Big Nick's

Big Nick's Burger and Pizza Joint is one of the first restaurants I ate at when I moved to New York. This place is the ultimate diner experience. This Greek diner is open 24 hours and serves a smorgasbord of food. Literally, the menu is a small book. There is an index in the back of the menu, so you can easily sort of what you are in the mood for - whether it be burgers, pizza, breakfast or dessert.

When you enter Big Nick's be prepared to be immediately bombarded by the wait staff asking you how many are in your party. They don't waste any time, and are quickly shuffling you through the narrow space to your table and bringing you small glasses of water.

The menu can be overwhelming at first, but after going there once, you get the hang of it - just remember to use the index! I always get a slice of cheese pizza and a side of waffle fries. My pizza was crispy, hot and delicious, but I always wish there was more tomato sauce. The fries are always cooked well with a crispy spicy crunch on the outside and a soft hot potato center. That evening, my friends got the Big Nick's Special slice and a Monte Cristo sandwich. The pizza slice has chopped beef, onion, fresh garlic, mushroom, and a dash of curry on an extra thin crispy crust. Nick's Special slice is always a hit because it has the perfect combination of ingredients. The Monte Cristo sandwich has turkey, ham, and swiss cheese on challah bread dipped in a rich egg batter and cooked on the grill. All in all it was a complete greasefest and I don't know if that was a good thing, yet the plate was clean by the end of the meal. And even though neither one of my friends got a burger, it is actually a big reason why people go to Big Nick's. They have quite the selection. For a detail look of their menu click here.

Photo taken by Clark, J. Petty Officer 2nd Class of USN

Unlike the food, the service leaves much to be desired. A lot of times the wait staff is straight up huffy, but sometimes you are lucky enough to get one of the rare sweet waitresses. I figure it is just part of the atmosphere. Speaking of atmosphere, one of the best reasons to go to Big Nick's is just for looking. The walls are filled with autographed photos of old celebrities, as well as Big Nick's specials and sayings. The Three Stooges are always silently shown on a tv, while the Golden Oldies are playing in the background.

Photo taken by Clark, J. Petty Officer 2nd Class of USN

Overall, if you are in the mood for a good cup of coffee, pizza, or just some grub after a late night out - go to Big Nick's, they are always open.Photo taken by Clark, J. Petty Officer 2nd Class of USN

99 Miles To Philly

I have been listening to Splendid Table for a couple years now. With Lynne Rossetto Kasper's melodic, smiling voice it is hard not to get excited about food. Each week on her radio program she has Jane and Michael Stern discuss their weekly food adventures. The couple writes the Road Food column in Gourmet magazine which correlates with their website Road Food. Jane and Michael travel across the country and eat delicious food (sounds like a dream job). A lot of the places they stop are local diners, which are a personal favorite of mine. Anyways, I became intrigued with their website and started looking up restaurants reviewed in NYC. The first place they mentioned was 99 Miles To Philly. Being a vegetarian I have no real interest in Philly cheese steaks - in fact I have never even had one when I ate meat. But in the Road Food review the place was said to have amazing onion rings - so I was there!

99 Miles to Philly is a casual place where you shouldn't mind getting grease on your shirt. The menu is upfront and direct. The Wit' and Wit' Out phrasing is charming.
I ordered at the counter a side of onion rings, fries (they were waffle!), pickles, and a root beer - DIET (I have to save calories somewhere). Everything came wrapped in grease soaked brown paper bags. The waffle fries were good, crisp on the outside with soft potato on the inside - just how I like. I would go on about them, but the onion rings stole the show. The onion rings were crispy on the outside and soft and sweet on the inside. They were cut thickly, with generous amounts of onion on the inside. I didn't have time to take a picture of the rings because I ate them so fast, but billyboy from Road Food did (see below). I would definitely go back just for the rings.
My partner in crime ordered a cheese steak wit' provolone, onion, and sweet peppers. These are his thoughts:

"After major disappointments at the some of the major meateterias in the city (namely Katz's Deli and Big Nick's) I had all but swore off cheese steaks in New York City. Now I can confidently say that there is only one cheese steak in NYC that I would even consider ordering again, and that is the sandwich served up at 99 miles from Philly. I have just one complaint; the meat was too dry. Considering that this is a steak sandwich we are talking about, this ends up being a considerable fault of the execution. But maybe this mistake was a one-off and my next visit will erase my only grumble. I imagine that visit will be soon considering the wide array of toppings luring me back. Pleasant surprises were their ketchup and steak sauce, not your usual Heinz affair, but since the bottles were unmarked I couldn't tell what they were."

If you are in the area near Union Square you should stop by for a deliciously greasy meal, just make sure you walk it off :)

Note: Jane and Michael Stern also have a book called Two For the Road. Read their review of 99 Miles to Philly here.