Mama's Food Shop - East Village

Unlike souls, this food is very tangible. Soul food isn't really something that is readily associated with NYC, but Mama's Food Shop does a good job of pushing it forward a bit. When I think soul food, I think large portions, wholesome flavors, cheap prices and fried chicken. Fortunately, those are all things I enjoy.


I had heard and read a lot about Mama's before going there so the trip was hyped up for me and I was envisioning heaps of chicken and mac'n cheese. When I got there it was a quiet afternoon and I was one of maybe 3 people there. I ordered fried chicken, cucumber and beat salad and broccoli. As you can see the bed of vegetables on my plate is mountainous. The piece of fried chicken were rolling off the peak of the vegetable mountain--that's a lot of food. I took this as a challenge, a challenge of ecstasy, and ate every last bit.

Content and full--a rare thing for me when I go out to eat--I was impressed by Mama's and vowed to return to try a less healthy meal. What's next? Fried chicken, mac'n cheese and mashed potatoes. That would be enough calories to sate a normal human for 2 days.

The chicken was great, meaty pieces with crisp batter that didn't feel overly greasy or dry. The veggies were fresh and crisp with a very satisfying snap to them. If your food isn't at your desired temperature there is even a microwave in the dining area for you to heat it up to your liking. Some people may not like the do-it-yourself/homestyle traits like the microwave or that you clear off your own plate when your finished--but I like it, it's much more Dine or Death style to make your patrons not be douchebags.

So for $12 you get a choice of one meat ranging from fried chicken to salmon and 2 sides with choices of a variety of vegetables, potatoes, mac n' cheese and many many others. That $12 meal is huge though, a lot of people get 2 meals out of it and bring their own tupperware for their leftover so it's really a great deal.

200 East 3rd St., New York, NY 10009, 212 777 4425, www.mamasfoodshop.com

Beer Conversation by 2 Dudes

(2:43:31 PM) Ben Lee: three favorite beers: lone star. yuengling, pbr
(2:43:28 PM) Sean Willis: thats a good threesome
(2:43:47 PM) Ben Lee: it's threeconomics
(2:43:40 PM) Sean Willis: pbr, bud heavy, yueng for me
(2:43:59 PM) Ben Lee: oh shit
(2:43:52 PM) Sean Willis: i love yueng
(2:44:07 PM) Ben Lee: i have to push it to 4 then
(2:44:15 PM) Ben Lee: bc bud heavy is always there
(2:44:22 PM) Ben Lee: it never turns its back
(2:44:12 PM) Sean Willis: BUD HEAVY WTF ARE YOU THINKING
(2:44:22 PM) Sean Willis: so many times i sit down and there a bud heavy
(2:44:24 PM) Sean Willis: and im like
(2:44:29 PM) Sean Willis: damn--i've had this so many times before
(2:44:33 PM) Sean Willis: but its so good and refreshing
(2:44:34 PM) Sean Willis: wtf
(2:44:50 PM) Ben Lee: i know
(2:44:52 PM) Ben Lee: incredible
(2:45:11 PM) Ben Lee: you know what's fucked?
(2:45:13 PM) Ben Lee: budlight
(2:45:18 PM) Sean Willis: yeah
(2:45:20 PM) Sean Willis: so fucked
(2:45:30 PM) Sean Willis: it's like the trick bud made up to fuck with people
(2:45:46 PM) Sean Willis: they were all like "haha all the stupid people will pay us for this shit"
(2:46:02 PM) Sean Willis: and then with bud they were like "the cool dudes will drink this-BYAHHHH"
(2:46:54 PM) Ben Lee: hahahaha
(2:47:09 PM) Ben Lee: history of bud's success by sean

Spice - Union Square

Here's a great lunch deal: $7 for an entree and appetizer in Union Square. Awesome. Ignore the cone of rice--I don't know why either.

Spice really knows what they're doing--failing economic climate, people don't want to spend a lot on food, but there's a lot of competition in such a densely populated city with so many restaurants. The trick is to just get people in the door and a lunch special like this one capitalizes on all of the people on their lunch breaks looking for something other than a sandwich or fast food.

At Spice, they can keep their cash and still sit down in a relatively nice restaurant and get some decent Thai food. I got the chicken with cashew nuts--it was pretty good, most certainly with $7, and the portion was adequate. The chicken was tender and the sauce was mild, but not bland. A heaping amount of mixed vegetables accompanied the plate and it was lovely--a lot of onions, which some may not like--but I love me some sauteed onions.

Here's the small plate of shumai that I got as well. It was a nice snack before my entree arrived and I'm certainly not complaining about the portions since it came together with the chicken and cashews for $7. Nothing special here, tiny shumai with some garnish--just a little extra bang for your buck.

I would recommend Spice to anyone looking for a cheap lunch spot, especially with friends. The service was fast even though the place was packed at the peak of lunch hour. Our bill for three people came to exactly $21.

39 East 13th St., New York, NY 10003, 212 982 3758, www.spicethainyc.com

Parisi Bakery - Little Italy

I love sandwiches. For a while I had been on a suprisingly difficult search for a "Dennis." The Dennis had never entered my mind before my friend, Brendan, introduced it to me. His co-worker, Dennis, has ordered the same sandwich from a deli in Long Island so many times that they've decided to put it on the menu as The Dennis. What an honor--how many stout, burly men have only dreamed of having a grand sandwich named after them and then consummated on a menu? Too many. Far and few between have achieved such a feat.

A Dennis consists of: chicken cutlet on a hero with fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, tomatoes, and balsamic vinegar or pesto. How can you go wrong with that combination? Not possible, it's a work of pure, infallible, logic. Basically, it takes cold antipasto and combines it with chicken cutlets on a sandwich--thank you, Dennis--you are an alchemist of sandwichry.

The reason why it was difficult to find this sandwich is because a lot of the corner delis in Manhattan don't carry fresh mozzarella or prosciutto. You have to find a legitimate Italian deli in order to get a sandwich like this and be content. Parisi, is as good as it gets in downtown Manhattan. It's a small deli in Little Italy that's only open early in the day--you'll see why. During lunch hours the place is swamped and it has a very definitive family-owned and local feel.

You'll see all the regulars on their breaks coming to get gigantic heroes of all sorts and making small talk with the sweet, amiable woman and the gruff-looking, but overall nice guy sandwich-makers. All their ingredients are fresh and the breads are all freshly made as well. You'd really have to have a stick up your ass to complain about the service and quality of food here. Depending on what kind of sandwich you get you can expect to get a colossal amount of food for $7-$9.

Note: Apparently Saigon Sandwich gets their baguettes from here, which explains why they are awesome compared to other Saigon Sandwiches in other cities.

198 Mott St., New York, NY 10012, 212 226 6378, Yelp Page

Banh Mi Saigon Sandwich - Chinatown/Little Italy

I'll try not to facilitate anyone's shellshock here--but delicious sandwiches usually aren't reminders of trench warfare anyways. Some people may be familiar with a Saigon Sandwich in Boston--which I was never aware of--but before you go passing judgment on the one in Manhattan you should note that I have no idea if these two shops are connected in anyway. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they were completely separate in all manners.

These sandwiches are cheap and big--you can get an idea of how big they are by looking at the image above (you can see my knees at the top of the picture). This was one of their more expensive sandwiches at $4.25--I know, a real wallet-buster. The soft and chewy baguette contains pickled carrots, cilantro, cucumber, Vietnamese salami, pork and hot sauce. This is a great deal, delicious and filling. It's not greasy, you will not be a victim of that gross viscous liquid dripping from the bottom end of the sandwich--it's very fresh and the ingredients mesh well together for a very satisfying texture.

This place really exudes the epitome of Dine or Death--quality food, cheap prices and large portions. What could you complain about? Nothing. I was going to make more Vietnam War references, but I have too much respect for stuff like that. If you're like me, you'd enjoy grabbing one of these subs and walking east a couple blocks to the Chrystie St. parks and watching soccer while eating--grab a Arizona Ice Tea on the way over for a awesome lunch at $5.25.

369 Broome St., New York, NY 10013, 212 219 8341, Yelp page

Popeye's - Chinatown (but also everywhere)

Everyone knows about Popeye's, but not everyone has actually ate there and there's a lot of mixed feelings about the chicken n' biscuits franchise. Some love it with conviction and declare it to be a great and guilty pleasure--others think it to be simply another fast food chain with a menu that will take years off your life.


The former people are cool and the latter are terrible, terrible, liars. Because Popeye's is the proverbial bomb. Prices are decent, the food is hearty and by hearty I mean the taste is very wholesome. Compared to other fast-food fried chicken, Popeye's is less greasy and more crisp--places like KFC definitely have a feeling of uneasy sogginess that Popeye's thankfully lacks.

I've found somewhat of a loophole in the pricing as well. It seems that the combos with drink and a side usually come out to at least $7 on the low end--but what I do is get a 3 piece chicken only meal that comes with a biscuit for $3.48--which is a much better deal.

125 Canal St., New York, NY 10002, 212-966-7077, www.popeyes.com