Fat Tour 2009: Fall Edition*

Unlike the Spring Fat Tour, this one was down to 9 spots, started an hour later and it was FUH-reeezing outside.  The forecast asked for rain, but the food gods saved us from it.  Because there were more people this time around, we decided to start the funds pot with $5 from each person and replenish with $5/person when the funds got low. Despite the weather, friends still came out (thank you friends!) and we were off to our first stop:

1.  Caracas Arepa Bar

These Venezuelan sandwiches are still one of my favorite eats in Manhattan and I don’t think I could ever get enough of their “crack” sauce.  However much I could write about this, it would never do it any justice; just go and try everything.  Get it: La Mulata  

5 Sporks – 93 E 7th St

2. Café Habana

We came here for the grilled corn and only the grilled corn.  Eating corn, covered in mayo, cheese, and chili powder, outside on a cold fall day may seem uncomforting, but it was a glorious moment for all.  Get it: on a plate, otherwise a good chunk of the mayo, cheese, and chili powder (all the good stuff) will get stuck on the foil.

4 Sporks – 17 Prince St

3.  Kati Roll

I feel like this place changed a lot since last year, and not for the better.  Some of the guys were saying they’ve had better kati rolls.  Get it: from the Biryani Cart3

2 Sporks – 99 Macdougal St

4. Joe’s Pizza

We made a pit stop at John’s because our next stop barely had any vegetarian options.  The participants for John’s said it was delicious.  From what I remember, when I had it last year, I wasn’t a fan of the crust; thought it was too flimsy.  Get it: when there isn’t a line.

3 Sporks – 7 Carmine St

5.  New York HotDog and Coffee

Who would’ve thunk kimchi would taste so good with hotdogs.  But I guess the concept isn’t new; growing up, I’ve seen my dad eat kimchi with pancakes, pizza, steak, and anything that wasn’t Korean.  The Dak Kalbi wasn’t anything special; the boys raved about the Kimchi & Bulgogi hotdog.  Fattie Pete wanted another one all to himself.  Personally, I thought it was too much; kimchi and bulgogi alone is amazing, why add in the unnecessary hotdog and processed bun?  Get it: without the coffee; you’d think, “Coffee” being in the name would offer decent coffee…boy was I wrong.

3 Sporks – 245 Bleecker St

6.  Taim

The choices are endless when it comes to falafel in the city: Mamouns, Maoz, Crisp, Hummus Place, and oh the trucks!  But we just had to try Taim for the 3 different flavor falafel balls.  We got the platter to sample all the falafel balls, toubali, Israeli salad, hummus, and the pita breads (whole and white).  The balls are crisp, the salads are fresh, the hummus is under-seasoned, and the pitas are slightly toasted with olive oil.  It’s solid but I wasn’t blown away.  Get it: the falafel sandwich with the original falafels for $5.  You might even have some left over for lunch the next day, though I don’t know who’d want soggy balls. 

3 Sporks – 222 Waverly Pl.

7.  Levain

It costs $66 for a dozen cookies and another $25 for ground shipping when you order from their website.  People ask if there’s crack in them; obviously not, but it’s close for these cookies are dangerously addicting.  When you go to the actual bakery, each cookie is $3.75 and it doesn’t require shipping to any address, but only straight to your mouth.  They melt in your mouth and you know they’re good because the boys even appreciated them.  Get it: chocolate chip with walnuts and/or dark chocolate peanut butter but not via online.

4 Sporks – 167 w 74th St / levainbakery.com

8.  Baoguette

Pickled anything is a plus in my book; add pork to it and that becomes a plus + plus.  Baoguette’s classic bahn mi is consistent in flavor, size, and price.  Traditional Vietnamese flavors on a fresh French baguette is one “asian fusion” dish I can appreciate.  The Chicagoans didn’t seem to love it but fellow New Yorkers chowed it down without a problem.  Get it: and eat it right away or the strong pickled vegetables will pickle and stank up anything that surrounds it.      

3 Sporks – 37 St Marks Pl

9.  Pomme Frites

What better way to end a fat tour than what else? Oil drenched FRIES with mayo based dipping sauces!!  The 3 dipping sauces were: Mango Chutney, Curry Ketchup, and Vietnamese Pineapple (how appropriate, we just had Vietnamese sandwiches).  After eating and walking for over 6 hours in 40 degree weather, friends didn’t seem too psyched about fries and its glorified dipping sauces.  The fact that we were done with the fat tour over-consumed our minds that we forgot to truly enjoy Pomme Frites.  Get it: a ton of napkins for your fingers will get oily.

2 Sporks – 123 2nd Ave 

For this Fat Tour, the average comes out a little shy of 3.25 Sporks.

*will be updated with pictures once I learn how to “blog”

-kah