Good afternoon blog followers! I want to thank everyone who has been reading the blog, following me on twitter: http://twitter.com/NYCMenuGirl, or recently became a fan of my facebook page: http://tiny.cc/ZK08Z. I really appreciate all of the support, and love communicating with all of you about NYC restaurants and food adventures! I hope you will keep following, and encourage friends of yours to check it out.
Today, I wanted to share with you a few tidbits about an interesting sausage place. I apologize for being brief, but I am working on a bigger blog post for later this week. I do not have enough to share with you just yet, but I will tell you that it will be about one of my favorite things - WINE. There is a lot to say about dining out and drinking wine, but there is a lot of research to be done first! I am looking into wine prices, taking wine with you, glass or bottle. There is so much!
Onto the sausage. Dogmatic Gourmet Sausage System, right off Union Square, on 17th and 5th. It is a small place, order at the counter and they bring it over to you within just a few minutes. The middle of the restaurant is consumed by one HUGE wooden block table, with chairs attached that swing out. Pretty cool. Not easy to eat at with a group of 4 or more because the block is pretty big and sitting across from each other is quite a great distance to have between you and your guests.
This place does not require a rocket science degree, or any degree of any sort, or even sobriety, in order to make your menu selection. Here is the menu: http://eatdogmatic.com/index2.php#/ourfood/menu. The sausages are $4.50. Cheap right? So, make your sausage selection: beef, chicken, pork, turkey, lamb, asparagus (and asparagus is not a sausage, but the rest come in a sausage form). The pork, chicken, and turkey are all ones I can vouch for, and they are pretty good.
Next, choose a sauce: cheddar jalapeno, horseradish mustard (this one is strong and fire will come out of your nose, just a warning), truffle gruyere (takes the gold medal), chimichurri, sun dried tomato feta (resembles hummus), and mint yogurt.
And that is it. $4.50 for sausage, with a sauce, wrapped in delicious homemade bread. They also offer side dishes. The mac and cheese is great, the asparagus is not worth it, and I'm sure the chips and other sides are decent. The sides are only $1.50. Or just go to the corner deli and pick up a bag of doritos. This is also the kind of place that serves homemade fancy soda. I don't do that. Be my guest though.
Why this place is great:
It is really cheap and fast. It costs more than a street vendor hot dog, but it is fancier, has a sauce, and nicer bread. An article I read recommended forgetting the tourist trap of a must have NYC hot dog from a vendor, and instead, go this place, or Crif Dogs. http://www.concierge.com/ideas/hotspots/tours/500723?page=3.
It has that cool, NYC feel of trendy sausages while sitting at this block table in the middle of Union Square. Maybe as a NYC resident this does not impress you, but it may impress your out-of-town visitors.
Why this place is not so great:
The sausage is not that big. It may hold me over for lunch, but I am not sure I can say that it would hold everyone over for lunch. Yes, for $4.50, that is a cheap lunch, but not if it won't take you through the day. I bet three sausages between 2 people might be enough for lunch, which is still pretty cheap. It is probably a better 3:00 p.m. snack, which is fine, but then it is nothing to brag about that it is $4.50.
Some of the sauces are only ok, and some of the sausages themselves are only ok. I went once and they did not have gruyere, which meant no mac and cheese, and no gruyere sauce. SAD.
The hours. Closes Sunday at 7, M-Th at 8, and Fri&Sat at 9. It is a pretty new establishment. They can't have lots of hours. I get it. But the first thing I thought when I ate this sausage was, damn, I wish I was drunk right now, because if I was drunk, this sausage would be the most amazing thing on the planet. This place SCREAMS drunk food. Sausages. Under $5.00. A few (or many) beers in you. It would be heaven.
You decide for yourself. Dogmatic and awesome, or nothing to write home (or blog) about. I have heard mixed reviews, so keep them coming!
Have a delicious day!
NYCMenuGirl
I like dogmatic - I've been there a couple of times and thought it decent but not overly exciting, but I haven't tried the truffle topping yet.
ReplyDeleteI really love Crif Dogs though. The first time my family came to New York I dragged them down St. Marks Place to get some East Village color and try it out. Their hot dog with sour cream, avocado and bacon is absolutely delicious, and I also really like their one with pineapple, green onions and bacon. Yum.
I have been inside Crif Dogs, to get to PDT, but have not had a Crif Dog just yet. Can't wait!
ReplyDeleteMy roommate and I tried Dogmatic when it first opened. Perhaps they've shaped up since then, but we had a somewhat more negative experience. Here's his Yelp review.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the bad experience! I think they are constantly trying to shape up, which means bearing with them alot. But who wants to do that, right? Maybe try it in a few months. They have extended hours just a little. I think they have reduced the prices of the sides. Still some kinks though, I agree.
ReplyDeleteBeen there once...it wasn't a bad experience. I got a lamb sausage with the gruyere sauce. Pretty tasty, but at the end it was like that was it? I'm finished eating already? Aww, bummer. Definitely not too filling. The staff working that day was really friendly too, we got to sample a ton of sauces as well as their ice/slush desserts.
ReplyDeleteNot bad, but didn't live up to my expectations...