I created a Fast Food in New York City blog to host all my entries on dining in New York City. Now I only need to return to posting content on this blog in the spirit of the old days!
Visited Location: 395 Hudson St @ Clarkson St
Dunkin' ... Deli?
That's right... It's the strange result of Dunkin' Donuts owning the Togo's chain of sandwich shops, which has free-standing locations on the West Coast. Here in the East, Togo's apparently was dual- or triple-branded with Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robins. In the late 1990s the name "Dunkin' Deli" replaced Togo's in these locations.
Dunkin' Donuts acknowledges the Deli brand's existence in the nutritional information section of its website, but otherwise makes no mention in its store locator or brand history sections.
Strange history aside, Dunkin' Deli's are extremely rare in New York City. Since not searchable on Dunkin' Donuts' site and not accurately separately listed on Google Maps and Yelp, it's anyone's guess to how many of these locations exist in New York City. I've personally been to over 50 Dunkin' Donuts in this city, however, and I know of only one: 395 Hudson St @ Clarkson St.
From the outside, apart from some Dunkin' Deli labeling, this looks like an average Dunkin' Donuts. On the inside, for the most part, this still looks like an average Dunkin' Donuts, especially now that practically all Dunkin' Donuts' offer hot food items. However, the menu board is extended to include the deli sandwiches, with selections such as a Chicken Bruschetta Sandwich and a Turkey and Bacon Club Sandwich.
There are multiple bread selections, such as white, wheat, and flat. Toasting appears to be the norm as do onions on sandwiches where you might expect someone to want them. Unlike Subway and Quiznos, personalization of toppings is not encouraged, with order reception taking place at the coffee counter, fulfillment in a separate area separated off on many sides by a solid wall, and delivery occurring from a window labeled "Sandwich Pickup".
I've had both the chicken bruschetta and turkey/bacon club sandwiches. Both had the hot toasted taste of Quiznos, and both were loaded with onions. The tomatoes on my recent turkey/bacon club had no flavor.
One important last item of discussion is price. Dunkin' Deli is not particularly competitive priced, with the small sandwiches priced around $4.99 and the large around $7.99. The small sandwiches come nowhere near in size to Subway's five-dollar footlongs, so lunch here is certainly not economical.
While not inexpensive, an occasion meal from Dunkin' Deli provides a welcome, more flavorful alternative to the suite of subs from Subway.
Dunkin' ... Deli?
That's right... It's the strange result of Dunkin' Donuts owning the Togo's chain of sandwich shops, which has free-standing locations on the West Coast. Here in the East, Togo's apparently was dual- or triple-branded with Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robins. In the late 1990s the name "Dunkin' Deli" replaced Togo's in these locations.Dunkin' Donuts acknowledges the Deli brand's existence in the nutritional information section of its website, but otherwise makes no mention in its store locator or brand history sections.
Strange history aside, Dunkin' Deli's are extremely rare in New York City. Since not searchable on Dunkin' Donuts' site and not accurately separately listed on Google Maps and Yelp, it's anyone's guess to how many of these locations exist in New York City. I've personally been to over 50 Dunkin' Donuts in this city, however, and I know of only one: 395 Hudson St @ Clarkson St.
From the outside, apart from some Dunkin' Deli labeling, this looks like an average Dunkin' Donuts. On the inside, for the most part, this still looks like an average Dunkin' Donuts, especially now that practically all Dunkin' Donuts' offer hot food items. However, the menu board is extended to include the deli sandwiches, with selections such as a Chicken Bruschetta Sandwich and a Turkey and Bacon Club Sandwich.There are multiple bread selections, such as white, wheat, and flat. Toasting appears to be the norm as do onions on sandwiches where you might expect someone to want them. Unlike Subway and Quiznos, personalization of toppings is not encouraged, with order reception taking place at the coffee counter, fulfillment in a separate area separated off on many sides by a solid wall, and delivery occurring from a window labeled "Sandwich Pickup".
I've had both the chicken bruschetta and turkey/bacon club sandwiches. Both had the hot toasted taste of Quiznos, and both were loaded with onions. The tomatoes on my recent turkey/bacon club had no flavor.One important last item of discussion is price. Dunkin' Deli is not particularly competitive priced, with the small sandwiches priced around $4.99 and the large around $7.99. The small sandwiches come nowhere near in size to Subway's five-dollar footlongs, so lunch here is certainly not economical.
While not inexpensive, an occasion meal from Dunkin' Deli provides a welcome, more flavorful alternative to the suite of subs from Subway.
Manhattan: 271 W 23rd St @ 8th Ave (visited) & 885 10th Ave @ 58th St
Several locations in Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island
Boston Market, with only two locations, is extremely rare in Manhattan. The location I visited was directly outside the 23rd Street Station of the 8th Avenue Subway (C,E).
For Manhattan fast food restaurants, this Boston Market was extremely clean, far more than I had expected. The presentation of the main dishes and sides was extremely appetizing. Granted, calling Boston Market fast food is almost an insult. It, along with chains such as Panara Bread, are positioned somewhere between that class and casual dining.
Boston Market, like many other chains, has recently lowered its prices, with many lunches and dinners now costing around five dollars. For a mere $5.23 (including tax), I received half a chicken sandwich, a decent serving of stuffing, and a medium beverage (free refills). However, a friend of mine, an experienced Boston Market guest, did note that the serving size has decreased over the years. Nevertheless, my lunch cost me a good three dollars less than I expected.
Boston Market also provides catering. This card on the table provided for some good laughs. Note the primary upsell item of the different packages is the level of dinnerware included. The Silver Package comes with disposable dinnerware, the Gold Package comes with "upgraded disposable dinnerware", while the Platinum Package comes with china. That's right, you can have your Boston Market on China!
Several locations in Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island
Boston Market, with only two locations, is extremely rare in Manhattan. The location I visited was directly outside the 23rd Street Station of the 8th Avenue Subway (C,E).For Manhattan fast food restaurants, this Boston Market was extremely clean, far more than I had expected. The presentation of the main dishes and sides was extremely appetizing. Granted, calling Boston Market fast food is almost an insult. It, along with chains such as Panara Bread, are positioned somewhere between that class and casual dining.
Boston Market, like many other chains, has recently lowered its prices, with many lunches and dinners now costing around five dollars. For a mere $5.23 (including tax), I received half a chicken sandwich, a decent serving of stuffing, and a medium beverage (free refills). However, a friend of mine, an experienced Boston Market guest, did note that the serving size has decreased over the years. Nevertheless, my lunch cost me a good three dollars less than I expected.Boston Market also provides catering. This card on the table provided for some good laughs. Note the primary upsell item of the different packages is the level of dinnerware included. The Silver Package comes with disposable dinnerware, the Gold Package comes with "upgraded disposable dinnerware", while the Platinum Package comes with china. That's right, you can have your Boston Market on China!
Inside NYU's Weinstein Residence Hall, 5-11 University Place (northeast corner of Washington Square). Closed on Sundays and possibly during the summer and other times when classes are not in session.New York City's only Chick-Fil-A is in the Weinstein Residence Hall of NYU, right off Washington Square. It is part of a food court near the entrance that is open to the public. To get to the food court, go straight in until you reach the dining area and then pass through a turnstile to the right. If you hit the Kosher area, you've gone too far!
While it's true that this is a heat-lamped "express" location, I doubt my sandwich was out for more than five minutes since I went during lunch time. The easily accessible items were fried and grilled chicken sandwiches, some kind of chicken nugget-style items in boxes, and waffle fries. There was also a sign to ask if you were looking for something else. My fries were made on demand.
The special sauces were passed out under the watchful control of the staff. It appeared the limit was two. I took one barbecue sauce an I thought it was plenty. Mints, mayonnaise, and mustard were on the customer side of the counter, so I took a bunch.
Since this is a college food court, all counters share the same beverage selection, as well as big ketchup and mustard pumps past the registers.
This was the first time I had Chick-Fil-A and I found the fried chicken sandwich quite tasty. It had rather thin breading, and lots of chicken, which was to my liking. I also like the fact that it's just chicken and a couple pickle pieces, allowing you full control of the rest. (It appears McDonalds and KFC have copied this concept recently).
Price: $6.12 including tax for fried chicken sandwich, waffle fries, and a medium soda. A trip to NYC's only Chick-Fil-A is definitely worth it.
401 7th Avenue @ 32nd Street. Right across 7th Avenue from the main east entrance to Penn Station.
Roy Rogers was down to two locations in New York City. They were both run by Riese Restaurants. Now the Penn Station location has closed for renovation, with a sign indicating that Roy Rogers will be replaced by KFC.
So this is it! The last remaining Roy Rogers in New York City! Riese Restaurants also replaced Roy Rogers around the corner on 34th Street with more contemporary options, so I wouldn't count on this one lasting.
It's a real time warp walking into this place. Roy's classic photo is hanging there, as are many pieces of Roy Rogers memorabilia. There are two former heated oven-type things to keep food warm, but they're no longer in service and have "for display only" signs on them. Strangely enough there are aluminum wrapped sandwiches "on display".
It took five minutes for service to arrive. I could have walked over to the Nathan's counter, but I was curious how long it would take. I ordered a Gold Rush Chicken Sandwich combo and was given the choice of several sides such as fries, cold slaw, and mashed potatoes. I chose fries. My soda was also served to me and I made my way over to the cashier.After paying I went to the signature "Fixins Bar" to top off my sandwich. The lettuce looked a little sad, but the tomatoes and onions were fine (they last longer). There were little pre-filled cups of barbecue sauce and either mayonnaise or horseradish sauce (probably the later since Roy serves roast beef sandwiches as well). Then I went over to the Nathan's condiment section to pump out some ketchup. I love places with a ketchup pump... If there's one thing I hate it's having to deal with ketchup packets.
The sandwich and the fries tasted pretty good, no complaints there. While eating I heard a woman outside ask "WTF is Roy Rogers?" Classic... Enjoy it while it lasts.
...At least what that this flyer sent to me by a San Francisco wireless carrier called CREDO Mobile claims. I find that rather disturbing, but who am I to tell my phone how to vote?
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal appeals court said on Tuesday that a new rule requiring New York City fast food restaurants to post calorie information on menu boards is effective immediately.
It's a done deal: NYC calorie-count rule effective immediately: court
I've already become used to these menu boards at Subway, which has had them for over a year because they have nothing to hide:
The slightly more-caloric chains fought the legislation since it might cause customers to reconsider their choice:
One of the claims was that adding the calorie information would the make the menu impossible to read. Here is what Dunkin' Donuts presented:
And here is how New York City responded:
Just another health-inspired law from the first major city to ban smoking and trans fats!
Photo Credit: Most of these photos are from Menu Board Calories Arrive in New York on "Weighty Matters" where they are licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada license.
While the newkai.com domain will be sticking around, I killed the over-eight-year-old "The New Kai" concept of this website. Not only was it horribly out of date content and design-wise, much of it was broken!
"The New Kai" concept was based on fifteen-to-eighteen-year-old me and simply had to be discarded of. I now work about fifty hours a week, spend six-plus hours in the gym, enjoy nightlife, and sleep most of the weekend to recuperate from the previous three. It was time for me to upgrade to a much simpler content management system.
Any of the worthy content from the old site will be carried over here eventually. You'll already find a link to my two photo sites in the "pages" section of the main page. I might even bring back the KaiCams sometime, although I think they'll be a little more outdoors oriented this time! They certainly did a lot for the uniqueness of this site.
Even maintaining a website in this age of Facebook is a struggle. See my post about this last year.
Here are images I dug up of newkai.com versions 1 & 2:
I'm finally freeing myself of frames on newkai.com. While they improved the site's appearance back in the day, there's no use for them in 2008. And last but not least, there's no more 18-year-old me frozen all over the screen!
One of the first things you learn upon arriving in New York City is that Starbucks contain the quasi-public bathrooms of this epicenter of Western civilization. There are two major reason for this:
- The city only provides one. (There are also about a dozen in the subway system, but they're not recommended)
- There is a Starbucks on virtually every corner and they do not post "restrooms are for customers only" signs.
The "Starbucks law" will help you out a lot. However, if you find yourself in a pedestrian-heavy areas, you might find yourself in a ridiculously long line several times longer than the coffee line.
That's where the New York City Public Toilet Map comes in... The preview on the site doesn't show you too many examples, but it does mention the SoHo Apple Store. I've been in there at least a dozen times and never even realized it had a public bathroom.
I don't own this map (yet), but happened to find myself in SoHo on Saturday, when it was packed by European tourists spending the formerly valuable currency known as the dollar. There was a line of about 20 at Starbucks on Spring Street by Lafayette Street. Fortunately I remembered that there's a Bloomingdales around the corner with three sets of bathrooms. There was no line.
It has finally happened. "The New Starbucks" has come up with a solution to the much-despised (especially by myself) "sippy cup lid." I can now confirm the availability of of a green plug with a rod that fits somewhat securely on the lid's opening.
Much in the fashion of Apple's Mighty Mouse, where the computer manufacturer came up with a two-button mouse that still technically is a one-button mouse, Starbucks obviously hasn't wanted to admit its lid's major shortcoming.
From my limited research, limited to one Starbucks location in Manhattan, the plug/rod device is only available upon special request. Upon my proclamation that this invention was long overdue and would have saved me several burns and cleanups had it come out earlier, one barista informed the other that "it's true, you can find complaints about these lids all over the internet."
Maybe this "New Starbucks" idea isn't so bad. They might have killed the breakfast sandwich, but this new lid and the new Pike Place Roast, which doesn't charcoal your mouth nearly as much, do represent significant improvements.
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