Chris C.'s Profile

In theory, Pomme Frites should be an awesome place to grab a quick bite, they specialize in only one food, have gigantic portions and offer way more than the standard ketchup as a means of enjoying your fries. However, when you strip away the massive assortment of Mayonnaise Dipping Sauces and the Belgian style interior design, what your left with is only exceptionally oily steak fries that are a multitude more expensive than what you can get at your average fast food joint.

Here I ordered a large thing of fries alongside some of the signature Pomegranate Teriyaki and Mango Chutney sauces. The order only took about five minutes and they were quick to hand over the fries. The problem with this is that the fries are served in a wonky shaped cone and about a tenth of my order fell off in the process of it simply being handed over to me. While I know it's authentic to serve it this way but the entire process just felt very heavy handed to me, maybe the paper could be larger or less flimsy.

To its credit though, the large fries were pretty much the only thing I ate all day and by the end of it I could hardly even move but I felt this was more of grease and fat overload (from the Mayonnaise) than it was from the food actually being fulfilling or well made. While I was able to finish it (barely), most of the other people around me quit about halfway through. It was probably a better idea, I felt completely trashed after eating it. A small would be more than sufficient.

While all the reviews on Yelp seem to love the Mango Chutney, I wasn't really a big fan. I don't really feel like the sweet taste of Mango really complements mayonnaise much at all let alone when paired with French Fries. Likewise, the Teriyaki Pomegranate sauce came off as a bit strong in the Horse Raddish sense of the word, not necessarily spicy but a bit offensive nonetheless.

My friend defended this place saying that it's the most delicious thing in the world if it is near 1 am and you are drunk after hitting up a few bars but honestly, if you have to be drunk to fully enjoy the food at a place, is that really that high of a standard at all?

I've been here several times and it's definitely a lot better than Thai 101, the current most popular Thai Restaurant for Pratt students. This restaurant is only a few more blocks away and the food is much better. They also do delivery and take-out, if you go to Pratt it's a better idea to do take out because your food will likely be done by the time you arrive immediately after placing your call.

The Thai Iced tea here is a must, same goes for their banana sundae. Apart from that I usually pick up the curry or the Pad Thai here. Both are nothing overtly amazing but their portions are good and it comes pretty fast. With this place I feel the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and it's a great place to grab some food with a few friends.

They recently redid their interior design here and it's a lot more modern. While the flashing lights may be a bit garish, the entire fact that they put some work into making the place seem vaguely presentable puts it above most of the Papyrus-font ridden menus on Myrtle Avenue.

Most freshmen at Pratt go here because they'd sell alcohol to just about anyone with a pulse, likewise they are pretty unashamed of their porno selection here including such magazine hits as Fat Chicks XXXL, All Ass, etc. all of this is conveniently right at eye level for small children. I'm usually pretty liberal on this kind of thing, but seriously, this is one of the seediest shops on Myrtle.

The actual "Candy and Grocery" aspect of this place is pretty lackluster. Their candy selection consists of only a handful of candy bars in the front of the place, you can honestly find a better variety out of a vending machine while their groceries are all stuck together in the back of the place.

The place is open 24 hours, making it a great spot to find rowdy drunk college students and homeless people who'd often greet you straight at the door and ask for cash. The place is run down and messy, I don't think I'd ever want to eat anything they actually sell here.

Maybe it's a good place to go to if you want change for a twenty or something, but otherwise, every single time I'm in here, I feel like I'm in the middle of the post-apocalypse.

Nothing exceptional but a fairly inoffensive if not a bit overpriced sushi joint. There are definitely better sushi spots in Manhattan and I've heard that there is a rotary sushi spot in Brooklyn, however if you are a Pratt student or you live within walking distance of this place, you can certainly do a lot worse.

Usually the best approach for this place is to order a variety of items and then split them up with a bunch of friends. I'm very fond of their Shu Mai and Dragon Rolls but most of their appetizers are pretty good too. If you are on a college budget, the prices of most of the entrees will definitely take you back a bit. The fried ice cream here is also very good and definitely a step-up from the usual overpriced desert nickel-and-diming tactic.

I agree with Katie here, the waiters are pretty bad at knowing when to actually hand over the check but if you go up to the counter they'll listen and get it to you.

The place is very small and pretty much every time I've went there has only been about one table available to sit at. This is probably more because they are the only halfway decent sushi spot in the area (the only other place I can think of is the borderline abysmal Sushi Okdol) than it is anything about their actual quality.

Is it a trashy buffet? No doubt...but it's also kind of a tradition for me. The variety of food is actually pretty good and they even have items like Chicken Nuggets and French Fries which are bound to be hits with picky children.

When it comes to their actual food it's very hit-or-miss. Their General Tso's chicken is incredibly spongy and it only tastes halfway decent if it hasn't been sitting out for more than fifteen minutes. I usually hit up their imitation bacon wrapped crab meat, Teriyaki Chicken sticks and their spare ribs, with a bit of Lo Mein and Fried Rice on the side. Their fried chicken wings are surprisingly good.

You can also get some questionable soft serve ice cream here too, but I believe it's been tailored to be suitable for those who are lactose intolerant. While it looks good, it tastes like some weird pudding half-breed. You can usually cover it up in sprinkles or something to mask the fact that it isn't really ice cream.

The staff here is pretty nice though, they pick up your plates rather quickly and will help you out if you have any issues. The price is a little less than $10 a person, but if you plan accordingly, you can get absolutely trashed here and not want to eat anything else for the rest of the day.

The only place that sells video games that's not like a mile walk away from my college. Before I had Netflix, I'd routinely go here to pick up some of the new release movies and if you picked up the movie between Monday and Wednesday they were even kind enough to throw in a bonus "non-new release" rental, or pretty much anything in the middle of the store. As great as that sounds, it would usually only include titles that were out for about a year or so and by now are probably up on Netflix Streaming or Hulu or something.

For what it's worth though, I did find a few good deals. About a year ago I was able to find Grand Theft Auto IV for $15, which considering how new that game was at that time, was quite a steal and occasionally I'll find little trinkets on their clearance bins, such as some Grindhouse merchandise for 75% off and the strategy guide for Mass Effect for 1 cent. If you come in, and check out their goods often, you should be able to find some pretty good deals.

For the one year I did go here, I did have one issue with them mistaking one of my rentals for never being returned. With their new "no late fee" policy it pretty much means if you don't return the movie in the 7 day window, you'll end up purchasing it at a "used" price which is normally a few bucks higher than what the same movie would be at Best Buy, this is billed to your credit card without any real notice.

While I was able to get it straightened out by going to the brick and mortar store, I was not a big fan of all the passive aggressive phone calls I was receiving. With that in mind, I felt I might as well just join every other college student and just torrent all my movies.

A perfectly adequate Mexican spot ideal for Pratt students with a taste for something slightly more authentic than Taco Bell but still without much else that would set it apart from fast food. For your money, Castro's will give you a LOT of food and their sit down area, especially the outdoor patio int he back is surprisingly good. When paired with it's rather vast menu of Mexican foods, Castro's becomes an excellent place to go to in groups as most of the food is as inoffensive as it can get.

The service is pretty fast and if you are a Pratt student and you order take-out, the chances are the food will be ready for you by the time you leave your dorm room and reach the place. Generally speaking, I'd avoid the Quesadillas, not because they are poor in quality or anything but just for the price tag, you can get a Burrito that rivals the size of your face for only a few dollars more.

If you are looking for authenticity, El Cofre which is only a few more blocks away may be a much better idea but it may also be a bit harder to find with it's indistinct signage. Also the food there may seem a bit dry in comparison to Castro's if you have a fast food defined palette.

Also, it's worth noting if you do not like the nasal sensation of cilantro it may be a good idea to tell the person in the order to hold off on it. Castro's loads their food with this herb and it may be a bit off-putting to some, especially if they don't know where exactly the taste is coming from.

Considering that the fact that the main competition to Castro's, in terms of unhealthy, filling food on the cheap is White Castle and Crown Fried Chicken, Castro's is a surefire bet. Just don't expect anything much better in quality.

While the place not as glitzy or presentable as Forbidden Planet and it can also be a bit pricey, it makes up for it in it's sheer selection and friendly staff. While it's true the place is small, it is densely packed with comic books and if you are solely there to pick up a physical comic book as opposed to embracing comic book culture, the place should be more than adequate.

The best part of the place has to be it's 50 cent bin for comics, there are some amazing horrible ripped up early '90s finds in there. I found this amazing Double Dragon comic book in there which made the trip worth the price of admission aloine.

All in all, The place doesn't do much to negate the musty Comic Book store stereotype The Simpsons but it's not really trying to either. While I wouldn't say this store is worthy of an immediate recommendation but when paired with a visit to Toy Tokyo, it could be a worthy spot to stop by. It just may bore your non-Comic Book Geek friends to pieces.

Without its ultra convenient location this would be just another small, simple and somewhat pricey place to get dumplings. The dumplings here are a bit dry tasting and could seriously use a bit more meat and soup, especially in comparison to the infinitely times more delicious dumplings you can casually find in Chinatown...and they probably would cost half as much.

The place definitely gains points for simplicity, you can count all the menu items on your hand and it definitely doesn't waste any time with meaningless extras. Also, when you factor in the price of a beverage, the value of going here isn't really that much significantly cheaper than most of the other restaurants in the Astor Place area, you might as well just indulge.

It's worth noting that the hot sauce here is especially lip-burningly hot and the soda rang up at around $2.50. If you are trying to eat this on a budget, I'd suggest skipping the hot sauce all together. You will go through a bottle quickly trying to cool down the heat.

Dumpling Man however is a great place to go on impulse if you are with a group of friends that have a taste for dumplings. They serve you relatively quickly and you can certainly do a lot worse, just don't expect anything too special.

Overpriced and under staffed, while the food is actually pretty good; you can wait upwards of 45 minutes just for a turkey sandwich that's only about a few inches in diameter. While it should be hard to argue with any place that has been featured on Travel Channel's Deep Fried Paradise and has been mentioned as one of the hundreds of "crispy culinary confections" by Marc Summers on Food Network's Unwrapped, maybe this place may be worth visiting if money is no object and you want to take home a full turkey, but for 90% of the rest of us, it probably isn't worth your time.