I was temped by all the pre-packaged foods such as lasagne and chicken salads, but I stuck to my guns and got the Spiced Rub Pork with provolone and sweet & sour cabbage on a semolina fennel, grilled. It was delicious. Not too big and not too small, with the bread nice and crispy and the cheese all gooey and warm. When it’s raining, this is what you want to eat. It’s that feeling you get when you put on socks fresh from the dryer, mid-cycle on high-heat. It just makes you purr a little bit under your breath.

Predictably, it’s got great ingredients in a relatively simple sandwich:

Fresh from the grill:

Fresh from the dryer:

I tried two sandwiches, both served “hot”, both $9:
Roast beef: Horseradish, Pickled Endive, Fried Scallions
Turkey Cubano: Pickled Daikon, Chinese Mustard, Swiss

In reality both were served barely warmer than room temperature. Perhaps they sat a bit after they were finished or maybe they were never properly warmed? Regardless, they would’ve been much better piping hot. Both sandwiches combine odd flavors and ingredients in new ways. I’ve never heard of fried scallions and would never have thought to put them on a roast beef sandwich; likewise for pickled daikon on a cubano. These guys are really pulling out the stops to spice up old standbys. It usually works, though can occasionally be a bit too ‘funky.’ My sandwich companion didn’t much like how red the roast beef looked and didn’t really like the turkey because it had a funky sweetness to it. I was intrigued by both, but haven’t rushed back to have them again.

The roast beef was the better of the two: the beef was tender and moist. I loved the spice and crunch from the daikon and horseradish. The scallion provided a pleasant crunch, but the one hard over-fried bit I got, made me a bit wary of knocking out a tooth each time I took a bite
The turkey was delicious, but a bit funkily sweet. I ate most of the sandwich wondering what that mushy stuff was and eventually settled on ‘pulled turkey’ (brown meat). It was good, but didn’t taste anything like any cuban sandwich I’ve ever had.

In all, No 7 Sub has some creative sandwiches that are fun to try out now and then. It’s not the kind of place I could ever go back to regularly, but if I’m with someone who likes to try new food experiences and doesn’t mind being a little risky with their $9 sandwich I’d go back.

First of all, the shop is adorable. The menu is hand written (and never actually says ‘Crosby Connection’). The whole endeavor is the concession stand at the theatre and the actual ’sandwich shop’ part is really just a counter for the owner (Joey Cramarossa) to prepare sandwiches. He does each one with a visible amount of love, trying to hurry to keep the line short, but still putting heart into each one. He’s also got this amazing gruff and calm demeanor but this isn’t SimplyAttitudes, so I’ll let you discover that for yourself.

I tried the Suze Special for $7.00: prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, sweet roasted peppers, avocado, basil, virgin olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. I don’t usually appreciate mozzarella in sandwiches, too often it’s just cold and slimy (ever been to Cosi?), but in this case it was room temperature and absolutely beautiful. The bread was fluffy and mild, keeping everything together. The tomato and avocados were perfectly ripe and their combination with thin slices of prosciutto was buttery and amazing.

Next chance I get, I’ll be back to try another. You should too.

It’s got it all:

Ahoy matey, something spotted on the brig:

Thar She Blows:

Delicious, Tender Whale Meat (not really, don’t attack me PETA):

Simple sandwiches with wonderful ingredients:

Outside the beef:

Inside the beef:

I have no idea what the name means. Maybe you’re supposed to stand up when you eat? Why bother with the seats then? Was “Sit” taken? Maybe it’s their screenname and Stand1 through Stand3 were already taken? It feels like they knew they were opening a boring burger joint and tried to spruce it up with a super-modern name.

Cynicism aside their menu is obviously loaded with protein: lots of beef patties, cheese, bacon and eggs piled onto buns ranging from $5 to $15. I was starving (hungover) and went all the way by ordering the big kahuna: “Bold Burger”: Brioche, two 7 oz. beef patties, applewood smoked bacon, sauteed onions, American and cheddar cheese, pickle, tomato, chipotle sauce, fried egg for $15.

The server said they only serve it well-done because otherwise it falls apart, gross. It’s so big you can’t get your mouth around it and, come on, you can’t eat a big ass burger like that by taking little pansy bites off the bottom! Regretfully, I put it down and used a knife and fork, truly a sad fate for a hamburger. The bun was pleasantly soft but the beef was grossly over-cooked. The cheese and bacon were tasteless and added a little texture to mix up the chewy ground beef. I realized as I was stuffing bite after bite of over-cooked beef patty and cheese into my face that it’s never a good idea to see ground meat. Sausages and hamburgers should always be shrouded in bun, without it they just look gross all mealy and grey! Aside from the obvious food-coma, the burger was pretty bland.

My friend got the more traditional “Bacon & Egg Cheeseburger”: Beef, crispy applewood smoked bacon, cheddar, hard-boiled egg mayo for $12. He says that the best part about it was that the fillings didn’t fall off the bun. It doesn’t get much more boring than that, not even a word about the taste. Not good Stand4, not good.

I wouldn’t go back except maybe to actually stand up and have a beer.

Poor execution really kills them here:

I know I asked for it, but look at that:

It’s absurd:

How petite by comparison:

Braising takes forever and makes delicious tender meat. The hardest part was not devouring the braised short-ribs right out of the pot. I recommend never making this by yourself or you’ll have no one to hold you back. Also, I’d double or quadrupple the recipe: you’ll want 3rds and leftovers. They’re good enough, don’t worry!

Get shoppin and make some NOW, before winter ends!

Here’s the recipe:
Braised Short Rib Sandwiches with Pickled carmelized onions and argula

This didn’t last long:

The only thing you can’t see is the restraint:

I had:
Dan’s Havana Heaven: pulled pork, ham, Monterey jack, special sauce, pickles on concord bread, grilled ($10.50)
and sampled:
Andi’s Loose-knit Crew: grilled portobello, Gorgonzola cheese, crispy bacon, Monterey jack, spinach, red onions, special sauce on concord bread, grilled ($10)
Fern’s Problem Solver: turkey, Monterey jack, avocado, Russian dressing on Semolina bread, grilled ($10.25)

I liked my pork-heavy selection the best. The pulled pork was incredibly moist and savory. It was wonderfully offset by the sauce and pickles and the bread was fantastically soft. My only complaint was that it was so heavy, I could barely finish the whole thing, but that’s really my fault for ordering a double-pork sandwich. My sandwich companions had this to say about Andi’s LKC: “the perfect combination of hearty bread, fresh veggies and strong gooey cheese.” She doesn’t usually talk like that, for some reason she was stuck in billboard-speak whenever I pressed her for her thoughts. My other companion liked the Problem Solver very much, though I thought it tasted a bit too strongly of Russian dressing.

All together, the sandwiches are fantastic. Yes, $10 is way expensive for sandwiches, but I’d rather pay this than eat two “$5 foot longs” from a certain underground transportation chain. Most of them could have easily doubled for two meals, so if you have a little restraint, they’re really not too expensive; then again, restraint is hard when they’re this good.

['wich plot coming soon!]

Fresh pork, hope you’re hungry (Havana Heaven):

Look at all that fresh pork (Havana Heaven):

Fresh greens (Loose-knit Crew):

Crunchy and rich (Problem Solver):

What comes out of this tiny “deli” stall? Sandwiches of course! Sure they sell soup and chips and stuff but who cares. Shamas is all about sandwiches. I tried their ’spicy turkey’ (which is really just “Cracked Pepper Mill Smoked Turkey Breast” from Boars Head) sandwich on a roll ($8) with hot peppers, cheese, mayo and some fixins. Yeah, you read that correctly, you order from the tiny stall and they still charge you $8! You aren’t even INSIDE when you order and they charge $8! It’s amazing what people will get away here. Aside from the horrible pricing, the sandwiches are tasty, a bit above par. The bread is nice and soft and the ingredients are fresh. The sandwich’s on the menu are a bit boring and there’s not much to challenge your taste buds, but if you’re looking for something dependable, it’s a good decision.

The ‘deli’:

“Spicy Turkey”:

Pastrami:

I tried the Vietnamese BBQ Beef ($9), apparently their most popular item. It was incredibly savory from the basil-mayo and shredded beef with a bit of pickled-carrots to add texture and spice. It is delicious, all the marketing buzz was right! Bite after bite of delicious buttery beef and mayo. God I love mayo. Like most sandwiches, it wasn’t perfect, there was a lot of filling creep and the sesame bun could’ve done a better job holding it all together, but those aren’t deal-breakers.

Ignore the buzz – eat the sandwiches!

Complex and well delivered:

They all come in these clear plastic trays:

The carrots were a bit haphazard but wonderfully bright:

Visitor, say hello to mayo and beef:

Not much, I decided. Thankfully I was right, all is well in the limb department. More importantly the little buggers were delicious. L’Orange Bleu (430 Broome St, New York, NY) is a Moroccan-ish restaurant in SoHo that has a wonderful oyster special that I can never resist. They have tables outside that are perfect for watching the parking lot across the street or hoping some anorexic models walk by. After you have a few happy-hour oysters, get these delicious mini-burgers. I expected them to be cooked gray and be a little chewy, after all what do Moroccan’s know about mini-burgers? Everything. These were perfectly cooked to medium, not too greasy and complimented my Sunday fear-test perfectly. Free yourself from the media terror, eat mini-burgers!

(Disclaimer: I have no idea how safe the meat is, but it taste delicious.)

Better quality than I expected for a fairly simple dish:

Fresh:

Upclose (No E. Coli here!):