Hot Bamn!
It's 5 am. You've just wandered from the far east side of Alphabet City, in search of pizza, a hot sandwich, SOMETHING that isn't deli chips. But everything is closed!
Wander no more! Hot food awaits at the corner of St. Marks and 2nd Avenue in the East Village. Formerly the most "punk rock" street in New York, St. Marks has recently morphed into an unofficial Little Japan. Closed is the punk venue Coney Island High, replaced with sushi bars, noodle houses and a giant karaoke venue. A few punks still linger, but are now intermingled with Japanese fashionistas, underaged NYU kids and the irish pub crowd. And they're all hungry! Enter, Bamn automat! It's cute. It's pink. It's cheap... and better than prepackaged deli sanwiches.
Open since August, it's sort of just a giant vending machine with hot foods like chicken fingers, peanut butter and jelly and fries for around $2. It's all made fresh, and you can order extras from the worker at the window.
The idea of the vending machine set up is so you can get some cheap eats quickly in a New York minute. I'm a sucker for kitschy stuff like this- sort of futuristic in a 1950's mindset. I've seen automats in Europe, and I know they have them in Japan, but this is the first I've seen in the U.S. of this caliber. Only in New York!
My $2 peanut butter and jelly in a pita was slightly warm, and gooey good!
Bamn!
www.bamnfood.com
37 St. Mark's Place
