The Burger Spot

Another eatery located on Garden City's 7th Street is the recently opened Burger Spot. The Burger Spot, benefiting from a cozy end location on the row of stores and a shady, tree filled exterior, it is a new edition for Garden City that tries to find its place in the new craze of expensive, gourmet burgers that not from fast food places.

The family running the place stems from a family of restaurant owners in California, who wish to extend the tradition of quality in a casual setting here in Nassau County. The beef is grass-fed, which I enjoy, but the price tag is something I don't. Burgers without adding anything extra on can run you about 9 dollars. That's the price you'll pay however if you want a burger without antibiotics on Long Island, and if you justify the fact that you will pay 9 dollars for a club sandwich at any given diner, it's OK once in a while.

The Burger Spot offers a veggie burger option, which is very tasty for a vegetarian offering, but too expensive for a sandwich with no meat in it. It utilized portabella mushrooms as the main meat replacement which is smart, instead of some odd fried veggie concoction. There's an Alaskan Crab option, as well as an Italian themed burger called The Sicilian.

My favorite burger however, was just the standard burger, as I enjoyed the home sauce and just tasting the meat of the burger. I enjoy the brioche bun as the standard bread, as it brings a different flavor to the burger than the regular white bread sesame many other burgers universally use.

The fries were tasty, thin and very crispy. They tasted like you got them at a carnival and not from a fast food fryer.

Overall, I'm not too crazy about The Burger Spot. It is a nice option for 7th Street, and has a nice exterior and a friendly interior. However, this new burger craze seemingly sparked by Five Guys is a bit much for me, and most gourmet burger places are overrated and really expensive. Taking your family of 5 out for burgers at The Burger Spot will run you 50 dollars at least, which is insane.  There aren't too many options, so I assume burger aficionados will likely not be too impressed, as they are the ones who would be excited about such a place. If money is not an issue, there shouldn't be too many complaints. It's a nice looking place in a nice area, family owned and operated. For a good, solid, grass-fed burger, The Burger Spot is a cool new place to try once or twice.

150 7th Street

Garden City, NY 

Monday-Sunday: 11:00am-10:00pm

(516) 746-6100
Cash and Cards Accepted 

The Burger Spot Website

Frosty's Ice Cream Club & Coffee Bar

Forget what you get the man who has everything. What do you get from a place that has everything? And I mean everything. Frosty's Ice Cream Club & Coffee Bar, tucked away and almost hidden on a busy Hempstead Turnpike row of businesses, is possibly the coolest place on Long Island. It could be Long Island's best kept secret for those who do not live in the general area of Franklin Square.

I can't stress enough that Frosty's has everything. Any flavor you could think of is available for use in a plethora of Frosty's offerings, including a large selection of actual ice cream, shakes, smoothies, frozen hot chocolates, and a slew of coffee and tea options to name a few.

You will have to look at the menu below for a full range of options, of which all I couldn't possibly name, but I will highlight some of my personal favorite appetizing oddities.

Frosty's prides itself on its Frozen Hot Chocolates, calling it "Franklin Squares best oxymoron", a smooth, creamy, frosted version of a hot chocolate in any flavor you could think of. You can ask for a coconut Frozen Hot Chocolate from a delicious drink that tastes like a Mounds bar in liquid form, or any other of the extremely tasty combos like Raspberry, Banana, Marshmallow, and any combination you could possibly think of. However, the one specialty that sets Frosty's even further apart from the pack is the ridiculously unique Bacon Frozen Hot Chocolate. Yes, bacon and chocolate. How could you go wrong? If you are brave enough to ask for it in public you will be rewarded with a savory, bacony treat that is something bacon or chocolate lovers should try at least once.

Another item that stands out from the pack is the Red Velvet Shake,  which is exactly what is sounds like. This creamy red treat is like drinking a red velvet shake right from the cup, a must for shake and cake lovers alike. Along with the Bacon Frozen Hot Chocolate, this is my favorite item on the menu.

While I would never waste my time at Frosty's getting standard varieties of ice cream (although many do, either too intimidated by change or don't bother reading the menu), Frosty's does have a nice variety of flavors. But the real winner when it comes to the ice cream is Frosty's two special cone options that differ from the standard waffle and wafer cones: The Cookie Cone and The Pretzel Cone. They both are made completely of cookie and pretzel, respectively, shaped into the standard cone shape, making way for a variety of great combo ideas to take the every day ice cream cone up a notch. Creative, 6 layer "Avalanche" Sundae varieties are also offered.

Frosty's coffee and tea selection is great as well, offering many more options than even Starbucks could dream of. Seasonal latte's are awesome, like Pumpkin Pie, Caramel Apple, and Almond Joy Lattes during Halloween, and Gingerbread and Christmas Cookie Lattes for Christmastime.

Another personal. hard-to-find flavor favorite of mine is a White Chocolate Lavender Latte, which you have to ask for by name and is not on the menu. Lavender syrup is a special offering that gives a oddly sweet and floral kick to a creamy cup of Joe.They even give out cute stickers to use to cover up the drinking hole on your cup to keep your coffee warm.

The tea flavors, especially the Iced Teas, are pretty off-the-wall, with options including Desert Pear, Chipotle Pineapple, and Habenero Lime.

Frosty's is run by an artist, who decorates the place to the nines during seasonal holidays. They just had an amazing display up for Halloween, with a creepy decor capped off by lights and sound effects. Christmastime is just as extreme, with it being Frosty's trademark time of year. It's a great atmosphere for families and all ages alike, and compliments the personality of the menu.

Frosty's is a great community business as well, selling custom, fun, creativity crafted cupcakes, cakes, and mini cakes for all sorts of events. They run food related learning classes and childrens event year round as well.

I can't really stress going to Frosty's enough. It may very well be the coolest place on Long Island as far as menu variety and decor go. It's in a very busy area and is easy to pass buy, but if you do, look for the lights and stop in to try something you've never had before. It's a treat in every sense of the word. They are constantly updating the menu and adding new items, like the recent addition of ganache lava cake.

Frosty's Ice Cream Club & Coffee Bar is nestled at:
916 Hempstead Turnpike,
Franklin Square, NY
Monday: 2:00pm - 10:00pm
Tuesday - Thursday:11:30am - 10:00pm
Friday & Saturday: 11:30am - 11:00pm
Sunday: 11:30am - 9:00pm
(516) 216-1700 
Cash and Cards Accepted
Frosty's Website

Podcast: Why I Write This Blog

This is a brief podcast I made where I discuss my philosophy and thoughts on seeking out and enjoying good, unique food, and therefor, what this blog is really about.

The End

There is something to be said about making a long trip for food. Few things make long trips worthwhile for human beings like food, an instant sensory satisfier. If I wasn't covering independent places I would stress the fact that every Long Islander should make a pilgrimage to the upstate New York Sonic Burger in Wappingers Falls, NY.

Montauk is literally about as far as you can go on Long Island, hence its nickname being "The End." That doesn't mean however, that it is the end of options.

I honestly don't know enough about Montauk to discuss its food history. I'm sure it has a lot to do with seafood. However my favorite item there is not.

Down aways from the Montauk Lighthouse, in the general main area of town is an independent grocery store called Ronnie's Grocery. It isn't fancy or flashy, and is exactly the type of places I love, somewhere you never expect to have something mind blowing.



Inside the grocery store is a small deli. The sandwhich and star attraction of this post? The Turkey Berry hero.

The Turkey Berry hero is an amazing combination of fresh carved turkey, bacon, lettuce, red onion, mayo, and of course, fresh cranberry sauce. It's like a Thanksgiving sandwich kicked up a notch by the surprising addition of bacon and red onion which absolutely blow it out of the water. It's just the perfect hero. It's one of those deli combos that seem simple, but you wouldn't combine them on purpose.

If you find yourself, for whatever reason, on the end of this fine Island, do yourself a favor and find this place as well. It will make all the traffic you hit passing through the Hamptons worth it. Also, the Lighthouse is cool too.

Cherry Valley Deli

Cherry Valley Deli is another unique take on a Long Island standard, the deli. Cherry Valley breaks the mold in a few ways, all mostly working to its success.

Cherry Valley Deli in West Hempstead, NY is actually the second store in the franchise, the first being a great success in Whitestone, Queens.

The deli is open 24 hours, blowing away the accessibility of other area delis by about 12 hours. Much like its down-the-turnpike neighbor A&S, Cherry Valley's all day access leads it to thrive at night, when it is most packed. You will get a seedier crowd at Cherry Valley than at other all-night offerings, but the food is worth it. Worth it, that is, when your starving at night, and want something insanely delicious that is also pretty awful

 for your long-term health.

The Deli boasts over 150 different heroes and sandwiches. Some of them are standard options you have seen before, or could have thought of yourself, but a few of them are so ridiculous and bad for you that you have to take notice. These are the sandwhiches that make Cherry Valley a special place.

I enjoy options, from standard to insane, and I equally enjoy selecting what I think are the best of the litter. Many favorites at Cherry Valley include the addition of fries, waffle fries, onions rings, and brown gravy, not great if you want to live to be 100, but absolutely delicious.

The best sandwich for my money (and a reasonable price at that), is The Beast, a hero which includes fried chicken cutlet, bacon, melted swiss, onion rings, and a river of brown gravy. I know, it sounds illegal. But it's real. It's the definition of a guilty pleasure. It's extremely pleasing, but just ordering it seems irresponsible. Brown gravy is the special ingredient for the entire place, it seems. The over the topness of the options are part of the fun and allure of the deli.

Other great options include The Coyote, a sandwich utilizing waffle fries and ranch dressing, and the too-spicy-for-me-to-handle Gambler, which has pepperjack cheese, hot sauce, hot peppers, and chicken cutlet. Buffalo Chicken sandwiches, Italian meat selections, Hamburgers on heroes, and anything else you can think of or ask for is at your disposal. Breakfast is also served all day, a great option that even A&S Bagels doesn't offer.

The deli's also offers great rare and random treats you would find more frequently in a city bodega than a Nassau suburb, like plantain chips and hard to find flavors of popular brands such as Arizona Iced Tea.

Cherry Valley is a great deli that creates its own niche thanks to a variety of options, it's 24 hour window, and reasonable price. It is the definition of a greasy, awesome, late night snack.

Cherry Valley Deli resides at:
168 Hempstead Turnpike
West Hempstead, NY 
Open 24 Hours, 7 Days a Week
Cash and Cards Accepted
(718) 767-1937
Cherry Valley Deli Website

Upper Crust Cafe

My blog, to me, is much more about finding that special item of food than about the actual place it came from. I like to give a little info of the places themselves because they do factor in, and do give birth to the food, but mostly I like to spotlight things worth making the trip for because we are so saturated in sameness. The Upper Crust Cafe is a great example of this.

Located in Garden City, The Upper Crust Cafe is pricey like other GC eateries, fancying themselves a "Progressive American Cafe." But don't let the name intimidate you. Even though it is in the heart of Garden City's banking district, and literally has "Upper Crust" in its name, despite its priceyness it isn't a suit and tie kind of place. It has a nice, cozy ambiance, a bit of an Italian winery feel, and a very small actual dining area. Couples and families frequent the place, and while they are mostly from Garden City, there is no snobby feeling to the atmosphere, especially not from the staff.

There are a few cool items on their dessert menu, like Creme Brulee Rice Pudding, Stuffed French Toast, and Grilled Pound Cake. But the real star on the menu is in the dinner section under burgers. It's called "The Package."

I'm not a huge burger guy, but this presents the whole thing right. Instead of a bun, the 8oz patty is pressed into a crispy, grilled flour tortilla, allowing you to taste everything inside the sandwich. Joining the burger are sweet caramelized onions, Virginia ham, melted cheddar, and a BBQ mayonnaise. Everything melds together beautiful inside the crunch of the thin tortilla, and it's the juiciest, drippiest burger I've ever eaten. It goes everywhere and it's awesome. It's complimented by house-made chips taking the place of usual fries.

Upper Crust Cafe resides at:
931 Franklin Avenue
Garden City, NY
Lunch
Monday - Friday
11:00a.m. - 3:00p.m.
Brunch:
Saturday - Sunday 
10:30a.m. - 3:00p.m.
Dinner: 
Monday - Thursday
5:00p.m. -9:00p.m
Friday - Saturday
5:00p.m. - 10:00p.m.
Sunday
5:00p.m. - 9:00 p.m. 
http://www.uppercrustgc.com

The Snack Hour

http://ia700202.us.archive.org/14/items/SnackHour/SnackHour.m4a