The Wayland is a nice bar at the corner of 9th Street and Avenue C that serves up some great deals at Happy Hour. Namely, $1.50 oysters, and a $12 “beer and burger” deal.
Both are top notch quality, and they really do a nice job with cocktails too, like this shallot infused gin gibson.
I can’t wait to go back and try more stuff. That “Lost Lady” burger was a killer double patty with American and a great special sauce. Nice and simple. Get here!
This self proclaimed “gringo taco joint” is really great, in my humble opinion. This is basic stuff – sort of like a high end, better version of Taco Bell.
We tried two tacos and a handheld burrito during their lunch special pricing (two tacos $9, comes with drink; burrito plus guac and chips for $12, comes with drink).
Both were great, with the pork carnitas taco being the best of all. Better than the beef and better than the chipotle chicken. We opted to eat at the bar and upgrade our drinks to frozen margaritas (we tried tamarind and cactus pear).
This new slice and pie joint on Avenue B near 14th Street serves up some really nice stuff. I went with the fresh mozz slice, and my wife went with this nice arugula and burrata Sicilian style slice.
Both great, but I think the crust on the square slice was better.
I’ll definitely be back to try some other slices as well as their lasagna!
My wife and I went on a little food and bar crawl this past weekend, and The Hairy Lemon was our first stop for a bite. We tried two flavors of wings: spicy orange and ginger sauce, and mango habanero. We liked the mango habanero better, but neither were particularly as spicy as we had hoped.
We also tried their tots. These were nice, but just needed a hint of salt. A nice dipping sauce came with them.
I’d definitely go back to try the burger, and to hang for some UFC fights. It’s a big sports bar with tons of TVs, a pool table, a giant Connect Four game, etc.
This St. Marks staple serves up a thick-ass burger for under $10.
Although both a bit under-seasoned, the burger and fries combo for under $14 is a steal, especially if you go on your birthday like I did, and save an extra $5.
PAUL’S DA BURGER JOINT
131 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10003
Check out my Ride & Review of this joint HERE first.
Long story short: you can kip this place! The pepperoni slice is fine, but at $5-$6 a slice, this place is a rip off.
I feel like you can do better at a good dollar slice joint. The toppings on this pesto and fresh mozz “Genovese” slice were nice, but the dough was a little gummy – maybe underbaked – and dense.
Finally, the official name of the restaurant is “Luzzo’s La Pizza Napoletana,” but there is nothing Neapolitan about this pizza. It’s a standard slice joint that’s oddly reminiscent of some national chain pizzerias, like Sbarro’s or Little Caesar’s.
First, check out this kickass Ride & Review video HERE:
– link –
My wife sent me an Instagram post from this place about a special burrata and mortadella app they were running. When I realized how close it was to our place, I called up and grabbed a reservation for dinner later that day. The food on their account looked awesome, and I’m always looking to try neighborhood joints like this.
The meal was incredible. First, let me say that the table bread was so good! They had an onion focaccia and some Italian bread, served with olive oil (watch the video to see it).
We started with that special burrata app, which had spicy salami, prosciutto and mortadella along with the burrata.
Next up, fritto misto, with calamari, shrimp and zucchini. LOTS of the seafood. Great portion!
We also had the grilled calamari, which is marinated in olive oil for a day before being grilled. This was lovely.
For the second half of the meal, we did two pastas and their smoked mozzarella chicken parm.
Although the cheese wasn’t bubbly or melted out, the dish was still really great. The chicken was pounded out enough to be tender, but not so thin that it lost juiciness.
The first pasta was a Sorrento style long, thick ribbon called scialatiella.
I love a thick pasta, and this was easily one of my favorite pasta dishes of the year.
Cavatelli with sausage, peas, and mushrooms in a white truffle cream sauce was next. This was so damn tasty. Cavatelli is typically my favorite pasta shape. All the pasta here is hand made in house, and really well made at that.
For dessert we tried the panna cotta. This was so smooth, creamy and delicious. The berry compote on the bottom was just the right amount of sweet acidity to cut that rich creaminess.
What a meal! We plan to be regulars here, and we can’t wait to go back. Check out the bottom line of the receipt. That shit had me cracking up!
My wife and I went to Down and Out in the East Village to try their crazy “double dozens” oyster happy hour. They currently offer two varieties of oysters for $1.50ea, but when you order a dozen, you get a second dozen for free. Essentially, they’re $0.75ea, which is the cheapest I’ve seen them in town!
We tried both the Kusshi (small ones, west coast of Canada) and Glidden Point (pictured above). My wife preferred the Kusshi, and I liked the ones from Glidden Point.
We also tried their “oyster pan roast,” which is a really nice bisque-like oyster and potato soup. It might not be much to look at in the photo, but I assure you it was delicious!
We also got down on their blue claw crab cake sandwich, which was nice and tasty, topped with a home made slaw.
They also serve a lot of high end canned fish items, like these sardines.
Their deviled quail eggs are good too. These come eight pieces per order.
Lots of these food items are discounted at happy hour, like the oysters. The happy hour runs daily from 4pm-7pm, and they also offer two different beers for $3, as well as discounted cocktails.
Most notable about this place, however, is the great whiskey selection, which includes some very rare, vintage bottles that the owner/bartender Josh secured from various estate sales.
He gave us some samples of a few really nice old bottles, like that Canadian Club from 1940! Soon there will be an entire separate menu of vintage whiskeys here, which will nearly double the current selection of whiskey on the menu. Stay tuned!
After trying their bourbon a few times and really enjoying it, I finally got over to Great Jones Distillery for some food and drinks.
My wife and I tried a flight of their spirits as well as their fancy burger.
The burger is topped with a bacon and bourbon jam, blue or cheddar cheese (we chose blue based on the waitress’ recommendation) and potato chips.
It was cooked perfectly, and the fries were good. However, we wish we picked cheddar since the blue sort of overpowered that bacon and bourbon jam. But otherwise it was good.
I’m a fan of their bourbon too, so we picked up a bottle on the way out. I’m looking forward to going back for a tour and a steak.
GREAT JONES DISTILLING CO
686 Broadway
New York, NY 10012
