No. 7 Subs

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Anything done General Tso's style will most likely taste great.

 I can't explain this. I only minored in Art History because I liked looking at pictures 

Walking into the Ace Hotel I felt like I was stepping into an episode of Gossip Girl…and I just realized I just openly admitted to watching Gossip Girl before. The lobby of the hotel is filled with no one above the age of 30 and just people hanging out and probably tweeting about their bbf Jill.

 Grade Pending? Oh the Suspense

Sorry for the rant but back on topic, as if I needed a reason to go visit the Ace Hotel which is home to The Spotted Pig and the John Dory it also has a great sub shop, No. 7 Sub. Sister shop of the No. 7 restaurant in Brooklyn, the No. 7 Sub is not the average turkey and cheese sandwich shop. They start of with general gourmet fillings like short ribs, eggplant parm and cilantro chicken fare that would not raise an eyebrow, but then they take you on a psychedelic acid trip and making combination like the Brussel Sprouts Reuben with swiss cheese, Russian Dressing, potato chips or the Brie with pickled blueberries, pistachios, chervil. It is like the sub shop equivalent of that weird dream in the Big Lebowski where you basically have no idea what is going on but you like it. No. 7 Subs is redefining the space between bread. 

 The Menu

On this acid trip sub chomp down, I sampled two subs starting with the General Tso’s Tofu. The sub is fried tofu that is dressed in the ever classic General Tso’s sauce that is found in any American Chinese restaurant served with spaghetti squash, shiso and pickled ginger. Many that did not grow up eating tofu gag at the thought of eating it; however, tofu is versatile and is a chameleon food that can take on any flavor. The sub nailed all the flavors of General Tso’s that will bring you back to the local Chinese takeout place you grew up with. The tofu had a crisp exterior and silky smooth interior that held its crunch to the next day when I ate the other half of this sub. The sharp ginger was refreshing with the hit of spiciness from the General Tso’s sauce and the squash brought it altogether.  The sandwich is vegetarian and eating it gave me one of the few moments in my life were I thought, to myself, “Being a vegetarian wouldn’t be so bad if I could eat food like this”. That moment is quickly shattered by the next nightmare of never ever eating pork again and then all things are back to normal in my world. Nonetheless, the absence of protein does not undermine this sub by any means and would not hesitate to order this in the future. 

 The General Tso's Tofu...and then? (one dollar to anyone that can figure out the pop culture movie reference)

To further confirm that the idea of my turning vegetarian was as good of an idea as prohibition was the Braised Short Rib sub. This was not just tender juicy shredded short ribs; it was braised short ribs with sweet potatoes, marshmallows and red wine vinaigrette. The description of this sandwich is like taking the SATs or any standardized test question:

Which one of these does not relate to the other?

The marshmallow would be the answer to this question or just put “E” and hope for the best. For any sandwich traditionalist, this is blasphemy but this sandwich was great. The tender short ribs and the sweet combination sweet potatoes and the marshmallows worked in tandem with the acidity of the red wine vinaigrette. This sandwich worked perfectly. It was an entrée, side and dessert shoved in between a roll. Oh and the rolls which any sandwich/sub eater knows can make or break a sandwich was a pillow of goodness. It was firm and soft and had the sponge capacity to hold any condiment or excess juicy to keep all the flavors and excess juice together.

Short Rib Sub

No. 7 sub shop would be dangerous if I worked in the vicinity of it. I would be like a climber going up Everest and set up a base camp in their shop and never leave. This is worth checking out and if this is any indication of what the No. 7 restaurant is about then I will gladly go out to hipster territory and eat at their restaurant. Stop at Urban Outfitters will not be included. 

No. 7 Subs 

1188 Broadway
New York, NY10001

www.no7sub.com 

General Tso's Tofu Sub recipe courtesy of the NY Times here