Only in New York (well maybe a few other places) can a restaurant open,  specialize in one food, and really perfect it. Everyone has seen the cupcake shops, dumpling houses, and whatnot…but a place specializing in meatballs is something that I wasn’t expecting.

That is not to say the meatball can’t be perfected, or that there can’t be many varieties…and that is exactly what the Meatball Shop brings to the table.

The Meatball Shop offers five types of meatballs.  Classic Beef, Spicy Pork, Chicken, Vegetable, and a Weekly Special.  You pick your meatballs, your sauce (Tomato, Meat, Mushroom, or Parmesan Cream), and then have to choose if you will have them on a sandwich (white or wheat) or in a bowl over a bed of something delicious.  The menus are all dry erase, and you check what you want and give it to your server.  Check out the menu here.

Anoop took me the Meatball Shop back on my birthday, and I’ve been dreaming of going back ever since.

I ordered Spicy Pork Meatballs w/classic tomato sauce, provolone cheese, on a whole wheat bread (sliders are also available, and they look adorable).   The sandwich was exactly what you would expect.  The meatballs were tender, cooked perfectly, and the combination I chose was just what I wanted.  Exactly what I expect when I order a classic meatball sandwich (something that I grew up eating).  I would be interested in trying the same combination with the beef meatballs, especially since I was inspired recently to take a stab at making my own.  There were so many combination that I don’t think eating meatballs could ever get old.

On top of it being a top notch sandwich you get an amazing side salad too!  At many restaurants the side salad is an after thought, but at the Meatball Shop I got delicious greens topped with Italian cheese, and a light but wonderful dressing.  This place gets points for presentation too.  It’s a $9 sandwich and salad, but it’s a lot of food…you won’t leave feeling hungry.

The Meatball Shop is a place you can bring just about anyone.  I mean it has vegetarian options, and it can satisfy even my picky family.  It’s comfort food, it’s Italian, and it’s unique.  Definitely worth a try, and after you go you will probably deem it worthy of at least a second or third visit  (I’m really into the idea of the meatball sandwich as comfort food).

Not only did this lunch prove to provide me with one sandwich…but actually two:

There is a much smaller desert menu, but it features a desert sandwich not to be missed…the ice cream sandwich.  This desert menu is set up the same way…pick your ice cream…pick your cookie.  We got Espresso ice cream smashed between chocolate chip cookies.  Perfect size for two people to share, and completely delicious.  A great way to end an already perfect lunch.

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The meatball sandwich and salad run $9, and the ice cream sandwich was $4.  Both well worth it.

The Meatball Shop is located
84 Stanton St
(between Allen St & Orchard St)
on the Lower East Side
New York, NY

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• this post is part of This Week In Sandwiches
  • all my food posts can be found here.

South Carolina.  My home state, and a place you can readily find fresh seafood, boiled peanuts, Cheerwine, mustard based bbq, Krispy Kreme, and pimento cheese.  According to my friends raised in other part of the country pimento cheese isn’t something that is common knowledge.

Pimento cheese is a common food in the Southern United States. The basic recipe for most pimento cheese spreads has few ingredients: sharp cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, pimentos, salt and pepper, blended to either a smooth or chunky paste (via)

So simple and delicious, but almost completely absent in other parts of the country.  Of course there are variations, but you basically get the idea.

Another restaurant that I’ve been going to, long before my foray into carnivorism, is Sesame Burgers and Beer in North Charleston, South Carolina.

At Sesame you pick your type of burger (beef, chicken, turkey, or black bean), and an unbelievable amount of toppings, both for you to choose from, or to try one of their carefully thought out combination, that can make pretty much everyone happy (including my grandparents, who are a tough sell at a restaurant).

The South Carolina Burger is simple.  Just pimento cheese thickly slathered on the bun and a burger cooked to your liking.   Sesame say it in their name…burgers and beer…and they do those things well.  The burger was delicious (not to salty, and cooked perfectly), and with a topping like pimento cheese you don’t need much else.  The meat is ground in house daily, and it’s served with bread and butter pickles…a steal for $6.50 (and a side of fries will only cost you $1.50 extra, or $2.50 if you want the sweet potato variety).  While you are there get a pint of the local, and wonderful, beer from Coast Brewing…the 32/50 Kolsch was the perfect accompaniment for my lunch.

This burger was an amazing first meal for me when I landed in Charleston, and I’ve been thinking about it since.   There were so many sandwiches here that looked amazing that it was really hard for me to decide…I wish I could have eaten here a couple of times, but sadly my trip was only for a couple days.

Luckily I’m in Brooklyn where there are no shortage of wonderful burgers…I just haven’t found one yet that has pimento cheese on it…yet (I know someone has to be listening).

If you are in Charleston, or visiting…check out Sesame:

Sesame Burgers and Beer
is located at
4726 Spruill Ave
North Charleston, SC

Sesame has also opened a second location
in the Citadel Mall
2070 Same Rittenburg Blvd
Charleston, SC

Follow Sesame on Twitter and Facebook!

Check out their full menu here.

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• this post is part of This Week In Sandwiches
  • all my food posts can be found here.
• as well as my Going to Charleston series.
  • the rest of my going to… series can be found here.

Jack’s Cosmic Dogs is one of the places that I truly from when I lived in Charleston, SC.  Even as a humble vegetarian we would visit for the excellent french fries, and the almighty Bunny in a Bun.

Now as a more experienced food enthusiast I was willing to try the Cosmic Dog, a hot dog with blue cheese cole slaw, and Jack’s very own sweet potato mustard.  It was totally awesome, but oddly enough it fell short to the Bunny in a Bun, which was again, as always, the highlight of my dining experience at Jack’s.

A Bunny in a Bun is a hot dog bun filled with grilled carrots (sliced to just the right thickness), and if you so choose, which you should, topped with blue cheese coleslaw.  Now I can’t say for sure, but I’m pretty certain this one isn’t vegan, but it most certainly is vegetarian.  The bun is packed with grilled carrots that are so delicious I believe they have to be grilled in butter.  The coleslaw is Jack’s signature topping, and besides maybe a little bit of salt this sandwich is perfect in every way.  Full of flavor, overall kinda healthy, and something that is unique to Jack’s Cosmic Dogs.

Such a simple meat-less sandwich and so inexpenseive too (can’t remember the price, but Jack’s is super inexpensive).

Jack’s Cosmic Dogs has two locations

1531 Folly Rd
James Island, SC
(between Charleston and Folly Beach)

and the original location

2805 Hwy 17 North
Mt.Pleasant, SC
(just north of Charleston)

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Thanks to Jen and Emma for taking me out to lunch…it was awesome.

Jen does photography as Not It! Photos.  Check her stuff out!

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• this is part of this week in sandwiches
  • sorry for the sandwich hiatus.
• The photos of Jack’s sign, and Emma and the rocket are from the White Lodge. If you would like to use these photos please link back to the flickr page, and credit the White Lodge. More posts featuring photos from the White Lodge can be found here.
  • the photos of the sandwich are unfortunately from my phone.
• this is part of my going to… series.
  • this time I happened to go to Charleston, SC.
    • more posts from this trip will be posted here.

Ok I know I’ve been posting some expensive sandwiches lately (re: the Newark Dog, the $11 hot dog), but not all sandwiches in Greenpoint and Williamsburg will break the bank.  One of my favorite go to spots for Mexican is Acapulco, way up at the tip of Greenpoint, and I’ve typically been a sucker for the huaraches but on my most recent visit I ventured into Mexican sandwich territory with the torta.

A torta is a Mexican sandwich served on a big sandwich roll made of white bread (called a called a bolillo, telera, birote. or telera).  Acapulco offers several meats (no veggie options on the menu for the torta, but I’m sure you can ask) as the main attraction which is served on the soft bread, and the standard toppings are refried beans, avocado, lettuce, tomato, onion, and jalapeños.

I went with a pernil enchilado torta.  Pernil is a baked (or roasted) pork shoulder that is then sliced thinly almost like a thick deli meat.  This was my first experience with this style of meat, and I honestly didn’t know what to expect…and it ended up being delicious.  Extremely tender and mouth watering.  I found myself picking pieces out of the sandwich to enjoy them on their own.  The enchilado, i’m pretty sure, referred to the wonderfully spicy sauce that this sandwich was slathered in…which made the sandwich a little harder to eat but all the more amazing.

I’ve never had refried beans used as a spread on a sandwich before, and it worked perfectly with this one.  Like I mentioned the enchilado sauce made this one hard to eat, but there is so much packed on to these tortas that I imagine that no matter what kind you order you are going to be losing some ingredients out the side (it might help to have a fork)…but after all that makes it all the more fun.  I can’t wait to go back and try another one, and at that point I will probably give the milanesa torta a try (I’ve never had that either).

This large sleep inducing sandwich is SUPER CHEAP too and it’s the most expensive torta on the menu!  The pernil enchilado torta costs only $5.75 making it one of the best sandwich deals in the neighborhood.

If you haven’t hit up Acapulco yet it’s a no frills authentic Mexican diner serving Mexican and American food.  It’s not a place for a first date, but it’s a great place to get a amazingly delicious cheap meal. Just so good.

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Try the pernil enchilado torta for only $5.75:

Acapulco is located at
1116 Manhattan Ave
(between Box St & Clay St)
Greenpoint, Brooklyn

There is a menu on the website I linked to above, but if you use menupages click here.

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• This post is part of This Week In Sandwiches.
• more posts on food in general can be found here.
• more on Acapulco can be found here.

The Newark Dog…it’s something that was thought of and conjured up the great state of New Jersey, but it has become the signature sandwich of St. Anselm. St. Anselm is the newest Brooklyn eatery by the owners of Spuyten Duyvil and Fette Sau (all of which are located within a block of each other), and they specialize in sausages.

St. Anselm has a selection of hand made unique sausages (from what I understand these change regularly), blue plate specials everyday, so called “nasty bits” (various animal parts), hot dogs, bugers, fries, and more.

While this all sounds pretty standard the Newark Dog has been getting press for being one of the most unique hot dog experiences out there.  They say it’s “Newark style,” and what does that mean exactly? It is two deep fried hot dogs on napoli pizza bread (basically a hybrid of a focaccia and a large roll), fried peppers & onions as well as fried potatoes. And according to this handy Hot Dog style guide…they are exactly correct.  Maybe it’s a only a unique experience due to the fact that St. Anselm is one of the only places doing it this way in Brooklyn, but none the less it is a must try.

When ordering this sandwich I really had no idea what I was getting into, and after all this is an $11 hot dog. klk had seen pictures, but I just went into it thinking that I would just order what they are known for. When I got my order my mind was kind of blown…this was the biggest hotdog concoction that I have ever seen. When you look at it in the little paper tray there is no point of reference, hence I am providing you with two pictures…one with a beer glass(above), and one with my hand (below). This thing is huge.

While it might sound like just a bunch of fried food it really is an impressive sandwich. While all of it’s contents are fried it’s not greasy. The onions and peppers are fried into a sheet of vegetable goodness that lays over the fries and hot dogs. The hot dogs themselves are delicious (as expected), and are full of flavor…juicy and perfectly cooked.

My only complaint is that the sandwich, on it’s own, is a little dry but St. Anselm takes care of this with an array of home made condiments. They have an very spicy mustard that was totally amazing. A slightly sweet ketchup to balance the mustard, and a hot chipotle sauce (which might technically be a chipotle ketchup) to add a little bit of a kick.

These condiments help bring this already amazing sandwich to the next level. It was a task to eat the whole thing, and an even harder task to fight off the coma like sleepiness that it brought on as well. Overall a great first experience at this Brooklyn sausage haven.

Currently St. Anselm does not have a liquor license, but when they get it you will be able to drink wine off of the tap. As a nice consolation they share a back yard with sister establishment Spuyten Duyvil…so you can order your food at St. Anselm, find a table out back, and then grab a beer next door. Pretty much the perfect set up. I didn’t get to enjoy the comfortable interior of St. Anselm, but that can wait til they have their own booze. Overall a great addition to the neighborhood, and a must try place for sausage enthusiasts.

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Try the Newark Dog, the $11 hot dog that is well worth it:

St. Anselm is located at
355 Metropolitan Ave
(between 4th St & Havemeyer St)
Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Check out their full menu here.

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• This post is part of This Week In Sandwiches.  More sandwich related posts can be found here.
• if you are looking for more bloggers that focus on music and food…check out Made A Blog who recently reformatted to showcase her passions….and the corresponding tumblr for additional food musings.  I love seeing music bloggers changing it up.

This past Friday I was really craving a sandwich, and I’ve been in a little bored with the things directly around my house so I called in an order to Nha Toi for their Bo Kho bahn mi.

It seems like bahn mi shops have popped up left and right over the past couple years, but if you are in Williamsburg Nha Toi is the way to go.  Overall their sandwiches are a little more expensive (the Bo Kho is $7) than Bahn Mi or Bahn Mi 172(two of the other spots in the hood), but I think it’s worth it.  Nha Toi’s sandwiches are bigger, and are stuffed like I feel a sandwich should be.

I’m talking about Bahn Mi like everyone should know what it is, but honestly I wasn’t familiar with the sandwich until about two years ago.  Bahn mi is technically a Vietnamese baguette made with rice and wheat flour, but it is also typically refers to a Vietnamese sandwich made on this bread.  The sandwiches normally have pickled carrots and diakon radishes, cucumbers, cilantro, and spicy peppers.  The proteinis either of tofu or various meats.

The Bo Kho is a braised beef sandwich.  The beef is extremely tender a little on the sweet side, and extremely delicious. One of the most impressive things about Nha Toi is that they really fill the sandwich…there is a lot of meat and vegetables.  The carrots and radishes at Nha Toi really are pickled, which you can taste, and brings to mind a really unique sauerkraut…this is an accomplishment because I feel like the vegetables are just used as filler at other restaurants, where as Nha Toi makes it one of the highlights.  These pickled vegetables also do a great job balancing the flavor of the sweetly seasoned beef.  The baguettes that they use are always fresh (I got my sandwich late in the day, after 7pm), and complement the ingredients better than most.

Unlike all other bahn mi places Nha Toi doesn’t put spicy peppers in the sandwich…they give you a very tiny raw chile that you can use as you would like.  I guess you could chop it up, and stick it in the sandwich, but I typically choose to just take a bite here and there  when I want spice.

Nha Toi is one of my favorite bahn mi places in the city (next to Baoguette), and I recommend  trying just about anything.  The three sandwiches I have eaten have all been wonderful, and I plan to go back very soon.

Nha Toi recently remodeled inside (or sometime between last summer and now), and they have a little more seating, and were showing movies on their projector while I was there.  They have also added a couple small tables outside for dining.  It’s a really friendly atmosphere, and I imagine if you can get a table a nice place to eat.  So far I’ve only picked up sandwiches to go.

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Nha Toi is located at
160 Havemeyer St.
(between South 2nd St & South 3rd St)
Williamsburg, Brooklyn

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Sorry for the lack of food and beer posts…Northside Fest has made the neighborhood explode with music, so I’ve been trying to let people know about stuff I love.  Normal posting food and beer posting will resume next week.

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• This post is part of This Week In Sandwiches.  More sandwich related posts can be found here.

I got one of the normal dogs, and one of the specials. First up was the Paul Kelly, a bratwurst soaked in beer and then topped with the Chicago fixings: mustard, caramelized onions, relish, tomatoes, pickle, and celery salt.  Notice the lack of ketchup…this isn’t New York.  I also ordered the weekly special or as they call it the Game Of The Week: Brown Ale and Chipotle Buffalo Sausage with Half Acre Beer Mustard and Irish Whiskey Cheese.

Ok at this point I know you are probably thinking…these aren’t hot dogs, these are gourmet sausages.  And while that might be the case it doesn’t detract from the fact that they are top quality and delicious.

L’Asso has been one of my favorite places for pizza here in Manhattan for years, and recently we have been ordering the Puta di Mare (a shrimp and broccoli rabe pie with an artichoke sauce), but the past three or four times we haven’t been able to get out of the restaurant with out ordering their Arugula salad.

Ok, I know with a name like Arugula you are probably thinking that it can’t be that special, but I’ll assure you that you are wrong.  This salad consists of arugula, pears, crispy pancetta, candied walnuts, ricotta salata, white wine vinegar, and a little bit of honey.

If the mounds of ricotta salata wasn’t enough to make your mouth water the combination of fresh pear, walnut brittle and pancetta should do it.  The flavor combination on this salad is hard to match, and everyone I’ve shared it with has been equally impressed.

The Arugula salad is pretty expensive, $14, but like I said it’s big enough to share.  Last visit to L’Asso four of us shared this salad…it was big enough for all of us to have decent sized portions, but still have room for the enormous pizza we ordered.

It’s odd for me to gush over a salad (but I do have very fond things to say about the Habitat’s Butter, Bacon and Blue salad), but this one is truly top notch.  A great accompaniment to any pie or pasta you might be ordering, and extremely unique.  I highly recommend it, and even say you are missing out if you go to L’Asso and you don’t order it. It’s not just for salad lovers…this one can impress just about anyone.

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L’Asso is located at
192 Mott Street
at the corner of Kenmare
NoLita, Manhattan

The Arugula salad is $14, and once again it is big enough to share.

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• more of my musings on food can be found here.