Ziggiz: Best Late Night Grease Pit Fries

December 2, 2007

DISCLAIMER: This post was originally written in 2007 and since then Ziggiz has changed their close time to 10PM seven days a week, thereby ending their status as a great late night grease pit.  Prior to this, almost every meal I ate at Ziggiz took place after a night on the town.

Though their sign reads “Burgers, Philly Steaks, Burritos”, Ziggiz, a grease-pit which caters to Baruch students during the day and Murray Hill/Gramercy drinkers late night, is a place the NYC Food Guy craves mainly for their gluttonously large pile of addictive, skin-on, crispy, thin-cut French fries ($1.99).

One order is sometimes not enough, trust me I’ve seen it.

ZIGGIZ is open until 5AM Friday & Saturday & 3AM Sunday-Thursday. now closes at 10PM nightly.

If that’s not enough, it’s great for a few other reasons, the first of which is that it’s a no frills grease pit. It lacks ambience and atmosphere but makes up for it with a no-nonsense attitude towards tasty, affordable food, served quickly and with a smile. It’s the type of place that has everything you’d want after a night on the town, but you can’t decide just what it is you’re craving. This is where NYC Food Guy can help.

At 4AM these fries are the stuff dreams are made of. Crispy but still potatoey. Fried well but not too greasy. Even tastier when salted and dunked in some Heinz or a secret move the NYC Food Guy accidentally created, the Thousand Island dressing dunk.

How did the Thousand Island dressing dunk come about? Well, after exhausting the burger ($5.65 for the Bacon Cheeseburger) (a generic yet large griddled beef patty with your choice of accoutrements on a generic seeded bun, all of which left the NYC Food Guy’s stomach feeling rather tenuous at 4am) and the cheesesteak (Not bad but not great. Greasy as hell. Steak is boring and generic. Pepper and Onion not really grilled enough, didn’t enhance. NYC Food Guy was hurting after one half. If you do get it, don’t get it with Cheese Whiz.), I decided to get a Grilled Chicken sandwich with some lettuce, tomato, and Thousand Island dressing ($4.79) and the rest was history:

The Grilled Chicken has some spices on it, they’re quiet. Ask for it cooked well done otherwise it will come a little on the cooked just enough side and slide all around in the bun. NYC Food Guy likes it because it goes great with the fries and Thousand Island dressing on anything is delicious. It also doesn’t make you regret eating it the next morning.

Here’s a shot of half of a Grilled Chicken Hero ($7.49):

Other recommendations:

> Chicken Tacos ($2.90): These single soft flour tortilla tacos are served with a healthy handful of romaine lettuce, some chopped tomato, and some jack and cheddar cheese. I’d strongly recommend requesting some salsa and sour cream and dousing it in one of the Habanero hot sauces. If you’re hungry you’re good for two of these and fries or a side of their corn chips (not sure of price).  Last time I ate these, they were pretty lackluster, very watery for some reason, definitely didn’t help. Probably won’t get these for a bit.

Look how much hot sauce there is to choose from:

> Chicken Quesadilla ($5.90): This is a hearty quesadilla with chopped pieces of generic grilled chicken inside and a healthy amount of jack and cheddar mixed in. It’s served in a container with a handful of corn chips, but I’d still get fries. BEWARE though, if you don’t tell them otherwise they’ll throw some chopped onion into the mix.

> Home Run Bacon Cheeseburger ($11.65): 4 six ounce burgers on a bun with bacon, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, and Thousand Island Dressing for under 12 bucks? My only question is “what are you waiting for?”

> Chicken Parmigana Cheesesteak ($5.90): Here’s a little modification we did because the steak is so boring, replace steak with grilled chicken and you have the Chicken Parm Cheesesteak. It’s just how it sounds and it’s pretty damn tasty. The actual Pizza Steak with real steak comes with provolone, onions, and marinara, so if that’s not you’re idea of good, make sure you specify you how you like it.

> Chicken Burrito ($6.45): A hefty burrito, probably the size of a standard Chipotle burrito, but packed much tighter with rice, black beans, and jack and cheddar. Corn chips are thrown in there with the burrito. Ask for some pico de gallo, sour cream, salsa, and add some hot sauce to your own liking. Guacamole is very unimpressive and it’s a dollar extra, probably not worth it. The burrito is a belly filler especially with some fries.

> Mozzarella Sticks (4 pieces $3.50, 8 pieces $6.70, 12 pieces $9.90): These are generic mozzarella sticks, you know what to expect. But as long as you get them fresh, they’re pretty damn good mozzarella sticks. If you’re ready to feast, go for the 8 piece and as long as they’re fresh and hot, you’ll thank me. The sauce is lackluster but at the hour you’ll be eating these, it’s the cheese you’re after.

> Buffalo Wings (5 pieces $5.90, 10 pieces $10.90, 15 pieces $15.50): Again, generic wings doused in a mix of Frank’s Red Hot and butter sauce. Ask for them crispy if that’s how you like them. They’re meaty and nothing amazing, but like I’ve said before, after a night of boozing, they’re pretty delicious. I’d probably request some extra wing sauce to dip in on the side.

What to avoid:

> Thin Crust Pizza of any Kind: It’s made in this tiny bootleg oven on pre-made pizza dough shells, it looks like pizza made in a cooking class for 5-year olds. I’ve seen it fresh, I’ve seen it sitting there for a whole night. It never looks good. Alas, I haven’t actually eaten it. But I know pizza and this does not look like a smart move. You’ve been forewarned.

Ziggiz

333 Third Ave., nr. 25th St.

212-683-FOOD (3663)

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