Grubby: TipicoBK

On a recent Friday night, we were led by Stan to this new Williamsburg spot. I have no idea what really constitutes Paraguayan food, but it was similar in some ways to the Argentinean food I've had in the past.
Pictured below is a steak milenesa. The egg made this thing - runny yolk and crispy fried breading, so good.





Stan is eating some stew here. This and the pulled pork sandwich were both enjoyed.
They have yerba mate too, nice.
Honestly, we'll see if this place makes it. I could see it folding but hopefully it lasts as it is a good option in the area.

I will not go into what occurred after dinner, but it included a trip to the most depressing emergency room in NY. Get better Krista!

Grubby: Max

Small and candlelit, Max is a great date spot that I highly recommend. I really like this place and I always order the same thing: lasagna. Oh my god...it is so good. The sauce is possibly the darkest, deepest shade of red I've seen for a tomato sauce. Yet, there is the taste of cream in every bite. Served in individual casserole dishes, each order is good for at least two meals. You'll get to take a delicious lunch to work the next day.


Gnocchi proved tasty as well. I haven't tried the rest of the pasta dishes but the price is right at $10-15 a dish.
Really, it's the lasagna you want.



Info: 51 Avenue B

Grubby: Dumpling House

Also called Vanessa's Dumplings (bought by new owner?), I thought this spot was really good. Big crowd there around dinner time and not a lot of tables. Everything is cheap as shit. The sesame sandwiches looked great but Julia got a veggie one and all I could think about was how much better a pork and egg one would be. Also don't get a veggie bun - tasted like rotting fungus.

Do get pork and chive dumplings. So good for so cheap. Julia thought the dough was too think - whatever. Extra dough is nothing to scoff at.
Can't tell how much better/worse it really it is than other dumpling spots as dumplings are pretty much impossible to fuck up and almost always taste good. Anyone want to go back with me and get a pork & egg sesame sandwich and more dumplings? Oh, the honey lemon tea was sweet, figuratively and literally.


Info: 118 Eldridge

Grubby: Tasty Dumpling

Another choice for dirt cheap dumplings. Not nearly as pro as Dumpling House - just a grimy little kitchen with a couple grimy little tables. But c'mon, it's $1.50 for five competent pan-fried pork and chive dumplings. Use the tar-like sauce, it be good.

This picture really didn't turn out...we gotta get a better camera!

Info: 54 Mulberry

Grubby: Chatham Square Dim Sum

Stan, good job man. You did well guiding your first food adventure. Dim Sum, ice cream and Dance Dance Revolution - powerful combo. I don't know what was with the mellow vibe - maybe no alcohol? Too early in the day? Big crowd? New faces? No hype man? Fuck it. Shake it off.

Dim Sum was good - although we knew very little of what we were eating. Lots of buns. And rolls. And goopy dough. Few on the wait staff speak much English - but you order with a pencil and paper, so no problems there. Try the bamboo fungus roll. The translucent jelly cube has lychee in it.


I really liked these pork buns...almost a bbq sauce thing going on.

Behold: Krista's right hand in all of its dexterous glory. We won't see fork action like this from Krista for a few more weeks, but I'm sure her left hand will compensate until the cast is off. Enjoy your painkillers Krista and get better.

Sauces. I love sauces.

Two fly boys.

Info: 6 Chatham Square

Grubby: Chinatown Ice Cream

It's a must-go.

The "Regular" flavas: Sesame, Ginger, Taro, Green Tea, Zen Butter (sesame/peanut butter), almond cookie, Lychee sorbet, etc.

The "Exotic": Vanilla, Chocolate, Chocolate-Peanut Butter, etc.

Unless you're getting the Choco-peanut butter (Always a top 2 flavor for me, anywhere), stick with the "Regular" if you know what's good for you.

I scream. You scream?

Photoshopped Phlyers of Phood Phun #4

Courtesy of Stan

Grubby: Salut

For our third weekly Food Adventure, we traveled into Rego Park, Queens in search of Uzbeki food. As a result of its location wedged between three distinct civilizations, Uzbekistan cuisine is a melange of Russian, Middle Eastern, Jewish and a smidge of Asian cuisine. In other words, there is lots of lamb.


Is lamb any old sheep or only baby sheep? Doesn't matter to me; it is delicious when a sword is stabbed through it.



Salut was, frankly, amazing. It is out where Rego Park meets Flushing Meadows. It is a tiny little place, Russian tv and little English spoken, and with such a large group, we were lucky to be seated, but once we were, Baltika 9s and 3s were ordered right away.


Given that several in our crew were working off mean hangovers (someone who will go unnamed was celebrating his birthday Hasslehoff style, drunkingly chowing on McDonald's cheesburgers in a fancy hotel room the night before), we needed deliciousness and were not dissappointed. Kababs. Man, they are good. Get the lamb, get the beef and get some lamb rib (juicier, pinker, fattier and thus tastier than the regular lamb). I don't think I've ever had lamb as jucy. They might spritz it with vinegar before bringing to the table. Beef was preferred by some in the group.


A really nice, vinegarey shredded carrot salad was served. The above photo is of lamb cheburekis. Meat and pastry, triangulated and fried. Below are some amazing fries. Do you see the piles of garlic and parsley on the corner of the plate? Yes, you do.
And dear lord, the baba ganoush. I have never tasted eggplant like this - so creamy. They must put mayo or something in it because this is a rich, creamy dip.





Go to Salut. Now. You'll like it.

Info: 63-42 108th Street, Closed on Shabbas

Grubby: Cheburechnaya

Second on our Uzbek adventure was Cheburachnaya. Not nearly as good as Salut but it did have its positives. For one, it was BYOV (the V is for Russian Standard, the "best selling premium vodka in Russia" - see below.)



Cheburachnaya was more of a group/party spot compared with the cozy Salut. And it had this man running 20+ burners for kababs:


The specialty here are the chebureki - isosceles turnovers, perfectly golden, filled with either ground lamb, cabbage or pureed potato, and served with some kind of cross between salsa and gravy. Total toss-up on the prefered filling - some raved about the lamb while potato was cited by others as superior. These were my highlight.

Bowl-shaped, cracker-like bread called noni-toki was tossed about the group and used to scoop baba ganoush which was good but not nearly as good as Salut. The lamb kababs were also good but inferior to Salut. Way more gamey than what we had just sampled.



Basically, I would recommend Salut over Cheburachnaya to anyone in most situations, unless you are having a big group and want to celebrate. Cheburechnaya was kind of jumping for a Sunday afternoon. And they serve 4 types of Baltika. And you can bring your own vodka.

Am I being too harsh? Should I not be comparing the two? Leave your piece in the comments.

Info: 92-09 63 Drive; Closed during Shabbas

Photoshopped Phlyers of Phood Phun #3

Courtesy of Stan

Grubby: Lexington Candy Shop

If you are unfortunate enough to be wandering around the Upper East Side and in need of an $8 milkshake, this is your spot. Can't comment on the food but it looked like you probably should move along if you want anything but the most basic grilled cheese. Who knows, maybe the man controlling the tiny grill and fryer is actually a savant with sliced bread and mayo.

The fountain is a true throwback - the mint green Hamilton-Beach shake machines, the juicer, the soda water fountain and chocolate syrup pump have probably not changed in over 30 years. Prices on the other hand have adjusted accordingly. Given this, the $5 chocolate egg cream was good and the $5 lemonade was exceptional. I'm really not familiar with egg creams, and have heard that there is a debate about not only where the best egg creams are but even on what constitutes an egg cream. I do however know chocolate and this thing got five big pumps from the syrup container, giving it a dark cocoa tint.

I'm thinking this place survives on lottery ticket sales, loyal longtime customers and for allowing occasional film shoots cuz I'm just not seeing the draw. Nonetheless, if you stumble out of the Whitney, or find your self picking up craiglist furniture as we did (are there any other reasons to be on the Upper East Side?) and you are craving a malted or real-deal shake, give it shot.





Info: 1226 Lexington Ave.

Grubby: Izalco

If, by some chance an outside reader has stumbled upon this blog, I should explain that I lead a
motley gaggle of degenerates on weekly excursions in search of food, delicious encounters, kitsch, booze and general bizarreness. Food Adventure #2 took the crew on Robert Sietsema's trail of the great El Salvadoran cuisine of Queens. In one afternoon we hit up three resturaunts in two different Queens neighborhoods. Pupusas aplenty.




Our first stop took us to Woodside and the delicious Izalco. Izalco won the prize for best all-around Salvadoran, thanks I'm sure to a 4-foot abuelita in the kitchen. Tons-o-kitsch here with mirrored ceilings, stuffed armadillo and a "pink clam" not attached to a woman in the women's bathroom.

Pupusas came with a beautiful rainbow slaw of vinegar and spice. The horchata and tamarindo was enjoyed by most (I preferred Gallo). "Enchiladas" bore no resemblance to the mole and cheese creations of Mexico. These were more like tostadas with a bunch of salsa-ey chopped stuff on top. Superb. The salpicon is a must try. Micro-chopped beef, onions, lime, parsley, etc, served as a cold "salad". The soft elote tamales may have been my fav.

Really, every meal should come with sides of crema. The sweet cream made the fried plantains.


We left full, but with two more restaurants on our list we needed some liquid sustenance...

Info: 64-05 Roosevelt, Queens

Boozey: The MF Scorpion Bar

So, you've just filled up on pupusas and salpicon, you want a drink but don't want to step foot in
another Irish pub. And you have a craving for bodacious tittays. Scorpion is your place.


Maybe a shady hostess bar or just a futbol bar with T&A, the Scorpion served us what we needed: drinks at cheap prices, pool and crazy big boobs.

If anyone reads this and has any more info on this place - give us the scoop.


Info: ? (Sorry for no pics of the barmaids!)

Grubby: El Comal

All the way at the end of the Queens lines lies Jamaica. I think this place is chock-full of grub.

The second stop on our food adventure led us to El Comal. Holly God - the pupusas in this place! This was good shit. The best, Jerry, the best!

The masa-based pupusas tasted so fresh. They were fluffy - almost pancake-y. We enjoyed with frijoles y queso and, of course, the revueltas with shredded pork and queso.

Dominican Presidente was had all around. A few of us dug into some fried chicken which was "good but nothing special".


It is way the hell out there and the decor is better left unmentioned, but the pupusas were worth every minute on that train.

Info: 148-62 Hillside Ave.