The News….

A few weeks ago my mother told me that a local restaurant called Heights Tavern had closed and Crazy Annie’s had replaced it. Now Heights Tavern was a breath of fresh air to the area when it first opened. The decor was like that of the upper west and east side restaurants of Manhattan. A nice change to most of the dull and out-dated restaurants in the area. They had different food which was of good quality and had outdoor seating, even providing interesting brunch options like corn flake crusted french toast. The quality of food, service and care went down after a while. There would be issues with our servers not caring if we were taken care of. People frequented the restaurant less while my husband and I stopped all together.

To give you a bit of background on this, I live in Washington Heights and lately I have seen an improvement in cuisine and decor. I have not only lived in the area my whole life but also have worked in the area for about a decade so I know a thing or two about the struggle for finding a place to eat. I have also heard the complaints from family, friends and coworkers.

The Replacement…

Well, I was excited for the new restaurant Crazy Annie’s. Excited for what would replace the once bright light in the Heights. I love when new places open up. So many possibilities for menus and decor. Atmosphere is big deal to dining, sometimes just as important as the food. If people don’t like eating somewhere well it kills the chances of that place being successful if they aren’t just a takeout spot.

Food is comforting….

Anyway, I looked up the menu and then my eyes discovered something awesome. Something that I had desired and thought I would never get: a doughnut burger!! I know what you’re thinking….HEAVEN!! As soon as I saw that they had a doughnut burger at Crazy Annie’s i knew that I had to have it. The Kid and I had to go there to try it. It was necessary.

The rest of the menu looked good. Having a menu consisting of comfort food, what could be better? Aside from the goods such as ribs, mac & cheese and street corn; they had something that caught our attention and that was their Flash Bang Suicide Smoked wings that require you to sign a waiver before consuming. So we decided we would go for my birthday dinner, The Kid and I would have together.

Never Fear, psychological understanding is here….

I am going to be honest, even though I love very spicy food, I was nervous because we had to sign a waiver. Then I thought while people claim to like spicy food, they have a low tolerance for it. Much lower than they claim to have. So the waiver is to warn people and basically letting them know that they are eating at their own risk. Should any discomfort arise, they were warned. So my nerves were only based on psychological reasons and the wings won’t be as spicy as they claim. I have been eating spicy food for as long as I can remember because my mother is part Mexican and has grown up eating spicy food. We love it.

Fortunately, my husband also loves really spicy food. We love to try different hot sauces. we even love to watch a YouTube show called Hot Ones on the channel First We Feast which I mentioned on the first post I made. Like i mentioned before, they have interesting content.

Day Of Truth

So two nights after my birthday we go have dinner at Crazy Annie’s for the first time. The outside is visually different from the old establishment. The dark exterior is gone and replaced with a white-wash. After we go in and get immediately seated, I notice the change on the inside. The change was good. Much brighter inside. We looked menu and ordered quickly. The waitress was pleasant and very helpful which was an improvement to the previous waitstaff. Soon enough we had our food; my doughnut burger and fries and The Kid’s suicide wings. The Kid ordered draft beer blah blah  and I had Cider Boys Peach County on draft and it was delightfully refreshing.

I tried some of my fries which were crispy yummy goodness. Very potato-y and soft on the inside with a decent amount of salt. The fries were close to perfection. I took a bite of the burger and instantly loved the combination of the sweet and saltiness. The juiciness of the burger with the american cheese and the sweet doughnut glaze, it was a fun delicious combination. TO be frank, if someone says they don’t approve then you don’t need their awful negativity in your life. Don’t let them dissuade you. Anyway, I was a happy customer. The doughnut, itself, could have been of better quality or fresher but it didn’t hurt the taste at all. The price for the plate was awesome, only $11.00. Tender, juicy doughnut burger and crispy, potato-y fries. Nothing wrong with that. Plus it had two big patties….TWO!! The Kid took a bite and was also very pleased with it. We can see why people gravitate towards a doughnut burger. Crazy Annie’s has a flavorful beef patty that made the dish what it is. A lot of places have sub-par beef burgers which are dry and not very flavorful. Not the case here. This wasn’t as amazing as the Brindle Burger of Brindle Room but it is pretty up there in rank.

Side dish

Well on to the wings which because of them the waitress had to bring out mandatory milk for us. when I asked why, with a laugh, she said she had to. That people need it for the heat from the wings. Well, I bit into one and there was some heat but nothing too crazy that would warrant a waiver. What actually overpowered the heat was the vinegar, to my disappointment. The Kid and I are not a fan of vinegary hot sauces. They don’t tend to be tasty or spicy which was so, in this case. I chose to only have one because the vinegar irritated my tongue and I wanted to finish enjoying my wonderful doughnut burger. The Kid, on the other hand, finished the rest but was also disappointed in the sauce. The waitress was impressed that he finished them and brought over his reward of a free draft beer. The wings were fairly priced factoring in the beer if you finish them which was $14.00 for eight wings.

All in all, we had a good experience at Crazy Annie’s. We ate the wings and had not a drop of milk. My doughnut burger was definitely worth the hype. Just go out and try new things. Try new strange and fun combinations. Sometimes they are the best.