7th Street Burger, NYC

I don't seek out fast food that often.  I don't seek out burgers that often these days (although, many years ago, I hosted a weekly burger night, where we went to get burgers from places all over San Francisco, ranging from fast casual to high end steakhouses that served burgers only in limited quantities in their bar, etc).  Yet I was very excited recently when I got to finally try 7th Street Burgers, when my office had a special event at Barclay's Center, and they were one of the vendors.  I was so impressed by that first encounter, I quickly sought them out back in Manhattan at their regular stores.

"Craveable smash burgers, loaded fries, and late-night bites. 7th Street Burger serves fast, greasy goodness across NYC, Brooklyn, DC, and beyond."

7th Street Burgers has been on my radar for a while, often sited as a great, affordable, smashburger around New York.  The concept is fast casual, and pricing is lower than pretty much anywhere else.  The chain started in the East Village in June 2021, and has a slew of locations now in New York, New Jersey, and DC.  They are known for, well, the smash burgers.

"A "smash burger" is made by smashing the meat patty on the grill, creating a crispy outer crust while keeping the center of the burger juicy. Our house sauce brings the whole experience to the next level!"

7th Street has a very streamlined menu.  Cheeseburger or spicy cheese burger (with jalapeños and ghost pepper sauce).  All have onions cooked in.  Single or double. Vegetarian impossible burger option.  Fries, loaded or not.  And that is it.  No sides besides fries.  No fresh vegetables, e.g. lettuce/tomato as toppings.  No appetizers.  No desserts.  No chicken, salads, etc.  Heck, they don't even have a non-cheeseburger on the menu.  No ability to specify the done-ness of your burger.  Smash burger, the way they make it, and fries. That is it.  I'm sure this helps keeps costs down.

Visit #1: June 2026, Barclays Center

My first visit was to their stand at Barclays Center, just a concession stand.

Cheeseburger & Fries.

Since I was at a concession stand at Barclays, things were even more streamlined - the burgers were already made, and just handed over in a tray.   We had no choices, just the cheeseburger and regular fries.  They were handling steady lines so items were actually fairly fresh, but, obviously not quite the same as ordering at a real location.

Fries.

"Crispy, golden fries with a perfectly salted exterior and fluffy interior."

The fries did not impress me.  They were very generic, very simple, basic fries.  Not particularly flavorful, not particularly anything.  They just were.  With Fuku right around the corner with seasoned very crispy waffle fries, why would you ever pick these?

One of my co-workers however did like them, saying, they were "basic but not badly executed if that makes sense. I.e. they are crispy, not soggy, but lacking any good seasoning."  He was right, they were that, but to me, that didn't make them worth eating.  I was glad someone else wanted them.  2.5/5.

At their regular stores, these are $4.50.

Cheeseburger.

"Single patty, 100% fresh beef burger served with American cheese, grilled onions, pickles and house sauce on a Martin's potato bun."

The burger though.  That was something else entirely.

Wow.  Um.  This was good.  Really good.  Really satisfying.  And yes I'm talking about basically a fast food burger, not even from their own store, but from a stadium concession stand.  I then really, really wanted to try one at their real restaurants!

But backing up.  I really liked everything about this.  The burger had a great char.  Loved the crispy edges.  The beef was nicely seasoned.  It was fairly juicy inside for a thin burger.  The cheese was well distributed and perfectly melty.  Plenty of it, but not overwhelming.  Simple American, nothing more needed.  Yay for grilled onions and pickles.  Creamy flavorful house sauce (although I did add a bit more ketchup on some of the edge bits that had no sauce).  No "fresh" elements like tomato or lettuce, but I didn't mind. This was just a very satisfying burger base!

And then the bun.  Unlike most fast food or fast casual buns, this was not a generic bun at all.  Flavorful Martin's potato bun with a bit of sweetness.  Lightly toasted.  I often do lettuce wraps or open-faced burgers because I want to taste more of the burger/toppings and want to have more fries/sides and don't want to fill up on bun, but this was a bun I gladly devoured.

I truly enjoyed every bite of this, and can't wait to get another.  4.5/5.  Yes, for a concession stand burger (but again, it isn't trying to be a thick, mid-rare, truffle topped, $30 burger.  It is a cheap smashburger.  But a damn good one!).  At their regular stores, this is $6.50.  Insane value.

Visit #2: June 2026, Times Square Location

So, uh, a few days later I visited a real location, the one near Times Square, when the Knicks won a game in the finals, and 7th Street gave out 777 free burgers, and I of course snagged one.  You know how much I love my freebies!

Sidewalk.

Outside on the very busy sidewalk was two tables only, standing room, for devouring burgers on the spot, which I saw several people do, in impressive record time.

Counter.

Inside was a simple ordering counter, old school Coca-Cola branded menu board, and some booths.  The music was loud, the place had grit.  I liked it even more.

Cheeseburger.  $6.50.

The burger looked nearly identical to the one from the concession stand, slightly less scorch mark on the top of the bun, slightly less beef overhang, but, very close.  The bun did seem perhaps a bit softer, a bit more fresh.

Cheeseburger: Inside.

Inside was the real difference ... while it had all the expected cubes of grilled onions, it did not have any pickles!  I loved the pickles last time, and they should have been included.  Alas.

The onions were good, the cheese was perfectly melty, the sauce well distributed, the burger was nicely charred.  All just very nicely done for this style of burger.  3.5/5.

Visit #3: June 2026 - Flatiron Location

A week later, another visit, this time I picked the Flatiron location just to try somewhere new.  Also, yes, another freebie when the Knicks won again.

Spicy Jalapeño Burger. $7.

"Single patty, 100% fresh beef burger served with American cheese, grilled onions, jalapeños and ghost pepper sauce on a Martin's potato bun."

Next I tried the only other burger, the spicy jalapeño one.  Same basic burger, but this swaps in jalapeños for the pickles (a loss to me actually, I love the pickles) and uses ghost pepper sauce instead of their house sauce.  I got this mostly for completeness and curiosity, not because it sounded better to me than the basic cheeseburger.

I was a bit sad to see it seemed made with less care - the burger had part ripped off, and it wasn't warm, even though I had arrived ahead of my pickup time, it clearly was ready much earlier.  It seemed less juicy and less charred as well.  It did have the best bun toasting of any so far though.

Spicy Jalapeño: Inside.

I was also a bit sad to see the jalapeños were raw.  I somehow thought they'd be cooked and maybe chopped up like the onions.  They were just raw jalapeños.  I'd definitely go back to the pickles in the future.

As for the ghost pepper sauce, it was fine, a bit spicy, creamy, but there was only a pool of it in the middle of the bottom, so I found it didn't spread much onto the rest of the burger.

My least favorite burger so far, partially because I prefer pickles/house sauce over the jalapeños/ghost pepper sauce, partially because it was less fresh, partially because it just didn't seem as well made. 3/5.

Visit #4: June 2026 - Times Square Location

So I went back to the Times Square location, also wondering if location made a difference.

Spicy Jalapeño Burger ($7) + Extra Onions ($1).

Ok, this was the worst made one so far.

The bun had no toasted mark on top at all.  I ordered extra onions, and got the regular amount.  If anything, it had less than usual.  The cheese was barely melted.  The patty was dry.

Spicy Jalapeño Burger: SO MUCH JALAPENO!

The burger was loaded with jalapeños.  I ordered extra onions, regular jalapeños.  Did they just mix those up?  It had jalapeño under the top bun as well.  Way way too much raw jalapeño.  And where were my onions!

This was just not well prepared, on any level - the bun lack of toasting, the burger dryness and cheese not melted, the lack of customization followed ... if it was my first one from here, I never would have returned.  3/5, everything did taste good but wow, execution was off.

Visit #5: June 2026 - Times Square Location

Impossible Burger ($8)
w/ extra onions ($1), pickles ($0.50).

"Single Impossible patty served with American cheese, grilled onions, pickles and house sauce on a Martin's potato bun."

At first glance, the Impossible burger really did look exactly the same as the regular.  Same thin smashed patty, etc.  The patty had decent char on it.  The bun was lightly marked on top.  But closer examination showed the patty didn't crumble apart in quite the same way.  Still, this is the closest thing I've ever seen to a vegetarian smashburger.

This costs $1.50 more than the regular beef version.

Impossible Burger: Inside.

The patty was decent, it tasted like any other Impossible burger I've ever had, albeit more thin than I've had at other places.   It tastes vaguely meaty, with a slightly odd taste that makes you realize it isn't beef, but the texture and look are pretty close.  With enough cheese and special sauce, and my extra pickles and onions, it was pretty easy to nearly miss the fact it was a veggie burger.

Slight point miss though because the cheese was barely melted.  Overall though, good if you want a vegetarian option, or just aren't feeling like red meat.  I'd get it again if I was in the mood for that.  3.5/5.

Double Cheeseburger ($9.50).
w/ extra cheese ($1), extra onions ($1), extra pickles ($0.50).

"Double patty, 100% fresh beef burger served with American cheese, grilled onions, pickles and house sauce on a Martin's potato bun."

My next order I went big.  A double.

This guy weighed a lot!  Very noticeably heavier than my previous single burgers, as you'd expect since it is a double.  And was considerably more greasy than any previous burgers, likely due to the double cheese and beef?  The wrapper was totally saturated in oil.  It was also a bit mushed together and slightly hard to eat as it was bulging out of the bun.

I got this to compare the experience of the double to a single mostly, and because the single really is a kinda small burger compared to a standard burger elsewhere, so I thought this would be more like getting a quarter pounder or something, although I realize now that two of these patties are still much bigger than a regular McDonald's quarter pounder, as they are 3 ounces each (so, 6 ounces for double, quarter pounder is obviously 4 ounces).  

Anyway.  This was a tasty pile of meat and onions and cheese and pickles loosely held together by buns doing a valiant effort, but I wouldn't really recommend a double as it is just a bit hard to navigate (perhaps fork and knife would be better?).  Everything in it was good though, melty cheese, tasty onions, creamy sauce, nicely charred patties.  4/5.

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Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP

Update Review 2024/2025

I still like the kettle and drizzlecorns better, but I recently tried the basics again.

Sea Salt.

"Long ingredient list? Not here. Our Sea Salt Popcorn contains just popcorn, sea salt, and a little bit of sunflower and/or canola oil. And at 40 calories a cup, it also contains a lot of guilt-free goodness. So go ahead, seas the day!"

After several years, I encountered the plain salted popcorn again.  While it is still very plain, just basic salted popcorn, the kernels are a good size, it is fluffy, and tastes fresh enough.  Salt level is nice.  Somewhat buttery flavor as well.  

Good for what it is, but I always sprinkle on additional seasoning or mix with a too-decadent other flavor.  3.5/5, possibly 4/5.

Real Butter.

"Attention, butter lovers...this one’s going to blow your butter-loving minds! Our Butter Popcorn is made with real butter, which makes an oh-so-delicious difference. And we know what you’re thinking, but it’s 45 calories a cup. Really."

Butter popcorn is never the flavor I go for (for savory, I want cheesy or spicy!), but I was given a big bag of the butter popcorn, and I obviously wasn't going to let it go to waste.  

The popcorn was again nicely popped, big kernels, fresh tasting.  Easy to munch on.  No qualms with the base form factor.  But how about the butter?  Well, I didn't really taste it.  Which was fine, as again, I'm not really excited about butter popcorn in general (particularly if it isn't hot fresh butter), but if you want to really taste butter, you'll be let down.  The salt level was good, the texture was good, it was perfectly fine fairly plain popcorn, so not particularly interesting, but not bad.  Again, 3.5/5.

Original Review 2021

Oh, man.

I eat a lot of snacks.  I adore popcorn.  I *really* adore sweet, dessert-like, decadent popcorn.  Particularly when it is frozen.  Yeah, I'm strange, but I really love my popcorn.  Frozen.

I've seen BOOMCHICKAPOP at stores all over the country, for years, and rather assumed it was just another run-of-the-mill packaged popcorn.  Yeah, it is non-GMO and gluten-free, but, um, isn't all popcorn?  It does have a cute story, started by a husband and wife (yup, Angie), with a quick rise from local fame to specialty stores to nationwide mass retail.  You can buy it at Target or the corner Walgreens. Boomchickapop is certainly a success story.

BOOMCHICKAPOP Packaging.

BOOMCHICKAPOP comes in far more varieties than most brands starting with the basics (butter, sea salt, light sweet, sweet & salty, white cheddar, cheddar cheese), plus some slightly interesting (caramel, salted caramel, caramel & cheddar, sweet & spicy, and sweet barbecue), and then the ones that called out to me, decadent milk chocolate peanut butter and dark chocolaty drizzled sea salt.

They also often have seasonal specials, dubbed "holidrizzle", which are "drizzlecorn" varieties even more decadent than the standard lineup.  These sounded irresistible, and thus, into my shopping cart a bag of holidrizzle went (they also had a frosted sugar cookie version that sounded nearly as interesting!)

The bags come as full size multi portion bags, which of course is danger for me, given my ability to eat an entirely unreasonable amount of popcorn in a single sitting.  Yes, I can literally take down a full bag, in one sitting, no problem.  And then I'll move on to another flavor ... yes, I have a propcorn problem!

Savory

Savory popcorn is not my usual goto, although I've had some really interesting spicy varieties over the years that I have quite liked, or sometimes something like salt & pepper or sour cream & onion can be fun, but the regular savories of butter or cheese ... eh.  Still, sometimes even I don't want sweet, so I've tried a few.

Sea Salt.

"Snacking should make you feel good. I mean, am I right? That's why we set out to make a light, tasty treat that satisfies without triggering post-snack guilt. Always real, free of gluten, trans fats and preservatives. And because it's by Angie's, it's got all the delish that comes from being made with simple ingredients you'll love. Really, at 35 calories per cup, you're about to get snack-cessful up in here."

I started with the simple sea salt flavor. 

It was ... popcorn.  Just light salted popcorn.  Well popped, large kernels, but, bo-ring. 3/5.

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Real Butter.

"What goes better with popcorn than real butter? Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP® Real Butter Popcorn is a timeless classic that will be sure to knock your socks off! Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP® Real Butter Popcorn makes movie nights a whole lot better!"

I moved on to the equally simple "Real Butter" variety.  It too was ... very plain.  Not particularly buttery nor interesting.  Butter popcorn is best hot, freshly popped, and smothered in real butter (or, the movie theater liquid gold they call butter ...).  3/5.

White Cheddar.

"For when you feel the need. The need for real cheese."

The White Cheddar variety was also pretty lackluster.

Well popped fresh kernels, but, the white cheddar flavor just wasn't strong enough for me, although it was made with real cheddar cheese, not strange fake powder. 3/5.

White Cheddar.

I had it again, when in a particularly savory mood.  And ... yeah, it still just doesn't deliver.  Just far too mild.  Not cheesy at all.  And certainly no satisfying cheesy coated fingers!

Double Update Review: I've had it several times, and always found it really quite boring.  3/5.

Dill Pickle.

"Perfectly pickled popcorn. Say that 10 times fast. After you chew and swallow that handful, of course. This flavor clocks in at 50 calories a cup, so yeah, it’s a pretty big dill (sorry, couldn’t resist)."

Ok.  This sounded awesome, as I do love dill pickles.  It wasn't bad, but, the dill flavor just wasn't very strong.  Mild dill.  I wanted more from it, but for a very non-indulgent option, it was fine.  3/5.

Sweet

The sweet flavors are my everyday pick, bonus points for having a salty and sweet combo.

Sweet & Spicy.

"This delicious flavor combines garlic, cayenne, cumin and paprika for a zippy, yet slightly sweet, fiesta kind of snack. At 70 calories per cup, it's sure to be a favorite for bold-flavor lovers. Party on snacker!"

I was not really unimpressed with the "Sweet & Spicy".  It was neither sweet, nor spicy.  It did appear to have a little seasoning on it, but it certainly was not "bold".  Sadness.  (If you want a sweet and spicy one though, I highly recommend the Synergistically Seasoned popcorn from Trader Joes!).

I moved on. 3/5.

Light Kettle Corn.

"Snacking is the best part about life. It should be both DELICIOUS and carefree. Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP Lightly Sweet has all the delish that comes from being made with simple ingredients you'll love. Just a hint of sweet is added to this popcorn, clocking in at 37 calories per cup. Munch up, savvy shopper."

The light kettle corn was good.  Slightly sweet, slightly salty, well coated kernels.  Certainly a lighter variety than I often tend towards, but good.  A nice thing for me to have on hand, so I don't *always* go for the crazy decadent ones! 4/5.

Sweet & Salty Kettle Corn.

"Opposites don’t just attract they make us fall in love, too. You and your friends will want to crush the whole bag."

Not surprisingly though, I preferred the Sweet & Salty Kettle Corn, double the calories (70 calories per cup instead of 37) of the Light version.

It was actually really good kettle corn.  And I'm particular about my kettle corn.  It reminded me of my favorite kettle corn that comes only from a small vendor at the farmer's market in my hometown.  The kernels were really well coated, crispy, and it was loaded with both sugar and salt.

Totally addicting, and a favorite, no question. 4/5.

Salted Caramel.

"We think salted anything is pretty dang amazing. But salted caramel? Well, that’s a whole new level. Vegans, rejoice—you can be a part of this popcorn party."

And then ... caramel corn.  Salted caramel corn.

Crunchy, deep buttery popcorn.  I actually think our catering team just incorrectly labelled this and it was the Buttery Caramel (170 calories per cup), considered an "Everyday Indulgent" selection by the manufacturer, because it was far too decadent and coated in real caramel to be the lower cal Salted Caramel (80 calories per cup) it was labelled as.

I do adore this popcorn though.  The caramel was intense, truly fabulous caramel.  The pieces are well coated.  It is addicting.  Even moreso if you freeze hit to make it extra crispy (and keep for longer!). 4/5.

Everyday Indulgent

The sweet lineup will satisfy more people, and me most of the time, but if you want to go all out, Angie's has another product line, dubbed, "Everyday Indulgent".  For, uh, everyday.

Buttery Caramel.

"What’s not to love? It’s caramel. And popcorn. And it’s made with real ingredients. So go on. Crush your craving. And if someone wants you to share, that’s your call."

Another caramel corn?  Near identical in looks and taste (again, I suspect the previous one was mislabelled when I had it ...).

This was buttery caramel corn, just as promised.  I liked how crispy it was, and how well coated.  Very deep rich caramel flavor.

Very sweet, very buttery, just as I wanted.  I still think the earlier one was also this one ... 4/5.

Dark Chocolate Drizzled Sea Salt Kettle Corn.

"We asked people what they thought of our kettle corn popcorn with a dark chocolate drizzle, but all we got was “nomnomnow…”"

I agree with the description on this one.

Classic good kettle corn.  Nice salt level.  And then plenty of chocolate drizzle.

At times, I wished the chocolate drizzle was more generous.  I wanted just the best coated pieces!  But at the same time ... that is what made it fun to eat, searching for the best ones.  So maybe they nailed this, getting me fairly addicting, waiting for just "one more" perfect piece ... 4.5/5.

Cinnamon Roll Drizzled.

"Your nose will think it’s breakfast and your taste buds will love the surprise. Hold the bag tight because once it’s open people will suddenly appear."

I was skeptical of this one, just because it sounded potentially awesome and I worried it would let me down, but, it was actually fantastic.  I adored it the first time I had it, and literally scarfed down a whole bag ... which, by the way, I do not recommend.  I had quite the stomachache later!

The base is cinnamon popcorn, well spiced, dominant, but not too aggressive.  The best part is the drizzle, a sweet cinnamon icing.  It added a creaminess, crispness, and an addictive quality since not all kernels were equally drizzled, and I found myself seeking out the "best" pieces, while plowing through way too big of a portion.  Sometimes though, I found it too sweet, particularly if I got too many well coated pieces in a row.  But most days?  I love it.

I tend to prefer my popcorn frozen (crunchier!), and this one in particular is great frozen, the cinnamon roll icing gets super crispy. 4.5/5.

Holiday Flavors

Around the holidays, bonus, limited time, flavors come out, such as Sugar Cookie, or of course, Pumpkin Spice.  These tend to all sound kinda awesome, and are even more indulgent.

Holidrizzle: White Chocolate Peppermint Kettle Corn.

"Feel all the nostalgic feelings with Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP® White Chocolate & Peppermint Flavored Kettle Corn. Drizzled with the finest white chocolate and mixed with delicious flecks of peppermint, this Holidrizzle flavor tastes just like the peppermint bark your grandma used to make. And let’s be real, your grandma was a pretty cool lady."

Around Christmas, I snagged a bag of the white chocolate peppermint Holidrizzle.

This was absolutely insanely good.  The base is kettle corn, buttery, sweet, and salty.  Very good kettle corn.  And then, as advertised, drizzled with white chocolate and crushed peppermint candies.  The drizzle allowed clumps to form, like granola.  It was applied very generously, but not evenly, which meant that it tapped into my addition in a horrible way.  "Just one more piece, I'll just have one more really well coated chunk", I'd tell myself.  And then, next thing I knew, I had eaten several more cups full, but, well, those pieces weren't the perfect piece I was looking for.  Ooph.

So here you had a wonderful mix of buttery, salty, sweet, and minty, in a fun to eat form factor that kept you seeking "just one more"?  Yeah, horrible.  And awesome.  I didn't even need to freeze this one to enjoy it.

I'd gladly eat another bag, right now.  I guess I'll have to wait for next holiday season.  Protip for next year: stock up!  4.5/5.

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Edwards Desserts

You can find Edwards pies everywhere.  Your generic grocery store freezer aisle.  Walmart.  Hospitals.  Cafeterias. Most likely, Burger King (more on that soon).  Popeyes (yes, they get their pecan pie slices from Edwards, as I've reviewed before, and, um, apparently hated).  But when they aren't hiding at fast food places, you'll find them in frozen sections everywhere.

"Exceptional indulgences made effortless! No matter how you slice our decadent, velvety layers and fresh-from-the-oven cookie crumb crust, our frozen pies are meticulously whipped, sprinkled, and drizzled to extravagant perfection. Simply thaw and serve to see how this crème pie will be the talk of the dessert table for every occasion and holiday."

They make whole pies, or their novel introduction to the market in late 1970s, individual slices!  The lineup is mostly cheesecake and crème pies, plus the aforementioned pecan.  They say they even bake their own cookies, crush them, and use those to make the pie crust, and have high quality standards, but, this really is a very mass produced brand.

Even though I hated the pecan pie, I was still interested in trying out one of the crème pies, when I saw rumors that they were the ones who actually make the Burger King Hershey Sundae pie, which I found shockingly delicious.

So, for research purposes, to my grocery store freezer section I went!

Chocolate Crème Pie.

"The EDWARDS® Chocolate Crème Pie is a chocolate lover's dream with luscious layers of chocolate and vanilla crème filling, then topped with chocolate drizzle, chocolate chips, and whipped crème rosettes."

I went for the Chocolate Crème Pie, curious to see if it truly is the same as the Burger King version as people say it is.  It came similarly packaged, but, with their branding, not Burger King's.  Frozen, but all you need to do is thaw in fridge for 30 mins, or even try it frozen.

I'll admit it looked pretty much like a dupe of the BK one.  Same chocolate crème dollops on top with a row of vanilla ones along the back.  Same drizzle of chocolate, same mini chips.  I dove in.

Chocolate Crème Pie: Cross Section.

Underneath the chocolate crème was the same vanilla crème body, and the chocolate cookie crust.  Yes, this is definitely a pretty near match, at least visually, and at least in the same elements.  

The only real difference I noticed is that the slice seemed more precise if that makes any sense.  The crust was a more regular thickness, the garnishes better placed.   That could very well just be a side effect of storage/shipping. It may have had a better ratio of chocolate to super sweet creme topping too?  But not certain, as I wasn’t doing a side-by-side comparison, my tastings were separated by a few days, but it seemed like it trended slightly more chocolate, slightly less sweet (which was a better balance).  Besides the slightly lower sweetness level that seemed more due to the ratios than the actual taste of the components, yes, it was the same.  

I loved it just the same.  Crunchy chocolately base for texture.  It crumbles apart, but you want that, to mix it into the bites.  Fluffy sweet vanilla crème that tastes totally fake but that works here.  Fluffy milk chocolate crème.  Great chocolate flavor from the toppings.  A slice that just eats so well.

That said, it is far from wholesome, with sweetened condensed milk, shortening, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, and a loooooong list of chemical sounding items, a slew of gums, etc, etc.  It doesn't come across as homemade at all. But I still really enjoyed it. 4.5/5.

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Joe's Pizza, NYC

Joe's Pizza is a known place in NYC.  If you've spent time there, you've likely walked by one of their locations, and seen a few folks on the sidewalk with relatively attractive looking slices in their hands, devouring on the spot.  The location near Times Square has ridiculous lines, and hoards of people, but the others don't tend to.  My impression is that locals don't hate it, but they don't consider it destination worthy.

Joe's started in Greenwich village in 1975, and now has a handful of locations in Manhattan and surrounding areas, including Boston, but also randomly Miami and Ann Arbor.  It is a very classic NY pizza joint.

Joe's has a no frills, basic menu.  This is not a place to get fancy toppings like burrata, prosciutto, or hot honey on your pizza, not a place to even get pineapple and/or ham if those are your thing.  Nope, this is a place to get the simple toppings: pepperoni, sausage, or meatballs for meat, peppers, onions, olives, mushrooms, spinach, and, perhaps the most wild one, artichokes, for veggies.  And that is it.  Pizzas come with red sauce the majority of the time, although they have a white sauce option.  And that is it, no bbq sauce, no buffalo drizzle, etc.  You can upgrade to fresh mozzarella.  No vegan cheese.  Whole pizzas come in one size, cut into 8 large slices.  Round is the majority of their product, although they do a Sicilian style square as well.  Regular crust only, no gluten-free.

And that is the menu.  There is a house salad with all the pizza veggie toppings, and that is it for appetizers/sides.  Not even garlic knots.  No desserts.  No interesting drinks, just soda or Snapple.  Don't expect anything else.  And really, you don't need anything else.

Joe's Curb Appeal.

At the shop, slices are a main attraction, served on paper plates, eaten on the street out front where there are a few tables. I've still yet to have that experience, but instead had whole pies, delivered.

I was very pleased with my experience, and I understand the staying power.

Pepperoni. $32.

Here you have it.  Iconic NY Slice.  For good reason.  This isn't a fancy slice, but it is a good one for this style.

Right level of char.  Crust is chewy in a good way, holds up well to being held/folded.  Sauce is well distributed, not too thick, not too sweet, not overwhelming in any way.  Generic cheese that is not in excess, but not skimpy.  Each element plays a supporting, but necessary, role.  Generic pepperoni, not cupping style, just basic. Slightly haphazardly applied.

Like any 1-topping pizza, this is priced at $32 ($4 more than plain cheese).

I liked this about the same as my previous favorite basic NY slice, NY Pizza Suprema, 4/5.

Veggie Pie.  $35.

I also got to try the "veggie pie", even though the menu gives no description of what veggies it will be. The answer seems to be mushrooms, onion, peppers, black olive, broccoli.  Basically everything but the spinach and artichoke.  This is one of the three predefined options (along with supreme or meat lovers), no other curated selections are offered.

This pizza reminded me of my childhood.  My family always got green pepper and onion pizza, and if my mom was making it at home, she always put black olives and mushrooms on her side (my dad was strictly peppers and onions).  I used to love black olives.  At Subway, our frequent family dinner out splurge, I'd get extra black olives (and extra pickles!).  I used to be all in on the family favorite green peppers and onions.  And somehow, probably about 20 years ago at this point, I just simply stopped liking black olives and green peppers, in any application.  Not cooked, not raw, not in salads, etc.  I actively avoid bell peppers at this point, and pick around black olives.  And yet ... I was really drawn to this pizza.

And I kinda loved it.  It was part nostalgia for family pizza night, just, with a far superior base product that we ever had, and perhaps just a crazy mood I was in, but, I really enjoyed this slice.  The toppings were even less well distributed than the pepperoni, some bites were all black olive, others were all green pepper.  There were very few mushrooms, and not nearly enough onions.  And again, I still loved it.  I'm not sure about the broccoli on pizza, at least, not with these other basic veggies, but all the toppings were well cooked, and seemed fresh. 

The base product, the crust, the sauce, the cheese, were all the same as the previous, great char, great chew, no dominating elements.  Another 4/5, higher side, and I liked this one even more.

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United Polaris Lounge, EWR

The week before I took a flight from Newark to San Francisco, United changed the branding of the flight to ... Polaris.  No longer just considered a "premium transcon", this was full fledged Polaris now.  Which yes, meant Polaris lounge access.  I was of course thrilled by the opportunity to check out the Newark Polaris lounge for the first time.

My visit was from about 11am until 12:30pm on a Saturday.  It was not busy at all.  

The space was tranquil, and seemed nice enough, however I found myself actually liking the food, and the natural light, more in the much smaller UA Club near Gate C74.

Setting

The lounge is large, and was not crowded at all when I visited.  It had shower suites that I didn't check out, and large, nice individual bathrooms.

So Empty.

There were many styles of seating, and sooo much of it was vacant.

So much space!

The lounge really was expansive, with many different sections.  It felt very open, but had considerably less natural light than the smaller UA Club at C74.

Dining Area.

There was a large dining area for those who choose to eat from the buffet.

Soft Seating.

And soft seating large individual armchairs.  Most seats had power outlets including USB.

Dining Room.

A signature feature of Polaris lounges, the main dining room.  It was also not busy at all.

Dining Room Menu.

The dining room menu sounded great, for both breakfast and lunch. I wished I was hungry for a real meal, as there were not one, but two dishes featuring asparagus, which I was really craving at the time, and all three desserts sounded great to me.  But alas, it wasn't a meal time for me, so I didn't partake in any of it.

Breakfast

I caught the tail end of breakfast when I arrived.  I saw basic breakfast scrambled eggs and sausage, but narrowed in fast on the sweet carb offering, gleeful to have the chance to try it before the lunch swapover.

Maple Baked French Toast Casserole.

I was excited to snag the maple baked french toast casserole, but it wasn't actually very good.  Extremely aggressively spiced, and very dry.  Fruit was mediocre, syrup was unlikely to be real maple syrup.  2/5.

Lunch

The lunch swapover took a while, with different elements brought out in strange order (e.g. the toppings for the crostini bar were there for a really long time before the actual bread to use as a base).  The lineup seemed decent enough, but I didn't actually really like anything I tried.

Salad Bar.

The salad bar had mixed greens or arugula for a base.  The mixed greens were brown at all the stems and didn't seem very fresh.  There were two pre-made, pre-dressed, additional salads.  I plucked some toppings out of them as the rest of the salad bar was so meager. 

Salad Toppings.

The salad toppings were a bit of an odd assortment.  Other than raw red onion, no fresh veggies.  Instead, there was marinated beets, roasted tomatoes, roasted edamame, and mushy mushy mushy asparagus (I had hope! I was craving asparagus! But wow, so mushy).  The pickled radishes were fine.  

Salad Toppings: seeds/cheese/dressing.

The remaining salad toppings were pretty uninspiring to me: some seeds, cheese, and dressing.

Shrimp Cocktail / Gazpacho.

Poached shrimp with cocktail sauce (and random marinated artichokes?), and shots of gazpacho came next.  If I was hungry, I would have tried the shrimp, but, I wasn't, and had been nibbling on other things, so random shrimp at questionable temperature didn't really seem worth trying.

Cheese / Charcuterie.

Interestingly there were only two types of cheese offered (compared to more extensive lineup in the UA Club), and no grapes, in the cheese & charcuterie section.  And no crackers?

Crostini Toppings.

An interesting offering is a build-your-own crostini bar, with several different kinds of spreads.  I didn't try the fig jam nor green olive tapenade, but I wanted to try the brie + chive spread ... and couldn't tell which that was, and which was lemon herb goat cheese spread as items are not individually labelled.  So I took a tiny bit of both, and sadly picked wrong to start, blegh, goat cheese!  The brie spread was fine though, not memorable.

Shrimp & Chicken.

The two main dishes were chicken or shrimp, neither of which I tried.

Carrots & Green Beans.

For a hot veggie, they had a dish that was mostly carrots, with a few token green beans.

Couscous & Rigatoni.

There was a base cous ous for a grain, and pasta dish of rigatoni with mushrooms, peas, and a creamy tomato sauce that I tried, but truly did not like (mushy, not very complex flavor).

Chocolate Chip Cookies.

The "famous" chocolate chip cookies made an appearance in the buffet, presented in a bit more of a classy style than the UA Clubs where they are just laid out on a platter.  They were the thin crispy style everyone raves about.

I see why people like these cookies. They aren't really my style (I'm not a big cookie person anyway), but they were pleasantly crispy, had a nice buttery richness, and did seem a bit unique. The chocolate chips were regular size, and it wasn't loaded with them, but they were fine. I'm glad I tried this, and if I really wanted a sweet treat, I could imagine getting another.  3/5.

UA Club Cookie (Top) / Polaris Lounge Cookie (Bottom).

Interestingly, the ones here in the Polaris lounge were nearly twice the size (diameter) than the ones from the UA Club down the hall.   I didn't notice any real difference in taste despite the very different look.

Lemon Vanilla Budino.

I love all puddings (enough that my blog has a label for them on it after all!), so even though I'm not into lemon desserts, I still tried this.

It was way too lemon curd for me. Tangy in not a way I enjoy. Thick and gloopy. Just, not for me. And far too little whipped cream on top! No textural element like crumble or nuts. 1/5.

Berry Crumble Bar / Seasonal Berries / Golden Oat Streusel.

The dessert bar was slightly more inviting, but was also not enjoyable. It was extraordinarily dry. So dry. The base, the topping, all of it. Dry, dry, dry. 1/5.

Snacks

I'm a sucker for all snack mixes and candies, so I was happy to see the lounge did feature a few.

Snacks!

The Polaris lounge had far more snacks than the UA Clubs, with 5 offerings: yogurt covered cranberries, trail mix, wasabi peas, pineapple, and gummy bears.  I tried the yogurt cranberries, but wasn't really into them.  The rest were standard.

Below these were self serve soft drinks, basic Coke/Sprite/Ginger Ale.  No sparkling water.

Godiva Chocolates.

"GODIVA continues to reimagine chocolate with our NEW Gold Collection: the beating heart of our praline savoir-faire. Each piece in this iconic collection embodies Belgian craftsmanship. Enjoy delicate ganache, nutty pralines and smooth caramels.."

A relatively new (I think?) collaboration between Godiva and United meant there were self serve fancy chocolates, from the new Gold Collection, with little tongs to serve them that made it nearly impossible to pick them up without dropping.  I of course tried both and appreciated the relatively premium offering.

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