First Taste: Newark Double & Chocolate Truffles at St. Anselm in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Date May 10, 2010

St. Anselm's Newark Double - NYCFoodGuy.com

Like a baseball scout keeping tabs on an up-and-coming prospect, I’ve become a fried food scout.  I first read about St. Anselm’s Newark Double in August 2009 and I’ve been craving it ever since.  Much more than just another New Jersey sandwich overstuffed with fried food, this bad boy features two deep fried, custom made Karl Ehmer hot dogs, cornmeal-dusted fried onion and red pepper and French fries double fried in beef tallow (beef fat) vegetable oil all inside pizza bread from nearby Napoli Bakery.  The dogs are spicy and flecked with visible Chile flakes.  The onion and pepper are paper-thin.  And the fries, cooked in the fat that made McDonald’s fries so delicious before 1990, are perfectly crisp outside and creamy inside (Note: Upon the Newark Dog’s debut, the fries were cooked in beef fat but that was outlawed by New York City’s Trans Fat laws).  It’s an intimidating sandwich.  I spent a few minutes holding it and repositioning before abandoning any eating strategy and just diving in, onion, pepper and French fries falling like a fried food avalanche. The toasted pizza bread is appropriately hearty to support the weight of its filling whether dry or doused in one of St. Anselm’s three housemade sauces.  Sweet and spicy mustard was my favorite over thin ketchup and  a spicy, smokey ketchup-based BBQ sauce.  Eaten in neighboring sister bar Spuyten Duyvil’s outdoor backyard, this sandwich is a beer-drinking man’s best friend.  And as far as cementing my legacy as fried food scout, like David Wright or Derek Jeter, the Newark Double is the franchise player.

Ready for dessert? Read on for chocolate truffles…

St. Anselm's Chocolate Truffles - NYCFoodGuy.com

“We’ve already killed you with the deep fryer, no need to do it with dessert,” said St. Anselm chef Al Bacchiochi as he offered me a plate of two chocolate truffles.  They’re made by Bacchiochi’s wife, a former pastry chef at the Austrian restaurant Wallse, and they’re excellent.  A thin dark chocolate shell provides a surprising yet welcome coating to the rich ganache filling subtly flavored with Grand Marnier liqueur.  The chocolate is Cacao Barry 64% extra-bitter Guayaquil, from Ecuador, and it provides an intense yet elegant end to a hearty meal.

St. Anselm 355 Metropolitan Ave at Havemeyer St, Brooklyn NY 11211 718-384-5054

15 Responses to “First Taste: Newark Double & Chocolate Truffles at St. Anselm in Williamsburg, Brooklyn”

  1. Mona said:

    You need to submit that photo to http://www.thisiswhyyourfat.com.

  2. Mona said:

    sorry- missed an “e”: http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/

  3. Lil NYC Food Guy said:

    I need that sandwich right now

  4. Dougie boy said:

    Is there really such a thing?! My life search just ended

  5. lauren said:

    HOW MUCH $? The posts are becoming less informative and seem to just be a product of you having a camera when you go out to eat in your neighborhood. Brooklyn again? Come on..

  6. go home said:

    lauren…nobody likes you, and you’re ugly.

  7. NYC Food Guy said:

    Hey Lauren,
    Yes, more Brooklyn! I like eating there. Sorry for no price, it’s $11.
    Here’s a thought, where would you like me to review next and I’ll make it happen?
    This is what I do for you!

  8. ratbuddy said:

    $11 for a couple of hot dogs and some fried stuff? Really???

  9. lauren said:

    “lauren…nobody likes you, and you’re ugly.”

    I will go but it’s not like there are so many readers that you should be telling people off. The bronx pizza post was good one NYCFG.

  10. NYC Food Guy said:

    Lauren,
    For the record, I would never write something so blatantly immature and mean. I’m happy to have you and all the worthwhile contributors who comment on this site. Please know that above all. Thanks for the kind words about the Bronx pizza post.
    Lawrence

  11. go home said:

    lauren, all you do is write mean shit, don’t you have anything better to do with your life than come on food blogs and attempt to belittle bloggers who bring you free reviews every week? if you got a bone to pick with nycfg, send him an email, nobody needs your nonconstructive commentary around here. did i mention you’re still ugly?

  12. Rob said:

    Hey Food Guy…we actually met recently on the 7 train…a few of my friends and I were headed out to the Mets game. After reading some of the posts I read that you would be open to trying another borough….what about Queens..so much diversity..I am sure you will find some great places to eat….my friends and I could actually take you to some of our favorite spots and let you decide.
    Rob

  13. NYC Food Guy said:

    go home,
    Thanks for the support but I have no problem with people speaking their voice here. The same reason I’m happy to hear from Lauren is the same reason I don’t delete your comment which really has nothing to do with food and a lot more to with belittling a legitimate commenter. That being said, I’m happy to have you commenting as well, I welcome your opinion. Hopefully Lauren feels the same way.

  14. Uncle Mark said:

    Good show! I might be the pastry chef’s uncle, but I’ve also had a heart attack and have diabetes. So I can look but better not touch.

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