Flatiron Lunch: Your first look at The Cannibal
When I heard that Resto’s new spinoff, The Cannibal was opening last month and that it would have a generous lunch lunch menu with sandwiches, I was really excited. Those that know my particular food obsessions won’t be surprised that a place specializing in butchering, charcuterie and beer jumped to the top of my to do list.
I stopped in a couple weeks ago to grab a bite and get a first look at the place. Check it out after the jump.
Located just a couple doors down from Resto on a quiet strip of 29th Street between Park and Lex, The Cannibal is appropriately subdued. The space was an apartment until recently and it still has that warm, homey quality.
The walls are lined with bottles and bottles of interesting beers. You order at the main bar/counter space on the left and there’s more seating in the back of the shop. Against the far wall, a counterman does the food prep and puts together the sandwiches.
I sat in the backyard, which is very cute and totally insulated from the outside world. I spotted a caja china – the Cuban box made for slow roasting whole pigs – so I’m hoping that they’ll be doing some sort of pig roast one of these days.
Half of the lunch menu just fits in the ML price range and most of that is right at the $10 mark. That’s not really surprising considering the pedigree. Resto has always been a splurge lunch for me and, even scaled down, The Cannibal was never going to be the place for $5 heroes.
Despite the shelves and shelves of beer, this is about lunch, so I passed. That said, looking trough the selection, I absolutely want to stop in one evening to get a better look at their beer list.
Instead, I had this Blenheim ginger ale, which had quite the kick to it.
This is the first look post, so we’re not judging anyone on the food yet, but here’s a look at the corned beef sandwich. For the $10 price, it’s not huge, but it was substantial enough. The house made corned beef was shredded into pink, chewy strips and topped with slaw and russian dressing. Personally, I prefer my slaw in moderation, so the 1:1 beef to slaw ratio was a little more than I really wanted, but your mileage may vary.
Slaw preference aside, I really enjoyed The Cannibal and definitely plan to return. The only real question is whether my next visit will be for lunch or for happy hour.
The Cannibal, 113 East 29th Street, between Park Avenue South & Lexington. 212.686.5480
Posted by ultraclay at 9:45 am, October 14th, 2011 under Flatiron Lunch.
12 Comments | RSS comments feed for this post
12 Comments
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So you have a bone to pick with them over the name?
Hehehe.
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still using that joke? minus two points
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Served with fava beans and a nice chianti…
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But your name is pigiron, and they serve pig, so….
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The Cannibal is a reference to Belgian cycling legend Edouard Louis Joseph Merckx. Nickname, The Cannibal.
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I had the pig head cuban from their Madison Square pop-up store yesterday.
For $10 there was a paltry amount of pig head on there. There couldn’t have been more than a couple of tablespoons, max. This is a shame because otherwise the sandwich was great… pressed nicely, ham and cheese was tasty as well. There was no mustard on it though, which was off. Either way, not worth $10 by a long shot
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yea i got suckered into that sandwich last year. not worth it at all.
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went last night. beer list solid but pricing erratic. North Coast Rasputin for $8 very reasonable. Tecate or High Life for $6 is absurd.
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A place that makes you go, “who are we having for dinner”? ;)
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Looks awesome! We have a place just down the street that looks almost exactly like this called, Parrallel 45. Layout, menu, even the interior, all very similar. They even have a caja china, too, lol. They make some awesome pork sandwiches, but I wish that made that Rueben…looks fantastic!
-Perry
Perry P. Perkins
Author
La Caja China Cooking
La Caja China Word -
I’m so glad the place starts with “The” which gives it a sense of gravitas and importance. I find places that start with “The” lack pretense and attract a down to earth crowd, like The Darby, The Collective, The Lambs Club, The Bedford, The Breslin…you get the idea.
Looks like kind of a cool place, but “The Cannibal” is a stupid, stupid, stupid name for a restaurant.