First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:
When my wife and I first walked by here, they let us try some falafel for free. It was delicious, so we were sold. I ran it back when using the Too Good to Go app, and for $7 I got this awesome box of chicken shawarma over rice with a salad.
I’ll definitely be back to try more stuff, especially the Philly cheesesteak. I’ve been searching for a good one in the area.
ZAAD
250 Broome St.
New York, NY 10002
First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:
This spot is pretty good. I might go back for the fried chicken bites and perhaps to try the burger, which looked good when it came out to another person’s table.
BETTY
193 Henry St.
New York, NY 10002
First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:
This spot recently opened down by Two Bridges, and I’ve been psyched to try it out.
We got five items; three mains and two sides.
1. The Blackened Chicken Sandwich
This was probably my favorite of all the items. It has a distinctly earthy Mexican flavor to it from the Oaxaca cheese and pickled jalapeños. Absolute banger.
2. Chili Quarter Chicken
I expected this to be wetter, spicier and saltier based on what I’ve seen on Instagram to date, but it was still goo. A bit expensive at $9 without a side, but I’d definitely get it again (perhaps the extra hot version though).
3. Salted Egg Wings
These were delicious. No dipping sauce needed! The batter from the salted yolk comes in nice and crisp, and with the wings being slightly smaller than your typical bar room Buffalo wings, you get a perfect ratio or meat to crisp with every bite.
4. Chicken Salt Fries
These could have used a bit more crisp on them, but they were tasty. Also – not too salty! Nicely seasoned, as a matter of fact.
5. Charred Cukes w/Ginger
These were unique! Charring the cucumber softens them a bit and adds a different flavor profile to them that I’ve never experienced before. The ginger sauce isn’t too pungent, so you still get all that fresh cucumber flavor to cool off from the spicy food between bites.
PECKING HOUSE CHICKEN
83 Henry Street
Shop 1
New York, NY 10002
First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:
This secretive omakase joint in the back of an ice cream shop serves up 14 or 18 course omakase meals with unlimited sake for just $96 or $126, respectively.
My favorite pieces were the snappers, scallop and tuna. But the real stars of the show were the appetizers: cod sperm sack and chawanmushi with uni and crab meat!
Snappers:
Scallop:
Tuna:
I can’t believe I ate cum. And I’ll definitely be back for more, especially the soft serve ice cream (not made from cum).
Here are some of the other items:
The cum was torched:
SHHH
113 Division St.
New York, NY 10002
My wife and I came here twice. The first visit was just for a snack and a drink, so I never wrote it up. But now that we’ve had a full meal here, I figured I would put together a review from both experiences.
On the first visit, we had drinks, an Israeli scotch egg, and some cake. They have a nice selection of beer and wine. Saison Dupont is my favorite of all time.
The Israeli scotch egg is surrounded by falafel, which was unique and delicious.
On the second visit we did some entrees. My wife had the lamb burger, which comes with crunchy slaw and a harissa mayo. She added Gruyere cheese at the owner’s suggestion. It was absolutely delicious. Easily a top three lamb burger.
I had the chicken schnitzel plate, which came with fries and a salad. The schnitzel was unique in that it was breaded with a sesame seed batter!
I really liked it.
The cake we had on our first visit was a flourless chocolate birthday cake, which, I think, may have even been vegan. I liked it more than my wife did.
We will definitely be back to try more items from Eastwood. Super friendly staff, great prices, and great food!
EASTWOOD
200 Clinton St.
New York, NY 10002
First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:
This small burrito joint just opened up on Orchard Street in the lower east side. I had heard great things about it before learning that Golden Packing supplies their beef and chicken! Once I heard that, I was all in! I tried three different burritos: shrimp, chicken and beef.
Check out the grill marks!
The shimp burrito is the owner’s favorite, so I had to give it a try. It’s chock full of perfectly cooked, big, juicy shrimp. There’s a nice sauce in there too, along with the guacamole, beans and onions.
That’s right – NO RICE in these burritos. All substance. No filler.
The carne asada beef/steak burrito is made with high end middle meats and strip steak from Golden Packing, most of it being prime grade. The caramelized onions give you a steak sandwich vibe. Delicious.
My favorite, though, was the chicken burrito. They use thigh meat, which is the ultimate for retaining juiciness and flavor.
This place is absolutely incredible. Don’t be intimidated by the crowds in front. Most of them are just waiting for their order as opposed to lining up.
SON DEL NORTH
177 Orchard St.
New York, NY 10002
First, check out my episode of Around the Hood in 8 Minutes HERE:
We hit a bunch of places, so let me just get down to business!
First was Sun Hing Lung, which I already covered in a previous Ride & Review HERE, so check that out!
This time I added an egg to the Chinese sausage and mixed veggies roll. It was divine! Noodles here are always a bit mushy, but you really can’t beat it for the price. Adding all of the sauces is the right move (peanut, soy, hoisin and hot sauce).
Chang Lai Fishballs Noodles
They ran out of rice rolls by time we arrived here, but the curry fish balls mixed with pork skin was the best bite of the day, by far. Make sure you try that!
Yin Ji Chang Fen
This is where we really got our rice roll fix. We tried five or six different rice rolls, but the clear favorites were the truffle and mushroom, the fried dough, and the special dried shrimp and scallion rolls.
New Kam Hing Coffee Shop
The sponge cake here is famous, so we had to give it a try. I have to say it was really unique and tasty. Not really my thing, in general, but I can see the appeal.
Dumpling Story
This new spot was really nice inside. We tried four different dumpling items: truffle pork soup dumplings, spicy crab meat with pork soup dumplings, chicken pot stickers and fried pork soup dumplings. Of those, the crab and fried pork were probably tied for the best. The fried beef udon noodles were excellent! Great texture and flavor.
SUN HING LUNG
58 Henry St.
New York, NY 10002
CHANG LAI FISHBALLS NOODLES
55 Bayard St.
Store B
New York, NY 10013
YIN JI CHANG FEN
91 Bayard St.
New York, NY 10013
NEW KAM HING COFFEE SHOP
118 Baxter St.
New York, NY 10013
DUMPLING STORY
250 Grand St.
New York, NY 10002
First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:
My wife and I tried four items here. We would have tried more, but a few things were not yet available (they just opened).
The pork belly was thinly sliced and really delicious. The rice quality here is top notch as well.
I really enjoyed the egg rolls as well.
We tried two soups: the chicken pho and beef pho.
Both were good. My wife preferred the beef over the chicken, and I was the reverse.
My wife makes both better at home, but this place is good for the price, I think it’s better than a lot of the other spots in Chinatown in the same price range. We will definitely be back to try more items when they are fully rolling.
PHO GA VANG
30 Market St.
New York, NY 10002
First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:
This joint, run by the same folks as Cervos, just opened nearby. My wife and I tried five items:
Squid Pintxos
These were awesome. I would get them again and again. I only wish there was more on the plate! Perfectly fried and dressed, and really nice toasty bread underneath. I was transported back to San Sebastian.
Fried Mussels
I would pass on these. They tasted like canned or tinned mussels that were breaded and fried. A bit too potent. I’m curious if they might be better on another night. Perhaps just a funky batch?
White Shrimp
Best item of the night. These were perfectly cooked and dressed in a deliciously light and garlicky tomato sauce and drizzled with olive oil. Make sure you ask for extra sourdough to soak up the sauce!
Rainbow Trout
I was surprised that this was a whole fish (deboned)! It was really light but flavorful. I would get it again.
Burger
Yes – that burger has fried anchovies on it. It wasn’t as nasty as I expected. It was actually tasty, in a way. The roquefort lessened the fishy flavor, but it did feel like I was eating a burger on the seaside. Nice medium rare temp with a good crust too. I probably wouldn’t get it again, but I’m glad I tried it.
We will definitely be back to try more items! FYI: There is no eel on the menu, at all.
EEL BAR
252 Broome St.
New York, NY 10002
Red Lion is a Bleecker Street bar that’s been around forever. They started offering 50-cent wings on Wednesdays, so me and some buddies took our Zooz bikes out for a ride to check them out.
The wings were pretty good! The best flavor was hot – way better than mild, garlic parm or bbq.
The tacos joint was great. Nice budget friendly tacos at under $5 each, and on Tuesdays they are even cheaper for “Taco Tuesday.”
Here’s a video of the food:
At the end, you can see us grabbing some boilermakers at 169 Bar. $6 beer and a shot!
RED LION
151 Bleecker St.
New York, NY 10012
EL CABRON TAQUERIA
26 Essex St.
New York, NY 10002
