Midtown Lunch

Sticky’s Finger Joint became somewhat of a sensation among the NYU crowd down on 8th Street. It was never my scene, but I stopped by once or twice to fill a craving and their creative chicken finger creations did the trick. They’ve spread out to another bro-heavy neighborhood which is thankfully also just on the border of the ML parameters. For those who work on the south end of Midtown East, you should check it out.

I arrived after their lunch rush and discovered a tiny, but empty storefront blasting hip hop. There are a handful of tables, but it’s not the most spacious location. Crowds descended again by the time I left.

The menu here is a bit more restrictive than the one downtown and you have to choose between a box (3 or 5), sandwich, or salad. And then fried fingers, grilled fingers or poppers.

The highlight really are their dipping sauces, which the cashiers were eager to let me taste. When I asked about the Sticky’s Sauce, they quickly put a popper in some sauce for me to taste rather than explaining. By the way, it was awesome. It’s sort of a smoky, creamy white barbecue sauce.

Of course, the more sauces you order, the more it will cost you. That’s why I kept asking what each one tasted like so I got a free sample. Eventually, I had to choose a sauce to go with my box of three fingers. There are traditional choices (Sriracha, Buttermilk Baby Ranch), creative creations (French Onion Crema, Buffalo Balsami Maple), and wacky sweet concoctions (Caramel, Marshmallow). I chose Wasabi Aioli and Tikka Masala.

I also splurged on an order of fries ($4). My order came out to $13 (without a drink), but the sandwiches are just over $5 and if I was less eager to try everything, I could have left here with spending well under $10.

They were nice enough to let me mix-in one grilled finger (yes, they offer those for the more health-conscious) along with the traditional fried fingers. Needless to say, the grilled one wasn’t nearly as good. It had a nice smoky, flavorful exterior but the meat was rather dry and chewy.

Golden and tender, the fried fingers were pretty tasty on their own, but they really sang when dipped into one of the sauces. The wasabi aioli was great with a nice healthy kick. I found that their creamier and mayo based sauces seemed to work much better than the ones without. The tikka masala (and the mango guava death) were way too aggressive with the spice and pepper without any sort of balance or backbone.

The entire set-up here makes me think of a protein version of Belgian frites. The fries here, by the way, might have been even better than the chicken. And you know they got dipped in the sauces as well!

At Sticky’s, you could get a healthy carb-less meal, a nostalgic lunch reminiscent of childhood, or sweet greasy relief from the night before’s hangover.