Bamn! New Automat on St. Marks

[Gina Suk]

What do you all think of Bamn!, the new automat on St. Marks?

http://bamnfood.com/

Has anyone been down there yet? How is it? Is it worth all the hype?

It's open 24 hours, everything sold in this under $3, menu developed be Kevin Reilly, exec chef of the Water Club. Plan to check it out this weekend myself.

[mpav]

I'm heading out there in a few minutes. I checked in here hoping to see a report. I'll let you know.

[Gina Suk]

I'm heading out there in a few minutes. I checked in here hoping to see a report. I'll let you know.

←

Yes, please do tell. I hear there are many Japanese snack type dishes. It should be quite interesting!

[mpav]

I did go to Bamn! but tried nothing. Sorry; it just didn't look appetizing, and I was too hungry for little snacks, and not hungry enough for snacks and a meal.

I'm sure you've seen the pictures, but here's my snap anyway:

http://peanut-butter-and-bacon.blogspot.com/

[BryanZ]

But it was only like $2. How could you not get something just for bragging rights.

[Daniel]

Went there tonight..Me and my girl were driving around the city tonight.. We were in the area and decided to pop in..

There was a bunch of people.. Mostly just looking at the items..

Went to the change machine:

The give you dollar coins:

Two dollar fried mac and cheese.. It was basic Kraft style..

Two bucks seemed a little much, it was ok..

Two dollar mini burger: Not life changing, but a really quick good burger.

Sorry for the blurry photo.. The burger was right off the grill.. I saw the guy on the other end of the vending slots place my burger in.. All the food looked really fresh and hot..

Thats all I tried tonight.. Its a really fun concept and I see it doing very well with the bar going crowds.. With in 5 seconds you can have a freshly made little burger, or bites, or snacks.. I enjoyed the process very much.. The burger was good the mac and cheese was average.. If I am in the area, I will try other things..

Edited September 1, 2006 by Daniel (log)

[mpav]

But it was only like $2.  How could you not get something just for bragging rights.

←

I'm not that desperate for bragging rights,I guess. The price is right, but when I was there, (6ish) most of the little windows were empty. There were a few burgers, some wings, macs and cheese and those spam things. Plus the little condiment counter was rather a mess. All in all, it wasn't something that cried out "Eat here!"

[ned]

After a delicious and fiery meal at Grand Sichuan the wife and I walked by Bamn. I can't imagine how this place won't be a great success. However I submit that any review made by a person who hasn't smoked a funny cigarette before eating there is going to hopelessly miss the point.

[Daniel]

Haha.. Then please consider my review hitting the point..

Edited September 1, 2006 by Daniel (log)

[Gina Suk]

Haha.. Then please consider my review hitting the point..

←

Absolutely love your detailed photo review, Dan. The mac and cheese looks a little scary. My boy and I will be checking it out tonight. I am excited for the musubi. Yes, spam on rice may sound disgusting, but its a delight to Asians around the world. mmmm Spam

[ulterior epicure]

*LOL* If you were to bring this to the Midwest, you'd get waves of horrified SHOCK... but, to a Japanese person living in Tokyo, Bamn! would be an absolute joke... no variety!!

Gina Suk, I await your report!

[smgarsh]

I went last night and tried the burger ($2) and hotdog ($1).

The burger was actually good. I really enjoyed it.

The hotdog is a typical boiled hotdog wrapped in bun/bread/roll that you find in a chinese bakery. Only good part of the hotdog was that the bun was warm. Otherwise try something else.

[BryanZ]

I think the idea for a mac and cheese croqueta is a good one. Perhaps it would be better if they made them smaller and served them in orders of three or four. The filling doesn't look all that appetizing in this version, but it could definitely work.

[Daniel]

A quick search on the web shows several recipes and places that make deep fried mac and cheese.. I agree a few more bite size pieces or a cheaper price.. The mac and cheese was a poor version..

[Daniel]

Steve Cuozzo ripped this place a new one.. In fact, never before have I seen a reviewer shred a place like this.. Its in the pulse section of the NY Post on page 65..

Titled Crap-o-matic, it only gets worse.. "They are possibly the worste foodstuffs ever offered for human consumption outside a famine zone" "If its mostly vile delicacies...were sold in a deli, they wouldnt draw a fruit fly" "Roast pork buns conceal ghastly pools of pig matter"

He tried a lot more items then I had and actually liked the Mac and Cheese Kroket the best.. If thats the best thing on the menu, this place might be as bad as he says.. I however liked the burger much better then the mac..

Edited September 6, 2006 by Daniel (log)

[H. du Bois]

I guess for $1 or $2 a pop, that's what you get. I really like the idea of this kind of thing, though. It would be great to see someone really pull it off. (Then again, I wish they'd sell whiskey from vending machines like in Tokyo, too).

[Nathan]

ah, the parochialism of NY'ers...

Vino Venue in San Francisco is a wine-serving automat. no whiskey though.

until recently, Amtrak had an automat car on the Chicago to Grand Rapids run. you can't get more midwestern than that.

ditto for the automat drivethrough McDonald's in suburban Illinois, the drivethrough truck stop automat Wendy's....

heck, I recall eating at an automat in Sweden when I was 6 or 7...

of course, there was that "Overheard" column in the Times a while back that referenced a conversation between a young married couple discussing taking a job somewhere else in the U.S. "But we won't have the amenities of NY, things like ATMs!"

Edited September 6, 2006 by Nathan (log)

[Toasted]

I'm sorry that the food is so crappy. I never got to go to an automat but I always wanted to. The history of the original automats is very interesting- there is a book about them on Amazon, sorry, don't have the link. Has anyone else read the book "From the Mixed-up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" oh, by E.L. Konigsburg. Great book and when the kids in the book run away they eat at the automat. Good book for ages 7 to 110.

[Gina Suk]

I finally made a trip out there. I didn't even bother getting anything. The food looked awful and while cheap, not even worth $2. I don't expect this place to last very long.

But, for your viewing pleasure, here are a couple of pics I took:

Spam Musubi

Change Machines

Some of the food offering

For hell of a lot better cheap eats and drinks, head to Kenka, west two doors down. My friends and I got two omu rice dishes, fried mackeral, soba noodles, gyoza, okonomiyaki (japanese pancake), and a big bottle of unfiltered sake (milky and delicious) for $20 per person, incl tax and tip.

Kenka

Edited September 11, 2006 by Gina Suk (log)

[BryanZ]

After several drinks and some poutine at Pommes Frites, I found myself staring at Bamn!. I quickly procured the requisite $1 coins and put myself at the mercy of the glowing wall of food. In general, this place is pretty awful. Even in far from sober state I couldn't manage more than one bite of the lobster (yes, lobster) mac-and-cheese croquet. It was as bad as you might imagine. The burger I tired was actually decent, but I'll take a couple sliders from White Castle as my cheap burger of choice any day.