Ivy league eats

Ever since we moved to the East Coast Troy’s been trying to drag me to Princeton, NJ for a weekend trip. New Jersey? We live in New. York. City…I don’t need to go to guido-ville to find something to do, there is plenty to do on the weekends. When Troy was coaching at Yale, he spent a lot of time in Princeton for work. He’s been telling me for years what a charming, historic little town it is, in his words, “It’s a haven inside a crap-hole of a state.” My response? Not interested. 

So, how did I finally let him convince me to take a two-hour, each way, train ride just to walk around a pretty campus? He told me about the best Philly cheese steak he’s ever had.

Should’ve mentioned that one earlier, sucka.  

I’ll admit it, I’m a total judger. I’ll judge what you’re wearing, your tattoos, and I’ll disown you if I see you wearing leggings as pants. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t base my entire initial feelings of you according to my first glance. That being said, I judged the hell out of this “amazing sandwich shop” that was owned by a Greek man with a restaurant named “George’s Roasters and Ribs.” What business does he have making a Philly cheese steak? He’s neither an Italian nor a Philadelphian. And secondly, what’s a roaster? And I didn’t even see ribs on the menu. In fact, I tried to convince Troy that his 31-year old  memory had failed him, and he in fact meant to take me to “Hoagie Haven” next door. You know, the one with the line down the sidewalk…

I’ve been surprised with the lack of Philly cheese steak in NY. We’re 96 miles from Philadelphia and I can’t get my grubby mitts on a decent steak, cheese and onion sandy?  Lame. 

George’s was a total hodge-podge of random food. Hot wings, sweet potatoes fries, chicken parmesan and a killer cheese steak. Totally random, and a little off-putting.

But all my concerns faded the second I took a bite of my 16-inch long, $8 ‘which. The cheese was so creamy I honestly thought it might have been processes squeezy cheese. I wouldn’t have minded. I love cheese in a can. But, I was more delighted to learn it was a solid piece of provolone melted to perfection. The thinly sliced rib-eye was super juicy and flavorful. Most importantly, the bread was still moist and fresh, not like the dry, flakey loaf I usually get with a grilled sandwich. If there is one food I hate most in the world it is green bell peppers, so I skipped those but kept the sweet grilled onions. The best thing about this sandwich is that it was an entire French loaf of bread and was given to me in the original bakery paper sleeve.  I felt pretty proud walking down the street with my new prize. I didn’t even feel awkward sitting in the middle of the beautiful, preppy, Princeton campus downing a sandwich that not even a 400-lb man should be able to thrown down.

Alright, Troy, you’re right. Best cheese steak outside of The City of Brotherly Love. Not sure why this place was totally empty at lunch time on a Saturday. My professional advertising expertise? Ditch the stupid name and call yourself something legit like, “Hands-down, best freaking cheese steak within a 95-mile radius of Manhattan, served on a big-ass loaf of fresh and toasty French bread, sold by a Greek guy who cooks like my pretend Italian grandmother.” Yeah, go with that one. 

A madame for the Mrs.

I'm already breaking my blogging rules. In my first post, I said that I hated fine food served in small, dimly lit spaces and that I’d only be writing about cheap, fast foods. Problem is, I have a total weakness for French food. Good French food. So, when I feel like a nice sit down meal, that's usually my go-to cuisine. We had a serious lack of it Corvallis, so now I really have to feed the need. 

My all-time favorite sandwich is a croque-madame. Thick, chewy, grilled bread with thinly sliced ham, gruyere cheese and béchamel sauce all pressed together panini-style. That alone sounds good, but then it's topped with a layer of gruyere and put under the broiler AND finished off with a poached or fried egg on top. It's like an adult's grilled cheese. There's a nice lunch spot by my office, Dishes, that serves a to-go version, which is basically just a hot ham, cheese and béchamel sandwich. I had one yesterday, as it's great for a quick bite, but tonight I was craving the real deal. 

I spent a good portion of my lunch break Googleing the best croque-madames in the city and came up with A.O.C, a cute little French restaurant on Bleecker. I really dig the West Village. It’s such a sophisticated, low-key area with great boutiques, bars and eateries. And the apartments in the W. Village? Out of control cute. The neighborhood is packed with gorgeous townhouses on tree-lined, or better yet, cobblestone streets. I dream of the day when I can afford $12 million for a two-bed, one-bath fixer-upper in that neighborhood.

Our waitress was super friendly, and very Parisian. I don’t know if I liked my food or her better. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to having a total girl crush on her. She was so cute in such an effortless way, French girls are so lucky.

Back to the point of this post, the croque-madame. It was a thing of beauty. And for $17, I’m glad it didn’t disappoint. The egg was perfectly fried, which provided a nice yokey sauce for the ham and cheese heaven on my plate. The bread was so chewy that I had to request a steak knife because my flatware wasn’t doing the trick. 

My only complaint is about the side dish. According to the menu you could either get a side of fries or a tossed salad served on a baquette. Since Troy was getting fries, I went with the salad. Don’t kid yourself, it wasn’t because I was choosing a healthier option, it was all for the promise of that baquette. I love carbs, especially perfectly baked French breads. Apparently the restaurant staff assumes if you’re ordering a sandwich, that you probably don’t want/need the salad served atop a warm baquette. How wrong they were.

More carbs please.   

Even though they were Troy's, I feel the need to review those fries. Best fries ever! True French fries, as in, made in France or by a French chef, are so different than American fries. So light, thin and crunchy and not at all greasy. These were no exception. 

Don’t worry, I’m not turning into a snobby New Yorker who only eats at restaurants with names they can’t pronounce. I generally avoid places that ask if you want flat or bubbly water. I promise that my next post will have a grease stain in the corner and cost no more than $5. But for this sandwich, I’ll definitely head back to A.O.C.

Street meat

I thought it was only appropriate that my first post be about a New York City trademark.


Street meat.


It's a pretty broad label-- hot dogs, sausages, kebabs, philly cheesesteaks, gyros, knishes...


I fell in love with cart food on my first trip to New York five years ago and as an unpaid intern, I practically lived on $1 hot dogs for an entire summer. But really, a hot dog is just a hot dog, unless we're talking about a Costco Polish dog, in which case, that hot dog just got upgraded to a little piece of heaven.


My advice? Skip the street dog and move to the cart next door for spicy chicken over rice. Over the past two months I've made it my personal mission to sample a variety of carts serving the finest Halal food in order to provide you with a list of the best of the best. In fact, I took my duty so seriously that I ventured into three boroughs before presenting you with my findings. One of those boroughs being Staten Island where, in my short 30-minute jaunt, I was offered a 40oz of Old E and an array of drugs by a friendly former Sing-Sing inmate...so, you're welcome.


Ask any New Yorker where the best cart food is and nine out of ten will tell you it's the guys in the yellow shirts on the corner of 53rd and 6th.  What those guys have going for them is quality ingredients and a lot of it. The gyros easily weigh over a pound and they've mastered the famous red sauce. But what they are missing is some serious flavor. It's good for a bland palate that really just wants a boat-load of high-quality shredded white meat chicken, but if you're looking for authentic Middle Eastern flavor, keep looking.


So I did, I kept looking...all the way to Jackson Heights, Queens. Good thing I did, too. This cart is perfection. Nestled under an overpass on a busy intersection of what has got to be the most diverse little community I've ever been to, Sammy's Halal is the perfect combination of meat, a trio of sauces and toppings galore. I ordered my standard chicken over rice, topped which red, green and white sauce. I thought I was being clever by asking for the "Christmas sauce combo", but apparently no one calls it that. Awkward.

Anyone who knows my dietary habits can tell you that, as a general rule, I don't eat birds. Nearly every time, chicken is over cooked and under flavored. Not this stuff. Super spicy, like, you keep eating faster and faster just so you don't notice the fire erupting inside of your mouth spicy. The green sauce, which isn't offered at too many carts, adds a great cilantro flavor while the white sauce, which really might as well be called ranch dressing, cools everything down. Best part about this? It was $3.99. It probably weighed a solid 2.5lbs. I've never really been great at math, but I know that pencils out to be a great deal.

What's for dinner?

I really like food. Mainly anything fried, fast and cheap, but I really don't discriminate. I'm certainly not a food critic, so don't expect to hear me using any pretentious foodie lingo. What you can expect is a full rundown on where to get the best burgers, deli sandwiches and street meat in NYC.

I'm not into overpriced, undersized plates served in noisy, dark and crowded trendy spots throughout the city. If it's open 24 hours, is under $10 a plate and offers free delivery--you'll likely find me there.


Follow me on my noble quest to eat every carb that this city has to offer.