It took me a while to warm up to this one. After all, I was a fan of the previous tenant, Feltman’s of Coney Island, a hot dog joint with a story. The reincarnation of the original Coney Island Red Hots, invented by Charles Feltman in 1867. Owner Michael Quinn, packed and left about 6 months ago, and a sandwich shop now occupies the space inside the William Barnacle Tavern (a former prohibition era speakeasy) on St Marks. My level of enthusiasm needed some time to get going on this one. What can they possibly do in this tiny ‘hers and hers’ closet size kitchen? Magic apparently.
The available space was ideal for Ori and Sivan who live in the same building. According to EV Grieve, they grow some of the ingredients in the garden behind the building. A Zero Kilometer Slow Food destination if you will. Maybe they even have a few black pigs roaming around the back munching on East Village acorns. How else would you explain the hard to get Culatello (Prosciutto so prized, it has its own name) that was featured one week. The rotating ingredient driven, whimsical sandwiches keeps Sivan and Ori on their toes, and fun to follow on Instagram. And their brief stint in Tokyo taught them a few tricks.
It starts with the high quality bread from Pain D’Avignon which they also sell separately. The sandwiches rotate based on availability of carefully selected ingredients and to some degree… Sivan’s dreams. When she dreamt about camels, camel meat made it to the menu. When she dreamt about being attacked by angry Bisons, there was revenge in the form of Bison Heart with Tehini, pickled onions, and greens. On occasion, You may see the cleverly light “Oh Boy”, wild Argentinian jumbo Red Shrimp with homemade shrimp sauce and pickled tomato.
Some sandwiches include their orange based spicy sauce that elevated Mrs Ziggy’s already fantastic chicken cutlets back at home. They sell the bottles now for $5. No matter what sandwich you select, the three to five ingredients dance together in harmony, producing a well balanced combination. But if I have to pick one sandwich its the signature Smoking Fox – Smoked Boneless Rib, Coleslaw, pickles and that zesty hot sauce.
EWZ historians claim that this is the first post about a place with less than two Yelp reviews (one as of this writing). This is some strong stuff, and a lesson to us all. When you come across a seemingly low overhead business, dont dismiss it quickly. There could be a creative team behind it, that likes to dream.
In case you didnt get your daily Vessel fix today, here’s a good one. Well, as good as my iPhone can take at least while my big boy camera collects dust. And in case you’ve been living under a rock, or Staten Island, the Vessel, aka The Honeycomb, aka The Giant Shawarma is a 200 million giant art structure in the just unveiled Hudson Yards (aka pretty mall). You need tickets to get inside and the process of getting them at this moment is as difficult and convoluted as the process to get tickets to The Last Supper in Milan. But at least its free.
While we were dining at Simon & The Whale the other day, we noticed something thats becoming less and less peculiar these days. We were the oldest people in the room by what looked like quite the margin. That includes the wait staff. Our waiter could have been the son I was never given (even though he confused Dorade for a Sea bass, something my son would never ever do). But didnt all these kids get the memo that hotel restaurants are horrible tourist traps? They may not have lived long enough when it actually was. In NYC at least.
Its 14:30, I just finished another East Village tour, and I’m hungry. An inside peek into my head… “I still have time for Hunan Slurp before the kitchen closes for a smoke break. Or should I just get another sick sandwich from Foxface? Where exactly did I park my car? If I sprint to the car with the sandwich, will it make it or get all soggy. How do you spell mausoleum anyway? Its cold and I really feel like noodles, preferably swimming in something spicy. Ok, Tatsu Ramen it is!”.
Just like a mom balancing work and being a mom, a tourist in NYC needs to find the right balance between being a tourist and unleashing that inner Ziggy. After meeting so many of you on 
The Gotham West Market’s executive in charge of luring interesting new vendors must have one of the toughest jobs in America. It turns out that surviving so deep inside Hell’s Kitchen, a neighborhood dominated by young professionals and Bulldogs is pretty tough. Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop is the only original vendor left since they opened about 5 years ago. Changes are happening in a furious pace. Latest shocker is the departure of Genuine Roadside, a burger joint owned by Avroko the firm that designed GWM. Sources tell me Corner Bistro another burger joint will be its replacement. Yes, I have sources.
EV Bites is a monthly feature (well sort of. I may have skipped a few), that showcases five places in or around East Village you should know about. I will occasionally extend the border to surrounding hoods and maybe even mention a name more than once. East Village in case you are not aware is an incubator for top industry talent, and a goldmine of world cuisine.
Eating With Ziggy 