No Reservations - Vietnam

Once again what looks like another great foodie episode. This week Tony travels to Vietnam to sample some of the local cuisine. I have never had Vietnamese food (as I write this posts, I realize that I say that a lot...) but from the preview of this episode, looks pretty good!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I am still detoxing from all the wonderful food that I ate, going to Babbo tonight and couldn't be more excited!!!

Read more...

Philly Cheesesteaks

This weekend I am headed to Philly and once there I obviously want to indulge in the local cuisine, that being cheesesteaks.

I need to know the good places to go, not some tourist trap. If you send me to the Times Square of Cheesesteaks you will be banished from the Frugal Foodies forever and you don't even want to know what that's like.

So if you have any ideas, leave a comment or email thefrugalfoodies@gmail.com

Read more...

Katz's Deli

Well I finally did it. I went to Katz's. As you may remember this famous Delicatessen appeared on an episode of No Reservations and I wrote about my sudden urge to eat there. Nothing like the threat of scarcity to get me moving.

So this past Saturday we packed up the crew and headed to the lower east side establishment, ready for a big ole sandwich. We honestly had no clue what was in store.

All I can say is Holy Cluster. There were about 30 people standing immediately at the front door waiting for a person to hand them a ticket with the reminder "DO NOT LOSE YOUR TICKET" (imagine a thick New York accent.) I would say 20% of people knew what was going on, the other 80% of us were lost puppies looking for someone to feed us. The menu lined the top portion on the wall and salami's hung in the windows. I felt like I was in a vegetarian hell.

The group quickly dissembled and I was left alone with my ticket. I must have looked pathetic because someone ushered me into a line and there I stood. What they don't tell you is that each "butcher" (?) "sandwich-maker" (?) has their own line. That would have been nice to know...

Anyways once I got to the front, I panicked and ordered a pastrami on rye. Ok. Let me tell you why this was weird. 1) I have never in my life, ever, ordered a pastrami on rye 2) I didn't know what pastrami was.

So this "butcher" hands me a plate with a piece of meat on it. I immediate eat it and realize, hey I like pastrami (which I later learned is meat - brisket - that is heavily seasoned and served steaming hot), this is going to be ok. Next he places my tray in front of me with the biggest pile

of meat and bread that I have ever seen. This is like the Mt. Olympus of meat (pictured right is Leah's Ruben - and her photography skills - but you can see a pastrami and rye sandwich in the background.)

So after I get my sandwich, I start on my next task: French Fries. I am seeing people with them everywhere, but I don't know where they got them from. These are not the kind of employees that you want to ask fairly obvious questions to, so I just kept walking, hoping that there would be a huge sign that said "FATTY, FRENCH FRIES ARE HERE." Unfortunately this sign did not exist and I broke down and asked someone and they were fairly nice in pointing me to the right station. So I got my fries and diet pepsi and was ready for my next challenge: Finding a table.

Ugh, since I was a baller and the first one to get through each station quickly, I was delegated with the task of finding a table. After a lot of stalking I found one.

Everyone joins me and we sit down and enjoy this truly historic New York landmark. The sandwiches were great, the fries were crispy, the drinks were cool and overall, I would definitely come back, however, there are some things that I feel EVERYONE should know before they even think about going to Katz's. Some things I've discussed others I haven't but they are in this neat list for you to keep up with:

1. Do not, and I repeat DO NOT go hungover. This will be a death sentence. Trust me.
2. Be alert, watch the lines.
3. Don't go with more than 5 people. You will not get table.
4. Don't lose your ticket. This didn't happen, but I don't want to know what would happen if you did.
5. Be prepared for left-overs.
6. This will not be a cheap meal, but you will get more than one meal out of it.

Other than that Katz's is a great institution and the walls are lined with it's history, even a sign hanging from the ceiling dedicated to the famous scene in When Harry Met Sally, the "I'll have what she's having" scene...

Katz's Delicatessen
205 E Houston St.

New York, NY 10002

(212) 254-2246

Read more...

Cherin Sushi

This is one of those great New York finds that I just keep coming back to. It has all the requirements for a great night. Great location? Yes. Affordable? Yes. Good? Yes. BYOB? Um, YES.

We stumbled upon this "find" in some sort of recession chain email that got sent around through my group of poor/unemployed friends, and we figured why not, I mean how bad can a BYOB be?

Located in the East Village on 6th and 2nd, Cherin is in the heart of cool bars and restaurants and the atmosphere can't be beat. When you walk in you'll notice that the restaurant is basically a narrow strip (probably 10 feet wide and about 50 feet deep - ok I made this up, but think of a very narrow rectangle). People are lined on the walls, and it looks like complete chaos. There are NYU students camping out at their tables, taking advantage of the BYOB factor.

We find the hostess and check-in. She lost our reservation the second time we went, but that was ok, we were still seated relatively quickly (I would say within 20 minutes). Once seated we gazed over the menu. Much to my surprise, I was taken aback and had a bit of sticker shock, but the good kind. I would say the most expensive roll at Cherin is

$10 and the majority fall under $5.

I ordered the beef dumplings, shrimp tempura, and spicy crunchy tuna. All three things I ordered were GREAT. I know what you're thinking - I went pretty basic, borderline amateur - but I figured if you can get the basics down, the more extensive rolls are probably just as good. Plus, I can order what I want so - HA!

Overall, the bill came out to about $15 a person, for about an 1 hour and 1/2 of dining -- unreal for New York or anywhere really. Service left something to be desired, but for those prices, I'll take what I can get.

I am actually thinking about going back again this week, that is how confident I feel that I can have the same experience again. Plus, I left my planner there, but even if I hadn't, I would probably still go back.

Cherin Sushi

306 E 6th St
New York, NY 10003
(212) 388-1348

Read more...

No Reservations - Sri Lanka

I have always been facinated by Sri Lanka and I don't really know why. I'll be honest I know nothing about it, but it always seemed to me to be like the red-headed step child of India. What can I say, I like an underdog.

This week on No Reservations, Anthony travels there and from the clip I can already tell I would be into it. I love me some late night eating :)




As always tune in on Monday night at 10 EST to the Travel Channel. Or if you're like me DVR it and watch it on Tuesday when nothing really good comes on.

Read more...