Nine (Roadfood stops-New York City) is the tastiest number that you'll ever do!

On a slightly overcast Saturday April 17th, I met up with ayersian (Chris & Amy) for some most delicious Roadfooding in Brooklyn and Manhattan.  First however, I had to head over to the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn to the Brooklyn Flea (market) for the NYC Food Bloggers Bake Sale.  The Flea has lots of great home made clothing jewelry and FOOD (which I hope to spin into a separate report after multiple visits).  For now, feast your eyes on some homemade treats.
My Peanut Butter brownies.

Oatmeal Scotchies (oatmeal cookies with butterscotch chips)
A close-up of the PB brownies.
Mint-chocolate chunk cookies made with Andes Candies baking chips.
Some of the wonderful baked goods for sale. I brought an empty tin with me and loaded up some goodies for Chris & Amy to sample. I think they enjoyed them.
 
 
I absolutely loved these macaroons. The combination of maple cream cheese and bacon was inspired and worked really well. Think of cream cheese stuffed French Toast in cookie form.
You can even start a bake sale right in your own community! Get involved!
 We had planned to meet up at Grimaldi's Pizzeria by the Brooklyn Bridge at 12 noon, but on the weekends, the subway can get pretty messed up with all of the track work scheduled, so we met up closer to 12:45. I ended up walking a good part of the way and was rewarded with a fairly nice shot of the Brooklyn Bridge.

I love the old buildings in this neighborhood.
When I arrived, the line was huge and became even longer than this! No matter though as a man from Grimaldi's came out and kept track of things and the wait was maybe 30 minutes.
We ordered a sausage and black olive pie with extra basil. As a kid, I couldn't stand black olives, but the briny flavor these brought to this pizza was amazing. The basil and sausage worked well together, the sauce was somewhat sweet, the fresh mozzarella was just right and the crust had a righteous char on it. My only disappointment was when I waited for the restroom and spied a perfect shot of the pizza oven and they guys making the pies. They saw me get my camera out and very politely told me I couldn't take pictures of it. It would have made for a great photo!
Off to the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory.
Peaches & Cream ice cream with three spoons. I'm a huge fan of this place, but I wasn't altogether crazy about this particular ice cfeam on this day. I've had it before it it has always been great, but the peaches seemed to be little pieces that had stiffened somewhat in the ice cream and lacked the wonderful fresh peach flavor that I have come to love from them.
We hopped on the subway to Manhattan and made our way to Vanessa's Dumplings on the Lower East Side where my girlfriend, Dayna, joined us on our tour. In the interest of full disclosure, I must say that I ended up "Travelin-Manning" all of us as a group. I thought that the Hester Street Fair started this weekend when in fact it was the following weekend. The fair is slated to have Montreal Smoked Meat from Mile End, pies from First Prize Pies (including a root beer cream pie!) and lots of other great food. Thanks for rubbing off on me, TTM!!
And her story.
The greasy but oh so good sesame-scallion pancake. Four fresh-made pork and chive dumplings with some hot sauce splashed on top.

Getting a table in the city can be rather difficult and sometimes we just make do with what we can find. Nothing says New York City quite like a "trash bin buffet" outside of a restaurant.
After filling up at Vanessa's, we walked up to Grand Street and an obligatory stop at the Doughnut Plant. Chris, Amy and Dayna loved the fresh strawberry and the peanut butter glazed, strawberry jam-filled doughnuts. I love these Blackout doughnuts. And no, Tony, I did not roll my eyes in ecstasy this time!!
We walked up to Spring Street in Soho and I took these pics of Lombardi's just as a tease.



Our next stop was Rice to Riches rice pudding shop. I love the "Tommy" reference here! This place has been around close to 10 years if not more and with the exception of beverages, still only sells rice pudding. No smoothies, wraps, salads, nada. And the place is always packed!
The four of us split a an EPIC size portion of two flavors: Man-Made Mascarpone (with cherries) & Fluent In French Toast.I think everybody really liked both. I'm a big fan of the mascarpone for its creaminess and the occasional tart cherry nugget I find. The french toast seemed to really have nailed the flavor of an iconic breakfast staple.
Next on the hit list was BITE, one of my favorite sandwich shops just a short walk away in the NoHo (North of Houston) section of the city. With, of course, the obligatory shot of a Roadfooder taking a shot of their food.
The staff was kind enough to oblige my request that the sandwich be cut into four portions to share. The sampling at most stops worked well and enabled us to try more places in the long run.
The Nutella and banana panini. I had read about this in a local magazine about 5 years ago and became hooked on it as breakfast on my way to work in the Village.
On to some regionally "incorrect" pizza at Two Boots Pizzeria on Bleecker Street about 1/2 a block from BITE. The two "boots" represented here are Italy and Louisiana.
We split a slice of the Bayou Beast between the four of us. It's my favorite slice there (next to the Newman and the Dude). Their pizza has a cornmeal flecked crust and a spicy tomato sauce. The toppings on the Beast were: andouille sausage, BBQ shrimp. crawfish and jalapenos. I could taste all of the ingredients and these was a nice kick to it as well. For me, it's not the best pizza I have ever had (very few slice places match up to whole pie only for me) but I've always had a thing for it and it definitely is an itch I have scratched on several occasions.
The menu. Seriously, where else are you gonna find Larry Tate, Mel Cooley, Tony Clifton and Cleopatra Jones hanging out together? 
 
Some of their neato artwork.
As we made our way to Union Square, I thought about checking out a fairly new sausage shop on 17th Street about which I had heard good things. I was hesitant as there had been a sausage place there before and I was unimpressed by the food and the indifferent staff. Happily, this new place, Dogmatic Gourmet Sausage System, was just wonderful. Their handmade sodas were excellent and Dayna and I split a Lemon-Lime which had a great fruity flavor without the syrupy sweetness of a commercially made soda. Chris & Amy swapped sodas with us and we also sampled the Ginger and Grape sodas which were sublime.

Dayna and I split a lamb sausage with yogurt-mint sauce while Chris & Amy had the same, but with a sun-dried tomato-feta sauce. Dogmatic cooks the sausages on an open flame grill which imparts a nice char to them and the lamb was rich without being gamey. The yogurt sauce really reminded me of the many shwarmas I have had over the years. And all of the sausage choices are sheathed, like a culinary Excalibur, inside of a mini baguette that is toasted from the inside out by a series of metal rods that hollow out the bread and make it nice and crispy inside. As ayersian said in their RF Digest entry, this is a food that barely spills and is easy to eat without napkins. Perfect for walking.
I love the economic use of space here.
Feels like I'm back in school taking the SATs. Okay, not really. Now if they served char-grilled sausages and handmade sodas during that SATs... Wait, that's my new business model. Yesss!!
The menu
Toasting the bread. A beacon for good eats.

Our last stop together was at R.U.B. BBQ on 23rd Street in the Chelsea section of Manhattan.
I had been talking up these Burnt Ends for some time now and I don't think they disappointed. Now I haven't actually tried them in Kansas City so I don't know how they compare but I'd like to think they are making K. C. proud.
My most favorite BBQ Baked Beans. I'd say of the people to whom I recommend these, about half do not like them at all and the other half loves them. Be warned, these are boldly, assertively spiced and flavored beans. Very peppery and spicy, they also have chunks of burnt ends in them as well. There was only one or two chunks on this fair eve, but I have gotten these many times before and have never been disappointed.

And for dessert, Bacon Chocolate Chip cookies. In NYC, bacon is still the darling of the food world and especially in pairing it with sweets. I like these, but they still pale in comparison to the macaroons I had earlier in the day. I think Chris & Amy may have been able to hit a few more places, but my tank was full. I had hoped to meet up with them the next day, but was feeling under the weather. I was so very glad we were able to tear it up a little bit for one night. Very much looking forward to more shared eating adventures with two of my favorite Roadfooders!! 

 

"Eating is an adventure, enjoy the ride" - Billyboy, 2010  


The 411:  

1.)  Grimaldi's Pizzeria
      19 Old Fulton Street (btw. Water & Front Streets)
      Brooklyn, NY 11201
      Ph# 718-858-4300
      Website:  http://www.grimaldis.com/

2.)  Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory
      1 Water Street (near Old Fulton Street)
      Brooklyn, NY 11201
      Ph# 718-246-3963
      No website - CASH ONLY

3.)  Vanessa's Dumplings
       118A Eldridge Street (bet. Grand and Broome Street) 
       New York, NY 10002 
       Ph# 212-625-8008 
       No website


4.)  Doughnut Plant
      379 Grand Street (btw. Essex & Norfolk Streets)
      New York, NY 10002
      Ph# 212-505-3700
      Website:  http://www.doughnutplant.com/


5.)  Rice to Riches
      37 Spring Street (btw. Mott & Mulberry Streets)
      New York, NY 10012
      Ph# 212-274-0008
      Website:  http://www.ricetoriches.com/index.2.php


6.)  bite
      335 Lafayette Street (corner of Lafayette & Bleecker Streets)
      New York, NY 10012
      Ph#  212-431-0301
      Website:  http://www.bitenyc.com/
      
7.)  Two Boots Pizzeria
      74 Bleecker Street (btw. Broadway & Lafayette Streets) 
      New York, NY 10012
      Ph# 212-777-1033
      Website:  http://www.twoboots.com/TW2008/Blkr08/Blkr1.html


8.)  Dogmatic Gourmet Sausage System
      26 East 17th Street (btw. Broadway & 5th Avenue)
      New York, NY 10003
      Ph#  212-414-0600
      Website:  http://eatdogmatic.com/


9.)  R.U.B. BBQ (Righteous Urban BBQ)
      208 West 23rd Street (btw. 7th & 8th Avenues)
      New York, NY  10011
      Website:  http://www.rubbbq.net/
      
      
       

Great report as usual Billyboy! Delicious pictures!

wow...what a grand adventure!!!!

Looking good, billyboy.  I shall have to try a couple of those restaurants!

Great report and pics! It's early AM and I'm starving. I really like that "Dogmatic" concept. A bit mechanized, but what great ingredients and efficiency. Thanks so much for sharing.

Dude I have still never been to NYC and the first time I go I'm calling you!  Absolutely gorgeous pictures--and you are turning into quite the accomplished baker.

Beautiful pics billyboy!  Nobody does their hometown prouder than you do!  Everything looks so good, but I am having trouble getting past those mint chocolate chunk cookies.

  I LOVE the look of those PB Brownies.....Is that a layer of cream-cheesey goodness in there?! 

Reading these Roadfood adventurs makes it easier for the wife and kids to convince me to take them to NYC!

Nice report..............I love New York City.  I would have to have quit after the first three stops and  taken a break until  you went to Dogmatic!

Yeah, Dogmatic is on my list for the next visit.

Had the opportunity of revisting Grimaldi's and Vanessa's Dumplings (as well

as the GREAT Brooklyn Flea) this past March and as billyboy rightly attests...

 

 

...the sesame-scallion pancake at Vanessa's in Chinatown is utter perfection. 

 

 

Amazing!  (All I ever get is hot dogs with the ayersian's!)

I want that Chinese food.  I've never had those items.

Thanks for the ride Billy, its always a pleasure................Billyb

Thanks everybody!!

Nancy-just give me a heads-up and if I'm in town I'd love to show you around to find some good vittles.

BB-I had a feeling you might like those.

Dawn-nope, no cream cheese in there.  I followed the recipe from the Peanut Butter & Co. cookbook.

Greymo-I tried to plan the stops so that it would be easy for us to split up what we ate and sample, rather than have a full-on meal at each place. I figure after a half or quarter sandwich/dish I have a fairly good idea of the taste, texture and how I feel about it.  That really helped us be able to tackle more spots.

i95-as I'm sure you well know, they also make sandwiches with that bread too.  They'll stuff it with Chinese vegetables, pork, tuna fish, etc...  Great, comforting, restorative soups there too.