Artie’s Delicatessen.

First off, I know that there are a lot of better pictures of Artie’s out there on the web.  Just use this one directionally, the place doesn’t really change that much.

Secondly, I know that I have been slacking on updating this blog.  I have been eating at quite a few places on the UWS with some regularity (it seems as though I might actually be able to achieve the goal of eating at all 50 or so of them) but I have failed to write about most of these experiences.  For that, I am sorry.

And now it’s time to talk about pastrami.

For any Upper West Sider, Artie’s is pretty much a standard.  Along with Barney’s Greengrass, it pretty much covers off on the Jewish deli needs of the neighborhood.

On second thought, maybe it doesn’t.

In any case, I’ve been frequenting Artie’s pretty much since I moved into the neighborhood.  Although I could have written a glowing review of the place without having even stepped foot inside again, I felt that that would go against the rules of the eUWS project.  And that would also rob me of a chance to have some of Artie’s goods.  Also, much to my chagrin, Burgergal had never eaten at Artie’s, despite her claims that she went to high school on the Upper West Side.  This makes me question her background.  But that’s beside the point.

The conditions for an Artie’s dinner were pretty much perfect.  A Wednesday night office party had left me feeling sub-par (to put it extremely mildly) for most of the following Thursday.  When I left work, one of the so-called “storms of the century” was dumping show at a rapid pace.  It was cold, and we had no food in the apartment.

Artie’s beckoned to me like a kind rabbi offering me a seat at temple for the high holidays.  And Artie’s would make me pay for it, too.

Since I was far too ill to pick up the phone, I made burgergal call.  A few seconds after connecting with the resto, I saw her face contort into a look of disbelief.  ”An hour and a half for delivery?”

WHAT?!

Clearly I wasn’t the only New Yorker who saw the snow as an opportunity to order in some fatty pastrami and a matzo ball soup.  Undeterred, I casually suggested an idea…

“You know, you could always go pick it up in person.  I would do it, but, you know, I’m really hungover.  And I really want Artie’s, I mean, you, umm, want to try Artie’s.”  Although she was already in lounge-wear, she agreed, and (a little) begrudgingly donned her winter’s best.

Within a half an hour, the meal was laid out before me: mushroom barley soup (this was new for me) and a hot pastrami sandwich on rye.  Perfect.  If I could have, I would have also gotten a chicken liver salad sandwich, and a meatloaf, and some matzo ball soup, but my general desire to remain alive for more than a few more years convinced me to refrain.

The soup was tasty: hearty with plenty of mushrooms and barley.  Coming off a jager-bender, it soothed my stomach and set the stage for the pastrami bomb that was going to hit within minutes.

The main event was nothing short of spectacular, as always.  I recently had Katz’s pastrami, and even though their pastrami is heralded as the best in the city, I think that for my money I would prefer to go to Artie’s every time.  They slice the pastrami thinly, and it’s always perfectly cooked.  The salty char on the outside complements the fatty interior of the meat perfectly, and their Jewish rye bread is nutty and delicious, with enough density to absorb the grease without disintegrating.  A nice dollop of grain mustard, and I’m in heaven.  (NB: they make their own mustard, intended for use on Artie’s-brand pastrami sandwiches.  It’s good.  Get extra.  If you put it on Katz’s pastrami, I’ve heard it turns into poison.  Could be bullshit, but just sayin’…)  The portion, like Katz’s, is definitely enough for two people, but I’ve been known to finish off an entire sandwich in my day.  The price is also pretty decent: I think it’s about ten bucks for a single sandwich.  That sounds like a lot, but bear in mind you can make it two hearty sandwiches.  By that math, it’s a bargain!

Whenever I go to Artie’s by myself, I usually get a matzo ball soup and a lean pastrami sandwich on rye.  The beauty of this order is that I get another two slices of that rye bread.  Then, I can set aside some of the pastrami to enjoy an Artie’s sandwich another time (or later that night).  Just a suggestion.

That’s all I’ve got.  Sorry I didn’t take any pictures, but there are surely a ton of them available on the web.  Or, better yet, just come on uptown and check it out for yourself.

Artie’s Delicatessen

Broadway between 82nd and 83rd Streets

Edgar’s Cafe

There are a lot of places on the Upper West Side that I had never been to, despite the fact that I have lived here for more than five years.  One of the best examples is Edgar’s Cafe.  It is less than two blocks away from me, yet I have never stepped foot in the place.  It is less than TWO BLOCKS.  I could throw something to it from my front door, yet I have never even thought of going to the place.  That’s the fun of the eUWS project– it gives me a reason to go to all of these places to which I have never even thought of going. (Side note, another one is Ali Baba, which apparently is a kosher Israeli-Yeminite place with macrobiotic twist, according to New York Magazine).

Anyway, the other day, Burgergal and I wanted something relatively quick and healthy, and I figured that Edgar’s Cafe was a perfect option.  When walking in, I was first struck by how airy the space is.  Since it is named after Edgar Allan Poe, I assumed that it would be dark and dank inside, with very little light coming through the barred windows.  Needless to say, I was surprised.

The ambiance was pleasant and casual enough, perfect for a lazy Saturday afternoon bite.  We were both in the mood for salads, so we decided to try a couple of different ones.  Each was fairly simple, yet tasty enough to satisfy our hunger.  And I must say, the coffee there is delightful.

I’ll show some pics of the salads, but they really weren’t photogenic or anything, but I kinda feel obligated to show pics since I have them.

I had a grilled portobello salad with mozzarella and sun-dried tomatoes.  It had a light and zingy vinaigrette, which worked out perfectly.

Burgergal’s salad was slightly more ambitious, with some grilled chicken, avocado, and a pesto of some sort (I think).  I didn’t actually try it, but I think it was tasty.

All in all, Edgar’s is a great little casual spot for a quick bite to eat.  From my recollection, the prices were pretty good, and the service was pleasant.  While the length of this entry might indicate that it is unremarkable, that would be because it is unremarkable, but not in a bad way.  I would go back, but even at this moment, I can’t think of a time when.  I suppose that’s why I didn’t get there in five years.

BUT, they do have a tiramisu, supposedly one of the best in the city, so perhaps I will be back sooner than I think to check that out.  Burgermom (mine, not burgergal’s) is a bit tiramisu fan, so I would be remiss to not do some research for her.

Edgar’s Cafe

84th St. and West End Avenue

The Great Burrito

LOST season premiere was the night.  We had a hunger to find out what the hell was going to happen to those damned survivors (or are they?).  Getting together with our LOST buddies Arielle, Ben, and Graham, Bugergal and I knew that we had to order from the Upper West Side.  This is THE neighborhood crew.  If we didn’t order from our ‘hood, who were we?

I threw The Great Burrito out there as an idea.

“Pssh.  Do I know the Great Burrito?  Of course I know the place.  I’m a New Yorker, from the Upper West Side.  The Great Burrito has been here since my youth.  It’s a neighborhood joint, family-owned, with, you know, Mexican food.”

With Graham’s glowing review, we placed our order and waited… and waited… and waited.

45 minutes for a pork burrito with guacamole?  What the hell?  We placed a call and were informed that the burritos were on their way.  Meaning, the order hadn’t been completed yet and they had forgotten about it.  My faith in the Great Burrito was waning.

Until it arrived.

First off, the burrito was tremendous.  It was just huge.  I knew that I could put it down, but I wasn’t even going to try.  It was chock full of deliciously roasted pork, rice, and black beans.  It was so chock-full of umami that I didn’t know what to do with myself.  There was so much savory goodness in there, I could feel my sweatpants giving way with every bite (yes, I did wear sweatpants for the event).  I knew that this would not help my situation after having skipped the gym for a few weeks.  Oh well, I had a burrito!

True to its name, the burrito was great.

Since the burrito was so massive, no side accoutrements are really necessary, but they do have a great simple guacamole that we got on the side.  It’s light and clean, a perfect companion to a heavy-as-lead burrito.

And there it is.  This might be the new go-to in the ‘hood, replacing another UWS favorite, Noche (according to Graham– “the best beer in manhattan.”  It actually is pretty solid, they give it to you in frozen mugs.).

The Great Burrito

Amsterdam and 79th St.

Pizza by La Grolla

I have lived on the Upper West Side for about five years, and I have never noticed these two places, side by side.  My understanding is that Pizza by La Grolla is relatively new, replacing La Grolla Ristorante, another place of which I had never been a patron.  I had high hopes for this place, fueled by the positive reviews that are all over the interweb.  With all of the Neapolitan pizzas out there, I expected that this could be the hole-in-the-wall Upper West Side place that has Italian-style pizza.

And it would be my little secret, with only my devoted blog readers and burgergal to enjoy it.  Victory would be mine!  Take that, [insert trendy East Village pizza place here]!

But alas, I was slightly disappointed.

We popped into Pizza by La Grolla on a cold Saturday afternoon, our mouths watering in anticipation of what was going to be a tremendous pizza experience.  We walked into the place and quickly noticed a rack of pre-made pizzas.  Not exactly awe-inspiring.  But I was still hoping for the best.

Burgergal went for a mushroom soup (full disclosure, she didn’t really want to have pizza) and a slice of a roasted eggplant pizza (affumicata ,to be exact).  The presentation was kinda cool, they give you a little board that looks like a mini pizza peel, with a breadstick and a little handled pot of soup.  Nice touch.

The soup looked brothy, but BG said that it was ok.  I didn’t really feel like giving it a shot, but it looked like it tasted like mushrooms.

The pizza looks better in the picture than it was in reality.  All of the pizzas were actually a bit more like focaccia than like New York or Neapolitan-style pizzas.  The sauce was a little bland, and the slice missed that kick that I would have liked to see.  That said, the ingredients seemed like they were of decent quality, and from what I recall, the price was decent.

I myself opted for two slices of pizza: a slice of the diavola (Sopressata Calabrese, broccolini,mozzarella, tomato sauce) and the forestiera (rosemary ham, mushroom, mozzarella,ricotta).

As you can see, the pizza was a little cake-y.  Again, they were like eating focaccia.  The diavola was tasty, basically built upon the eggplant slice that BG had, but with a little bit of kick from the sopressata.  The forestiera was just ok, and could have used a nice glug of some olive oil to bring it to life a little bit.  Come to think of it, both slices could have dealt with a little extra fat on top.

All in all, the slices had potential, but didn’t really work for me.  They didn’t have any “it” factor, and they were not really slices.  I would hesitate to call this pizza.  As I started out saying, they were more pieces of square focaccia.  If I wanted that, I would have been happy, but since I was hoping for a good Neapolitan slice, I was gravely disappointed.  Now, fold these slices over and throw them in a panini press, then we’d be talking.  That said, this is one eUWS location to which I will not be returning.

Pizza by La Grolla

Amsterdam Ave at 79th St.

Dean’s

Not wanting to stop a weekend streak consisting of fried chicken and other such nonsense, burgergal and I decided to keep the streak alive and get some pizza.  Even though it’s been open for a few years now, I had never been to Dean’s.  I knew that it was a chain, but decided that it was still worth paying a visit, since it is so close, and I had read decent things about it, even from Gael Greene.

We walked into the space, and my first impression was, “wow, this space is big.”  It was eerily big, sorta like Calle Ocho is.  I had no idea that the modest, weather-worn yellow awning hid this gem of a space within it.

Anyway, we sat down, and I noticed that the menu also had aperiTIVO, Patsy’s, and Angelo’s printed on it as partner locations.  From that, I basically knew what I was in for.  Now, it must have been my own lack of knowledge, but burgergal seemed to know that it was owned by the same family as Patsy’s and aperiTIVO.  I had no idea.

I knew exactly what was going to follow.  Decent salads, pretty good “bread” (it’s actually pizza dough), and a good thin crust pizza that is not quite Neapolitan style, but not quite New York style, either.  Having been to aperiTIVO around twenty times, I knew that the pepperoni was solid.  I had to get some of that action.

So we got a half cheese, half pepperoni pie.  It was pretty good.  Not the highest quality ingredients, and nothing that jumped out at me.  It was just a good, serviceable pizza.  A good standby to have nearby (not that Patsy’s is that far).

Dean’s

85th st. off Broadway

Silk Road Palace

In keeping with the Harriet’s theme, we kept it straight up American… by ordering from a Chinese place.

Say what?

Burgergal and I decided to order from Silk Road Palace the other night.  Truth be told, I have ordered from this place about a hundred times.  I typically do not really enjoy it, but I order from there because it’s relatively cheap, and the food is consistent, while not mind-blowing.  It was a Wednesday night, and I was hoping to order from King Food, which will be hit later on during this adventure of mine.  However, BG was skeptical, so we ordered from a more familiar spot.

“Chinese wine,” as my friends who went to school in NYC used to call it, since they give you free white wine (boxed, of course, I believe Franzia) for the duration of your meal.  The wine is pretty terrible, but poor college students are all about it.  I knew that ordering in would be the much better option.  Just seeing the wine gives me a headache and makes my mouth pucker with disgust.

But I digress.

Being uninspired and not adventurous in any way, we ordered the most American items on the menu.  I haven’t done any research, but I am almost 100% certain that these dishes have not been any closer to China than I have (until summer 2K10).  The three items ordered:

• Chin Du Baby Ribs: These little pork ribs are so salty and so sweet and gooey, they are about as Chinese as Chex Mix.  But they are so delicious.
• Five Flavors Chinese Eggplant: I mean, anything on a Chinese Food menu that has “five flavors” is most certainly not Chinese.  Again, greasy, salty, sweet, and delicious
• Sesame Chicken: YES.  This is the ultimate non-Chinese food item EVER.  Fried chicken, with brown sauce and sesame seeds.  So tender, so crispy, so delicious.  Oh, and I think it comes with broccoli or something.

So how was the most American Chinese meal of all time?  It was awesome.  I haven’t enjoyed a Chinese delivery in this long since the days of Mu Shu Pork and Chicken with Cashew Nuts from Panda Inn in Glendale, CA.  That stuff is tremendous.  This stuff reminded me of college, when we would get General Tso’s and Sesame Chicken and then drunkenly play the “barter game,” which basically meant exchanging pieces of fried chicken with sauces of varying sweetness.  Sometimes a person would throw the curveball in there with an order of pork fried rice.  Damn, that stuff was good.  I wish Golden Light still delivered to me.  That’s a real part of the Tufts experience that will never make it into a viewbook.

The experience reminded me how good American food is.  And how good hoisin sauce is, too.

Ahh, yes, the chewy and fatty Chinese spare rib.  How can you go wrong?  These little guys did not lead us astray.  They were delicious.  I mean, look at that sheen!

How many flavors do you see up in that delivery container?  Let me give you a hint: it’s more than 4, but less than 6.  Give up yet?  It’s FIVE flavor eggplant, y’all.  It was pretty much as it looks– oily, salty, and mushy.  Atop some nice brown rice (you know, because we needed the fiber), it wasn’t bad, but on it’s own, it was a tough one.  However, the next day, I was more than willing to take care of it cold, straight from the fridge, standing in my boxers.  They weren’t as memorable as the spare ribs.  They validated my concern with ordering vegetables from a Chinese takeout place.

Ah, the pièce de résistance.  This is what should get Silk Road Palace its third Michelin Star.  I mean, look at that stuff.  Yeah, you know what I’m talking about: that BROCCOLI. That stuff is GREEN and DELICIOUS.

Just kidding.  Everyone knows the broccoli is a throw-away, there just to make up some extra weight within the packaging.  The main event is the fried chicken goodness.  The brown sauce combined with the crunchy exterior just touches the soul.  Can’t get enough of that MSG and fried batter.  Brings back memories of drunken college nights and putting on the freshman 15.

Silk Road Palace

Amsterdam and 82nd St.

Harriet’s Kitchen

Another day, another place on the UWS.  Some good old American comfort food was coming out way.

It was a rainy Sunday afternoon, and Burgergal and I were hungry.  Hungry for fried chicken.  Ever since the failed “chicken n’ waffle” hunt of late 2007, we’ve had a constant hankering for fried chicken (and waffles).  Watching the Throwdown with Bobby Flay where he took on Jasper Alexander from Hattie’s up in Saratoga, we knew that we had to satisfy our hunger before making the trek up to Charles’ pan fried chicken.  I knew that there was only one place on the UWS that would be able to provide this.

We called up an ordered a half fried chicken meal, with a side of mac and cheese and baked beans, cornbread on the side.  We also got a cole slaw on the side to round out the meal.  Then we sat back and waited.  Impatiently.

Then we got a call: the delivery guy couldn’t get into the building.  Um, what?!  I opened my front door, and saw that the lobby to the building was dark.  The power had gone out in the lobby and, with it, the buzzer didn’t work.

Rats!

Burgergal worked out a re-delivery with Harriet’s– the delivery guy didn’t have a cell phone and was therefore back at the home base.  I looked outside.  The rain was not letting up.  I did a quick calculation of fried chicken and how long its crispy exterior would last in humid conditions like these.  I gave it 6.4 minutes, tops.  With the detour back to Harriet’s, I figured that was at least 15 extra minutes.

This was not good.  I saw soggy fried chicken in my future, and I was anything but excited about it.

Finally, the chicken arrived, and the soggy delivery man did not seem too happy.  We gave him a big tip, just because we felt bad.

I tore into the bag like an animal (an animal with a thorough understanding of thermodynamics and its effect on fried chicken crunchiness), not wanting the chicken to suffer in its steam shower any longer.  Much to my surprise, the surface of the chicken was bone dry.  Somehow the Harriet’s Kitchen staff had figured out how to make the exterior able to withstand the most humid of conditions.  I was impressed.

The parsley that was thrown in there for decoration was about the only item that seemed to have suffered any ill effects.  The mac and cheese had congealed a little bit, which is not quite my cup of tea, but burgergal was happy about that.

So, how was it?

I got the dark meat, since that’s my thing.  The exterior was crunchy and not greasy at all, which was great.  The meat was moist and succulent, the way good fried chicken should be.  BG picked up a hint of curry in the crust, which I did not pick up at first, but I did start to notice once I had been alerted to it.  She wasn’t a huge fan of that flavor, but I enjoyed it whenever I did taste it.  For about 12 bucks, we thought it was pretty hard to complain.  And it was still fried chicken, after all.

The mac and cheese was fine, although a little simple for my snobbish M&C tastes.  Perhaps if served piping hot, I would have been much better, but I wasn’t a huge fan.  The cornbread was also a little lacking, not because the flavor wasn’t good, but because the bottom of it was a little bit burned, which gave a bitter flavor throughout the piece of bread.  Again, for the price, can’t complain.  In that same vein, the beans were also ok, although nothing to write home about (but I guess I am writing about them).  I think I have been spoiled by the baked beans at Dinosaur BBQ, which are pretty much the finest specimen of baked beans that I can point to.  Sweet bbq sauce, pork drippings, bacon… how can you go wrong?  They also tasted a little bit bitter, as though the bottom of the pan had gotten a little bit too hot during the cooking process.  They were still satisfying and savory.  Once again.  12 bucks.  Meal for two.

Apparently the burger from Harriet’s is what takes center stage these days, but the fried chicken was still a pretty good treat for a rainy Sunday lunch.

Harriet’s Kitchen

Amsterdam Ave at 84th st.

Recipe

So, it was the first weekend after I came up with this wacky idea.  After a productive morning that included going to the gym, it was time to grab some lunch before seeing a movie (Youth in Revolt– pretty good, check it out).  Burgergal was craving a sandwich.  Not just any sandwich, but a good sandwich, like a panino.  Knowing that the place had to be within the determined range, I started racking my brain for a place that would meet the criteria.  It made me wish that there was a ‘wichcraft up here.

Alas, there is not.

After a few minutes of staring blankly at Menupages and spacing out in front of my computer, recipe came to mind.  Since it’s owned by the same owners as neighboring Land, I figured they would have a cost-conscious brunch menu.  After a quick peek on the interweb, my suspicions were confirmed.  Done.

Now, full disclosure before we get into the lunch that we had.  We had been to recipe before.  We went for dinner and sat at the counter.  From our recollection, the rillettes were not that great, but the tomato and mozzarella tart was delicious.  Recipe is dedicated to using local ingredients, which is always a nice bonus, too.  It’s good to have this type of place in the neighborhood, and now, after my second visit, I can say that it is worth a quick weeknight dinner.

We walked in, hoping that we’d be able to snag a table for two.  Burgergal got it done, and we were sitting within minutes.  The vibe of the place is pretty casual, and it’s a great place to spend a lazy Saturday afternoon brunch.  If we didn’t have to catch the movie, we would have been able to relax a little bit, but we were on a schedule.

Recipe, like a lot of other places these days, has quite a selection of sodas, since apparently sodas are cool for adults now.  I was a little fatigued from the night before, when I had had a few people over for dinner, and consumed much wine.  I got a Thomas Kemper Ginger Ale, which was delicious.  Not too sweet, with only a hint of ginger.  I wished that it had a bit more bite, but that’s more for ginger beer, I suppose.

For our main courses, we decided to go with a couple of sandwiches.  A pulled pork sandwich with granny smith apple and a grilled chicken sandwich with chipotle tapenade, bacon, and mozzarella.  Both were served with housemade pickles and some fresh potato chips.  Both sandwiches were tasty, even if a little simple.  But for $10 bucks and a lovely ambience, worth every penny.  Overall, a great experience.  Number one was pretty good, I must say.

Grilled Chicken with Chipotle Tapenade, Bacon, and Mozzarella

Pulled Pork Sandwich with Apple Compote

Recipe

Amsterdam Avenue between 82nd and 83rd

The journey has begun.

As noted in the “about” tab of the blog, our quest is to eat at every* dining establishment on the UWS between 79th and 86th streets. (* Exceptions can be made, see below)

A natural question is, “why the hell do you want to do that?”

Well, there are a few reasons.  One, I’d like to do it.  I think it’s an interesting experiment to write about, and enough of my friends think so, too.  And maybe it will help some people who live in the ‘hood pick restaurants for dinner or lunch.  I think there are great places that I’ve consistently missed over the past five years, and it’s time to bring them to light.   Two, there’s a chance that come this summer, I might not be living on the glorious Upper West Side anymore, and I don’t want to wonder what any restaurant was like.  I want to know what it was like.  Three, I want this to be an interactive forum (think Midtown Lunch), where readers can submit their comments and opinions and share stories about their favorite places on the Upper West Side.

Now, there are a few ground rules:

- The area is 79th Street to 86th Street, between Riverside and Central Park West.  Restaurants outside of that zone are optional and can be visited and written about, but this is only for extra credit.

- Restaurants that are “beyond the zone” (e.g., Blondie’s, on the south side of 79th Street) are optional; since technically they are not within my defined area.  Again, they are extra credit.

- “No chains, fool.”  I am not required to go to places that have multiple outposts in the city that offer comparable experiences.  We’ll say, three or more locations.  Who really wants to read about my trip to Ray’s Pizza?  Guess what, it will probably be like all of the other Ray’s Pizzas.  And I’ve eaten at Subway.  I know it’s there, I choose to ignore it.

- Any meal can be consumed, and delivery is just fine.  For some of the places from which we will have to eat, I would rather not actually see where the food is coming from.

- Bars are bars and restaurants are restaurants.  Bars with food are not restaurants, and are therefore optional.

I think that’s about it.  This should be fun.  Be sure to subscribe for email updates!