This new sandwich joint and bar slings some great sandwiches. We ordered for delivery, but it was good enough to mention as a restaurant review here.
We tried a spicy mortadella, a Korean rib sandwich, a meatloaf banh mi, and a chicken Caesar salad sandwich. They have funky names and I forget which ‘wich is which.
The bread is great here, and if I had to choose favorites, I’d go with the banh mi and the mortadella.
CLUBHOUSE SANDOS & SUDS
22 Orchard St
New York, NY 10002
Holy Cow has been on my radar to try for a while. Last night, I finally made it in there to try both a burger and a chopped cheese.
Both were mediocre, but the burger was slightly better due to the crisp on the patty, and the overall flavors/special sauce. The buns were strangely dense and hard. The seasoned fries were great though.
Probably won’t be back, but definitely glad I finally tried it.
HOLY COW
34 Canal St
New York, NY 10002
First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:
My wife and I just walked by this place a few weeks ago and we were wondering if it was any good. Then, a few days ago, some friends of ours organized a lunch here. We were psyched to go.
This place is really known for their “blossom chicken,” which is basically a chicken that has had all the meat removed, chopped up, and mixed with shrimp paste to form a sort of chicken-shrimp sausage. Then it’s stuffed back into the skin and cooked until that skin gets golden crisp. It’s amazing!
We also had a really tender, delicious and savory braised pork belly dish. Make sure you order some rice to soak up those amazing juices.
The stuffed tofu (stuffed with pork sausage, I think) was good, but it was my least favorite of the main dishes. It just didn’t have the powerful punch of flavor like the others.
This stir fried white fish or bait fish dish was really tasty. I think this would benefit from a pop of spice, but the ginger in it was really refreshing.
If you’re looking for a big shared appetizer, get the sliced conch on ice. It’s heavy on the wasabi, but if you’re like me, that’s a good thing!
Last, we had some pea shoots with fried baby shrimp on the side. This was more soupy than I expected, as opposed to stir fried. It was still delicious though.
I will definitely be back here to try more dishes. Our waiter showed us a few more items that they consider specialties as he was bringing them to other tables (egg custard with clams, and lobster fried rice).
HAKKA CUISINE
11 Division St.
New York, NY 10002
First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:
Cellar 36 is a small wine and tapas bar located in Chinatown owned and operated by the same folks behind The Ten Bells, which I love. Like Ten Bells, Cellar 36 offers a great happy hour deal that includes $20 carafes and $1 oysters. We went for it.
I definitely recommend this spot, and I’ll definitely be back!
Cellar 36
36 Market St
New York, NY 10002
Check out my Ride & Review first HERE:
Kalye is a relatively new-ish (open since November 2022) Filipino food joint on the Lower East Side. My buddy Ivan (@eyebahnrides) wanted to check it out, so we made a video out of the occasion. We swapped bikes and each did a review of the other persons bike, then we finished up at Kalye.
We started with the lumpia and a little dish of macaroni salad. Both were great. They air fry here, so the lumpia weren’t greasy or oily. Great crisp, and this went perfectly with our first round of beer (San Miguel).
Next, we moved on to the sisig and lechon. Both of these pork dishes were incredible.
The lechon had such a great crisp on the skin, and the belly was rendered out and cooked perfectly. Both dishes were paired with a wonderful garlic rice, and we put down our second round of beer; Red Horse.
Last, dessert. Halo halo. Absolutely delicious ube soft serve ice cream atop chipped ice, coconut, sweet mung bean and grass jelly.
This place was excellent. The plan is to go back with our wives for a double date.
KALYE
251 Broome St
New York, NY 10002
First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:
My wife discovered this newly opened joint in our hood called Kaki. They have a 15-piece omakase that includes sake for just $75. WHAT A STEAL! The pieces are clean, beautiful and delicious. A bit more on the traditional side in terms of presentation.
Here’s a photo dump of all the pieces.
I will definitely be back. We really like this spot!
KAKI
129 Rivington St
New York, NY 10002
Cloud is a new Vietnamese place in the lower east side. After some drinks and snacks nearby, my wife and I decided to pop in to give a few items a try, particularly their coffee selections and their avocado shake.
We started with their non-traditional take on banh xeo, which was more like a pita bread cone with all the flavors of banh xeo inside. It wasn’t bad!
Then, we tried a soup called banh canh, which was almost like a cross between pho flavors and some Chinese noodle soups we used to get up in Hell’s Kitchen. I enjoyed it.
On the flip side, we didn’t like the egg coffee because it was laden with cooked egg particles. It wasn’t mixed in properly to make for smooth texture. I actually asked them for something to strain it with. After that, it was better.
Their peanut butter coffee was delicious, however.
The avocado shake needed some more sweetened condensed milk, but otherwise was nice.
I’m sure eventually I’ll try the banh mi and pho to fill out this review a bit more.
CLOUD
79 Clinton St
New York, NY 10002
First, check out my ass-kicking RIDE & REVIEW video for this restaurant HERE:
This place, whose name translates to Pistoia Wine Shop (Pistoia is a town in Tuscany), has some really amazing food.
We started with the guancia (pork cheek) and Tonno del Chianti (pork that tastes like tuna). Both were hands-down incredible.
Even their bread is a delicious mix of focaccia and country style.
Next we dove into some pasta. On was a special tagliatelle with sausage. Very good, although just a hint salty.
The other was a duck pappardelle which was lights out!
We finished the meal with the most perfect panna cotta I’ve ever had. Seriously.
FIASCETTERIA PISTOIA
647 E 11th Street
New York, NY 10009
I stopped in this joint for a sandwich while I was serving jury duty. I felt like the price was high for $11.50: turkey club and a seltzer. But it was decent.
They also had banh mi. Look at the HORROR/DEATH METAL font!
I grabbed one for the road. It was okay for the price, but I’ve had better.
SAM’S DELI
30 Mulberry St
New York, NY 10013
First, check out my short Ride & Review video HERE:
My wife and I finally got in here for a sandwich.
The place has been around for a long time, and I have to say, there’s a reason for it. The sandwiches are GREAT! This was a little expensive at $17, but when you compare to a place like Joey Roses ($8), which are smaller, the price makes sense. The quality is great from the bread to the Calabrian chili paste to the meats and mozz.
We went with the Uncle John (mortadella being the big selling point) and we added the chili paste.
I will definitely be back.
REGINA’S GROCERY
27 Orchard St
New York, NY 10002
