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EV Bites – Of Foxes, Pizza, and Smores in Paradise

Posted on September 29, 2019 by Ziggy

Smor - Potato Salad EV Bites is a [whenever I feel like it] feature 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. The neighborhood of East Village in case you are not aware is an incubator for top industry talent, and a goldmine of world cuisine.

Previously on EV Bites: The Dumplings Belt

Smør – Want to see the saddest looking McDonalds in the city? Head to East Village. No matter how many places like Smør open in this area, you never have enough fast food, or fast casual spots around. Smør specializes in exactly that, Smørrebrød, Nordic open faced toasts. It starts and ends with the high quality bread from Union Square market. The Potato salad will just about be the best potato salad you’ll ever have. Fantastic Smoked Salmon is a given. But the best item on the menu might be the Hangover (Roast Beef) Sandwich, best enjoyed with a light headache or morning after guilt.

Mister Paradise – I only write about bars if they happen to have exceptional ~~burger~~ food. Mister Paradise has at the very least, some of the best bar burgers in the city. The patty is of good quality, perfectly cooked meat, topped with bacon-infused american cheese and caramelized onions. And for $12 good value to boot (fries are separate and good). Add a not too shabby, if slightly on the dry side, fried chicken that comes with truffle and Habanero honey duo. For drinks, for something refreshing try the Party Lobster – blanco tequila, mezcal, campari, watermelon, lime, fermented habanero, garlic

886 – Sometimes new places “expire” in my head, and I forget all about them, before they resurface somehow out of their hiding. This Taiwanese was hiding in plain sight right on the busy, glitzy side of St Marks. 886 offers one of the better lunch specials in the area where you can choose dishes like the visually pleasing sweet Taiwanese Sausage and Fried Rice, and the absolute best Popcorn Chicken I’ve ever had.

Village Square Pizza – Pizza joints in all shapes and sizes come and go in that part of the island. The intense competition in the area created a survival of the fittest environment, except that its almost impossible to determine the fittest. Sometimes I try new pizza and can pretty much pinpoint the month they’ll close (Rolio Pizza), but then there’s the curious case of Martina. Village Square is run by former employees of the famed Prince Street pizza in Soho. This is where you can get the famous Pepperoni Sicilian (square) without the hoopla (meaning tourists), and their signature white (fresh ricotta, garlic, mozzarella, honey).

Foxface – I told you about this ‘Hers and Hers Closet’ sandwich gem inside the William Barnacle speakeasy. Well now that the NYT discovered it as well, you’ll need to take a number and wait for your sandwich just a little longer. But its well worth it.

Foxface

Categories: East Village, New York City | Tags: 886 NYC, EV Bites, food, Foxface, Mister Paradise NYC, Smor East Village, Travel, Village Square Pizza | Leave a comment

Foxface – Sandwich Academy

Posted on April 11, 2019 by Ziggy

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.