Dominic's

"Dominic's"

Location: Corner of Bridge Street and Whitehall, near One Battery Park Plaza. Not far from the Staten Island Ferry terminal.

Cuisine: Italian sausage, Philly cheese steak, hot dog

Date: Tuesday, May 4, 2010 at 11:40am

Grub: Italian Sausage Hero = $7

Review: I'd recently been to Blaue Gans in Tribeca a couple times. So I have high expectations for a sausage, especially when a cart is charging something close to a restaurant price. Dominic's did not meet them. They tasted like supermarket sausages with a strong fennel seed taste. The cooking technique was the biggest shortcoming. The sausages are served luke warm and dry instead of hot and juicy. Dominic's is generous with the onions, which are well-browned and caramelized. The hero roll is one of the better street food baguettes I've had. The sandwich travels well and looks nice at your desk. But every time you take a bite, the sausage and the onions squirm the opposite direction. Not HD's favorite either.

Review: 1 pita (still more edible than many halal trucks)

Jiannetto's Pizza

"Jiannetto's Pizza & Catering"

Cuisine: Italian
Location: Northwest corner of Front and Wall streets. In front of the Starbucks, almost in eye shot of the Wall Street ferry terminal.
Date: Friday, April 9, 2010
Grub: Meatball Parmigiana Hero $7.50
Diners: The weather was drab and there was only one Eastern European in line after met at 11:40. He might have been a tourist.
Review: Jiannetto's pizza truck demonstrates the power of marketing over product. The painted red and white truck is alluring. And there's a real oven inside. But it took forever for the short-order cook to make the sandwich. Too much fussing with foil-covered aluminum containers. The meatballs were bland. The cheese wasn't brown or bubbly. The sauce hadn't simmered long enough and it was so watery that the insides of the bread were soaked and mushy when I returned home. The worst part is that his menu board is out of date. He charged $7.50 for the meatball parm instead of the $6 that was posted. The cook explained it was because he switched to larger hero bread. I asked him how long ago. He said, "Over a month." That being said, HD loved the meatballs and asked for seconds. One sandwich was enough to feed both of us and leave me a third of it for the fridge. (The picture below does not show the chunk I cut off for HD.) While I was waiting for the sub, the cook was friendly and told me the pizza's more popular. He recommended I try the rice balls next time.
Rating: I'd return next month to try some different menu items.