Bowery Beef vs This Little Piggy



This Little Piggy's with homemade gravy...or Bowery Beef's with BBQ sauce

Tender roast beef. Makes my mouth waterrrrrrr. Since opening last year, the East Village's This Little Piggy Had Roast Beef has won raves and developed a cult following for it unforgettable roast beef sandwich (not to mention the best pastrami in town). Now newcomer Bowery Beef just entered the scene. Can someone say throwdown?  

THE LOWDOWN

                                      This Little Piggy                         Bowery Beef

Roast Beef                     homemade + hand cut                  homemade + hand cut

House Specialty             housemade gravy                         prepared bbq sauce

Cheese Options             cheez wiz or mozzarella                white American

Onions                           slow roasted au jus                       raw

Bun                                locally baked egg roll or hero          packaged soft roll

Other Sandwiches         outstanding homemade                  coming soon

                                      pastrami

Sides                             homemade macaroni and                no

                                      potato salads, hand cut fries,

                                      coleslaw

Eat-in Dining                  limited counter top                         yes

Delivery                         yes                                               no (but catering offered)

Inside charming Bowery Beef

While both shops offer first-rate roast beef and passion to match, the difference is in the detail. At Bowery Beef, located in the front of Bowery Poetry Club, the staff is certainly affable and energetic, and wants to make sure you’re happy too. Co-owner Ray Lemoine is the first to admit it’s still a work in progress: they ran out of plates on the first day and if you don’t eat roast beef, you're out of luck (although a vegetarian sandwich will soon be on the menu). However, there is no questioning the quality and taste of the hand cut, thinly sliced beef. Expert 'guerilla sandwich maker' Jonny Slice makes sure of it. Each bite melts in your mouth. Soft, squishy roll, piled high with house roasted beef, with or without American cheese and your choice of condiments: BBQ sauce, horseradish and mustard. And raw onions for the hard core.  

This Little Piggy owner Will Gallagher explained that in the six weeks before his shop opened to the public, he and his team were testing and perfecting every menu item. It's clearly paid off. The menu, while small, is well thought out, the seasonings pretty perfect, even the locally made rolls were chosen to have enough heft to hold the gravy. Order your generous, mouth watering sandwich with onions and you get a delicious dollop caramelized in pan juices. Basic sides, including homemade macaroni and potato salads, are nothing but basic. Hand cut fries smothered in homemade, silky gravy are addictive. 

I say go do your own taste test. 

This Little Piggy Had Roast Beef                                     Bowery Beef
149 1st Ave.                                                                  308 Bowery
212 253 1500                                                                 212 260 3300
sandwiches $5.50 - $12.50                                              sandwiches $5-$6