Best of NYC — Lamb Crawl

Every meat has its moment and right now, it’s all about lamb.   April Bloomfield’s just as famous for her lamb burger at The Breslin as she is her beef burger at The Spotted Pig.  Walk into almost any  New York restaurant these days and you’re bound to find a lamb dish on the menu.   Newcomers like Balaboosta in Soho offer tastings of “lamb three ways” or BBQ lamb shoulder & ribs (pictured right) at Fatty Cue in Brooklyn.  We’ve rounded up a few of our favorites…

No. 7 Sub – Braised
lamb sandwich varieties
Address: 1188 Broadway
Phone: (212) 532-1680
No. 7 Sub is anything but your average sandwich shop.  For starters, the chef worked in one of Jean-Georges’ kitchens at Perry Street before opening his own restaurant in Fort Greene.  Now, he’s reinvented the “sub” sandwich (pictured below) in the Ace Hotel.   I’ve had lamb meatloaf, but never stuffed into a hero roll with strawberry pico de gallo, cheddar and a traditional lentil wafer from India called pappadam.  The menu changes frequently, but we’ve seen lamb with peanut butter as well as yogurt and black eyed peas.

Fatty Cue –
Hand-pulled lamb shoulder and lamb ribs
Address: 91 South 6th Street (Brooklyn)
Phone: (718) 599-3090
America loves its low & slow, smoked barbecue.  Lately, we’ve been discovering exotic
grilling from all over the world.  Mostly, we ate bbq chicken, pork ribs and beef brisket, but lamb was always missing from the lineup.   That is, until Zak Pelaccio opened a South East Asian bbq spot called Fatty Cue in Brooklyn.  His imaginative take on a gyro comes with bbq lamb, garlic-infused goat-milk
yogurt and a pita.  As for the finely charred lamb, you’d be hard pressed to find a pit master who’d complain about his technique.  There’s also tasty lamb
ribs brined in white wine and fermented tiny shrimp.

Balaboosta – Lamb three
ways 
Address: 214
Mulberry Street
Phone: (212)966-7366
This new, Nolita spot lives up to its name — Yiddish for “perfect housewife” — with gratifying, Middle Eastern home-cooking.  The menu is rich with terrific lamb offerings, including roasted lamb chops, Swiss chard-wrapped loin or sausage with tzatziki.  Lucky for us, the lamb three ways comes
with all
three.  I wouldn’t overlook the falafel either.  The chef, Einat
Admony, beat Bobby Flay in a falafel throwdown.

The Breslin – Lamb burger
Address: 16 West 29^th Street
Phone: (646) 214-5788
April Bloomfield’s proven herself a talent at cooking everything from seafood to sweetbreads, particularly ground meats.  The Breslin’s lamb burger might be the best in the city right now.  The plush, sourdough roll is the perfect cushion for this exceedingly tender and juicy patty crowned with feta.   You can either add a dollop of cumin mayo or use it as a dip for your thrice-cooked fries.  

Faustina – Roasted lamb loin
Address: 25 Cooper Square
Phone: (212) 475-3400
Scott Conant’s got a lamb of his own at his new restaurant, located inside the Cooper Square Hotel.  This is a beautiful specimen of lamb, perfectly roasted to
a slightly pink medium, so  it’s juicy on the inside, but an exterior so crusty
you could chop, bag and sell lamb chicharrones.  A leek vinaigrette lends it sweetness.

Locanda Verde – Lamb meatball sliders
Address: 377 Greenwich Street
Phone: (212) 925-3797

Andrew Carmellini’s deserve all the attention they’ve been getting since Locanda Verde opened in the Greenwich Hotel.  A year later, we’re still not sick of them.  They’re just too damn delicious to pass over; Lamb meatballs tucked into a parmesan onion bun and slathered with tomato gravy.  The crowning touch is a wisp of caprino cheese & pickled cucumbers.

Xi’an Famous Foods – Cumin lamb burger and cumin lamb salad
Address: 88 East Broadway #106
Phone: 212.786.2068
One of the best lamb burgers in the city is sold from a stall in Chinatown.   One of Chinatown’s best kept secrets, Xi’an Famous Foods produces two, equally thrilling and fiery lamb dishes.   There’s a lamb salad composed of  marvelously tender shreds of meat, mingled with chiles and fresh peppers, and an aggressively spiced  burger on an English muffin-like
roll.  You can try both for less than $10.