Bon Chon on John versus Chambers Street Location

Bon Chon Showdown: John Street vs. Chambers Street

Food, Restaurant Reviews, , , , ,
Bon Chon on John Chicken Wings
Bon Chon on John's chicken wings!

As those of you who have lived in the area for a while may know, the block on Chambers St between Church and Broadway used to house a place called “Bon Bon Chicken” that served Korean Fried Chicken.  In the past year or so, however, the shop was bought out by Bon Chon, a Korean Fried chicken franchise from South Korea.  In addition to this take over, Bon Chon opened another restaurant on John Street, not too far from the Chambers Street location.  In the past when I had visited the Chambers Street location, it never seemed busy-in fact, I’ve never had to wait, and their deliveries never took very long.  Wasn’t opening another store less than 10 blocks away a little redundant?  What did the new Bon Chon on John have to offer besides its catchy name?

After visiting the two establishments on a Sunday night, I can see why BonChon decided to open up a new restaurant.  First of all, the Chambers St. location is a hole in the wall; it’s a tiny store front with four picnic style tables, one of which only seats two people.  The only differences I can detect from the store’s Bon Bon days are the new logos and packaging, and they now use flat screen TVs to display the menu.  This location clearly focuses more on delivery and take out, and looks more like your typical fast food joint.  And the food did come out super fast; although there is a disclaimer on the wall stating that their chicken is cooked fresh to order and we should expect a 30 minute wait, we got our small order of mixed flavored chicken in less than 3 minutes.

After the Chambers St experience, Bon Chon on John took me completely by surprise.  As we walked down John St, I initially thought the restaurant was closed because it looked so dark inside.  I expected the same florescent lighting and fast food feel as the Chambers St location, but Bon Chon on John is a, dare I say classy, restaurant and bar, complete with mood lighting for people on dates, and two flat screen TVs at the bar for people trying to catch the game (a much more appropriate way to use a TV, don’t you think?).  They provided us with actual plates and silverware, and even gave us a bucket for our chicken bones!  I felt so civilized.  The only downfall here was that in order to try two flavors of chicken, we had to order the medium sized meal, and the wait time was about 15-20 minutes.

As for the actual chicken, both locations used good quality meat, but you could tell that Bon Chon on John’s chicken had just come out of the fryer- it was steaming hot, super crunchy on the outside, and still juicy on the inside.  Bon Chon on Chambers was just as crunchy, but the meat was a little less juicy.  The chicken wings and drumsticks seemed a lot smaller at the Chambers location, but that could have been due to the way it was presented.

Another thing that set the two locations apart are the side dishes.  Chambers only offers bread and rice, while John offers fries, rice, bread, coleslaw, or kimchi coleslaw, and every order comes with a side of pickled radish.  Of course, we got the fries at John St, and I have to tell you, these might have been the best french fries I’ve ever had!  They  had a really thick crispy outer layer, but were tender on the inside, and not at all mealy.  The fries were just as crisp as their twice-fried chicken, which makes me think that perhaps their fries are twice fried as well!  They were also extremely generous with their side portions, and they gave us an entire cone of fries!

Bon Chon on John was much more expensive, however, than the Chambers location.  The small meal that we ordered at Chambers was $7.99, and came with one drumstick and six wings.  The medium order at John was $13, and it only came with one more drumstick than the small order at Chambers!  That being said, we did get bigger pieces of chicken at John St, and they did give us a huge portion of fries.  Plus, the ambiance of Bon Chon on John is worth paying a little extra money, as is the fully stocked bar!  The bartender was very generous, and offered a free shot of his own unnamed concoction to everyone in the restaurant.

So, do we really need two Bon Chon locations in lower Manhattan?  When it comes to fried chicken, the answer should always be yes!  At the end of the day, both locations serve crispy, delectable Korean fried chicken, and I think each location serves its purpose.  Chambers St is perfect for those times when you just need that chicken NOW, or if you just want to grab a box on your way home.  Bon Chon on John is perfect for happy hour, or those of you who want to enjoy the game while snacking on crisp juicy chicken and a beer, or who are just looking for a more civilized fried chicken experience.

Just so you know, Bon Chon on John offers some of the best happy hour deals in the neighborhood.  They offer a buy 1 get 1 free deal on drinks all week from 4pm-8pm, all day on Saturday, and from 4pm-11pm on Sundays.  Plus, Tuesday night is Ladies Night, which means that on top of the BOGO drink deal, girls also get a free special entree!

We pit Burritoville versus Blockheads Burritos

Race to My Place: Burritoville vs. Blockheads

Food, Restaurant Reviews, , , , ,
We pit Burritoville versus Blockheads Burritos
We pit Burritoville versus Blockheads Burritos

We’ve all had those days. It’s 7 PM, you’ve just come home from work, exhausted, and the last thing you want to do is cook up some food- especially if you’re feeding more than one mouth.  You consider ordering delivery, but you’re starving and don’t want to wait an hour for your food to get there.  That’s where we come in.

For each installment of Race to My Place, we pit two restaurants with similar cuisines, estimated delivery times, and prices against each other to see whose delivery reigns supreme! We will compare delivery speed, packaging and presentation, quality and taste, and value.  This week, our contestants are Burritoville and Blockheads.

Ever since the advent of the “food blogger” there has been an ongoing debate as to whether LA or NYC has better food. Our lack of decent Mexican food has always been a point of contention for New Yorkers, one that LA-ers never fail to bring up.  Today we will test that theory right here in Battery Park City with a Burrito Race!

It’s important to note that Blockheads does have a burrito lunch special that comes with chips, salsa and a drink for $8.95. In order to fairly compare the two restaurants, however, we had to order the exact same items from both places. We ordered Chicken Fajita Burritos, Guacamole and Chips, and two Diet Pepsi’s from each. Continue reading Race to My Place: Burritoville vs. Blockheads →

What happens with the Deutsche Bank building?

What Does LMDC’s Demise Mean for Battery Park City?

News, Op-Ed, , , , , , ,
What happens with the Deutsche Bank building?
What happens with the Deutsche Bank building? (Flickr/tacker)

Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. After siphoning Battery Park City surplus revenue in an effort to close the State’s budget deficit, Governor Paterson has decided to dissolve the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) citing years of ineptitude in running the disbursement of funds allocated to the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan after the September 11th terrorist attacks.

One could easily agree that little has been seen from the LMDC– but might also argue that the dissolution of the organization might be a heavy handed option for a community still reeling from the after effects of 9/11 nearly a decade later. Although the LMDC will not be completely shut down, the Governor is proposing cutting the organization by 85% from 35 fulltime staffers to 5.

This is cause for some concern for residents of Lower Manhattan but especially Battery Park City being that the LMDC is the owner and responsible agent for the dismantling of the former Deutsche Bank building, a behemoth skeleton of a visual reminder of how much work is left.

From its inception in 2001 from government and by then Governor George Pataki and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, the intent of the LMDC was to “work closely with the private sector to determine a proper market-driven response to the economic and infrastructure needs of Lower Manhattan, as well as with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to identify the appropriate redevelopment of the World Trade Center site.”

According to the LMDC’s website, some of its core responsibilities include city operations, communications, community relations, construction mitigation, environmental compliance, fraud prevention, small business development and marketing. Dissolution of the LMDC could affect our community in the following ways:

1. Safety and infrastructural hazards
As if it’s not dangerous or confusing enough to cross the West Side Highway to reach the subway, how will a 5-person team be optimized to make sure that our safety is maintained during the construction at Ground Zero? The implementation of crossing guards in our area, although fiscally insufficient, was still a step in the right direction. With all the confusing bridge detours being built and constantly changed — who will notify us of these changes? High winds during the winter also pose a serious safety risk during construction, if the falling glass panes from Goldman Sachs’ construction site can be used as an example.

2. Dismantling of the Deutsche Bank Building
The history of the former Deutsche Bank building post 9/11 has been riddled with corruption and safety concerns. From the issues surrounding the decontamination of the building to the safety of the workers dismantling the building, who will be accountable if something goes wrong? According to the LMDC, concerned residents can call a hotline to report incidents at the site as to avoid what happened on August 18, 2007 when a fire spread through the site killing 2 firefighters.

3. Environmental Compliance
The progress reports that are issued by the LMDC are important for our community as the demolition affects the health of the air we breathe during its decontamination. Although most of us probably haven’t even seen one of these reports — it’s important that they be maintained in order for us to be aware of the hazards that might exist during the demolition.

4. Small Business Development
The lack of business real estate means the lack of foot traffic of businessmen and women, which translates into the decimation of small businesses in our area. As we roll into our 9th year of waiting for the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site — who will help the small businesses that residents rely on in this underserved area? Although disbursements of small business grants have been slow from the LMDC — there is still almost $800 Million dollars of yet to be disbursed funds. These funds were meant for the development of Lower Manhattan distributed through the LMDC. When the governor dissolves the LMDC, what will happen to that funding?

These are four compelling reasons as to reconsider dissolving the LMDC. If the organization needs less ineptitude and better people to run it — why restructure and re-organize the LMDC instead? There must be a better option for the betterment of a still embattled Lower Manhattan.

Where’s The Best Sushi for Battery Park City?

Food, Restaurant Reviews, , , ,
A map looking for the best sushi in Battery Park City
Where is the best sushi in our neighborhood? (Courtesy: A Small Array)

Where is the best sushi in Battery Park City? This has been a conundrum for residents and visitors of the Downtown Manhattan area.

What is more confusing is that according to a map released by the site Very Small Array, we in Battery Park City primarily eat Japanese, Italian and French food. Say wha…Huh?!

Off the tops of our heads we can only think of a handful of sushi places in our area. Including Yushi and Kaijou — the latter gets honorable mention for being here the longest and having the best views from the restaurant… but a claim to best sushi in the neighborhood is arguable.

So it’s even more boggling that apparently to the rest of the people outside of our area — we are now known for this cuisine. Don’t we have more American/Irish Pubby type of food down here? We digress and must focus on finding the answer to our original question.

In order for us to put this sushi question to rest and we’re present an informal and unscientific poll to help vote on where the best sushi is. We’ve added a handful of the closest restaurants to our neighborhood as choices– but welcome write-in nominations in the comments area! Quite frankly, if we knew more sushi restaurants we wouldn’t be putting out a call to action such as this one !

So vote on and may the best sushi place prevail!

[poll id=”2″]

Battery Park City's own Dunkin' Donuts

Dunkin’ Donuts for Battery Park City

Food, , , , ,
Battery Park City's own Dunkin' Donuts
Battery Park City's own Dunkin' Donuts

As of this past Saturday, Battery Park City residents now have a chance to “run on Dunkin'” on their way to catching their subway on Rector Street.

Although there has been a smaller express version of Dunkin’ Donuts on Cortlandt Street — this shop is a full service store well positioned right off the Rector Street bridge located within the 88 Greenwich Street building.

A visiting California resident, touring through the area — was so enamored by the store he himself took a picture of the new shop. He exclaimed that there did not exist any Dunkin’ Donuts in California. (Well, we’ll trade you an In and Out burger any day buddy.)

Our inaugural donut purchase at this location was the “Stars and Stripes” donut — a sugar glazed, chocolate frosted and patriotic sprinkle colored donut — just in time for July 4th weekend.

Do you think this was a good addition to the neighborhood?

California tourist enamored with our Dunkin' Donuts
California tourist enamored with our Dunkin' Donuts
Batteryparkcity.com's Inaugural Dunkin Donut
Batteryparkcity.com's Inaugural Dunkin Donut: Stars and Stripes Donut
Dunkin Donuts at 88 Greenwich
Don't forget to turn in for Dunkin' Donuts!
Battery Park City to be inundated with tourbus congestion.

Is Battery Park City Ready for the Tour Bus Invasion?

News, , , ,
Battery Park City to be inundated with tourbus congestion.
Do we need more tour bus congestion in Battery Park City? (Courtesy: quiteallright.blogspot.com)

Think the traffic in Lower Manhattan sucks now? Well, chances are it’s going to get worse before it gets better.

When the 9/11 Memorial & Musem opens at Ground Zero on Sept. 11, 2011, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the attacks, even more tourist-filled buses than usual will be descending upon our beloved Battery Park City. We say “even more” because a recent survey shows that Lower Manhattan already gets about 80 tour buses daily, and that does not count the bevy of MTA buses running their daily routes.

The 9/11 Memorial is expected to attract 2 million additional tourists per year, and as many as 7 million in its first year. And guess what? The camera-toting, finger-pointing masses are going to need a way to get down to Ground Zero. Translation: Prepare for the tour bus invasion.

But wait, you say, plans for this memorial have been in the works since 2002, so the Port Authority must have devised some kind of plan for dealing with the increased traffic from tour buses. Actually, they haven’t — at least, not yet.

According to AM New York, Community Board 1 official Michael Levine told the city council on Monday that, “It’s a major concern for us that we have not seen a plan for the buses.” He continued: “We have too many tour buses out there. We are concerned about the health, safety and security issues.”

While a Port Authority spokesman claims that the agency is working to formulate “an appropriate plan to accommodate tour buses,” he declined to say when that plan would be released.

Meanwhile, Battery Park City residents appear to be split on the issue. Some believe that BPC and the Ground Zero area are already too crowded and that the influx of more tourists will be a burden to the families currently living in the area. But others, business owners mostly, are salivating at the prospect of these bonus consumers.

Either way, one thing is certain: Beginning next year, you’re going to want to be extra careful to look for buses when crossing the BPC streets.

Anna Chapman or Anya Chapman

Anna Chapman: Our Friendly Neighbor and Russian Spy

News, Op-Ed, , , ,
Accused Russian Spy Anna Chapman
Accused Russian Spy Anna Chapman (Credit: Facebook)

Sitting amongst the rest of the patrons at the Tribeca Barnes and Noble, Anna Chapman would type away at her laptop just like many others in the cafe area. Except that Anna Chapman was not just like any one of us — she was a Russian spy. According to newly released reports on the arrest of 11 Russian operatives today, it was at our local Barnes and Noble in which Anna had sent messages back to her Russian spy handlers.

Although by now, the reports are internationally widespread — the 11 alleged Russian spies are not being charged with espionage.

According to the federal documents, Anna Chapman had been tailed and conducting spy communication at the book store:

“On March 17, 2010, law-enforcement agents, acting pursuant to judicial orders, performed video surveillance on a book store located in the vicinity of Greenwich and Warren Streets in Manhattan (the “Book Store”). CHAPMAN was inside the Book Store. At the same time, Russian Government Official #1 was across the street from the Book Store, carrying a briefcase. I observed CHAPMAN pull a laptop out of the Tote Bag. CHAPMAN stayed in the Book Store for approximately thirty minutes; Russian Government Official #1 was in the vicinity of the Book Store (but outside) for approximately twenty of those thirty minutes. As part of the surveillance operation, law-enforcement agents utilized a commercially available tool that can detect the presence of wireless networks. Law-enforcement agents were able to detect a particular MAC address – MAC ADDRESS A – at the time that CHAPMAN was observed powering on her laptop computer; law-enforcement agents were also able to determine that the electronic device associated with MAC ADDRESS A created the AD HOC NETWORK. Approximately three minutes after the creation of the AD HOC NETWORK, another electronic device with MAC ADDRESS B was detected joining the AD HOC NETWORK. ”

Now granted, the “Book Store” in question has not been identified as the “Tribeca Barnes and Noble,” but considering that there aren’t many other book stores on that corner — unless you want to count the cookbook section of the Whole Foods a book store, we are pretty confident it happened in our neighborhood. So while you’re cruising on Facebook in the Barnes and Noble cafe, Anna Chapman was conducting espionage communication. Pretty cool in my spy novel book.

The page could not have been written better except if Ms. Anna Chapman didn’t conduct her spy work at the Mysterious Bookshop on Chambers Street.

Although being fingered as a Russian Spy might be seen as a lesser character trait — Ms. Chapman is being portrayed in media as the “bombshell” or “sexy” spy with the fantastic Financial District apartment. If anything, we owe Ms. Chapman for lending our neighborhood with a little bit of that mysterious sexy cache. It will be interesting to see what other details of her spy work happened in and around our neighborhood.

To have another astounding glimpse at Anna Chapman not focused on in the news, check out her Linked In profile page.

If any of your friends ever have any kind of credentials that resemble hers — you should think twice about whether or not you know your said friend. 😉

Bus and Subway changes are in effect for Battery Park City

MTA Changes in Effect for Battery Park City

News, , , , , , , , ,
Bus and Subway changes are in effect for Battery Park City
Bus and Subway changes are in effect for Battery Park City

Your commute to and from work has forever changed today. After months of forewarning, the transit changes for buses and subways in our area have been solidified.
Here’s what the changes mean for us in the neighborhood

Trains by Station:
1/9 – The 1 line will continue to have interrupted service on the weekends to accommodate the construction of the South Ferry/Fulton Street transit hubs.
W- Completely eliminated.
R-  The R will replace the stops serviced by the defunct W line.
4/5/6- Unaffected. Service as usual to Fulton St., Wall St., Whitehall and Bowling Green stops.
A/C/E-  The A/E will continue to have interrupted service on Sundays to accommodate the construction of the South Ferry/Fulton Street transit hubs.
J/M/Z- Reduced train frequencies on the weekends to accommodate the construction of the South Ferry/Fulton Street transit hubs.
Bus Routes:
The bus changes will affect our area greatly as stipulated below:

Manhattan Bus Route Changes
: M1, M6, M8, M10, M11, M16, M18, M20, M21, M22, M27, M30, M42, M50, M66, M98, M100, M104, M116, B39, B51
•    M18, M27, M30, B39 and B51: all service will be discontinued.
•    M8, M21 and M50: weekend service will be discontinued.
•    M1, M8, M16, M22, M50 and M66: overnight service will be discontinued.
•    M11, M20, M21, M22, M98, M100 and M116: late night service will end earlier and/or early morning service will begin later.
•    M6 service will be discontinued with alternate service provided partially by the rerouted M5.
•    M10 service south of Columbus Circle will be discontinued.
•    M42 service will no longer operate to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
•    M98 service south of 65 St will be discontinued; service will no longer stop inside the George Washington Bridge bus station.
•    M104 service on 42 St will be discontinued.
Manhattan Bus Route Restructuring
: M1 M3 M5 M6
•    M5 service will be extended south to South Ferry via 5 Av/Broadway southbound and Church St/6 Av northbound to replace
discontinued M6 and M1 service south of 8 St.
•    M3 service will be rerouted from 9 St and University Place to 4 Av between 9 St and 14 St.
•    M1 service will be rerouted on weekdays to follow the M2 in both directions north of 8 St (5th/Madison/Park Avs)
•    M1 service will be discontinued on weekends south of 106 St.
M9 M15 M20 M21
•    M9 service will be rerouted from Avenue B to Avenue C to replace M21 and will terminate at the VA Hospital at East 23 St (Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town).
•    M9 service will be discontinued along Water St and in Battery Park City and will be extended along Park Row to City Hall replacing the M15.
•    M15 service to City Hall via Park Row will be discontinued replaced by the M9.
•    M21 service will be discontinued north of Houston St (along Avenue C) and extended along Houston St and the FDR Drive to Grand St (M21 service will not run on the weekends).
•    M20 service will be extended to South Ferry replacing a portion of the M9.

MTA Maps for bus changes in Lower Manhattan
MTA Maps for bus changes in Lower Manhattan (Courtesy MTA)

Do the transit changes affect your commute?

Ground Zero performing arts center

Ground Zero Arts Center Gets $44M Boost

Real Estate, , , , , , ,
Ground Zero performing arts center
City finally gets the ball rolling on new WTC performing arts center.

A long-delayed project to erect a performing arts center at Ground Zero is finally picking up steam. New York City has stepped up to the plate with $44 million to help build the center’s below-ground foundation, according to the Associated Press.

The board of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey approved a deal last week that will have the city repay the Authority for the work at the World Trade Center site.

Continue reading Ground Zero Arts Center Gets $44M Boost →

WTC Transit Hall

Sorbara Construction Scores $86 Million WTC Contract

Real Estate, , , , ,
WTC Transit Hall
New WTC Transit Hall is one step closer to reality.

Good news for anyone eagerly anticipating the new World Trade Center PATH and subway hub designed by renowned Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava: Earlier this week, the Port Authority awarded an $86 million contract to Long Island-based Sorbara Construction Corp. to get the ball rolling on the project.

According to NJ.com, the firm will provide the concrete floor slabs, beams and walls that will comprise the sculpted components of Calatrava’s epic Transit Hall — which, along with the 9/11 Memorial and the 1,776-foot-tall WTC 1 (aka the Freedom Tower), is already being hailed by officials as another aesthetically pleasing, architecturally significant addition to the World Trade Center site.

Continue reading Sorbara Construction Scores $86 Million WTC Contract →