Crif Dogs (St. Mark's Place)

NY Sidewalk Review
Menu Pages Review

Location:
113 St Marks Pl.
north side of the street, between Ave A and 1st Ave.

Cuisine:
Hot Dogs.

Fave Dishes:
Chihuahua (Dog with bacon, sour cream, and avocado, $4.55)
Tsunami (Dog with bacon, teriyaki, scallions, and pineapple, $4.55; apparently you should add cream cheese to this one)
Crif Dog (Just the dog, $2.05?)

Ambiance:
Small little place, overheated, George Carlin on the telly, redneck plastic dolls, video games. One of my favorite hot dog places in Manhattan. Place gets overcrowded (takes them a while to make the dogs, patience is a virtue) for all those in the mood for a late-night grease/artery clogging binge.

Detractors:
It's hot and cramped in there. They probably do it to turn people away quickly. But it's worth it. Really.

Dallas BBQ (Barbecue, Many Locations)

NY Sidewalk Review
Menu Pages Review

Location:
27 W. 72nd St.
north side of the street, between CPW and Columbus Ave.

Cuisine:
Barbecue.

Fave Dishes:
Onion Loaf (Appetizer, $4.99)
Sticky Wings (Full Appetizer, $11.50)
Texas Sized Margaritas (Beverage, $7.99)

Ambiance:
It's all about the Texas-sized margaritas. Food generally sub-par. I, the non-drinker, even had a drink....and got loopy after three sips. So tasty, goes down so smooth...

Detractors:
Yeah, once again, food sub-par. Better barbecue other places.

Trailer Park (American, Chelsea)

NY Sidewalk Review
Menu Pages Review

Location:
271 23rd St
north side of the street, between 7th and 8th Aves.

Cuisine:
Trailer Park

Fave Dishes:
Burger (Entree, $8.00)
Tater Tots (Side, $5.50)

Ambiance:
There was a shrine to Tonya Harding, and an astroturf bush. Great for trash food, with a WT ambiance.


Detractors:
Don't get the dessert, which is a Moon Pie; at $2.75 a pop, it was actually the Moon Pie that you find in the grocery store, so the mark up was incredible.

NYT: Cuisine in Harlem

Article reprinted here.

Uncle Vanya (Russian, Midtown)

NY Sidewalk Review
Menu Pages Review

Location:
315 W. 54th St. (between 8th and 9th Aves.)
north side of the street

Cuisine:
Russian

Fave Dishes:
Russian Beet Salad (Salad, $4.75)
Ribez (Appetizer, $7.00)
Smoked Salmon (Appetizer, $7.75)
Pelmeni (Entree, $8.00)
Beef Stroganoff (Entree, $11.00)
Golubsty (Entree, $10.00)
Chicken Kiev (Entree, $11.50)
Russian Tea with Preserved Cherries (Beverage)

Ambiance:
According to Russian Girl (who is not doing this review, so I thought I would), one of the best places in Manhattan to find decent Russian food, if you're too lazy to trek all the way to Brighton Beach. And it's all about the appetizers. I'm sure I don't have all of them down, I just don't remember all of the food. Russian meals, apparently, are one of those meals where you have multiple courses and you sit for hours sitting, talking, eating. Leisure activity. Everything is either cooked in a shitload of butter or pickled. Mainly pickled. Kitschy decor (you know, fake bird in a cage, lighted frames, the whole shibang) and bar in front.

Detractors:
Sometimes the waiters are slow, but they're very accomodating. This place is tiny. But worth it.