Sunny and Annie's - Pho #1 (aka Pho Real) Sandwich

So, I know you can basically turn anything into a sandwich but a Pho Sandwich? Pho real now? (hahahahaha)

Post workout with J, I told him we should stop by Sunny & Annie's for a sandwich. I read and saw about the pho sandwich a while back and knew we just had to try it. We've had pho many times, but in sandwich form...never.

S&A is a corner deli. Really tight and cramp inside but boy, they have a lot of stuff. Sandwiches being freshly made is one of them. They have a load of other different sandwiches which I'd love to come back and try, especially with funky names like Joe Bama and MonaRisa.

The Pho Sandwich ($6.99) tastes just like a bowl of pho in sandwich form. Yummy roast beef, onions, bean sprouts, thai basil, avocado, tomato, hoisin sauce, and sriricha was quite bomb. That's actually better than any Vietnamese sandwich I've had. This was different and quite clever. You can get this cold or hot, we tried the latter and will be back for the former.

Sunny and Annie's
94 Ave B
New York, NY 10003
(212) 677-3131 

John's Deli - The magic is in the sauce

The day was raining, yet J and I decided to head over to John's Deli for their famous roast beef sandwich. I wasn't crazy about it, I mean it's just a sandwich with a creepy dark sauce on it. But since J wanted to try it so much, well he's been thinking about it for a while now so why not check this off our list.

We came a bit past noon and it was starting to get crowded. Luckily, we got a table before it was all filled. John's Deli isn't the greatest nor prettiest place but they have good quality food. They have it written somewhere for their patrons to read, that if you're in hurry then this place isn't for you. Our order wasn't quick but it didn't take too long either.

Our lunch! We basically split everything since it was our first time here and seeing so many things on the counter, we wanted to get it all.

J saw a whole tray of the Focaccia ($?) and he wanted a slice. To me, it was a slice of white pizza with onions. Quite delicious though.

I wanted to try their rice balls and J chose the Ham & Mozzarella Riceballs ($3.00). I wasn't so thrilled about it, a bit on the sweeter side and it definitely had corn incorporated into the rice which I didn't like. The consistency was good but the taste did not appeal to me.

The star of it all! The infamous Roast Beef Sandwich with Mutz and Gravy ($7.75) was the bomb! Simple yet so tasty. I loved how the bread was lightly toasted and the creepy dark gravy was delicious! It complimented the whole sandwich since roast beef is on the dry side. The onions added flavor and texture to the sandwich making it quite impeccable. Next time, I'm not sharing.

At first glance, I thought there was an egg in there but it was just the mozzarella. Now, how would it be if an egg was added? Probably heavenly. I can't wait for my next visit.

So, if you ever had boring and plain roast beef, do give John's Deli a go because this will excite you.

John's Deli
2033 Stillwell Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11223
(718) 372-7481 

Breakfast @ Ess-A-Bagel

This bagel shop is right near my workplace which is insanely convenient. They have the array of different spreads from tofu lox cream cheese to chicken salad. They also have your cold cut meats if you prefer.

Breakfast in the morning is chaotic here. Upon entering, you would be completely confused because of the long lines and crazy zig zag to get to the end of the line. Lucky for me, there was only 2-3 people in front of me that morning. I was so relieved.

You have to know what you want here because once you're being called up, you tell them what you want and how you want it. They don't have the patience to be waiting for you while they have a long line to cater to.

I was craving for a bagel with cream cheese, but the usual cream cheese sounded boring...

Decided on an Everything Bagel with Lox Cream Cheese ($3.95). Don't know what I was thinking but I find myself not being a fan of an everything bagel. I totally forgot about the garlic bagel, and this one was so pungent. I'll stick to a plain or sesame, anything but garlic.

The lox was really good. Creamy and had bites of cured salmon in it. I think I enjoyed it more because it was pink...

Had a Small Coffee ($1.40) along with my bagel since I'm sure I needed something to wash it down with. I had no sugar in my coffee this time and surprisingly, it was bearable and tasted great with the lox bagel.

A simple spot for sandwiches, there are endless combinations you can get here. Next time, I'll be getting the tofu lox... yum.

Ess-A-Bagel
831 3rd Ave
New York, NY 10022
(212) 980-1010

Mile End

The search for the best New York poutine still continues. Of course, it will never be the same as Montreal's poutine but I would like to think there is this possibility out there where we'll find a poutine that comes close to our (J's and mine) favorite Frite Alors in Canada.

Somehow, searching around Yelp brings me to Mile End. They had good ratings, great photos and most important, the poutine looks really dam good.

When we arrived, we had to wait a while. I was actually surprised at how many people were eating here, must be good...

They had a small menu so deciding on what we want wasn't so difficult.


Classic Poutine

Looks pretty legit to me.
I wish the cheese curds were smaller and colder. Because by the time they served us the plate, the curds were melting. Gah! I want that squeaky feeling of cheese curds between my teeth. The gravy was good, not too overly seasoned and worked quite well with the fries, which were quite good also. And so, that's where the good food ends...

Smoke Meat Sandwich w/ pickle and slaw

The smoked meat was dry. They needed more fat in that meat, not just lean meat. Felt like eating dry cardboard. But, the pickle was amazing. Nice, crunchy, salty... the way a real pickle should be.


Grandpa

Another disappointment. Layers of turkey breast with thinly sliced pickle (-_-) and a turkey rillette, one word - dry. The only moisture was the pickles and the rillette. Plus, I felt like it lacked some sort of texture, probably would've helped if they gave me more pickles.

So, the entire time J and I was sitting at the counter, we noticed the dude behind the counter that was preparing sandwiches started munching on pieces of smoked meat and turkey. He would purposely slice more and just eat the extra pieces, and I say extra pieces because they actually weigh the amount that goes into the sandwich. Man, I rather go to Katz's and let them pile on the meat and they're not dry!

All-in-all, I'm only coming back for the poutine, if I ever come back.

Mile End
97 Hoyt St
Ste A
Brooklyn, NY 11217
(718) 852-7510