sandwiches – lifeofacitygal

Mc’Dowell’s: Home of the Big Mick

For those who participate in any Halloween festivities, it’s all about the transformation into your favorite character or artist, trying new makeup tricks and showing the world just how creative you can get. Well Fat Sal’s took this Halloween by storm by transforming their Hollywood location restaurant into the one and only, Mc’Dowell’s. Also known as the Home of the Big Mick, the place where Akeem’s hard work earned him the employee of the Month in the all-time classic movie ‘Coming to America’. This movie has to be one of the greatest of all time and to have this concept brought to life for Halloween was a remarkable idea. We often stress over the perfect costume but to change an entire restaurant and offer specialized menu items from the actual movie was simply genius.

The workers of McDowell’s wore the exact uniforms that were shown in the movie. All nice in plaid with the golden M stamped on each vest, matching plaid hats and black pants were worn by every employee. Akeem was showcased as the Employee of the Month with a perfect portrait of himself smiling with complete joy for this accomplishment from a renowned prince. To add to the ambiance, the movie played throughout several screens in the restaurant while you waited to order and staff members were kindly available to snap just as many pics as you like. The menu offered the infamous Big Mick, Zamunda fries and the Sexual Chocolate milkshake. I mean when I say they absolutely nailed this, I mean it! I couldn’t man down both the Big Mick and the shake that came with a slice of chocolate cake on top so I opted to try the sandwich. I was a bit hesitant to try this but it did not disappoint. The Big Mick was made with cheeseburgers, lettuce, onions, pickles, fries and the “special sauce”. The sauce added a nice flavor and the beef was cooked to perfection. This place became so popular, even Drake stopped by to indulge lol. I’m not sure how this could be topped but Fat Sal’s definitely won me over with this concept for Halloween. If you couldn’t make it, live vicariously through me and take a peek at the gallery below.

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It’s a Caribbean ting

Caribbean cuisine is very popular in NYC. So when my friend left the ball in my court to pick the place for our catch up dinner, I was delighted to try Pearl’s. Pearl’s is nestled comfortably in Williamsburg and is a very nice and quaint restaurant in this Brooklyn area. Upon entry, you automatically get that island vibe from its decor and Bob Marley tunes that flows throughout the place. I already knew what I planned to order before coming here. There’s a specialty dish called the Bake and Shark. I’d never heard of this but after through research came to discover its a popular Trini street or fast food dish that’s very flavorful, especially once you add the sauces. Sauces are key. I also saw popular reviews for the stuffed crab backs and wanted to try those as well. Sadly, they were out that night; I guess they’re a bit too popular :-).

So to start I tried the calypso guacamole and chips along with the Trini rum punch. You can’t go wrong with either guac or a nice drink on happy hour right? Just an FYI, happy hour is from 4-7pm during the weekdays. As mentioned above, I went with the bake and shark as the main entree and their sweet plantains. Let’s just say they’ve nailed their rendition of this classic Trini dish. I couldn’t get over how sweet and delicious the bread was! Simply amazing. The sandwich consists of fried shark with tamarind, chadon beni and garlic sauce, pickled slaw and mango chutney. The shark was fried perfectly and the mix of ingredients was the perfect combination to exude the intense flavors of this sandwich. Pearl’s offers a few more sauces you can add to your sandwich to your liking; my favorites were the garlic and hot pepper sauces.

For a split second, I was able to remove myself from the hustle and bustle of NYC and mentally took a trip to the islands for about 2 hours. Pearl’s is definitely a place to try and I highly recommend their bake and shark. Take a quick trip to the islands with me by going through the gallery below.

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Just a little Southern Hospitality

You can always find a good barbecue place in NYC. One that happens to be a pretty good choice in my opinion is Southern Hospitality. Part owner, Justin Timberlake, brings his Southern roots to the heart of New York City with Memphis-style ribs, pulled pork, and the southern fried classics. I’ve visited for both brunch and diner and the food is always on point. This particular visit I tried the brisket sandwich topped with fried onions and a sweet BBQ sauce. All sandwiches are accompanied with a pickle and fries but the fries can be substituted of course. To balance it out, I normally try to add I side salad which was a great combination with this sandwich. When someone tags along, I also try whatever they have and this time it was the infamous chicken and waffles. The cornbread waffles were cooked to perfection and the chicken was very flavorful as well. Just the right amount of crisp with each bite. Seeing that I am from the south myself, I love venturing off and finding places like these. Their take on Southern classics here are very good to say the least. If you’re ever in the Times Square area and want to have some authentic Southern bbq with undeniable Southern hospitality, give them a try.