SSPNY Welcomes Wisconsin Cheesemongers to the West Village, for Dairy-licious Options Available at 5oz. Factory on 8th Street!
There's been a slew of casual spots opening in the West Village of late with menus creatively riffing off a single item. Potatopia, for example, on 6th Avenue near Waverly Place, offers spuds in every imaginable guise, with toppings galore. Los Angeles cult-favorite Umami Burger, also on 6th Avenue, has been packing them in since day one, and rightly so: all of the burger varieties here are excellent. Bantam Bagels on Bleecker near 7th Avenue specializes in "mini bagel balls" stuffed with the expected (cream cheese and lox) and the less so (cheddar cheese, bacon, maple syrup). And most recently, on an increasingly bustling stretch of 8th Street, we have the incredibly rich (and quite delicious) Wisconsin cheese melts and frozen custards of 5oz. Factory.
I had dinner at 5oz. Factory the other night and am still kind of full. In a good a way. I mean, my (massive) sandwich and (massive) bowl of custard were terrific, but MAN they do not skimp on the dairy here. Take my "From WI to NY With LOVE" melt. Actually don't take it: get your own. This is a supremely satisfying sandwich with about six pounds of oozing, aged cheddar cheese (white and orange, both with bite); a fat, juicy "PBR-soaked" bratwurst; piles of fennel and horseradish sauerkraut, a generous spurt of mustard, all crammed into a "trencher" which is like a hero roll. It was everything you could hope for in such a beast, and it's only one of about a dozen equally-appealing options on the 5oz Factory menu.
But even if you're not in a grilled-cheese sort of mood (which would be weird, but you never know), you should definitely stop into 5oz. Factory for their toppi. Because this stuff is nuts. So dense (unlike ice cream, there's no air to lighten the load), so rich (due to the egg yolks), so intensely flavored (they use all-natural ingredients), the 5oz. Factory's custard instantly makes my list of best frozen treats in town. There are four flavors now available--chocolate, vanilla, caramel, espresso--with "seasonal specials" to be rotated in (expect pumpkin, candy cane, etc), and all four are terrific. You can get toppings, from fresh fruit fruit and nuts to birthday cake crumbles to gummi bears and M&Ms, but this custard packs such a wallop, I'm not sure that's necessary.
5oz Factory is located on 8th Street bettwen 5th Avenue and MacDougal Street, and is open on Monday through Wednesday from 11:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., on Thursday and Friday from 11:30 to 12:00 midnight, on Saturdays from noon to midnight, and Sundays from noon to 10:00 p.m. For more information and
the complete 5oz. Factory menu, please see here.
