Hank's Juicy Beef
84 Chambers St., New York (Financial District)
7/29/16
Chicago-style Italian Beef & Sausage Combo (Slow roasted beef, spicy or mild giardiniera, pork sausage, olives, peppers)
~Sides: Eggplant Parmesan, chips
It's quite a sight to behold when you unwrap a sandwich to find that it is literally bursting at the seams with beef.
The Eggplant Parmesan (tucked away behind the beef monstrosity) was also very delicious.
"AUTHENTIC ITALIAN BEEF ... FINALLY IN NYC" proclaims the Hank's Juicy Beef website. Many of us were pretty excited to try Hank's, as this place was getting quite the buzz for having opened barely two months ago. And one thing we can say for sure: the beef definitely lived up to the hype.
Right from the start, Sarah raved about how flavorful the beef was, saying that it was "what the meat should've been last week." It was tender, juicy, and packed with seasonings that blended beautifully with the giadiniera (pickled veggies on top). We can say with confidence that the component that was Hank's namesake gets two thumbs up.
However, there were a few possibly deal-breaking issues that came up with the beef & sausage combo. First off, we suspect that they mislabeled the spicy and mild sandwiches, as many who got the mild felt that the heat was overwhelming and at least one of the sandwiches labeled spicy was disappointingly mild. Another was the Italian sausage, buried underneath the mountain of beef, which was quite average and didn't really add anything to the sandwich - and some even said that the sausage shouldn't have been there at all, with its flavor and texture being so out of place.
Finally, what made this a Chicago Italian beef sandwich... the jus-dipped bread. It wasn't addressed until later on down the line, but a lot of us were thrown off by the sogginess of the bread. I mean, my phone camera could pick up every single crease and jus-filled wrinkle of the bread. Needless to say, it wasn't the best candidate for traveling back to the office. Phil actually went so far as to say that the "bread moisture," as he called it, was disgusting.
The scoring took a nose-dive half-way through as people seemed to become more honest with their feelings about soggy bread.
However Marlowe (MG) was firm in his stance that it was a classic sandwich that was correctly made.
After ruthlessly tearing apart the sandwich, Phil gave the sandwich a 3.8. While many of us were dumbfounded at his confusingly high score, Marlowe immediately challenged him: "you can't say that you would have thrown out a sandwich but for the fact that you were in public and then turn around and give it almost a 4." Phil later changed it to a more reasonable 2.9 (although given the things he said, even that score seemed generous).
We ended the day with having the discussion on what would be considered a sandwich (which we avoided during the bing episode). And apparently, there aren't many things that can't be considered a sandwich.
I felt like I was back at Vassar, as people started throwing out expansive, ethnocentric definitions on what a sandwich could and should be. From the Jamaican beef patty to the taco, the cheeseburger to "a slice of pizza folded in half" (as Pavel inquired), and even the ice cream sandwich (well, that one does have the word sandwich in it already...), they're all included - and all more than worthy of being eaten on a summer Friday here at Foothold.
With that broad and inclusive of a definition, I don't think we'll have any trouble continuing this tradition for many years to come... But I honestly don't see us ordering a pizza any time soon.
Fingers crossed for the ice cream sandwich, though.
FINAL SCORE:
4.2/5.0
**UPDATE 8/9/16: MY ICE CREAM SANDWICH WISH CAME TRUE**
No formal review this time around. Picked these babies up at OddFellows Sandwich Shop (75 E 4th. St., East Village) and they were amazing.
A big thanks and a happy birthday to Nick!