This Little Piggy Had Roast Beef

Cuisine: Sandwiches
Location(s): 149 1st Ave b/w St Marks Pl & 9th St
Phone #: (212) 253 1500
Method(s): Eat In & Delivery
Price Range: $
Food: A
Value: A
Service/Atmosphere: B
Overall Rating: A-

From the creators of the madhouse that is Artichoke Pizza comes their latest creation: a no-frills sandwich place which, like Artichoke, has only 4-5 items on the menu. Unlike Artichoke, you don't need to deal with waiting in a ridiculously slow moving line that is typically 20 drunk people long.
However, This Little Piggy does share an affliction with Artichoke in that once you place your order you do need to wait about 10 minutes (or more) for your food to come out. This is more understandable at a sandwich place which makes the food fresh than at a pizza place, but I can still foresee this becoming an issue as This Little Piggy becomes more popular and crowded. One important footnote is that they just started delivering ($10 minimum) a few weeks ago, so you can avoid the wait and just sit in your apartment while the food is being made if you so desire. Good call by them to start delivering, since sandwiches are typically a food that still taste good even when delivered.

What I liked
All 3 sandwiches are stellar at This Little Piggy. To start, "This Way" ($4.50) is roast beef with au jus and cheez whiz on a roll. Not only is this sandwich dirt cheap, but it is extremely special as well. The au jus melts its way through the roast beef and into the roll which gives this a "french dip" taste. You can also order the "This Way" on a hero, which tastes even better than it sounds.

"That Way" ($7.50) is roast beef, mozzarella and gravy on a hero. Sounds kinda plain but, believe me, it is anything but. The same succulent, almost melts in your mouth, roast beef is used for "This Way" and "That Way" and it is absolutely the star of the show. If spiciness is your thing then I would recommend loading up "That Way" with Frank's Red Hot and enjoying the incredible flavor blast in every bite.

Last night I tried "The Other Thing" ($7.50) for the first time, which has pastrami, mustard and cole slaw on rye bread. Although it is not their namesake, the pastrami does not disappoint. If I had to compare it to a familiar Jewish deli I would have to choose Katz's (review forthcoming), since their pastrami is also cut relatively thick compared to other places. Like the roast beef, it is extremely succulent and pretty much melts in your mouth. I wouldn't say this is better than a Katz's sandwich (that might be sacrilegious), but I can sleep OK at night knowing that I mentioned these two places in the same sentence.

Lastly, I haven't tried this, but I heard you can order a sandwich called the "F@#k It," which basically contains a mix of all of the ingredients from the other 3 sandwiches. Certainly sounds interesting but try this one at your own peril.

What Could Use Work
I have no complaints about any of the food (especially since I am a fan of places that only make a few things which they are very good at), but my lone complaint is regarding the service. I do realize that it takes some time to make fresh sandwiches, but the 3 or 4 times I've eaten here, the wait has been noticeable. The wait for our delivery was about 45 minutes which isn't too bad, but it was kind of frustrating since they had originally indicated 15 minutes. I realize these are petty gripes but I struggled to think of something for this section since the food is so damn good.

Killed It!
The Beef Stew Fries ($6) are an item that is not on the menu, but I once overheard someone ordering it and I immediately said I had to have it. They layer their delicious beef stew over their extra large steak fries, with some cheese whiz to top of it off. Requires a fork and knife to eat if you want to stay clean, but this combo is incredibly tasty and worth the potentially upset stomach you might feel later.