Swich Wholesome Sandwich Company

A quick plug before we start because I would never have found this place without the Scoutmob iPhone app. Scoutmob is a great website offering so many amazing deals at locations throughout the city. The deal that drew me into Swich was 50% Off! Check out www.scoutmob.com and start saving!



Swich Wholesome Sandwich Co is located in Chelsea on 8th Ave. I know what you're thinking though, Another sandwich shop?! But my answer to you is No…this is not just another whole in the wall that has some coldcuts behind the counter with day old vegetables. Swich is all about fresh, healthy, and most importantly, delicious sandwiches. I have been there twice so far and each sandwich has been satisfying and doesn't leave me walking away with that "I shouldn't have eaten that" feeling.



Picture a Subway that only had fresh ingredients. There are no paper cups of precut "meat" sitting on the counter hoping somebody picks them. But much like Subway, the ordering is an assembly line. First, choose your bread. (Ciabatta [reg or lg], 7-grain baguette [reg or lg] or Sliced whole wheat) Next, chose your protein or select one of their pre-arranged sandwich selections. Finally, you can add a variety of vegetables; some of which are slightly more money.




On my first visit, I selected The Hippie: Grilled Chicken, avocado, sprouts and a Citrus Vinaigrette. The chicken is pulled from it's steamy bath of broth and goodness and arranged on my large ciabatta. This is real, juicy pieces of chicken; nothing frozen…nothing unrecognizable. That alone, looked ready to devour, but they weren't done. When slicing the avocado, there was a sensation of caring. They didn't just throw 2 slices on the bread and continue on. Each, of the numerous, slices were carefully arranged on the bread to guarantee each bite would be equally delicious. I also chose to add some lettuce and red onion. The mound of sprouts that followed added the perfect balance of green to the unsaturated sandwich. Finished with a squeeze of the citrus vinaigrette and my sandwich was ready to consume. You can make it a combo by adding chips and a drink or throw some soup in to enjoy.

The Hippie was delicious. You can really taste all of the fresh, natural ingredients. The flavors all combine perfectly to really make you feel like you're eating something healthy. All orders are served with a complimentary offering of lemon-mint edamame.


If you're a fan of edamame like I am, these are a must eat! If you've never had or don't like edamame…these are a MUST EAT! I like to save mine to the end as a crisp palette cleanser.




My next visit led me to The Mexicana: Roast Beef, Avocado, Cilantro, Jalepeños and Citrus Vinaigrette. (Once again on a large ciabatta.) the roast beef was taken out from where it is stored dry and dunked and submerged into a hot bath of jus and deliciousness. After a minute or so, it comes out of it's bath and is piled upon the bread. The jalepeños are arranges with such perfection that there is a spicy blanket on top of the roast beef. As with the Hippie, the avocado is next up. Because I loved them so much on my first sandwich, I added some sprouts next. Finally, a few pieces of cilantro top the sandwich.




The jalepeños added a strong kick that is kept under control by the cooling avocado. there isn't much to say about this sandwich other than, I can't wait to go back. The creators of these sandwiches have really found a happy balance of their ingredients and offer up such a large selection that it will be a long time before I have to repeat a lunch.

As I was finishing up my sandwich and licking my lips I saw signs for their "famous" banana lemonade. You heard me right…but it sounded like something I couldn't get anywhere else so I opted for a cup to go.


Wow! Sweet and tart but neither of which is more powerful than the other. It was the perfect drink for the unnaturally warm day.

The biggest regret I have about Swich is that it took too long for me to discover it! It is really too far for me to walk to on my lunch breaks so once the weather gets bad and the rollerblades go away, so will my sandwiches; I'm just out of delivery range. But rest assured, I will be taking full advantage for as long as I can.

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Swich Wholesome Sandwich Co.
Address: 104 8th Ave (@ 15th St), New York, NY
Website: www.SwichWholesome.com

The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck

I had been hearing all about the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck since I got interested in the NYC food trucks. My biggest problem was that he never came close enough to work for me to realistically eat lunch, get there and back on my 1 hour lunch break. So I always just hoped that one day I would magically come across it. But then I learned on Twitter that the BGICT shuts down for the Winter months. I know I shouldn't have been so surprised but it made me realize that if I was going to try this ice cream, I needed to make it happen.

It was a gorgeous day so I put my rollerblades on at work. I didn't really have any plans that day for lunch but I flew downtown on Broadway. I reluctantly grabbed a small sandwich at some little shop not worth mentioning and sat down at one of the little tables facing the beautiful Flatiron building. With my sandwich done and time to kill, I popped open my Twitter and much to my surprise, the BGICT was just a fee blocks away on Broadway & 17th Street!! That wasn't going to be a problem, especially on my rollerblades. I've been hearing stories and tweets about this truck and expected a big extravagant vehicle with rainbows and unicorns and jelly beans dancing with lollipops. I have no idea why…at all! I turned the corner and there it was; a small white ice cream truck like you have seen since childhood. The only difference was the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck logo on the side panel.





The line wasn't too bad, with 3 people in front of me, I had time to take in all of the amazing and unique menu items. Varying from olive oil & sea salt to blood orange infused balsamic syrup, I had a big decision to make. I had one shot at greatness for the next day was closing day! Without notice, I was next! Scanning all of the different pictures along the side of the truck I finally see something that I cannot say no to: Vanilla ice cream with Dulce de Leche & ground Nilla wafers. "I'd like a Bea Arthur, please!"





A squeeze bottle of Dulce de Leche starts off the party inside of the cone. Next, a swirling tower of vanilla ice cream grows. Now everyone pay attention, this is where the magic happens.


The squeeze bottle makes another appearance; shoved into the ice cream and slowly drawn out and up creating pinstripes of deliciousness. This process is used around the entire circumference of the cone with such random precision. The whole thing then gets a bath in ground Nilla Wafers and placed into my eagerly awaiting hands. I find a spot across the street to sit down and partake in this coned creation.



Let me tell you, words cannot describe how incredible this ice cream was. The Nilla wafers were so light and packed with vanilla flavor. The dusting also created such a great texture in my mouth when mixed with the rich and creamy ice cream. Don't think I forgot about the pinstripes of joy! The Dulce de Leche was thick and sweet and sticky and the perfect balance to the wafers and ice cream.


You don't hear this very often but Bea Arthur had totally made my day! Unfortunately, Bea Arthur also made me late for work! But it was worth it.

Let it be known now, the day the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck rolls out into the city next year, you will be sure to find me in line; waiting to try the newest creation.

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The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck
Website: www.BigGayIceCreamTruck.com
Twitter: @biggayicecream
Facebook: The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck

Rice Pudding from Frites 'N' Meats

By now, especially if you follow me on Twitter, you know my love of the guys and food at Frites 'N' Meats. My weekly burgers have only gotten better since I have been sampling the Burger of the Week. But as amazing as the burgers have been, there is another hidden gem within the yellow truck. Typically I am not one to get dessert after lunch. Usually just after dinner…or breakfast. :-) But when I learned that there was rice pudding available, I could not resist.

Offered with and without a dusting of cinnamon, the generous portion of rice pudding is the perfect way to cleanse your palette after a Frites 'N' Meats burger.



The pudding is thick and creamy and the cinnamon adds a powerful punch to make sure the sweetness doesn't get out of control.


The rice is cooked perfectly; not mushy but not too firm that you're picking it out of your teeth. Now I usually don't talk about price but this beautiful dessert is only $3.00! This isn't a little tasting portion either. When it comes to Frites 'N' Meats, there is no holding back. I highly recommend tracking down this truck and grab a burger, fries and of course a container of rice pudding.

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Frites 'N' Meats
Website: www.fritesnmeats.com
Twitter: @Fritesnmeats

Cooking at Home - Pad Thai

Recently, my wife picked up the America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook. Slowly, we've been trying it out. Last night we made Chicken Pad Thai.

It was summer break from college when my wife (girlfriend at the time) gave me a tour of her favorite places in Manhattan. One stop was a restaurant called Lemongrass; a little whole in the wall that was dimly lit and had a very authentic feel. This was my first experience with Thai food. We made numerous trips to Lemongrass in the following years until it was taken over by a more modern Japanese Fusion place. The food is still good but just not the same.

Ever since then, my wife and I always try out various Thai places and dishes but one of our favorites will always be Pad Thai. We had attempts making it once before while in college but let's just say that day ended with my wife spending a few hours in the ER. Thankfully, our second attempt went a lot smoother. The recipe called for shrimp but we swapped that out for a combination of chicken and tofu. We had to get some of the other ingredients from a local Asian food market such as the tamarind paste, rice noodles & fish sauce but some supermarkets do carry those items. Side note: If you've never used tamarind paste before, it is a very interesting food.

If you go to make this dish, be forewarned… prep everything first. The cookbook even warns that the dish comes together very fast once you start. So be prepared otherwise you'll be scrambling all over the kitchen. Now let's cut to the chase; how did it come out? Actually pretty good. I don't mean to sound so skeptical but I had over cooked the rice noodles and the overwhelming power that the rice vinegar was hard to shake. But my mom, wife and I all really enjoyed it and left the table quite satisfied.






You'll start to notice that a lot of the pictures of our dinners are in this big black bowl. That's frankly because we don't really have anything else that size. Plus, I think it adds a nice contrast against the food. Don't you? :-)

Garbage Plates from Nick Tahou

This past weekend I was up in Rochester, NY for a friend's wedding.  The drive was long but the one thing that kept me going strong was the memory of a magical food known only to the locals.  It was time for me to share the greatness known as a Garbage Plate with my wife and friend for the first time.  I was first introduced to garbage plates when I was in college in Syracuse. I used to visit a friend who went to RIT and he took me out one night. A little worried by the name, my friend assured me that it was good and not to let the name scare me.

What is it?
The garbage plate is a mix of a few different types of food, all thrown together into one heaping plate.  First you'll need to choose what type of garbage plate you want.  Your choices are: Cheeseburger, Italian Sausage, Hamburger, Grilled Cheese, Red Hot Dog, Fried Ham, White Hot Dog, Fish Fry, Chicken or Veggie Plate. My friend and I went with the Cheeseburger and my wife ordered the Chicken.  Your next choice is the sides.  There are a few opinions online about what and how many sides to get but the safe bet is to go with two.  The options are Home Fries, French Fries, Macaroni Salad and Baked Beans.  The three of us got the Home Fries and Macaroni Salad.  Last but not least, you need a topping: Mustard, Onions and Hot Sauce (This is not your typical tobasco type sauce.  It is more like a beef chili and interestingly enough, it isn't spicy).  I recommend getting all three toppings unless you have a serious aversion to something.  All of this goodness is piled together for your enjoyment and served with a side of bread and butter.

As weird as some of these combinations may sound, a garbage plate from Nick Tahou is a must try if you're ever in the area.  The hot cheeseburger paties mixed with the cool macaroni salad and spicy brown mustard is just a great combination.  I cannot wait for my next excuse to head to Rochester for another garbage plate.  Hmmmmm, you know, it is ONLY a five hour drive...

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Nick Tahoe Hots
Website: www.garbageplate.com

320 W. Main St.

Rochester, NY 14608

585-436-0184

3070 West Henrietta Rd.

Rochester, NY 14623

585-272-1182