There are two guys in my office that swear by this place. It’s their favorite go-to spot for a quick lunch. I am almost positive that neither of them has been to the Halal guy across the street from Morris King (Edit: Confirmed), but still, this is their favorite place. I understand it; it’s fast, simple, they purport to be relatively healthy, and it’s tasty stuff, novelly presented.
There are TONS of food options around Union Square. I would bound my lunch area within 23rd and 12th, 7th and 3rd and probably not be able to visit every place I wanted to within a year. There are some fantastic, cheap places in this area, and I don’t know if Dogmatic exactly fits into the “Cheap Lunch” category. They sell four grilled asparagus in a bun for $4.75 (Edit: Now it’s $4.95). This is highway robbery. I would feel better about eating here if these dogs were $4 and the Asparagus was $3.50. I understand that it’s organic/free-range, but I don’t feel like paying $4.75 for a hot dog unless I am at a Red Sox game, and even then, the Fenway Frank is a crappy way to spend $4.75.
The manager of Dogmatic is super nice. We love her. She certainly aims to please (Edit: Even though I talked about the price with her and she indicated that the wholesale cost reflected standard markup, I’m not used to a hot dog costing $4.75). Maybe this is because I come in with two guys that constantly fight for the Dogmatic mayorship on Foursquare, but who knows. She had us in to test some new burgers, and the burgers were great, but the bun was terrible. The bun really made the burger taste bad, and since they are not officially launched as of this writing, there may still be hope for these things.
The Lamb Dog with Horseradish Mustard: Stuart had never had the Lamb Dog before I came in with him. Wha-Wha WHAAAAAT? He’d been in here like 20 times and never thought to buy it (Edit: He has since had nothing but lamb dogs). This was the first bite I had when I came in and I knew that there would be nothing better here than the Lamb Dog the second it touched my taste buds. Greasy, spicy … full of that unctuous sheepness you expect with a Merguez sausage (don’t know if this is actually Merguez-style or not). Cut with the horseradish, it was quite nice – might be a little oily with the Truffled Gruyere.
The Turkey with Truffled Gruyere: Hold up mothafucka; you just say Truffled Gruyere? SHEEEEEEEIIIIIIITTTTT. The Turkey with Truffled Gruyere was the chef’s special today and it was awesome – this combo is something you should have when you come here. The turkey sausage isn’t as pleasurable as the lamb sausage, but the combination is impressive, and come on, how are you not going to get something with Truffled Gruyere on it when that’s on the menu?
The Cole Slaw: Meh. Don’t bother unless you’re on a diet. Not special.
The Mac and Cheese: I’m trying to find the words to describe this side order without being disrespectful, but damn, yous a sexy bitch Dogmatic Mac and Cheese. This is the best fast food Mac and Cheese I’ve ever had. Crispy, bread crumbly top. Gooey, sharp cheddariness. Best side here, no question.
The Fries: Not fried french fries, yet surprisingly, I’m not wanting more (after dipping them in a heaping helping of Truffled Gruyere. I’m sure I wouldn’t like them as much with straight ketchup, but I’ve never been one to pooh-pooh baked fries solely for their bake-ed-ness. You can get better fries elsewhere, but if you’ve got a fever, and the only prescription is more french fries, get the mac and cheese. You can get fries somewhere else later.
FTC Disclaimer: I was comped the fries, but only the fries you see there. Do you have to be comped a full order of something to disclaim or what? Just protecting my readers.
Dogmatic
26 E 17th St
New York, 10003
(212) 414-0600
