Canz a Citi Roadhouse

Canz a Citi Roadhouse is your typical neighborhood sports bar, serving bar food, an extensive beer list, over twenty TVs showcasing the different games, and employing “Canz-a-Citi Girls.” What is a Canz-a-Citi Girl you may ask? Well, the website defines them as girls (emphasis on the word girl, as you are out of luck to find a woman over 25 here) “who wear their signature denim shorts, black tank tops, and timbaland boots.” I wouldn’t go so far as to call their “signature denim shorts” anything resembling a complete article of clothing, but to each their own. You can take a look for yourself soon enough, as VH1 is planning a show called Canz, a reality show on what it takes to be a Canz girl. One can also purchase a Canz-a-Citi calendar, filled with artistic bikini shots of some of the favorite Canz girls.

I had walked past Canz many a time, mostly to visit Queens Comfort right next door. On game days, the place gets pretty full, and the majority of customers lean towards the male, athletic types. Or the types that like to get a side of eye candy with their burger. Although I was hesitant to give this place a shot, my curiosity was peaked after seeing what looked like an outdoor area in the back stacked with wine barrels.

The outdoor area turned out to be a faux outdoor area, with a transparent skyroof that can be reeled down for a more open air style. The décor does not stray far from the mandatory sports bar scene, with lots of TVs everywhere you look, wooden tables, a large bar with stools, and the faux outdoor area decorated with empty wine barrels, hubcaps, and license plates from different states strewn on the wall. Unfortunately Canz gets their cable through satellite, which caused bouts of blackout due to the rain on my visit. The music was loud, and features Top 40 pop hits.

wine barrels

interior

hubcap + license plate wall

The food at Canz features Burgerz, Sandwichez, Wrapz, Appetizerz, and more of your average bar food. And yes, every single word ending in an S (and then some) is replaced with a Z in the menu, which got under my skin more than anything in the restaurant. I can’t really take your food seriously when I’m presented with “Canz-a-Citi Quezadillaz”, “Grilled Chicken Ceazar Wrap” and “Choice of Mozzarella, Cheddar, Jack, Swiss, or American Cheezez.” Reading the menu is agitating for anyone who uses basic grammar and spelling, and leaves me to wonder who was tasked in writing the menu.

Our waitress was nice, albeit a bit awkward. She was trying to be playful, but did not get much attention or interaction from us. Canz starts each table off with a bowl of popcorn. The popcorn wasn’t fresh, and tasted like the premade bags you buy at the grocer. My friends and I ordered the Chicken Club sandwich with tater tots, the Buffalo Chicken sandwich with fries, and the Buffalo Chicken sandwich (turned into a wrap) with a side salad. Ordering the Buffalo Chicken wrap took about six minutes too long. I told the waitress I wanted the Buffalo Chicken sandwich in a wrap, and seeing as they had a whole wrap section, I did not see what would be so difficult about this. Substitute the brioche roll for a wrap, you’re golden. Our waitress, however, did not understand that this could be done, because the buffalo chicken was one whole piece of chicken. She then asked if I wanted ranch on it like the Chicken Ceazar wrap, which led to more confusion. After another explanation of what I wanted registered, we were good to go. And I was very curious as to what I was actually going to get.

Difficulties aside, I did end up getting (mostly) what I ordered (no celery), with the Buffalo Chicken cleverly cut up into small pieces to fit into the wrap. The wrap was a good, standard Buffalo Chicken wrap. My side salad consisted of mesclun greens with chopped onions, carrots, and tomatoes overflowing on top, making it a bit hard to eat and add dressing to.

Buffalo Chicken wrap + side salad

The Buffalo Chicken sandwich was a solid sandwich, and the fries were crispy and light, perfect by my standardz.

Buffalo Chicken sandwich + fries

The Chicken Club sandwich consisted of a fried chicken cutlet topped with pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and bacon ranch dressing on a toasted brioche bun. Again, this was good, nothing amazing, but also a fulfilling choice. The tater tots were also crispy and light, and fried perfectly.

Chicken Club sandwich + tater tots

All in the all, the food was okay, typical of what one would expect at a sports bar. A lot of the allure to these types of places is not so much the food, but the atmosphere -- being able to catch all your sports games, while enjoying your favorite beer and some food, in a loud, boisterous environment with your friends. And for some, the icing on the cake (and to others, the actual cake) is having that special Canz-a-Citi girl serving you.

Burger Club

Astoria added another burger restaurant to its expanding registry this past month with the opening of Burger Club, located on 30^th Avenue and 32^nd Street, a stone's throw away from 31st Avenue favorite BareBurger. I was initially drawn to the aesthetics of the corner restaurant –the décor is simple, with orange lined rolling garage doors and windows, and exposed brick walls. The inside shows exposed pipes on the ceiling, and the place has a polished garage persona, save for the blaring club music that finds its way into most dining establishments in Astoria.

interior of Burger Club

exposed brick walls + seating

bar area

seating

Having recently opened, I had called ahead to find out if they served alcohol or would be cool with BYOB. I was happily told we could bring our own alcohol while they are waiting for their liquor license, and that it would be no problem at all. The friendliness of the wait staff was not only present via telephone. From the minute we stepped in we were warmly greeted by the hostess, and each additional person that waited on our table exuded just the right amount of hospitality. We had excellent and attentive, yet not overwhelming, service for the entire night.

Burger Club offers nine burgers on its menu, along with a special of the night written on the chalkboard inside. These burgers range from the Burger Club Classic with Cheese to the Carolina Burger (topped with pulled pork, coleslaw, pepper jack cheese) to the Frenchy Burger (topped with foie gras) to the Farmer’s Market Burger (vegetable burger w. goat cheese). All the meat is provided by famed butcher Pat LaFrieda. Burger Club also offers salads, pressed sandwiches, and a wide range of appetizers and sides, including quesadillas, mozzarella fritters, and braised short ribs. While having this variety can appeal to a wider audience then just burgers and sides, it is my belief that a place specializing in one main dish should not stray far from that. I found it a bit odd quesadillas were on the menu, but I guess it does work for them, as the table next to mine ordered that and buffalo wings as their appetizers.

For my dinner, I ordered the Burger Club Classic with Cheese and extra pickles, with a side of waffle fries. The menu states that you can order waffle or sweet potato fries, so it was not clear if regular spuds are offered.  Do expect to pay extra for the fries or onion rings, as they are considered add-ons and are not included in the price of the burgers (which will run you $8-$12). My companions both ordered the Stuffed Burger (after debating between that and the Carolina Burger), along with onion rings and sweet potato fries (well done) for their sides. The Stuffed Burger is topped with smoked mozzarella, crispy prosciutto, and a basil pesto spread.

My Burger Club Classic came topped with American cheese, along with red onion, lettuce, tomato and pickles. While I asked for extra pickles thinking they were the sliced circular variety common on burgers, I was not so pleasantly surprised to discover that Burger Club uses gherkins as their pickles. While I enjoy gherkins, I do not think they pair well with burgers. When I eat my burger, I enjoy having the sliced pickles inside the bun, and to sink my teeth into the briny soft flesh which pairs excellently with the rest of my burger. I do not understand why burger spots try to get fancy with their pickles (remember 5 Napkin?) I appreciate Burger Club trying to be unique with gherkins but taste should trump all else, and gherkins do not cut it.

The burger itself held up to my standards and was enjoyable. The waffle fries were crispy but nothing spectacular. My burger also came with two plastic cups of sauce, with no explanation of what they were. One seemed as if it had been laying out in the kitchen for a bit, as the top layer showed signs of discoloration. I tried each sauce, and neither tasted particularly great so they were left ignored. I found out later from the waitress they were a peppercorn ranch and a chipotle aioli.

Burger Club Classic w. Cheese

My friends’ Stuffed Burgers were filling and tasty, with the beef and prosciutto harmoniously pairing with the mozzarella and pesto. The beef patty itself also had cheese inside of it, as the waitress mentioned it might not melt as much if cooked anything below well done. The onion rings were good - light and fluffy, with a sweet coating similar to a fried dough coating. They were not greasy and the whole onion string did not come out in the first bite, common with most onion rings. The sweet potato fries came out cold, and not quite well done, making us believe they had been sitting back in the kitchen for a bit.

Stuffed Burger w. onion rings

Stuffed Burger w. sweet potato fries

As our waitress came by to talk dessert, she let us know that a brownie was coming out for us on the house. I noticed the table next to us got their bread pudding on the house, so I believe they were giving free desserts due to their recent opening. We also ordered the bread pudding. The brownie came warm, and served with vanilla ice cream, and chocolate and caramel drizzle. While I am not a chocolate fan, I loved the dessert. The brownie was moist and not overwhelmingly chocolaty. Having it warm was heavenly, and melted right in my mouth. The bread pudding was okay. Instead of the traditional vanilla sauce, it came topped with a lemon syrup which proved to be too bitter. The owner came to talk to us, and asked what we thought of the bread pudding, as he was still deciding whether to feature it on the menu. He was very kind, and showed a genuine care in our thoughts on the meal. When our check came, we were told they also put the bread pudding on the house.

warm brownie w. vanilla ice cream

bread pudding

I liked Burger Club’s burgers, gherkins notwithstanding. The service and friendly staff was top notch, and the food held to my expectations. I appreciate that it is not a chain restaurant, and am interested to see how it will do, considering the density of burger spots in Astoria, and the competition of many popular restaurants on 30^th Avenue. 

5 Napkin Burger

The surrounding area of Kaufman Studios in Astoria is a bit of a barren land compared to the more bustling areas of 30^th and 31^st Avenues, where an outdoor café (or two) lines each block, with food offerings as diverse as the city itself. What you will find near Kaufman is a handful of chain restaurants (such as Uno, Panera Bread, Starbucks, Applebee’s), Studio Square (casually known as “the new beer garden” but don’t be fooled by this…it is a beer garden but strikingly opposite to the real beer garden in this town AND oldest beer garden in NY, Bohemian Hall), The Astor Room, and 5 Napkin Burger. Yes, 5 Napkin Burger is technically a chain, but it is not your cookie cutter dining establishment that leaves the diner with an acute sense of déjà vu.

photo courtesy of flickr

Even though 5 Napkin Burger Astoria is not located in the busier parts of this town, I think that is more of a blessing than a curse. Five Napkin is huge for city standards, with a private room that can hold over 80 people, a full bar area, a large wooden table for folding all those napkins (and for decorative purposes – more on that later) and tables and booths where you are not rubbing elbows with other diners. AND outdoor seating.  I loved the ambience of the place. While very spacious and open, the restaurant is lit with string Edison lightbulbs. The decorations are a hybrid of old-school hamburger joint meets industrial butcher shop.  On a back, white tiled wall, a plethora of glass siphon bottles in various shades of blues and greens were on display (the old-school way to make soda) as well as a vintage milkshake machine.  Metal tracks lined the ceiling of the restaurant, with meat hooks and large scales dangling about that gave the place a butcher shop feel. Rumor has it that the place used to be an old butcher shop, but I have yet to hear an actual confirmation. A large, beat-up wooden table was parked in one corner, with napkins and more siphon bottles atop that. I later discovered this was a napkin folding station – practical and pretty!

interior decorations

For dinner, my dinner partner and I each enjoyed the 5 Napkin Burger, which is a 10 oz. hunk of custom ground beef, caramelized onions, rosemary aioli and gruyere cheese on a soft white roll. I had some tweaks to mine, substituting raw onions instead of caramelized onions, and adding lettuce, tomatoes, and extra pickles. Essentially, a cheeseburger, on my end. I was a bit hesitant initially, since burgers of that magnitude tend to overwhelm me, and seeing the servers carrying them to other patrons confirmed these burgers were big. For our sides, I got the tater tots, while my partner ordered the Tuscan fries.

Our food came amazingly quick. I don’t think a full ten minutes went by. Even though the food came fast, it was hot and fresh, calming any suspicion that could have arisen. The ground beef paired with the gruyere was delicious, not at all overpowering. The meat was very tender, juicy, and perfectly cooked. I enjoyed my parings with the raw onion, lettuce and pickles. I was not a fan of the rosemary aioli, but my partner thoroughly enjoyed it, saying its flavors perfectly complemented the caramelized onions. Even though the burgers were large, we were both able to finish them, making them a perfect size for a hearty dinner. The sides were amazing as well. It’s always a bummer when you find a solid main dish, only to have disappointing sides to accompany it. The tater tots were a wonderful surprise – after biting into the crispy potato crust, I discovered the insides were filled with velvety soft seasoned mashed potatoes. The contrast in the crispy skin to the soft filling is very enjoyable. My partner’s Tuscan fries did not disappoint either: crispy fries were covered with a mix of garlic, parsley, and grated Parmesan cheese. Another plus -- the fries were covered with the topping all around, not just the top layer.

my order w. tater tots

my partner's order - the 5 Napkin Burger w. Tuscan fries

My one critique about the place would be their pickles. I am a big fan of pickles, especially on burgers, and 5 Napkin’s pickles are of the bread and butter variety, which I am not a fan of.  I also thought it was nice that they let you substitute any side you want for the fries, without an extra charge. They did charge for my extra pickles however, which did not make sense to me since I did not get the caramelized onions with my 5 Napkin Burger. So no swap there. In conclusion, 5 Napkin Astoria is a place I will definitely be returning to again. I dare to say they have the best burgers I have tasted in Astoria (sorry Bareburger) and the sides were equally tasty. The vibe of the restaurant made it one I will frequent often, and the quick service and full bar are added bonuses.