I’ve been eating at Pancho’s for almost fifteen years and while it’s lost a bit of it’s edge, it always satisfies with sizzling steak fajitas, a seriously diverse 4 or 5 item combo meal and the two dishes featured in this article, the Buffalo chicken fingers ($8.95) and the large Pancho’s salad with grilled chicken ($9.95).

There’s only one proper way to start a meal at Pancho’s, however, and that’s with a few bowls of their free unlimited house-made chips and salsa. While the chunky tomatoes in the salsa have been downgraded from fresh to canned, the hearty salsa is till brimming with cilantro, garlic and chopped onion, providing an authentic flavor I’ve only seen rivaled at Burrito Box, home of my favorite salsa in Manhattan.

If you eat the addictive delicious chips and salsa as quickly as I usually do, the Buffalo chicken fingers should arrive by the time you finish your second helping. Thick, fresh chicken tenders are tossed in a light breading and fried until crisp and golden brown before being dressed in a mild house-made Buffalo sauce. Dipping them in the standard bleu cheese is tasty but by no means necessary, the fingers are that good alone.

The large Pancho’s salad arrives on a massive platter overflowing with chopped iceberg and Romaine lettuce, chopped tomato, cucumber and onion, shredded carrots and shredded cheddar. A massive char-broiled grilled chicken cutlet sits atop the goodness, sliced and covered in a thin layer of caramelized marinade. Ask for some extra Mexican vinaigrette (mix it up with a fork before applying evenly), mix the salad up and you’re in for some serious deliciousness.

Both Pancho’s Border Grill & Kensington Deli are in immediate walking distance of the Great Neck Long Island Railroad station, 30-40 minutes from Manhattan’s Penn Station. Click here for a train schedule to and from Great Neck. Feel free to email NYC Food Guy (Lawrence@nycfoodguy.com) if you have any questions.

Pancho’s Border Grill

Multiple Locations

Gino’s Pizza

Gino’s, a classic Long Island pizza chain, is the first place I ever tried a Grandma slice.  But it’s not nostalgia that keeps me coming back, it’s the consistently delicious pizza.  The thin-crust Grandma pizza receives a dressing of olive oil and chopped garlic before a healthy amount of shredded mozzarella and dollops of hearty, fresh-made marinara sauce are spread over the pie.  The resulting flavor conjures thoughts of a homemade Italian meal and when fresh, it’s one of the best Grandma slices I’ve had.

Other items that deserve attention are the airy Sicilian slice, the classic and cheesy regular slice and the Gino’s salad, a mix of iceberg lettuce, carrots, sweet pimentos, olives, cucumbers and a healthy handful of mozzarella cheese all topped with Gino’s hearty Italian dressing.  Asking for Romaine lettuce over iceberg enhances the salad.  All of these recommendations hold true at the Great Neck and Port Washington branches of Gino’s.

Steiner’s Pastry Shop

Steiner’s Pastry Shop is a relic of the golden age of bakeries, when everything was made on premises by people who thought of dessert making as an existence not a job.  For the last 29 years, Franz Steiner’s breads, cakes, danishes, doughnuts and cookies have been making stomachs happy.

The item I recommend above all is the fresh-baked cinnamon & sugar covered Jelly doughnut ($1.45).  Best when eaten at the beginning of the day, it’s slightly firm exterior reveals yeasty insides brimming with sweet raspberry jelly.  It’s a classic, old school Jelly doughnut.  You can’t go wrong.

For a taste of  buttery crumb cake, go for the mini apple crumb ($3.95), filled with juicy, fresh tasting apples.

The decadent crumbs dissolve with each bite, forming a cinnamon and sugar infused layer of deliciousness around the tender, sweet sliced apples.

If you enjoy the flavor of almond paste, set your sights on the Almond Danish ($2.75) whose lacquered exterior reveals a butery interior.

This airy pastry derives its deliciousness more from the finely-chopped sugar and cinnamon sweetened almonds rolled inside, than it does the drizzle of generic vanilla icing on top.

The Scottish Coffee Cake (Prices vary) differs from any coffee cake I’ve ever had.  The combo of nuts, raisins and coconut provide a textural trip, but the main flavor of this crunchy and chewy creation is just plain “sweet.”

Take a closer look at the sugary sedimentation taking place.  Once the crispy, buttery sugar on top dissolves into each bite, the remaining flavor is coconut.  The raisins don’t provide enough of a tart counter flavor as they should.

The cinnamon danish ($2.75) was the most disappointing of the bunch.  Although it’s cakey yet airy body was sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, it could have used the top layer of crystalization we see crowning the Scottish coffee cake.  Instead the sweetness takes a backseat to the yeasty inner cake.

One More Recommendation in Manhasset

Edison’s Ale House

This sports bar doubles as a respectable grill, serving up quality burgers, decent wings, and salads even mom can enjoy.  It’s an institution in Manhasset and a seat at the bar is an invitation to have a few beers and stay as long as you’d like.

Great Neck is 40 minutes from the city on the LIRR. Learn the essentials at Kensington Deli and Pancho’s after the break.

I’ve been eating at Kensington Kosher Deli for almost 13 years and it has never disappointed. Before I discovered the brisket sandwich, I would always be satisfied with the usual deli fare.

Here’s a Turkey/Pastrami combo on rye which my brother ordered, he likes his pastrami lean.

The meats are all spiced and steamed on premises. Every choice ranging from Corned Beef to Tongue is fresh, moist, and delicious.

Back to the brisket.

Let’s breakdown the deliciousness…

• The beef brisket is moist, fatty and delicious
• The generic beef-stock gravy only enhances the overall gluttonous nature of the sandwich, but adds a textural layer that brings the entire meal up a notch
• The thinly sliced white onions are fried quickly in the deep fryer, taking on nice charred edges while holding onto their onion flavor
• The club roll is thick enough to compensate for the wetness of the gravy while supporting the weight of the brisket, rye bread would not be able to handle this sandwich
• A nice schmear of Russian Dressing on the bottom is highly recommended
• Fries, which must be ordered well done, are an essential complement to any meal at KD, particularly this one

Other great choices at Kensington Kosher Deli…

• Plump, juicy, and fat Hebrew National hot dogs slathered in mustard, ketchup, onions in sauce, and some sauerkraut
• Hearty and crispy potato pancakes
• Famous Knish Nosh Knishes, brought in fresh daily. Ask for your Knish deep fried, it’s potato heaven.
• Pastrami, Corned Beef, Roast Beef, and Turkey are all moist, flavorful and delicious
• Chicken Noodle Soup is hot and full of nice sized piece of chicken and plenty of spiral noodles, carrots, and celery

I’ve been eating at KD for almost 13 years and it has honestly never disappointed. What it lacks in ambiance and atmosphere (the place is about 10 feet wide with a long counter with stools and 5 tables) it makes up for with hearty deli whose authenticity is rivaled only by its deliciousness.

Pancho’s Border Grill is another great food option in Great Neck…

Quality Tex-Mex and house made salsa in a laidback atmosphere provided by the Grateful Dead playing over the speakers. The best appetizer option is the buffalo chicken fingers ($8.95).

While it’s gone downhill over the years, as long as their steak fajitas are sizzling, you can’t go wrong.

They come served with as many tortillas as you need and a side guac, sour cream, cheese, pickled jalapenos, lettuce, tomato, and refried beans. At lunch, you can get all that for just $9.95 ($18.95 at dinner).

The Combo Plater is another good option at lunch ($9.95 with two mains and one side) and dinner ($14.95 with two mains and two sides). I went for Grilled Chicken and Steak Quesadillas, both of which were undercooked and ordinary. The salad however, is delicious, great house vinaigrette.

How to get to Great Neck…

Just a 40 minute trip on the LIRR from Penn Station. You can find out the time tables here.

Once you arrive at the station, both Kensington Deli and Pancho’s are 1 block north of station plaza. Call either place for directions.

Kensington Kosher Deli

Pancho’s Border Grill