Category Archives: NYC

A Rose Amongst the Posies

Posted on May 4, 2013 | 6 comments

In a churchyard on a hillside
Where the flowers grow and twine
There grow roses amongst the posies
Flowers for my Clementine

“There are churches, and there are Churches. And if you’re not in a spirit filled church, then you’re not in any church at all.”

There are sandwiches and there are sandwiches. The sandwiches at Cafe Clementine (formerly Cafe Columbine) in New York are fer real.

Oh my darling, oh my darling,
Oh my darling, Clementine!
Thou art lost and gone forever
Dreadful sorry, Clementine

Light she was and like a fairy,
And her shoes were number nine
Herring boxes, without topses,
Sandals were for Clementine.

Drove she ducklings to the water
Ev’ry morning just at nine,
Hit her foot against a splinter,
Fell into the foaming brine.

Fer real? That’s how the song goes? I had no idea.  Does the proprietress of Cafe Clementine know about this?

Ruby lips above the water,
Blowing bubbles, soft and fine,
But, alas, I was no swimmer,
So I lost my Clementine.

Oh well. Too bad. Let’s eat!

 
How I missed her! How I missed her,
How I missed my Clementine,
Till I kissed her little sister,
and forgot my Clementine.

Jeez.

Clementine? What Clementine? Sandwich? What sandwich? Gone! Poof. On to the next.

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Posted in NY, NYC

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My Heart Leaps Up

Posted on April 10, 2013 | Leave a comment

And where did my boy just have lunch during a temple youth weekend in NYC? After visiting the Tenement Museum? Where else? Katz’s! What did he order? Pastrami! Thick cut too. 

L Roy Goldberg

Katz's

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Posted in NY, NYC, Pastrami

Newest York Sandwiches

Posted on April 8, 2013 | 3 comments

Once an icon, always an icon. Even while seeming to be gobbled up by retail homogeneity, New York is still the tops, our Metropolicon. An American beacon for eaters, New York, with it’s urban siblings Chicago and LA, is the newest and newsiest for sandwiches.

Those who pay attention to things sandwichy have made a list. Yes, another list, in – what I believe is good intent – an effort to narrow our choices and consequently broaden our happiness.

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New York City’s 15 Most Iconic Sandwiches

Thanks a 15-Million,  Sfeeha-Eeta-Girl Susan!

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Posted in NY, NYC, Sandwiches

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Slipping Into the Slope

Posted on April 15, 2012 | 3 comments

Crossing over into Brooklyn a person expects to be showered with fairy dust. Hipster fairy dust. It’s not like that. We were showered with love, deep and abiding, and walked on a tack-sharp sunny morning to Naidre’s, the sandwich joint of choice for our deeply abiding friends Janie and Adrienne.

Naidre’s is on bustling 7th Ave, in the slope, yo. Breakfast, lunch and din din, indeedie. We bridged breakfast and lunch. Eggs and wiches, baby.

And here is Janice Pullicino, people, proprietress. She let me take her damn  picture! Get your fine frame in there, order up a deluxcup of Counter Culture Cap and have her punch yer card. Lucky 13 cup on the house! Let ’em fix you a damn fine cuppa, yo!

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Posted in Brooklyn, NY, NYC

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The Elephant in the Room

Posted on April 12, 2011 | Leave a comment


We meet Brooklynite Cal Elliott and the meatloaf sandwich from his restaurant, Rye, as well as La Superior‘s chef Nacxitl Gaxiola and his pambazo, a roll stuffed with chorizo, potato, salsa and Cotija cheese. Publishers Weekly

Thank you Pub Weekly for giving me further reason to live. Further reason to live a few days in New York this spring.

I learned from Sara Dickerman, in her story Edible Art, Sandwich recipes in cookbooks chronicle an American obsession (Saveur, April 2011, The Sandwich Issue) that not a whole heck of a lot was written about sandwiches prior to the 19th century. The first published American sandwich recipe appeared in 1837 in Eliza Leslie’s Directions for Cookery. Buttered bread, mustard and thinly sliced ham. Yikes.

Was that book written for people raised by wolves? If wolves had hands, even they most certainly would put bread, butter, mustard and ham together. A plate and napkin might be less instinctive. In my book, the bottom piece of bread doubles as plate, the top doubles as napkin. That might not fly in the big apple.

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Posted in NYC, Sandwiches

The Full Meatball

Posted on October 30, 2010 | 5 comments

Looked up at the full moon tonight. Gorgeous. Looked like a plate to me. Always has. Tonight I thought, “The moon is an orb, not flat,” and it suddenly looked different.

Last week, when the moon was still gibbous, I was in NYC and had lunch. Lunch is the best meal, according to me. Anything goes.

At The Meatball Shop on the Lower East Side they start with meat orbs. You can choose to have them served to you in orbs. Or not. I chose “smashed.” Sounds harsh, but was not. In fact, the smashed orbs were lovingly blanketed in a velvet cloak of provolone and a cozy nap of marinara.


At The Meatball Shop the diner makes a lot of choices, ticking off each choice on the laminated menu. A sunny side up egg atop the smash-cheese-sauce? CHECK! And under toasted brioche. Co-zee. I would say so.
I cannot repeat the remark that crossed my mind as I bit into the sandwich and egg yolk ran down my face, neck, arm. I swear the woman at the next table said, “I’ll have what she’s having.”
The Eric “Roscoe” Ambel (whoa, I see he has a Wikipedia entry) had a grinder with mozzarella, pork meatballs and pesto. Those meatballs look a little squished too, come to look at it. “Fantastic sandwich,” said Eric. Yup, it was.


Sweet sandwiches too. And more choices. Eric was a wild man – gingersnap and peanut butter cookies, espresso ice cream. That’s some crazy combination. Crazy good.

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Posted in Meatballs, NYC

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