The Lowdown
A Transatlantic Boulevardier, Buffalo Chicken Cheesesteaks, Regional Pennsylvania Potato Chips, the Return of The Long Island Bar's Frozen Grasshopper...
Welcome to The Lowdown, a regular Paid Subscriber exclusive featuring what (and where) I’ve recently been eating and drinking.
On today’s The Lowdown…
The Frozen Grasshopper Hops Back Onto the Menu at The Long Island Bar
A Very Special Transatlantic Boulevardier
Catching Up with Matty at Pizzeria 211
My Hands-Down Favorite Chicken Wings
The Bounty of the Potato Chips Aisle in a Pennsylvania Supermarket
Terrific Tacos in the Back Room of a South Slope Mexican Grocery Store
And more!
Eating
Buffalo Chicken Cheesesteak (Cabalar)
501 West Lemon Street, Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17603
You’ll likely notice there’s a number of Lancaster spots in this edition of The Lowdown, “leftovers” from a recent weekend getaway to Pennsylvania.
Whenever I’m in town I always stop by Cabalar for lunch. The incredibly popular butcher and sandwich shop recently moved their location to a much bigger, light-filled, two-story corner building. Their lineup of burgers and sandwiches are all bangers, but I’m pretty obsessed with two of their rotating specials: the Brisket Sandwich and the Buffalo Chicken Cheesesteak. When I DM’ed them earlier in the week to ask for a preview of that weekend’s special they told me it would be a Birria Melt, which I’m sure is terrific, but not what I was hoping for.
I was walking through a mostly residential neighborhood trying to find the new location of Miesse Candies, an old-school chocolatier that’s been in Lancaster County since 1875. I was distracted by the wealth of window cats I kept stumbling upon and stopping to photograph, and turned myself around in circles trying to find the chocolate shop, when, boom, I was suddenly standing across the street from Cabalar.
It was packed inside but orderly. I went with the their Patty Melt, a double-patty affair on crispy gridled sourdough with Cajun mayo and cooper sharp cheese (of course, I asked for no onions) with their excellent beef-tallow fries. I put my bag down to claim a window seat at one of the long communal tables in the warehouse-sized space then went to say hello to my friend Ange, who is a bartender there (she used to work at LUCA).
After a while my pager went off and when I went to the counter to pick up my tray I noticed there was also a rectangular take-out container with “Buffalo” written on it in Sharpie. “Wait. What?” I stammered in genuine surprise. The bearded fellow across the counter smiled. His name was Chase and he is the Operations Manager there. He told me to thank the chef, Chris Meagher, who had clocked me when I came in. (It’s hard to blend in with a thick head of red hair.) I was truly overwhelmed with their generosity and warm welcome back to Lancaster, which is indeed a very special place.
Back at the table, I opened the container to take in that Buffalo Chicken Cheesesteak in all its glory, stuffed with chunks of chopped chicken thigh slicked with Buffalo sauce, a tangy blue cheese dressing, Lawry’s seasoning, and Cooper sharp cheese. That would be going back to Brooklyn with me, and I later enjoyed it while watching the Eagles win that Sunday, as I had to focus on the Patty Melt. It was so rich and filling that I threw in the towel after eating half and wrapped the remainder in foil for a midnight snack. And Cabalar is rocking the Buffalo Chicken Cheesesteak this weekend as a Super Bowl Special (Go Birds!).
Oh, and I finally did find Miesse Candies, and had a great conversation with a very kind and sweet woman named Imane who broke me off with a couple of extra milk chocolate peanut butter melts.
Hand-Tossed Pie (Pizzeria 211)
Southern Market, 100 South Queen Street, Lancaster, Pennsylviania 17603
While I have countless quality pizza options here in Brooklyn and Manhattan I remain pretty obsessed with the whole operation at Pizzeria 211. First opened in the summer of 2022 in Southern Market by Philly transplant and Lancaster native Matt Shultz. During the day he sells slices of hand-tossed round pies and Detroit-style square-pan pizzas, switching over to whole pies for the evening. He frequently sells-out and keeps his many devoted fans updated via Instagram. I missed stopping in last time I was in town so while driving around with Horse Inn chef and co-owner Matt Russell we pulled in to say hello and grab a couple slices. When we rolled up it was just after 3 p.m. and there were just a couple of leftover slices on display, but Matty happily offered to make us a whole pie. I opted for plain while Matt did pepperoni, pineapple, and pickled jalapeños (he did end up dipping into my side for a plain slice). We went into the food court pavilion and posted up at Bar 1888, an airport bar style oasis in the center of the space, for a drink. A bit later Matty rolled up with a takeout box and joined us at the bar. It was easily the best impromptu pizza parties I’ve experienced, and only wish I could order in a Pizzeria 211 pie this Sunday. Thanks, Matty!
