NYC part 2, return visit Feb. 3, the good &bad

On Super Bowl Sunday, I took a bus up to NYC again from AC

Right after I got off the bus, I figured I would take a few pics of Times Square. (for me & my roadfood buddies) Here is 42nd st, by 8th ave.

Here's a similar view. I now call these my "$200 money shots".
(you'll see why in a minute)

Now, it's time for the BAD already! As soon as I took these pics, I realized that my cell phone had been "lifted" from my pocketbook.
(good pickpockets work that area!)

Anyhow, luckily there was a Verizon center located on 42nd st & 6th ave. After about $200 later, I had a new phone, same type, same phone #. About an hours time had elapsed, and my old phone was inactivated. It felt real wierd though, and still does, but hopefully they just wanted my phone to resell, and not use it for personal info.

So my trip certainly had a damper on it already! But after I caught my bearings, I walked over to Goodburger, on 2nd ave at 43rd street, for my first meal of the day.

There is another location on 54th and Lexington, with a few more on the way. www.goodburgerny.com
It had been my current fav. NYC burger joint, but I had also read some new unfavorable reviews, by people that felt it had gone downhill already...(slightly stale rolls, etc), and small for the price (burger is $5.95 by itself). I took the burger out of the wrapper for the pic.

After this 2nd visit of mine, I see what the naysayers are talking about. Also , the burger was missing the beefy taste that I had remember. No flavor this time.

No problem, as I figured I would walk over to my 2nd favorite place, the American Burger & Co., on 32 st at Broadway.
I was really in a mood for a good burger!!

On the way, I enjoyed looking at various signage on restaurant storefronts, all vying to get our Superbowl business.
I was particularly amused by this sign on Rocky's Pizza, on 2nd ave by 33rd st. I think they need a spelling lesson..

Is that anything like a "Debutante Ball", where only the finest are picked?

Here's the scene on 2nd ave at 33rd st. Rocky's Pizza in background.
Lots of nice modern high rises (50 level types) on the right
Nice neighborhood.


Unfortunately, when I got the American Burger & Co. location, I was met with this sign.

This was all part of my "BAD", (but not "ugly, like having my cell phone taken)

Well, at least they wished me well for the future... and my future includes finding more real good burger joints!

Now I walk up to the Carnegie, with a little help from a subway this time.

The sandwich pretty much falls apart as you pick it up to eat it.
Upon further inspection, I realize "Why does it look like I get served so many scraps?" (I guess they see me coming!)
I liked my sandwich, just not as much as on other visits

Tony Bad put up a great pic report on the Carnegie Deli...
mine is just a supplement.

Now it's time for the Super Bowl to start. I duck into the lobby of the Sheraton Manhattan and find a nice easy chair. After the coin toss, and a few plays, I walk outside again.

One could even just stand in the middle of Times Square and watch the game from the big Panasonic screen. The weather was great, and smokers could live it up outside..

Here's part of that crowd ..

I also enjoyed peering into the windows of TGIFridays, Applebees, ESPN Zone, etc, while capturing the flavor and watching a few plays.
It made for good conversation on the streets, bringing out the best in people
Here's the crowd at TGIFridays...

Notice there are plenty of people in there, unlike the next place I picked to eat at , Spanky's BBQ.
I took this pick of Spanky's during the afternoon... I peeked in and there were only a few people in there. It is located on 43rd st., by 6th ave

I decided to go back there, during the Super Bowl. Once again, oddly enough, there were only a few people in there. Earlier, the hostess had told me they were'nt expecting it to be busy, cause their TV's were too small. (she called it right)
I got the homemade jalapeno poppers for an appetizer, and they were excellent!! (the sauce was way too spicy, so I got some delicious ranch dressing to dip in). The order came with 6 poppers, 3 were already enjoyed before pic) I also got chicken fingers, served in much too hot chiptotle mustard. The fingers were not my type; looked better than they tasted for me.

I'm a big popper person, but it's usually so hard to find a good popper! (most of the ones I've tried seem to all have that same generic "out of the freezer & heat them up" type of taste)
I also got a brisket sandwich, which was surprisingly very good; I also really liked their fries. I boxed up most of the sandwich and fries to take home, as I was stuffed.

Sorry about the "in your face" brisket shot!!

Like I said, this place was odd, as there were only a few other people in there besides me, on Super Bowl Sunday. It was dying in there. And they told a few new arrivals "sorry we are closed already"....(and it was only 7:30!!) Meanwhile, all the other joints around there were booming!!!
Why was it so slow there? I guess it must not be thought of as being that good. Thought of as tourist trap, perhaps? The one thing that turned me off was that there was only one type of BBQ sauce available, and it was much too spicy. I prefer a mild sauce for my main sauce. (and I like to "dabble" with the others)

For my last stop, I walked over to Sarges Deli (on 3rd ave, between 36th and 37th) I had given them high marks in my "NYC deli adventures" trip report. I took out about a pound of pastrami, to enjoy eating before I go into work tomorrow. (see pastrami in earlier report) Also got some turkey, cut right from the frame.

I schmoozed with the owner , Kenny, who told me, (just like I had suspected), that Sarge's is the last place in Manhattan that cures their own pastrami right there. (you hear that Baah Ben?!? What is this world coming to?) The last homemade pastrami joint in Manhattan. I asked about the Carnegie, cause I had a feeling ...
and sure enough he said "they make theirs at a commissary in Jersey, and deliver it over". (so even though it's not homemade on premises, we'll call it "homemade and then delivered")

This Sarge's is becoming #1 in my book!

I saw bits and pieces of the Super Bowl, except for the best part, the final 45 seconds. I had been waiting on the Greyhound bus line for the 10 pm bus back to AC. No TV's were down there in that section.

Then some bus drivers and workers came running through..."The Giants WON! They did it! The Giants WON!"

I got back to AC around 12:30 am, and ran into some more "Bad".
Lots of police cars just beyond where I parked my car; they had closed off part of Artic Ave. I usually park in the casino parking garage, but decided to park on a side street , off Artic Ave, as it was closer.

My car was still there, (still in one piece) but the officer was diverting traffic.
I asked what had happened, and he said there had been a shooting.
I like the fact that he directly answered my question, instead of "We are not allowed to release any information at this time, ma'am"

Welcome back to Atlantic City, Ellen!

I read on-line a while back that Goodburger is supposed to be opening a branch in Center City Philadelphia soon also. I've been looking forward to having another decent burger place that also sells shakes in Philly for a while (although maybe this place isn't that "decent" based on the above comments). Five-Guys has been working their way into town, but they don't have milkshakes, which is often a deal-breaker for me.

quote:

Originally posted by phlmaestro2000

I read on-line a while back that Goodburger is supposed to be opening a branch in Center City Philadelphia soon also. I've been looking forward to having another decent burger place that also sells shakes in Philly for a while (although maybe this place isn't that "decent" based on the above comments). Five-Guys has been working their way into town, but they don't have milkshakes, which is often a deal-breaker for me.

If and when they do come to Philly, let me know what you think!
I would probably still give them another chance sometime...
Personally, I think Five Guys has been taking over the mid-atlantic more than deserve to be! (but more power to them, if they keep pulling this off!). I think they are just okay, but they have great customer service. We now have 2 of them in my AC area.
And I recently read that a favorite deli of mine in north Jersey, Tabatchnicks in Vauxhall/Millburn (Kosher pastrami, etc) has closed,
along with a Roadfood favorite of ours, Sids Hot Dogs, same shopping center. And the Sonny Amsters bakery there is no more. WELL , guess what's coming in it's place?!?? You guessed it ! Five Guys!! The mayor said that "Times are changing, and people have different tastes now". It was such a good old fashioned kind of shopping center, and now it is getting re-vamped...(so it will now look as ubiquitious as all the others!)

Ellen ...

Thanks for the report and everything ...

Great report ...

Meanwhile, I'm thinkin' you are the perfect woman. *










* I am guessing I speak for many of "us" ...

You are a tremendous asset to RF.

Ellen,

If you snapped that photo of 42nd street between 11:15 and 11:30 AM on Sunday, I would actually be IN the picture! I was standing under the marquee at the AMC 25 waiting for my sister for our annual Woody Allen screening. We've met in the city to see every new Woody flick each year since 1990 (believe it or not, The Woodman has written and directed one film each year for the past 37 years. I think that's amazing). It's literally the ONLY time during the year that I would deliberately find myself in Times Square.

What time was the picture taken? How crazy would that have been if I was actually in your shot???

Pigiron

P.S. I walk by that ROCKY'S every single day. They have a second joint called "ROCKY'S NUMBER II". I suppose the slightly off-kilter grammar is corporate-wide?

That Sandwich from The Carnegie Deli- one of my favorite sandwiches of all time....I will probably return in the Spring, but will most likely bypass in lieu of the Second Avene Deli....moderation....unless I can drag one of my friends with me and share!

quote:

Originally posted by Pigiron

Ellen,

If you snapped that photo of 42nd street between 11:15 and 11:30 AM on Sunday, I would actually be IN the picture! I was standing under the marquee at the AMC 25

What time was the picture taken? How crazy would that have been if I was actually in your shot???

Pigiron

That would've been so ironic if you were in my pic, huh?
You just missed that status by about an hour, as I took the pic around 12:30 pm, while you were enjoying your Woody Allen movie already. Wow, I did'nt realize he had such a consistent 37 year movietrack record.

Do you think "the Woodman's" movies are as good as they used to be?
Or do you think they are slightly darker and less humourous..?
I sure loved Annie Hall, back in the day! When he comes out with new movies, I mean to see them, but somehow don't get around to it, or catch bits and pieces on HBO, etc...

quote:

Originally posted by wanderingjew

That Sandwich from The Carnegie Deli- one of my favorite sandwiches of all time....I will probably return in the Spring, but will most likely bypass in lieu of the Second Avene Deli....moderation....unless I can drag one of my friends with me and share!

So nice to hear from you, WJ !
I did the Second Ave deli last week (pics are in my "deli adventures" report, if you have'nt seen them already)
Hey , why don't you walk around the corner, and try Sarge's as well?
(or bring a good cooler, and do pastrami take out, to enjoy back in Providence)

I'm proud of you for losing so much weight and keeping it off, WJ!
I do follow some of the same philosphy as you do, saving most of my major pig-outs for when I'm traveling! When I'm in my hometown area , I "cut back" when need be.
Except for special occasions like tonight, when I'm off to an "end of World Poker Tour" poker dealr get together at Maloney's in AC.

I hope all that walking I did in NYC helped cancel out a lot of my pigging out!

Ellen; Dearfolk,
Nice little writeup of Da Big Apple. Keep 'em coming!
Sorry about your cell phone, but that's small potatoes compared to what could have happened. Hey, that sort of thing is a good reason as to why I don't have one!
And good news that nobody murdered your car... can't you just imagine that, your poor little car sitting there, all four tires flat, headlights showing no lustre, all its fluids running out, puddling. You walk up and a police officer informs you "Sorry, lady... your car's dead. Somebody murdered it. We're waiting now for the coroner... and the wrecker."
If I could draw, I'd put that in a comic strip.
You May Think That I'm A Dreamer, But I'm Not The Only One, Ort. Carlton in Amazing Athens, Georgia.
P. S. As I alluded to above, I'll be looking forward to more such reports from you as they materialize. (Film at eleven on WHKY-TV, Hickory -- maybe.)

Excellent report again, Ellen! Sorry about the phone getting jacked. Times Square can be kinda sketchy. Five Guys has a branch in the city on 55th (between 5th and 6th). I tried it a few months back and loved it. Juicy, cooked exactly as I requested and the fried were pretty good too. I liked that they had malt vinegar as an alternative to ketchup. I tried the Goodburger on 54th and Lex and wasn't crazy about it. Didn't think it was bad, just, "eh". The staff there seemed to be more interested in their cell phones than the customers, so that didn't endear me to them. Love that shot of the jumbo screen in Times Square. I walk by it every Monday morning when I get out of work. That brisket looks like it has a good smoke ring on it. How was the texture? Was there a good smoke taste to it. I went there with friends about two years ago and didn't like it at all. Mushy meats and no smoke flavor (this after the waitress was giving me the "hard sell" on how they smoke all of their meats and kept waxing on about how she could smell the smoke and asking if I could smell it too). Can't wait for your next report!

Another of your great reports Ellen, thanks.

Ellen

A great report as always, I loved the city scenes too, made you feel like part of the experience.

I just wanna know, WHERE DO YOU PUT ALL THAT FOOD????

Ellen,.
I sure hope you werent traipsing around NYC by yourself, and had your boyfriend with you..

quote:

Originally posted by roossy90

Ellen,.
I sure hope you werent traipsing around NYC by yourself, and had your boyfriend with you..

thanks for caring... but the bf is still in Florida right now staying warm. So it was just ME wandering around the big city....

quote:

Originally posted by CajunKing

Ellen

A great report as always, I loved the city scenes too, made you feel like part of the experience.

I just wanna know, WHERE DO YOU PUT ALL THAT FOOD????

I've got to start cutting back , which I'm trying to do while on my home turf AC area.... as it IS starting to catch up with me big time! (the pants are all getting tighter!)

Ellen

Another great report and picters, few like quite a homer compared to your travels

Jim Annapolis Md.

Ellen - what a great report. Tell me how you keep your amazing figure (I've seen you in some of your pictures) after eating all the food you do? I'm jealous. I look at a burger and it goes directly to my hips.

Your trip reports and pictures are great. I admire that you are a take control woman and do the things you do.

I hope my grandaughters grow up with an open mind, sure of them selves and love RoadFood.

Keep doing what your doing!

Ellen ,

Excellent trip report !!
Take it from me you are lucky that all they got was a cell phone. There are profesional thieves that work Times Square .
Wow !! and Super Boel Sunday int he Big Apple .
You also got out of Dodge just in time because there were some , lets say happy , rowdy fans in that area after the game.

Benzee

hi Benzee,
Nice hearing from you once again!

Yes, I'm grateful the thieves did'nt get it all from me...
(just my cell phone)

I felt the classic "bump" while I was about to cross the street with lots of others.

I enjoyed catching the flavor of NYC during the Giants game...
people actually talked on the streets to each other!
Everyone seemed to have a common goal -- cheering on the Giants..

Ellen - I guess on Sunday afternoon Joe Allen and McHale's are not open...McHale's might not be in business anymore. But, both use to have a great burger.

Sarge's is moving up fast on the must try pastrami list. Actually, some poster said that the guy smoked his own pastramis....But I was right on the $ on Carnegie's commisary......I'm pretty sure it's near Marathon Industries. The big question for me is are they selling to Harold???? Just guessing they are.

Sorry about what happened to your cell phone.

I thought the pastrami sandwich looked pretty good. Maybe you were full from the burger? You also could have caught the last portion of one of the pastrami's they were slicing before going back into the steam box for a new one...Kind of looks like it. Short and narrow strips rather than long and wide.

So, what do you do when that happens.............You're paying $14 plus for the pastrami sandwich and you see that it is not the big wide slices you get when they just put a new one on the slicer. Do you ask for another one? Tough call...Can you imagine calling oveer one of those old timers (waiters) and telling him why you don't want the sandwich......Oh boy!

Too bad they don't have any casinos in mid-town Manhattan. I figure you're working there in a heartbeat Thanks for the great pictures. Back in the 60's and 70's that neighborhood looked NOTHING like it does now. You can thank Rudy for those wonderful sights! He deserved better in the primaries!

Ellen,

Another great field trip in the big city.
I'm shocked, SHOCKED!! that there are are people who would take advantage of you.
Yes, you are an inspiration to many and though you were in the city on Superbowl Sunday,
I decided it was time for me to go there myself.
The victory parade seemed like a good enough reason.
Because of you, I will be posting my report shortly.

mark

Hi Mark (Doggy Daddy), and Hi Baah Ben,
hey Mark,
Can't wait to read your Giants ticker-tape parade, (etc!) report!

Baah Ben
Just like you also said, my sis suggested that I may have been too full from the burger to fully appreciate the pastrami.

I know what you mean about trying to send a Carnegie sandwich back; like you said, it's a tough call,
as they have tough food servers there. When she asked if I wanted the rest wrapped up (the 2nd pastrami pic) I did say no thanks, that it was starting to get too tough too eat.(so I made a hint about some replacement pastrami) I asked "Why does it seem like everyone elses sandwich always looks better than mine?"?"... and my veteran waitress tried to reassure me by saying "Oh, honey it just looks that way, but you can't even see what's under all their bread"... (she certainly knew all the right answers).... I don't even mind the scraps so much, as those "last portions" can still be real tasty, but somehow mine seemed to get stiff too quick.

Yes, Baah Ben, you were right about the Carnegie commissary location..
(And I don't know exactly where the Carnegie in Six Flags Great Adventure , NJ, gets theirs at , but it was NO good. (was there in Oct.) It was TOO far removed from the real Carnegie pastrami taste.
They should'nt lend their name out like that, if they can't come up with the same good product.

Yup, mayor Rudy certainly cleaned up Times Square. I grew up in north Jersey, and used to take the 35 minute bus ride into NYC since my high school days. (Aerosmith concerts at Madison Square Garden, Knick games with Willis Reed & Walt Frazier, etc) I secretly miss some of the grittiness.
There were certainly better hot dog and pizza stands , anyway . I remember having to walk real fast down 42nd st at times, to squirt around the brazen drug dealers saying "nickel bag, anyone?"
And , of course, there were all those hookers on 8th ave which made for interesting scenery.

Nowadays, it is really too much Disney-like , IMO. While it's nice to see it cleaned up, I think it got too cleaned up.

So what's a gal to do? I venture off into other neighborhoods of NYC, as well... enjoy the real neighborhoods even better...

Sarge's Deli is in the Murray Hill section of town, and it deserves to be more bustling than it is.
It deserves to be one of those "destination spots" , (the term you were referring to), instead of more of a neighborhood joint. But they do deliver , city wide, so they probably do good with that aspect, (more business than meets the eye).
And that was me who mentioned that Sarge's cures their own pastrami!
Last of a dying breed!

Ellen,

Regarding Times Square, it was a place that Dad would take me to when I visited the city every other week. I miss Playland, it was a noisy place where you could play games of chance to collect tickets for real cheap goodies. I liked Skeeball.
Nathan's has been replaced by the ESPN Zone. There were more places to get a good slice of pizza.
Sure it is an electric wonderland, but I remember the billboard that advertised a brand of cigarettes and blew smoke rings.
I miss the 'grindhouse' theaters on 42nd St. where you could watch the best of the worst cinematic offerings. Case in point, one of my favorite places is now showing the stage version of Young Frankenstein, the other one is B.B. Kings Blues Club. Now these films go 'Direct to DVD'...

Regarding Spanky's, you have hit the nail on the head. I too have percieved it as a tourist type of joint. It is on a side street and if you look down to where it is, their sign is barely visible. The tourists avoid the side streets and the locals avoid Times Square. While there may be good BBQ in NYC, It probably isn't in that area. There is another BBQ on 42nd, across from Madame Toussard's (another former grindhouse) that did not look that busy when I saw it.
They are guilty of not being a Bubba Gump, WWE, HardRock or ESPN Zone. The truth here is that there is a underground tube that allows them to recieve and serve the exact same food.

mark

Hi Ellen.
Truly, another GREAT report from one of Roadfood's most popular members. It brought back fond memories for me of time gone bye.
I'm really looking forward to finally meeting you in person here in Dallas enroute to the Austin BBQ tour.

quote:

Originally posted by twinwillow

Hi Ellen
I'm really looking forward to finally meeting you in person here in Dallas enroute to the Austin BBQ tour.

the feelings' mutual, Michael..
and thanks for such kind words!

quote:

Originally posted by Baah Ben

So, what do you do when that happens.............You're paying $14 plus for the pastrami sandwich and you see that it is not the big wide slices you get when they just put a new one on the slicer. Do you ask for another one? Tough call...Can you imagine calling oveer one of those old timers (waiters) and telling him why you don't want the sandwich......Oh boy!

I don't know what I would do at Carnegie - never has happened. And, I don't know what I would do if it was pastrami - as I am more of a corned beef guy, but this happened to me on my last visit to Katz's....

Arrived on a Sunday night - drove in straight from Newark airport. The place was busy, but not overwhelmingly so. I waited in one of the cutter's lines and almost immediately realized that I wasn't in the "right" line, as my guy seemed to be taking quite some time - a little chatty maybe. But, I am in no particular rush. Besides, I recognized some of the other guys, and knew better than to switch to theirs. Scary when you start to know the staff of a restaurant you live 1200 miles from.

I finally make it to the front and order a corned beef. The guy has one out already and slices off two skimpy slices for the "taste." That should have been my first clue. It was way too fatty. The fat should compliment the taste of the meat - not overpower it. I admit to being a little distracted by what was going on - engaging in conversation with my friend who I hadn't seen in awhile, etc. When he put the sandwich in front of me, I questioned the guy and said that it looked pretty fatty. He told me it was fine - the top pieces just looked fatty - and it adds flavor. OK...maybe I missed some of the good stuff going inside.

I get to the table and I took one bite and almost spit the thing out. It was nauseating. All I could taste was fat. I took the sandwich and brought it back up to the guy - told him, politely, that the sandwich was unacceptable and that I would prefer another one. Well, now the people in the line behind me start to give me a hard time. One Kramer-esque character starts yelling at me to get to the back of the line - the cutter tells me not to worry - he'll fix it. Finally, when I had enough of "Kramer" yelling at me (and, basically, calling me an uneducated tourist), I turned to him and recalling all the NY attitude I could muster said - "Look pal, I know what a sandwich from here should taste like - been coming here 20+ years. This sandwich was awful, and I already waited in the line 20 minutes to get that bad one." I turned right back to the cutter and loudly said - "this is the kind of sandwich you serve to a guy who doesn't tip you - *I* tipped you!"

The sandwich I got was perfect. The meat was juicy and flavorful - and there was enough fat to keep the concept intact. About ten minutes into eating, the cutter comes by my table to ask how everything was and apologize. I told him that everything was fine - and he need not apologize - things happen. He sits down at one of the other chairs and says "you're not going to believe this - but, sometimes we do serve those kinds of sandwiches to the guys who don't tip." I said "I know." He says "yeah, but get this, the guy who was giving you trouble...he stiffed me!" I told him that he seemed just like that - which is why I made the comment that I did.

On my way out, I dropped another $5 into the tip jar (I was on business travel anyway!) and thanked him for the new sandwich.

It is service like that - that keeps me going back to Katz's.

Good for you, Travelin Man.

Now we can add "the ugly" (referring to the "Kramer" guy in line) to the topic name.

Thanks for the report Ellen!
I appreciate the constant reminder about guarding one's possessions... generally I am anal about it (having lived near Soho in London which is FULL of pickpockets). I carefully have zippered pockets I can protect etc and usually have a coat with inside pockets that can't possibly be opened. That said I plan to be in NYC soon and I will be more aware than I might have (I could see myself doing exactly the same thing with the camera etc!).

I agree the city's less gritty than it used to be. While it feels less real NewYorkish to me, and I miss that, I actually do also feel safer... fwiw.

quote:

Originally posted by cecif
I carefully have zippered pockets I can protect etc and usually have a coat with inside pockets that can't possibly be opened

I'm glad I had my $$, credit cards, and keys zippered up properly!
In retrospect, I should have also closed the zippered compartment where the cell phone was, and given the phone the same protection..