After many months of carnivorous salivation, the NY Gyro Place finally opened at 188 Parkside. Feel awful? Why not try their falafel? Starting to sob? Grab a kebab. Just back from Cairo? Why not eat a...
Look, it's not going to win culinary medals, but it's a pretty decent new option. I've given them a hard time on the Q for "appropriating" the NY Giants logo. I mean, people pay good money for proprietary fonts. (Ask
Toby Frere-Jones, whom I met when he was still in high school, and I peeked in to his bedroom one day to see him meticulously copying typefaces and thought to myself, that poor geeky child, he doesn't stand a chance.) Past posts here have come down hard on their old sign, then their abrupt change of scale, still leaving the blatant "come and sue me" graphics. Below is what it USED to was:
Still, I'll take a gyro over a crummy burger any day. It would appear from my
prior post re: March Pattyness that Lincoln Park Tavern is the only burger anyone can recommend around here. And yet, it was that very same order that turned me off to the place. Ask any friend of this corn-fed Iowan, I'll eat pretty much anything that doesn't slither. And yet, LPT made me the single WORST burger I've
ever eaten, and I've been around the burger block a time or two. It was way overcooked, puny, with crappy bread and those pure pink tomatoes they sell at the bodega. Even the pickle sucked. Was I there on an off night? Tell me it is so, and I'll try again. Once bitten, never shy, that's my motto, when it comes to the Burger of Ham.
Look, it's not going to win culinary medals, but it's a pretty decent new option. I've given them a hard time on the Q for "appropriating" the NY Giants logo. I mean, people pay good money for proprietary fonts. (Ask Toby Frere-Jones, whom I met when he was still in high school, and I peeked in to his bedroom one day to see him meticulously copying typefaces and thought to myself, that poor geeky child, he doesn't stand a chance.) Past posts here have come down hard on their old sign, then their abrupt change of scale, still leaving the blatant "come and sue me" graphics. Below is what it USED to was:
17 comments:
this is beautiful cultural commentary. wanna come 'lecture' (i.e., read some blog posts) at our house as part of a "thinking for laypeople" series we wanna start throwing? get in touch, regardless! nohomme.tumblr.com // www.itaboy.org
Gotta defend LPT, the hottest food spot in northern PLG, possibly the best spot in the neighborhood. Initially, the breads/buns served with the burgers were of low quality. But when many of us complained to Jimmy, he immediately fixed that. The burgers are really good there. Next time if they overcook yours, let em know, they'll fix that too. -:)
3I like the food at LPT, although I liked the larger Enduro menu a little more. Still, IMO, Ginos has the best food in the neighborhood, followed by King of Tandor.
I used to love Ginos but as of later I found their quality to be slightly bleah. Maybe it's a delivery thing. But King Of Tandoor for the win!
The few times I've tried Gino's, the quality has been poor, making me reluctant to bring a date there (Isn't that what nice Italian Bistros are for?). I hope they raise the bar a bit in terms of their chef!
We're not fans of Gino's food either. They need to invest in better ingredients. I have never had an overcooked burger at LPT. And I stick to what I said before that it's a decent burger. But Q's experience illustrates exactly what was wrong at Enduro/LPT in the past, the inconsistency. It's much better now but there was a period of a year or so when literally every time we ate there the food was prepared differently. Like even the guacamole kept changing.
And I much prefer Agra/Ghandi to King of Tandoor. (It's on Bedford and has good Yelp reviews.
I have to weigh in in defense of Ginos, which is still my favorite PLG restaurant. I've always enjoyed eating there, have never had a bad meal, and see no reason to question the quality of their ingredients, which I think are very good. Of course this is very subjective, so YRMV.
Personally, what I would like to see all restaurants invest in (not just Gino's and LPT, though they're on the list as well) is paying their employees on the books, so they can get credit towards social security, medicare, etc., and actually have documented proof of income so they can get mortgages, etc.
Maybe getting paid in cash and not declaring your income or paying taxes is fun when you're young, but it's no way to plan for any sort of life, long-term.
With how desperate people in the neighborhood are for sit-down restaurants, if Ginos' food was considered really good (by a large majority) the place would be packed. The fact that it's not speaks for itself. It seems they think it's about raising awareness and pushing people to eat there, and not about improving the food. When really, of course everybody is familiar with Ginos. I only say all this hoping they improve quality so we can go there more frequently because it's wonderful they've been in the neighborhood so long and recently invested in expanding.
Mediocre is exactly how my family describes Gino's as well, both the pizza and the restaurant. We eat there every once in a while for lack of alternate local option, but we'd eat there much more frequently if the food was more inspired and less basic and bland. It would also be nice if their "specials" weren't exactly the same every week. I feel like many businesses in PLG assume that they can get away with being average because there are no options here.... But there are many fantastic options real close so as we see most people are travelling out of the neighborhood and not settling.
I hope Gino is reading this because he has the opportunity to step it up some more and really make his restaurants quality not just a last resort. I imagine he would want to actually have his tables full not empty as they typically are.
Well, with this discussion in mind, I ordered from Gino's today and got: gluey mashed potatoes (that weren't mashed, but put through a ricer, for a weird consistency) and eggplant parm hero that was both soggy and burnt at the same time. I'm no foodie but this is just lazy cooking. I think their bar is "edible" and this was even pushing it.
Back to Indian food -- Bay Leaf, people. We tried them all in the hood and these folks win.
you heard it here folks! and that last comment comes from a "snob" so you know it must be true! :)
Can't believe no one mentioned Zen Chinese down by Mr. Q. Best takeout in PLG.
De Hot Pot is also great, but you need an iron stomach.
-Paul G.
Seriously, we have tried ginos several times and with each visit, we leave their completely unhappy. You would think, as the only red sauce esablishment in PLG,it would be spilling over with people, like LPT as the official mexican joint that is so far, working it! Don't mind ginos prices but don't they get it? come on where else in the city do you see paper placemats or than a cafeteria? The place could be regular hang out(for us) but only with a tweak here and there. They could start with some simple changes to the menu and improved ambience.
These guys are alright. Ventured down to Parkside and discovered it's less of a gyro place than a stationary halal cart. The guys are, I think, Pakistani or Bangladeshi. Lamb gyros were tasty and cheap, and you could fix 'em up with weird things like jalapenos and chickpeas. The chicken shwarma looked pretty nice and the rice is pleasingly aromatic and golden in hue. So my next order will be chicken over rice with some sweet peppers and "white sauce." And, Alhamdulillah, they deliver!
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