th Ave. between 55th and 56th St.
New York, NY

Tags: Delivery, Fries, Midtown, Pizza, Sandwiches
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White Manna

Sunday, February 28th, 2010 by virginia

Josh and I grew up less than five minutes away from the White Manna hamburger stand in Hackensack, NJ but we never ate there until after we had moved into the city. It’s kind of sad when we think about how many burgers we missed out on over the years so whenever we’re home visiting our parents, we always try to make a trip to White Manna either for lunch or a quick snack. In recent years, however, the stand’s popularity has really increased due to more exposure on food blogs and on TV shows, such as Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. As a result, every time we try to go, the line is usually out the door.

The restaurant is tiny and has approximately 20 stools altogether. The prime spots are at the main counter where you can watch the burgers cooking on the large griddle. Surprisingly, it’s not too difficult to get a seat even when the restaurant is busy, as most people take their orders to go.

The menu

The menu is posted up on the wall behind the main counter. In addition to burgers, they also offer cheesesteaks and breakfast items such as omelets, though I’ve never seen anyone order breakfast. I wonder if they really do even make those? While it can get a bit hectic, especially when it’s crowded and people are packed into the small space, there’s still some semblance of order. People line up and call out their burger requests to the cook manning the grill, and it’s amazing that nothing is written down, yet the cook always remembers each order exactly. To prevent from sounding like a newbie, there are a few simple rules to remember:

1. Know where you are in line. Though people try to line up single file down the middle of the restaurant, the line tends to mash up when more people try to smush their way into the restaurant. The people working behind the counter don’t know who’s next so everyone is on the honor system to order only when it’s their turn. If you call out when it’s not your turn, the people ahead of you will make it quite known that you’re out of order.

2. When it’s your turn to order, call out to the cook what kind of burgers you want and how many of each. When ordering your burgers, you can either get it with cheese or without, with onions or without, and single or double patties. It’s important to note that the cook only takes burger orders. If you want a drink or french fries, someone else behind the counter will take that order.

3. When your burgers are almost ready, the cook will ask if you’re staying or going. If you’re staying, they’ll pile your burgers onto a paper plate with a large handful of pickle slices. There are ketchup, mustard, and hot sauce bottles on the counters so you can use whichever condiments you prefer. If you’re taking your order to go, you’ll have to tell them if you want pickles, and which condiments to put on the burgers. Each burger is then wrapped individually in wax paper and given to you in a paper bag.

4. When you’re paying, it’s up to you to remember exactly what you ordered as there is no bill or check. Usually when you eat in, you can pay when you’re finished. Just remember that there are no free refills on soda, so count each drink individually.

5. While service is informal, it’s still nice to leave a tip for the cook and the counter workers as they’re really busy standing on their feet all day getting orders out as quickly as possible to keep up with the demand. There’s a tip bucket on the counter in front of the cook so you can just drop in a few bucks before you leave. Prices are super cheap so it’s easy to leave a decent tip, percentage-wise.

On this particular visit, Josh and I had been craving White Manna burgers for months so we decided that we would stay no matter what the line looked like. As usual, when we pulled up, the line was snaking its way out the door. We waited outside for a few minutes until more space opened up inside, and then we squeezed our way into the tiny restaurant. I snagged some empty counter seats for us while Josh stood in line to place our order.

Even though the line was relatively long, it only took about 10 minutes for our turn to order, and another 20 minutes to get the food. It wasn’t super fast, but it wasn’t too long either, and we entertained ourselves by observing how the burgers are made.

Watching the burgers cooking up on the griddle

We also got two sodas and an order of fries, which came almost immediately so we munched on the fries while we waited for our burgers. The fries are the crinkle cut frozen variety, a la the Shake Shack, but they’re always just-fried, piping hot, crispy on the outside, and have nice potato flavor on the inside.

Crispy crinkle cut french fries

We got five hamburgers and five cheeseburgers, all singles and with onions. They’re not huge burgers, maybe a little over an ounce each, so they’re closer to sliders than regular burgers.

A pile of burgers with pickle slices on the side

The cheeseburgers are each covered with a slice of American cheese that are the perfect size for these small patties. The onions are sliced super thin so they get nice and caramelized during their time on the griddle, and they add an extra boost of flavor.

Cheeseburger with onions, up close

The hamburgers seemed just a bit drier in texture, mostly because they didn’t have the coating of melted cheese. The burger patties are so small that they’re not really cooked to order, so some may get a bit more well done than others. The meat is somewhat coarsely ground and the patties are broken up a bit when they’re smashed on the griddle, resulting in a looser texture. The Martin’s potato rolls that they use are just perfect for soaking up all the juices that come off the burgers and the onions, and I love the squishiness of the buns.

Hamburger with pickles and onions, up close

We ended up getting way more food than we could actually eat, as the burgers are bigger and more filling than you think. Not a problem, we just got some wax paper from one of the counter workers and wrapped up the extra burgers to go. And the cost of our burger feast that included five hamburgers, five cheeseburgers, an order of fries, and three medium sodas? Just $20.06 after tax. We tossed a couple of bucks into the tip bucket and walked out with full bellies and a sack of leftover burgers, perfect for snacking on later. And when we left, the line was still out the door.

White Manna
358 River Street
Hackensack, NJ

Tags: Burgers, Fries, NJ
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NC – Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits

Thursday, February 25th, 2010 by virginia

I don’t usually write about fast food places unless it’s something that I don’t usually have access to, like In N Out. I was craving fried chicken so my brother took me to Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits, a southern fried chicken chain similar to Popeyes.

We picked up a 20 piece box that came with 10 biscuits. The chicken was lightly floured and fried, and the seasoning on the outside really packed a good kick. It wasn’t super spicy but there were some bites that made my mouth tingle. The skin was slightly greasy but not worse than most fast food fried chicken joints. I really liked the flavor though, and it was still piping hot when we brought it home.

Nicely seasoned fried chicken

For people who want an extra spicy kick, they provided us with plenty of Cajun spicy sauce packets. The sauce was more vinegary than spicy, and reminded me a bit of an acidic buffalo sauce.

Vinegary hot sauce

The biscuits were fantastic – crispy out the outside and soft and crumbly in the middle. For even better results, pop a few in a toaster oven for a couple of minutes to really crisp up the outside. The flavor was sweet, salty, and buttery all at the same time. Yum!

Buttery biscuits

We also got a picnic sized order of fries. The fries were in between regular fries and steak fries, meaning they were wider than most but not too thick. They were lightly seasoned on the outside with a mix of Cajun spices but were slightly soggy.

Seasoned fries

Overall I thought the fried chicken from Bojangles’ was pretty good, though I’m not a fried chicken connoisseur. I liked it better than Roy Rogers and found it to be better seasoned than KFC, though I think I prefer the thicker breading on KFC chicken. The fries were a pass but the biscuits were delicious, some of the best that I’ve had from a fast food joint. If you’re passing by on the highway, it’s not a bad place to stop for some Cajun style fried chicken. It looks like they have locations all over the South, and also in Pennsylvania.

Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits (multiple locations)
5425 South Miami Boulevard
Durham, NC

Tags: Biscuits, Fried Chicken, Fries
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NC – Ole Time Barbecue

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 by virginia

As promised, as soon as we landed in Raleigh, my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew picked us up from the airport and we headed straight to Ole Time Barbecue for lunch. The restaurant was smaller than we expected, and completely packed when we arrived, which is usually a good sign. Fortunately we didn’t have to wait too long for a table, though it was a bit of a tight squeeze with Alexander’s car seat. They brought us a basket of hush puppies to munch on while we looked over the menu.

The menu cover

These hush puppies were fantastic! Hot, crispy on the outside, soft in the middle, and full of corn flavor. They were irregularly shaped and clearly homemade, unlike the perfect logs that we’ve gotten at other bbq restaurants in the area. They were addictive and we polished off the basket quickly.

Amazingly good hush puppies

The combination meals seemed like the best way to try the most dishes. Josh and my brother both opted for hand chopped bbq pork and bbq chicken. The bbq chicken was falling off the bone tender and pretty tasty, while the chopped bbq pork was soft and super vinegary. Both were made even better after being doused in the acidic bbq sauce and tangy hot sauce.

Hand chopped bbq pork and bbq chicken

For his sides, Josh selected the french fries (at my request) and fried okra. The fries were pretty bad – cold and soggy – but the fried okra was delicious. The little crunchy breaded slices of okra were bursting with flavor, and not slimy in the least. I may have found one of my new favorite side dishes.

Crunchy pieces of fried okra in front, limp and soggy fries in back

My sister-in-law had the chopped bbq pork and Brunswick stew combination, with sides of collard greens and fried apple sticks. The stew was meaty, but the portion was small compared with the other combinations.

Unfortunately, I had the worst meal of the bunch. I opted for the full rack of baby back ribs, which were so dry and tough that never mind trying to pull them apart with my fingers, I couldn’t even cut through the meat with a knife and fork. The meat was flavorless and stringy, and I ate about two ribs before giving up. What a huge disappointment. My sides of collard greens and baked beans were good, but nothing could salvage the awful ribs.

Dried out baby back ribs, tangy collard greens, and sweet baked beans

Overall I think we were all disappointed by the food we had at Ole Time Barbecue. It came recommended to us by a reader who commented about our dining choices during our first trip to Raleigh, plus it was featured on the Food Network show Road Tasted with the Neelys. While the hush puppies definitely lived up to expectations, everything else was downhill from there. I did like it better than Danny’s Bar-B-Que but it was nowhere near as good as Smokey’s BBQ Shack. The barbecue at Ole Time simply wasn’t as flavorful or as meltingly tender, and the ribs were just terrible. I know my Northern palate isn’t up to the same Southern standards, but dry is dry. None of the meats were really outstanding, and unfortunately, I don’t think that we’ll be going back the next time we’re in NC.

Ole Time Barbecue (multiple locations)
6309 Hillsborough St.
Raleigh, NC

Tags: BBQ, Fries, NC, Pork, Ribs
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Carnegie Deli

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 by virginia

Josh and I have kind of been apartment hunting on and off for the last three years. At one point we were really into it, going to several open houses each weekend. Our search has tapered off in the last few months but we saw an interesting listing in Midtown and decided to check it out during lunch on a weekday. The apartment was a bust so to make ourselves feel better, we decided to grab lunch at the famed Carnegie Deli nearby and drown our sorrows in a mountain of corned beef and pastrami.

Neither of us had been to the Carnegie Deli before, nor have we ventured to any of the other landmark NYC delis like Katz’s or the 2nd Avenue Deli, but we’re no strangers to deli fare. We were seated in the back room and noshed on some pickles while we looked around at all the pictures on the walls of the famous people who have dined at the Carnegie Deli.

Just a small sample of all the pictures hanging on the walls

Josh and I both preferred the half sour pickles, as they had a crunchier texture and a fresher flavor. The sour pickles were pretty limp and overly acidic, tasting like they had been hanging out in the brine for far too long.

Pickles to nosh on

We decided to halfsies on a corned beef sandwich and a pastrami sandwich, knowing full well that we wouldn’t be able to finish either portions. The size of the sandwiches definitely didn’t disappoint, as each was almost four inches high and spilling meat out onto the plate. I thought the corned beef was a bit too lean, however, resulting in a dry, almost crumbly texture. A generous schmear of mustard fixed that though, and we also asked for more bread to make more manageable sandwich portions for ourselves.

Corned beef sandwich

The pastrami we got was a much fattier cut and more tender as a result. It definitely had a smokier flavor than the corned beef, though I thought both were pretty comparable in terms of seasoning.

Pastrami sandwich

We also got a side of French fries, which were boasted as being cholesterol free. They were fat crinkle cut fries, similar to Nathan’s, and were surprisingly crispy on the outside and very potato-y on the inside. I typically don’t like thicker cut fries but these were perfectly cooked and not at all greasy.

Crinkle cut french fries

Despite our best efforts, we had tons of leftovers. Our waitress gave us sheets of waxed paper and bags so that we could pack up the rest of our sandwiches. Even though we had stuffed ourselves silly, we still ended up an entire half of the pastrami sandwich, plus 1/3 of the other half, as well as half of the corned beef sandwich.

We ended up eating the pastrami for dinner that night, cooking it up with scrambled eggs and eating it on toasted bagels. Even that was almost too much food, but I liked how the fattiness of the pastrami allowed it to hold up well during the cooking process, and its saltiness matched well with the eggs.

Pastrami and egg scramble on a toasted bagel

Overall Josh and I both enjoyed our impromptu lunch at Carnegie Deli, and the fact that we didn’t have to worry about what to eat for dinner later that night. At first glance, $15 for a sandwich might seem ridiculous, but when you think about it, it’s really at least two sandwiches, even for the heartiest eater. That means it’s actually not that bad price-wise, especially for Midtown. While the corned beef and pastrami weren’t the best that I’ve ever had, they were still pretty tasty. Besides, part of the appeal is going for the ambiance – to look at all the pictures on the walls and try to pick out your favorite stars, and to interact with the surly, no-nonsense waitresses. Even though some might dismiss it as touristy, when you’re there, you can’t help but feel like you’re experiencing a part of NYC history. Just make sure to bring cash (no credit cards), and to ask for extra bread to deconstruct your sandwich, unless you can figure out a way to detach your jaw!

Carnegie Deli
854 7th Ave. at 55th St.
New York, NY

Tags: Deli, Fries, Lunch, Midtown, Sandwiches
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