My group and I deceided to go to a local sandwich shop in the Flatiron District called Eisenberg’s Sandwich shop, “Raising New York’s cholesterol since 1929”. In my case that wasn’t as such becasue all I had was a typical tuna sandwich. I didn’t know what to expect when I arrived at the shop, but I was definelty surprised. One would not expect to see a place that looks like a trip into the past few decades still making business in a modern gotham city such as New York. Eisenberg’s was definelty a time warp, but not only was I surprised at the old 50’s diner grill setting, but the pictures of all the celeberties that have visited Eisenberg. All celebrties from past and present have each had a photo-op with the owmner.
To any person it’s just a sandwich, but to me it all matters on how it is prepared. A tuna sandwich is not just about slapping some mayonaise into a bowl of a can of tune, but its the quanity of mayo that’s put into it. We can’t put to much mayo and make it soggy, but we can’t put to little mayo and have it dry. Eisenberg’s put just the right amount of mayo and the right condiments amount of condiments that include the typical lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles. But to my suprise not only did I not expect the pickles, which is a fav of mine, but I was treated to two large pickes. Yummy!
At Eisenberg’s Sandiwch Shop, “you either get it or you don’t.”
If you’re looking for a classic and old-fashioned shop that still serves the traditional egg cream and malts, look no further. Take a trip to Eisenberg’s Sandwich Shop located on 174 5th Avenue in the Flatiron District and you’ll see why they’ve been “raising New York’s cholesterol since 1929.”
The decor at Eisenberg’s is old-fashioned and will make you hesitate as you take the first step. Not a very colorful place, nor the most inviting. For seating you have the choice of sitting at either a table or at the bar. If you’re coming in with a group of 4 or more, I would suggest sitting at a table. You can have a conversation and enjoy the food in privacy. However, if you prefer a more intimate experience, see the action and make small talk with your server, I would suggest the bar. Sitting at the bar, you get a front row seat to the show. You can see their wall of fame (pictures of the owner of Eisenberg and celebrities who have come and eaten there), you can see the sizzle at grill, and the process of their signature drinks.
Known for their sandwiches, I order the most unique thing I saw on their menu, the “Hot Tongue” sandwich, on rye.
“Hot Tongue” Sandwich
Many people would probably see the word “tongue” and steer clear, but not me. Along with the sandwich, I ordered a vanilla malt. Sitting at the bar I saw the cook thinly slice the meat. When the food arrived in front of me, I could immediately smell the saltiness of the brined tongue. But before I was able to take a bite of the sandwich, the server poured a smooth white drink into a cup and set it down in front of me. The vanilla malt was aromatic. You can not only smell the vanilla beans, but you can see them as well. I took my first sip and I could not stop. That malt was out of this world! I could not stop drinking the creamy goodness that was pouring into my mouth. After drinking nearly half the cup! I set it aside and prepare to take my first bite of the sandwich. On the first bite I could immediately taste the saltiness of the tongue. But, with a bit more chew, the rye helped absorbed a bit of the saltiness leaving a nice and light beefy taste behind. The combination of the “Hot Tongue” sandwich and the vanilla malt could not have been more satisfying, especially when it didn’t leave a hole in my wallet.
“Hot Tongue” Sandwich – $10.00
Vanilla Malt – $4.50
Being a fan of Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservation” show, I was surprised to see a picture of him on the Eisenberg’s wall of fame. Apparently, Eisenberg’s Sandiwch shop made an appearance on the “Disappearing Manhattan” episode on “No Reservations.”
You can see more about Eisenberg on their website.
To be fair, Chote Nawab was not our initial destination, but it turned out to be an incredibly afternoon of deliciousness. The restaurant we intended to eat at (whose name I will with-hold since we didn’t actually eat a bite there) did not have even one thing on the menu that was gluten and/or dairy free, meaning I would not be able to eat. So on we went, and a few moments later walked into Chote Nawab. This was the best accident we could have had happen. Upon walking in, we were very warmly welcomed and seated right away. The restaurant is very new and has a chic modern decor, that was comfortable and warm. We were brought menus and water right away. We also were offered drink menus, which due to the fact that it was still mid-afternoon and we all had classes were politely declined.
We quickly decided on what we would order, myself going for the chicken saag – a delicious mix of cubed chicken and heavily spiced spinach, very similar to creamed spinach (minus the cream). Along with that I had some rice, and dal, made of lentils. They also brought naan bread to the table, but sadly I was not able to eat any of that due to it being gluten laden. It looked just as delightful as everything else that was on the table.
I have eaten at my fair share of Indian restaurants in the city and have to say, Chote Nawab is high on the list of them. The quality was very high, the flavors awesome, and the atmosphere and service equally great. I will definitely be going back, and I will be bringing friends!
Bright, stylish, comforting, contentment… but also disconnect. These are the words that come to mind as I reflect back on my visit to one Chote Nawab, an Indian Restaurant nestled on the corner of 28th and Lexington.
*Image by roshan b. at yelp.com
As soon as I walk through the doors I was struck by the layout of the place. Bold colors line the outer walls, while rustic murals painted the rest. Ornate modern hangers line them and the industrial piped ceiling up top. Its such a festive and exciting combination and contrast, tied together by the wood trimmed furniture which adds a homey feeling to the space.
Needless to say I got swept up in the atmosphere almost immediately, and my enthusiasm did not diminish thanks to the impeccable service and attention I received. My waters were refilled at a constantly, never reaching the bottom of the glass. Orders and dishes were taken and delivered swiftly, all with a cordial smile and polite questions asking me if I needed anything else. So to all my readers make sure your tip is astounding, because with service like that your waiter deserves nothing less.
*Image from madrasrecipe.com
Yet for all the glowing praise I’m giving Chote Nawab right now, it pains me more then anything to say that it fell short of the most important aspect of any restaurant, the food. Scanning the menu my enthusiasm was not diminished as I saw categories for all types of different entree, from seafood to vegetables, chicken, lamb, beef, the list went on. I chose the Lamb Madras lunch special, coming in at only $11 at a steal. A mix of Lamb curry, and coconut I was looking for a flavorful blend of sweet and spicy. Yet upon taking a bite out of my dish I soon realized I had only received twice the amount of the latter and none of the former, the coconut flavor having been almost completely killed off by the heat . Mixed with an unlimited refill of rice, a container bean dip, and Naan bread on the side the meal itself was quite filling, but it just lacked the same spark of sophisticated spark as the decor, relying on the staple of Indian spices like American dishes do with meat and potatoes, simple but uninspired.
While I believe anyone who visits Chote Nawab can appreciate the simplistic novelty of its cuisine, it still feels as though the restaurant has a ways to go before they can reach that next new and invigorating modern mix of flavors that its physical design at least, aspires to.
A splendiferous meal with succulent meat, well-balanced flavors, and attentive staff, you can’t beat.
Upon arrival at Chote Nawab we were greeted with a pleasant and inviting modern décor. With red oak polished chairs, colorful lamps and pastel gray colored flooring. Not to mention a warm and welcoming ambience with a friendly staff. I am sometimes lily-livered when it comes to trying new foods but I instantly felt at ease and was ready to have my first Indian cuisine experience. The waiter immediately came to the table with menus for my three classmates and me. I was pleased. I scanned the menu not sure what to order. After some encouragement from my classmates I settled on Chicken Tikka Masala, cooked in a creamy tomato sauce ($9). After orders were placed, appetizers graced the table. The table quickly began to smell like a bakery and I learned of new bread, naan. Naan is an oven-baked flatbread; the breads soft texture almost melts in the mouth. It was delicious. It reminded me much of Trinidadian roti skin, which I loved.
I was enthused and couldn’t wait for my meal to arrive. My taste buds were teased. I thankfully didn’t have to wait too long. My dish was placed in front of me and was pleasantly slapped with the spicy aroma of curried chicken. I sampled a piece of chicken and rice, delightfully surprised by the familiar flavors, “I’ve had this before” I announced to the table. I didn’t lie, exactly. I’ve eaten something similar before. The tender and savory chicken was dressed in mild curry with traces of tomato, pimento, ginger, and garlic lingering with a slightly course and chewy (not gummy) texture. Chicken Tikka Masala reminded me of Jamaican curry Chicken! I am of Jamaican decent and eat curry chicken often. Though the two dishes aren’t identical they evoke similar tastes. To accompany my meal I had a beverage, Mango Lassi ($4). I thought Mango Lassi was going to be blended mango with water and sugar. It’s not; it actually contains milk and yogurt that gives it a creamy-like texture. The enriched flavor of the mango left my mouth tingling with joy. The jar-like glasses the juice and water came in was a nice whimsical touch. During the course of our meal the restaurants owner, Shiva Natarajan came to our table. We were informed that he had several other restaurants in the city that received admirable reviews. I made a mental note to visit his other restaurants like Bhojan and Chola.
All in all, I walked away from the table grateful and satisfied. I am still in awe at the attentiveness of the staff and happy that my first Indian cuisine experience was a lovely and inexpensive one. I promise a return to Chote Nawab.
Chote Nawab is an Indian Restaurant which is located at the corner of 28th and Lexington Street. I and my friends were so excited to try Indian food at the cozy, pretty restaurant. Natural wood furnishings and fresh coral and blue dish decorating relaxes me to sit and take my time to chose a menu which made me feel like having brunch on Sunday with my friends.
My classmates and I were waiting for our food. It is always great and comfortable to visit the restaurant with a person who has knowledge or background of the restaurant. My classmate, Rumi was the one who could explain the food to us, and the restaurant owner came to us to say hello.
Chote Nawab offers food that highlights both the northern and southern regions of India. I would say that it is Americanized. Compared to other Indian restaurants near Chote Nawab, Chote Nawab does not use many Indian traditional spices so beginners to Indian food will not feel intimidated. Their dishes amazed my taste buds without having trouble with spice.
Since I suffered a duodenal ulcer for a long time, I am particular about food because I have limited food that I can have. I am allergic to dairy, peanuts, and oat meals. Moreover, I am not a big fan of spicy or salty foods because it causes my stomach discomforts But, I would love to try new things; of course food cannot be the exception.
Chote Nawab has lunch specials every day (11:30AM to 3PM). Chote Nawab offers a number of different chicken, seafood, lamb, and vegetable dishes. I wanted to eat Shrimp curry ($9 for lunch special, $17 for regular price). It comes with dal, bread and rice- naked shrimp cooked with onion, garlic, and mild curry.
Minced onion and garlic blends to the curry soup with shrimp and well smeared into the shrimp and the makes soup sweet with seafood flavors.
It was the best shrimp curry that I have had so far. When I had one bite of bread and curry, my excitement at this food went crazy and I could not stop say “delicious.”
I did not anticipate that Chote Nawab is an Indian restaurant their look because the interior and exterior of the restaurant looks like a restaurant that sells pastas and spaghettis. Compared to other Indian restaurants near Chote Nawab, Chote Nawab has modern natural wood furnishings and vivid decors. Vivid yellow, orange, and bluecolors pop out from the wood furnishings and made interiors unique. This place is a great place to start your Indian food explore!
Are you familiar with these trashy looking places that have pictures of celebrities all over their walls, when you think of how not to get food poisoning because you see all the buckets with dirty dishes and leftovers right next to you and you are afraid of a possibility to find a cockroach? My question is, why do celebrities go there? (I know about cockroaches, because I worked in a Kosher Diner myself and saw them multiple times.)
the owner and “The Fly”
It took awhile for our waiter to finally come to us and bring menus. The food came fast, through.Since the place is called “Eisenbergs Sandwich Shop”, I decided to get a sandwich, and, as a fish lover, ordered lox with cream cheese on a toasted rye bread. It was delicious, but the price was not. For a sandwich that had only these three ingredients I had to pay $9.
The sandwich was good though. I also ordered some mashed potatoes and cole slaw. I loved the food, and I guess that might be the reason why so many celebrities come here. The place has been open since 1929, so they should know how to cook and they have a right to raise their prices. I love kosher food, since it reminds me of Russian food, it has a lot in common: fish, potato, soups and salads are made the same way they make them in my country. They also have a lot of pickled stuff. There are even t-shirts with the name of the restaurant for sale.
Upon leaving you had to go to the cashier and tell him what you had. I forgot to mention my tea, and the waiter appeared from nowhere and reminded me about it.
What I really liked about this place is that it is right next to the Russian bookstore which I never knew of.
So now I discovered one more place where I can eat good and healthy food which is not a chain store.
No matter who you are or where you are, unless you’re some sort of bread hater, you can never go wrong with a good ol’ fashioned hot and toasted sandwich hot off the grill or toaster oven or whatever tickles your fancy. If you’re looking for a place that serves sandwiches of all kinds, from your typical BLT and Tuna to more acquired tasting sandwiches made of Hot Ox Tongue, Eisenberg’s Sandwich Shop, located on 5th Avenue between 23rd and 22nd Street, is a good place to go.
Not the catchiest of slogans if I do say so myself, proclaiming to be “raising New York’s cholesterol since 1929”. Maybe it was appealing back in 1920’s but for modern day New York, this may actually be a trigger for potential customers to head down the block and grab a burger at Shake Shack on Madison Park. Once you get passed the poorly thought out slogan, Eisenberg’s does have a nifty method of trying to make up for it by trying to grab the attention of pedestrians walking by. Right on the window of the shop, there is a collage of photos with the restaurant owner, Josh Konecky, and various celebrities that appeal to all sorts of people such as Jeff Goldblum from Jurrasic Park, Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers Band and Kenan Thompson from the popular 90’s television series “Kenan and Kel“. So maybe if you want to get a little taste of what the stars are tasting themselves, you might want to head on over.
Already, before even looking at the food, a potential customer can either be driven away by the small sandwich shop or drawn to it, you know, if a high cholesterol is kind of their thing. Nonetheless, once you go inside you might get a much unanticipated vibe. To me at least. Giving off a very neighborhood diner vibe with a bar where people can sit and enjoy the food right in front of the kitchen or tables for a more private and solitary experience, the shop makes you feel comfortable and right at home. Pretty bizarre for a restaurant smack dab in Midtown Manhattan on 5th Avenue to give off such a pleasant aura. Once seated, you get a nice look at the menu and being a sandwich place, it is no surprise that the majority of the menu’s entrees are sandwiches. However, there are many other choices as it has sections dedicated to burgers, platters, cold plates, sides, and desserts. Being of Latin origin I was very intrigued as to how the Cuban sandwich tasted so I ordered myself one with a side of onion rings. I have had all sorts of Cuban sandwiches since I was a boy, from a nearby shop in Washington Heights when I was four called “El Barrio Deli” up until now in college when I satisfy my Cuban sandwich desires at a place called ‘Sophie’s”. I am a full-time lover of Cuban sandwiches and who knows? Maybe Eisenberg’s can top the list of my favorite Cuban sandwiches.
The preparation was key to making this meal. All Cuban sandwiches consist of the main ingredients: ham, pork, cheese, pickles and mustard. Just these five in between two warm toasted slices of bread is good enough but good enough isn’t what I’m looking for. There’s a fine line separating a good Cuban sandwich and a bad one and that line can be crossed if the meat is not prepared right. In the places that I’ve enjoyed the Cuban sandwiches the most, chefs like to marinate the pork in a special olive oil based sauce called “mojo”. This sauce makes the pork feel moist and tender to the human tongue and tastes fantastic. If they did not marinate the pork in mojo, that might spell “Shake Shack” for the next time I’m in the area looking for some grub. However, to my pleasure, I found out they did marinate their mojo and my taste buds were going to be happy that night. To wash down my delicious Caribbean style meal, I decided to get myself a malted drink and I tell you it was the best malted I have ever tasted. Well it was the only malted I have ever tasted. For those of you that don’t know, a malted is a type of crazy ice cream soda milkshake combination. I had a taste of both the vanilla and chocolate malted drinks and they were delectable. It’s like drinking ice cream except not that kind of ice cream drink you get when your ice cream is all melted in your cone and you’re forced to sip away at it on the bottom of it. This one is a lot better.
Not bad for a Kosher spot located in the middle of New York City. The sandwich was great, the onion rings were crisp and the malted drink was A plus. For a grand total of $18.50, I wouldn’t mind stopping by again every day for lunch for the rest of my life. Until, you know, all the cholesterol gives me a heart attack. Good food, good service. Would recommend to anyone who is not looking forward to lose weight in the next ten years.
I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into by going to Emperor Japanese Tapas Shabu Restaurant, so before I took the plunge I did what any person who prides herself in being a millennial would do…I googled. I was pleased with what I found.
I was comforted by the fact that the Japanese restaurant had a website because it made one thing painstakingly clear, this was not like the small Asian take out restaurant in my neighborhood. I was relieved. As good as my delivered Chinese food always tastes, I don’t look forward to having a sit-down meal there.
Shabu restaurant on 96 Bowery is a sight for the eyes, in addition to my taste buds . Once you walk in you’re completely mesmerized by the decor. The restaurant is bright and well lighted, accentuating the open space and making it all the more homey. Plus, just going through the images on the site made me hungry; definitely a good sign.
Nonetheless, full disclosure in mentioning I am a finicky eater when it comes to certain kinds of food. Attribute this to the fact that my family is Ecuadorian and ceviche is a traditional dish. Ceviche is awesome, once I got over how it was cooked.
Shabu Restaurant has a lot in common with ceviche. One is the family, sharing atmosphere it promotes. Cooking at the table over a hot pot invites sharing, laughs, and a whole lot of different tastes being combined. Shabu Restaurant emphasizes the ability to cook the food yourself over a hot pot, it’s part of their charm. In my family making ceviche was always intergenerational, one appreciated over time, because at first cooking raw fish in lemon is really not appealing.
Yet, the taste of pieces of fish, lemon juice, and all kinds of seasoning is enthralling. The same way the beef in the Chinese cilantro broth is unusual but in the best way. I liked the taste of the broth because it was rich and way more of an explosion on my taste buds than I expected it would be. Just through the smell of the food you can almost instantly taste the strong cilantro taste in the broth. As good as the broth was, adding pork maybe wasn’t the best option for me. I didn’t like the pork itself, it was too chewy, and its texture just did not complement the broth like I thought it would.
Menu. Photo Credit: Juliya.
Overall, I loved the experience of having the Shabu Shabu All You Can Eat Menu because it took me back to Sunday lunches with my family. The ambience of the restaurant was bright and inviting, you wanted to sit and eat there. The same way I always couldn’t wait to sit and eat with my family. I loved it. Ceviche was usually our central dish, like the broth was here.
My favorite part is that one dish can bring a family together over one common denominator, while also encouraging making the meal your own.
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