$1 Slice - 2 Bros. Pizza, NYC

Besides a McDonald's double cheeseburger, this is the second best way to spend $1.  It wasn't terrible and it wasn't great, but the benefit was much greater than the cost.  Good size slice, soft crust, decent sauce, but a little light on the cheese.  If I am ever near the place again and feeling a little hungry, I would get it again.

- Lunch Pail

$1 Slice

Chicken Wings - Coalhouse Pizza, Stamford, CT

A couple of weeks ago I met up with some old colleagues for lunch and based on the recommendation of Joe Keary, we decided on Coalhouse Pizza.  Mr. Keary claimed that these are the second best chicken wings that he has ever had.  He mentioned this on the phone as well as a few more times in the restaurant.  Based on these claims, everyone ordered chicken wings, and everyone ended up being disappointed in this decision, except Joe, after a few bites of the wings.

The menu for Coalhouse Pizza's chicken wings reads as follows:
MA RAINEY’S ROADHOUSE CHICKEN WINGS - Marinated for 24 hours in micro-brewed beer, with honey mustard, olive oil, garlic and oregano. Our succulent antibiotic and hormone-free chicken wings are loosely coated with panko bread crumbs and lightly fried.

Sounds pretty good right?

It is hard to describe this wing experience.  They tasted like soggy, burnt Shake N' Bake chicken.  Coalhouse breads their wings, similar to hooters, but definitely not as good.  I ordered 12 wings, 6 Jamaican Jerk and 6 Hot, and I couldn't tell which was which by the look of them or the taste.  The only thing I tasted was burnt panko breading.  Although these wings are towards the bottom of the list where I rank chicken wings, thinking a C- range.  I did manage to eat all 12 because I was hungry and do not like to waste food.
Joe said that the wings are better than their pizza, but based on my wing experience at Coalhouse, I am not sure if I want to find out if that is true or not.

- Lunch Pail

Pastrami, Egg & Cheese

Yesterday was Carnegie Deli day at the cafeteria, which means your choice of hot corned beef, pastrami, or roast beef.  The left overs of yesterdays lunch offering became the strong point of my breakfast this morning.  Changing it up a little bit, I chose a freshly baked croissant as the canvass of this piece of work.

It was delicious.

- Lunch Pail

Left overs for Breakfast

5-8 Club - Minneapolis, MN

I was in Minneapolis recently for work and was able to meet up with my older brother for some dinner.  He recommended we go to the 5-8 Club for some Juicy Lucy's.  I have heard of this place before on the Travel Channel, so I knew what I was in for, but I did not expect it to be as good as it was.  In addition to the standard Juicy Lucy, they have 5 specialty Lucy's.  I went with the Pig Pen, a half pound burger stuffed with bacon and cheddar, and Matt went with the standard Juicy Lucy stuffed with American cheese.  The burgers were better than advertised.  They were perfectly cooked and oozed with cheese, the American oozed more than the cheddar.  Think of a chocolate lava cake, but with bacon and cheese.  The burger had a good crust from the high heat of the flat top, with a balance of grease and tenderness on the inside.  I think it took me less than 7 bites to send it down south.

Before the burgers however, we decided to get warmed up with a couple of appetizers.  Fried cheese curds and a 1/2 dozen buffalo wings.  The wings were decent, nothing to brag about.  The cheese curds on the other hand were phenomenal.  Deep fried morsels of white cheddar cheese dipped in marinara sauce that did not harden up like most mozzarella sticks.  I was very impressed with these and only wished we had more of them and that they were popular in the tri-state area.

I am scheduled to be out there on October, and I think we might have to do a double header with the 5-8 Club followed by Matt's Bar, which is just down the street from 5-8, and claims to be the originator of the Juicy Lucy.

-Lunch Pail 

The Pig Pen - Looks pretty simple on the outside

Inside Look - Pig Pen (L), Juicy Lucy w/ American (R), on a bed of Jo-Jo's

Basket of Fried Cheese Curds

6 Buffalo Wings - Decent at best

Graduation Feast

There are 4 kids in my family and after each of our high school graduations we had Chinese food for dinner, so I guess you can say it is a family tradition.  Cheechman (the youngest of the 4) graduated recently and knowing that Chinese was on the menu was the only thing that got me through the 2.5 hr long ceremony. 

We had 10 people attending this feast and I was in charge of ordering.  I know the tastes of my family pretty well, but I was thrown a curve ball when Cheechie told me to order him Sweet N Sour chicken.  For as long as I can remember, Cheech was a General Tso's guy, so I was shocked/appalled that he made the switch to sweet and sour, which in my opinion is one of the worst items on the Chinese menu.

The order was broken down as follows (all large):

2 - General Tso's Chicken

1 - Sesame Chicken

2 - Boneless Ribs

1 - Chicken and Broccoli w/ Garlic Sauce

1 - Shrimp w/ Black Bean Sauce

1 - Pork Chow Mein

1 - Beef Lo Mein

1 - Pork Fried Rice

1 - Chicken Fried Rice

1 - Hot n Sour Soup

2 - Crab Rangoons

10 - Egg Rolls

This was ordered from Lucky House in Monroe, NY.  It isn't my favorite place in my hometown, but it is one of the better ones. 

All in all this was a great family dinner which had a ton of laughs and a few Bud Lights.

- Lunch Pail

Nice Sampler Plate

Lefteris Gyro - More Pics

Here are a couple of pics from my most recent trip to Lefteris Gyro in Tarrytown.  We ordered platters which come with a salad (not pictured, but real big for a side salad), rice or fries, tatziki, and pita.  It was a ton of food for $13 and I spent the entire walk back to my car burping because I was so full.

Gyro Platter

Soulvaki Platter (1 Chicken , 1 Lamb)

Lubins -N- Links - Tarrytown, NY

A couple of weekends ago Serious Meat and I went to Lubins -N- Links in Tarrytown, NY as part of his going away party.  I figured a proper send off would be a couple of dogs and a day at the pool.  This place offers a beef hot dog or as they call them, links, either skinless or natural casing, and almost 20 toppings that you can mix or match, or you can just go with one of their many signature dogs.  I was unaware about the natural casing dog until after I ordered, so by default we were served the skinless kind.  We each had a Spicy Link (Chili, Spicy Kraut, Hot Cherry Peppers), my second link was with brown mustard, spicy onions, and kraut, and Serious Meat's second dog was a Junkyard Dog (Chili, Cheese Sauce, Crumbled Bacon, Jalapenos, Chopped Onions).  Our lady friends came along with us, and each of them enjoyed a Spicy Link also.  Sarah F. aka #2, stated "This is the best hot dog I have ever had".  I agree with her that it was very good and within my top 5 establishments, but I cannot say it was the best I ever had.  Maybe when I go back and have a natural casing dog my opinion will change.

As a bonus, Bo Nuts ordered a Lubin to top things off.  From their website: "A Lubin is our own creation made of seasoned, slow roasted, tender and delicious beef, sliced and served on a hot dog bun (it actually falls apart because it's so tender!)."  Similar to the links, the lubin can be topped with a number of toppings.  Bo went with the Ranch-O-Lubin (Crumbled Bacon, Ranch Dressing, Chopped Onions).  I had a taste of it.  It was decent, the beef was a little dry, and preferred the links over the lubins.

All in all this was a great find, and I am sure I will not be a stranger to this place while living in Tarrytown.  The only shame is that Bo has moved up to Boston for the time being and will not be able to enjoy it with me.

- Lunch Pail

Spicy Link (L) and Spicy Onions and Kraut (R)

Inside Look: Spicy Link

Inside Look: Spicy Onions and Kraut

Junkyard Dog

Inside Look: Junkyard

Ranch-O-Lubin

Showdown: $1 Double Burger

July is the Summer, and the Summer means cheeseburgers.  Why not start July off right with a burger post.

It has been a long standing argument about which fast food chain is better, McDonald's or Burger King.  I don't expect to solve this argument here, but I thought it would be a good idea to have a $1 double burger showdown between two of the best fast-food heavy weights.

Burger King's double burgers seemed a bit heavier than Mickey's, they claim it is about a 1/4 lb, but the bun also seemed to be saturated with grease.  The seeded bun was a plus, but there was not enough ketchup or pickles, and there were not any onion bits.  Overall it was a good burger and is definately worth $1.

Mickey's double is a little lighter, but overall, I feel it is better than the King's.  Since I was kid, I always thought McDonald's had the best burger buns, even without the seeds, and I am a seed guy.  The bun was not soaked in grease, the burger had the right amount of ketchup, and their pickles are the best.  I would much rather spend my dollar at Ronald McDonald's house than at the King's castle.

I am sure people will disagree, this is just my opinion.

Burger King

McDonalds