It’s become a Midtown Lunch tradition to spend Fat Tuesday eating a fried shrimp po’boy at the Grand Central Oyster Bar Take-Out window, one of the closest examples of NOLA food achieved in this South-hating city. And this tradition isn’t going to die on our watch, but for this Fat Tuesday I wanted to explore the other Bayou-inspired item from said window, the Cajun Fried Rock Shrimp Sandwich with Creole Sauce. It’s like a po’boy in muffuletta clothing.

The Oyster Bar window and I have seen each other often lately primarily due to their cheap soups, all of which are head and shoulders above any other soups in the area. I tend to shy away from the sandwiches, but for the past few weeks I’ve been eying the shrimp one. If you’re not into the spicy food, I could see why the words cajun and creole would make you a bit scared- but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Cajun fried only means frying in a buttermilk and cornmeal batter, while creole sauce may be synonymous with a creole mayonnaise/coarse mustard mash-up. In other words, it’s nothing to worry about. (And if you do like it spicy, you can always ask for hot sauce!) I figured all of this out in the first sloppy bite, and immediately regretted not eating this sandwich more often.

The soft oval loaf does a good job of soaking up a bit of the sauce, but a horrible job of keeping it together-there were many shrimps down during the housing of this sandwich. Knowing this, they give you a fork as if to say “good luck.” Of course, these are perfect popcorn shrimp, not too greasy, great mild sweet flavor, and each fallen hero had varying degrees of sauce coating. The sauce is what takes this sandwich from being average to above average/extraordinary, otherwise it would be a little bland. The shreds of lettuce add another sponge for the sauce and maybe a little bit of crunch too. I don’t know how close to New Orleans cuisine this sandwich takes you, but it is certainly one of the best uses of shrimp in Midtown (and we need to eat fried food in preparation for tonight’s Hurricanes.)

Related:
Get Your Fat Tuesday On With These Mardi Gras Drink Specials
Celebrate Fat Tuesday With a Fried Oyster Po’Boy

I headed over there yesterday to check out their muffuletta.

I know, I know.  What could I possibly expect from a faux New Orleans joint, on restaurant row (quite possibly the most toursity stretch of restaurants in New York City.)  But they do have some good happy hour specials ($5 hurricanes and 2 for 1 Abitas) and a decent red beans and rice… so I thought, maybe- just maybe it would be ok.

I suppose they get a few “cuteness” points for cutting the sandwich into four pieces… although the original Central Grocery version is cut into four pieces because it is massive.  This sandwich was far from massive.  It also was on tomato and cheese foccacia (not Sicilian bread) and heated (huh?) so the cheese was all melted.  The original muffuletta is a cold cuts sandwich… emphasis on the cold.  The olive salad- which they thankfully remembered- was decent, but not enough to save the poor meat selection, which appeared to consist of two layers of mortadella and one layer of a perpperoni-like salami. Potato chips were good. 

Don’t get me wrong… the thing tasted fine.  It just wasn’t a muffuletta. I did, however, find out that if you have a Times Square Alliance card (which I think you can get for free if you prove you work or live in the area) you get 15% off anything on the menu at Bourbon Street Grill, which would bring the $11 1/2 po’boy, 1/2 cup of seafood gumbo lunch special into the Midtown Lunch price range.  I may have to try that… with low expectations of course.

Bourbon Street Bar & Grille, 346 w. 46th St. (btw. 8+9th),   212-245-2030

Normally they give away free topping coupons the day after Hideki Matsui hits a homerun, but why should we be punished because it is the Yankees’ offseason?  Problem solved.  Today is free topping coupon day at Go Go Curry on 38th St. btw. 7+8th. 

The new House of Pita on 8th Ave. btw. 39+40th finally replaced the Mandler’s Sausage sign.  They smartly decided to keep the H.O.P. name, and only add the “Chicken Bar” part to the sign underneath.  I guess they “discovered” that Chicken Bar already exists.

Kashmir Express, the Indian take out place on 8th Ave. btw. 38+39th, has converted to a by the pound buffet.  Looked pretty good, although having to pay for my lunch by the amount it weighs is always a scary proposition.  The $4.99 price tag is not bad, but Indian food can get heavy!  And it forces you to break the #1 rule of eating at buffets by the pound… go easy on the rice and bread.

A shot of the buffet, plus Piece of Chicken’s shocking new menu changes, after the jump…

The New Inside of Kashmir Express

Not into the by the lb. buffets?  There is always the $9.95 Kashmir all you can eat buffet, in the proper restaurant next door (down the stairs).

Saw this sad sign hanging in “Out of Bounds”, Midtown Lunch favorite “Piece of Chicken” on 45th btw. 8+9th. 

“Due to the price increase of milk, eggs, cheese and butter, we have to raise the price of Macaroni & Cheese to $3.00.  Sorry.” 

Sorry indeed.  The chicken and waffles is now $3 as well (although that seems a little more worth it.  I mean you’re getting a piece of fried chicken AND a waffle.  Is there anything better?)  They make up for it a little by adding a whole bunch of new $2 options, including Bread Pudding, Spicy Jezebel Herbed Tea (from the original restaurant whose kitchen they now occupy), honey chicken, smothered chicken and Jamaican jerk chicken.  And of course each piece of fried chicken is still a buck.  They also have an entrance now, so you don’t have to wait in line in the freezing cold for your food to be put together.

Got any bits and pieces of your own?  Email them to zach@midtownlunch.com

For those of us longing to be in New Orleans right now for Mardi Gras, this will be have to be our consolation prize.  (It’s no “Mama’s” Chicken Box, but it will do!)  Spicy Fried Chicken, biscuits (made with lard), and red beans and rice.

Pics of the inside, after the jump… 

If you’re not a Popeye’s convert just yet, a full +/- is coming soon.  For those who have seen the light, I’ll see you there at lunchtime! 

Now, I’m sure some of you “smart” “observant” people, who don’t walk around with your “head up your ass” might be saying to yourself- “Gee Zach… what are you an idiot?”  And to that I say, “Yes.  Yes I am.”  Alright, so I’m not that quick.  I’ve gotten pizza from many of the various Two Boots locations around the city, and in all that time I never really noticed the Po’Boys or Jambalaya on the menu painted on the wall… just the pizzas in the glass case.

I’m not sure who clued me into the whole “Two Boots” thing, or the fact that they have things other than pizza… but as someone who is constantly on the lookout for quality New Orleans style food, I figured it was time to give the non pizza boot a try.

What I ordered, a run down of the pizzas and the +/- after the jump…

I had read alot of negative things about the po’boys at Two Boots, so my expectations were pretty low.  I ordered the Central Grocery Po’Boy- described as a sandwich with sopressata, tasso, and provolone.  It’s named after the famous Central Grocery in the French Quarter of New Orleans which serves up Muffuletta’s- a famous Italian sandwich that got it’s start in the Big Easy.  The original is served with provolone, Genoa Salami and Cappicola Ham- topped with an olive salad, made fresh on premises.  (It’s so good, they sell jars of it in the store)  It’s all served on this round Italian bread, and can be ordered as a half or whole.  My friend Nick P. passed along these pics from the Central Grocery in New Orleans taken over Thanksgiving weekend:

The “half” sandwich above, is actually alot bigger than it appears in the pic.  It’s pretty tough to finish by yourself.  I know it’s unfair to compare… but here’s the “Central Grocery Po’Boy” from Two Boots:

Now the bread thing is understandable. I didn’t expect Two Boots, a Manhattan Pizza chain, to have the round Italian bread they have at the Central Grocery. But there is one omission that is unforgivable. No olive salad!!! What’s the point of calling it a Central Grocery Po’Boy if there is no olive salad????  It’s the whole point of the sandwich!  And without the olive salad, it’s just an Italian sub… and at $8.50 there are millions of other places to get Italian subs that were better than this.  Terrible.  Very very disappointing.  (Here’s what an Olive salad topped Muffuletta should look like:)

So the short of it is, ignore the Po’Boys.  I’ve heard the Jambalaya is pretty good (and super spicy) but I think I’m going to just stick with the Pizza- which is real good if you like alot of different stuff on your pie.  When I first started eating at Two Boots, I thought it was expensive… but after a year of lunch in Midtown it seems pretty reasonable (that is so sad).

A slice of cheese is $2.50, white pizza is $2.75, and most of the specialty slices are $3.50-$3.75.  Choose between a whole host of slices, each named after a celebrity.  I’m partial to  the Mr. Pink (Chicken, Tomatoes, Garlic & Mozzarella), the Mel Cooley (Sun Dried Tomatoes, Basil Pesto and Roasted Peppers on a White Pie) or the Bayou Beast (BBQ Shrimp, Crawfish, Andoille, Jalapenos and Mozzarealla).  The last one is so you can still feel a little piece of New Orleans without ordering the crappy po’boy!

The red sauce they use is pretty sweet (and not Dude Where’s My Car “Sweet”, I mean sugary sweet)- so if you’re not into that, I would try one of the white pies (like the Mel Cooley).  They’ve got large circles of Ricotta dotting the pie that are pretty sweet (those are sweet in the Dude, Where’s My Car sort of way).  The pesto is real good too.  All in all, if you’ve never been to Two Boots, it’s worth it for the pizza (especially if you’re looking for something different in the pie by the slice variety).  They have locations all over Manhattan, and two them are in Midtown.  (Just do your best to ignore the Louisiana boot or you may end up disappointed…)

THE +

• The pizza is good, if you are looking for something different than your standard New York Pizza
• The white pie is delicious… and not too expensive at $2.75 a slice.  (You may say the “secret” ingredient is giant dollops of ricotta)

THE -

• The price.  It’s comparable to most food in Midtown… but if you are still averse to paying more than $2 for a slice of pizza (especially one that is not authentic NYC style pizza), than stay away.
• The non-Italian boot.  Thinking about the ”Central Grocery Po’Boy” they serve is all I need to keep me sticking to the pizza at this place…

Two Boots, Locations all over Manhattan

• Rockefeller Center, Lower Dining Concourse 212-332-8800
• Grand Central, Lower Dining Concourse 212-557-7992

We both ended up falling in love with the city, and got married there when she graduated in May of last year.  I’d like to say it was the rich culture and history of the city, the awesome music, the great people, or the beautiful scenery that made us want to get married there.  But everyone who knows us, knows the truth… it was the food.  I visited as often as I could, and when I did, we ate our way across the amazing city like there was no tomorrow. 

Raw oysters and boiled crawfish at Harbor Seafood (in Kenner) , The Roast Duck Po’Boy at Crabby Jack’s, Fried Chicken at Dunbar’s (the greatest fried chicken I’ve ever eaten), Raw Oysters at Casamento’s, the unbelievable Bread Pudding Souffle at Commander’s Palace (that you have to order at the beginning of the meal), Beignets at Cafe Du Monde, Coffee at Rue de la Course, a muffallatta at the Central Grocery, Chocolate Pecan Pie at Camellia Grill, great meals at Dick & Jenny’s, Clancy’s, Upperline, Lilette, Emeril’s, Bayona, and the awesome Valentine’s Day Dinner 2003 at Jacques-Imo’s.

I mention that one last because when we moved to NYC, we were incredibly excited to hear that there was a Jacques-Imo’s on the Upper West Side.  And while the restaurant isn’t owned by Jacques (according to the website they “licensed the concept”), they serve his famous fried chicken.   The food is not terrible, but it’s more like a frat boy sports bar then anything that resembles the culinary destination that is the real Jacques-Imo’s.  Despite being disappointed by the dinner at the UWS restaurant, we still decided to try Jacques-Imo’s To Geaux (get it?) in the Grand Central Terminal Food Court.  We figured, how hard can it be to make fried chicken and a decent po’boy? (Especially when you don’t have to worry about losing points because of the decor…)

What we got, pictures, and the +/- after the jump…

Sorry for the long winded back-story, but I think it’s important- especially since I’m about to give my unbelievably biased opinion.  I’ll admit right up front- if you’ve lived in New Orleans, no “cajun” food you eat outside of the crescent city is going to be good enough.  It’s just a fact.  You might have a good meal here and there… but nothing will be as good as the original.  With that in mind… here’s what we thought of the food at Jacques-Imo’s to Geaux:

There were three of us (me, my wife and a friend of ours who was born and raised in New Orleans), so we decided to order three different meals to get a taste.  Each item came with a side dish.  I got the Shrimp Po’boy with Cajun Fries ($8.50).  My wife got the Fried Chicken Po’Boy with Jumbalaya ($8.20).  And our friend got the 3 piece fried chicken meal with corn bread and beans and rice ($8.95).

We should have known we were in trouble when all the food came wrapped in Brother Jimmy’s BBQ containers.  I don’t know if it was mental or not, but I think the beans and rice may have tasted like BBQ.  Maybe the BBQ thing was just mental… but they did taste weird.  I don’t know exactly what it was- but something was not quite right.  The Jambalaya on the other hand was pretty tasty, and one of the highlights of the meal.  Seasoned well, it had some nice chunks of sausage (which you always like to see).  The Cajun fries, on the other hand, were a disaster.  I’m a big fan of “Crawfish boil” seasoning… but poured over poor helpless french fries, it was pretty overwhelming (and rendered them inedible).

The two sandwiches were also hit or miss.  The first surprise came when I opened the Shrimp Po’Boy.  Shrimp Po’Boy was called Shrimp Po’Boy… not Fried Shrimp Po’Boy- a detail I missed when I ordered it.  Who the hell makes a po’boy with boiled shrimp???  We were dumbfounded.  Yes, they do exist.  Yes, you can get one in New Orleans (our friend said there is a delicious one at JazzFest).  But is that what most people think they’re going to get when they order a Shrimp Po’Boy.  No.  We expected fried shrimp.  What we got, was a pile of boiled popcorn shrimp.  Shame on you Jacques Imo’s To Geaux.  Is it that hard to fry up some shrimp??? (Interestingly enough, the Oyster Po’Boy just says “Oyster Po’Boy”.  Does that mean the oysters aren’t fried???)  So far it was not looking good.

In their defense, aside from the shrimp fiasco, the po’boys were fairly authentic.  The french bread was spot on, and there was lettuce, tomato, pickles and mayo- just like any good po’boy should have.  The fried chicken po’boy benefited from the chicken being fried, and was much better then the boiled shrimp one.  The chicken was a big, boneless chicken breast, so it was a tiny bit dry, but the mayo more then made up for that.  It’s hard to screw up a fried chicken sandwich.

Finally… the famous fried chicken.  For $8.95 you get three pieces of chicken (mixed- $9.95 for all white meat), corn bread and a side.  We waited a pretty long time for our order to come up, so we assumed it was because of the fried chicken.  This was disproved when we got to our table, and the fried chicken was actually slightly soggy, like it had been sitting in the container for an hour.  It would have been understandable if we had taken the food back to the office, but we didn’t, so it didn’t make any sense.  It tasted ok, but was certainly not worth the money.

All in all the lunch was not horrible (Fried Chicken Po’Boy with Jambalaya would have been the perfect choice), but with expectations of a good New Orleans meal, we couldn’t help but be disappointed.  It’s also a little expensive for a food court lunch (all of the places in the Grand Central Terminal are).  As a positive, they do have Cafe du Monde Coffee, beignets (which I haven’t tried) and Abita beer.  A small slice of home.

My gut feeling is that Jacques Leonardi would be less then pleased to see what has become of his “Licensed” image, but it’s ok because we still have the original.  I said it yesterday and I’ll say it again… if you are looking for authentic New Orleans cajun food in New York- you have to go to Laguardia (or JFK)- and board a plane to New Orleans.  You’ll not only help out a community that needs the money, but you will be rewarded with some of the best food the country has to offer.  For recommendations, just check out my list in the second paragraph above.  We plan on going back every year.  We still have some more places to eat at!

THE +

• The po’boys (minus the filling) are made correctly.  French bread, that tastes the same as the kind you get in N.O., lettuce, tomato, pickles and mayo.
• They have Abita Beer
• The food is not terrible, so if you’ve never been to New Orleans, you will probably enjoy it much more then someone who has lived there
• The jambalaya and corn bread are good.

THE -

• The red beans and rice were not good.
• The Shrimp Po’Boy was a boiled popcorn shrimp sandwich.
• The fried chicken was soggy (maybe just that order, on that day?)
• The cajun fries (see picture of above)
• It’s not Jacques-Imo’s quality food.  If you’ve been to New Orleans, and are looking for that type of experience, you will probably be disappointed.

Jacques-Imo’s To Geaux, Grand Central Terminal Food Court, 212-661-4023