Latest news with #Saverance
Time Out
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Brooklyn is now home to the only Sloppy Joe restaurant in NYC
Do you remember that one skit in 'Portlandia' where artisanal entrepreneurs Bryce Shivers and Lisa Eversman (played by Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein) encouraged that everything can be art if you just put a bird on it? Sam Saverance seems to speak the same language. But instead of birds, his mantra is that any food, if you really try, can be Sloppy Joe, uttering the phrase, 'You can slop anything.' And slop everything he has, as Saverance has opened New York's (and quite possibly, America's) first Sloppy Joe-themed restaurant. Saverance is the mind behind Farley's Sloppy Joe's (439 Marcus Garvey Blvd, Brooklyn), Bed-Stuy's home for everything Sloppy Joe-related. Making its debut in June, the tight, quick-service operation reads like the corner of a 1950s diner with black and white tiles that line the floor and the walls, a handful of red stools inside and tables and chairs outside for sitting and a small window that looks into where the 'magic' all happens. You can most commonly find Saverance living his best lunch lady life in the kitchen, spooning up his version of the sandwich on cafeteria trays. But of course, your most pressing question right now might just be a resounding, 'Why?' Simply put, Saverance was ready for another restaurant he could 'go nuts with.' You see, Saverance is already a well-known figure in the dining scene, who, alongside co-founder Liyuwork Ayalew, has been the driving force behind Bushwick's long-running Bunna Cafe, New York's first vegan Ethiopian restaurant. But as Bunna Cafe stands firmly in its authenticity, being carefully creative in certain parameters, Saverance was ready to go out of the box, using the nostalgic snack/meal as a jumping-off point. 'There's nothing sacred about it,' said Saverance of the sandwich. 'It's a goofy, not the most attractive sandwich. But it has a really great personality, because it hits. ' Tasked with improving on the joe, Saverance tapped his friend and fellow neighbor, chef Fred Hua of Ridgewood's Nhà Mình. After trying his first Sloppy Joe ever, Hua got to work, riffing on the original to try to push the sandwich forward. 'We have a mother sauce, and we apply it to all of our different Joe's,' said Saverance. 'There's a base of a mix of veggies—celery, carrot, onion and garlic—and a couple secret things in there to spice it up a little bit.' What resulted at Farley's is a Sloppy Joe menu, seven sammies deep. The Original Joe is just like you remember it, only better. Wrapped in paper in an attempt to keep you and your clothes scot-free, the orange-tinged sandwich is made heartier with its veggie-forward base, with an underlying hint of mustard and Worcestershire, served on a plush Big Marty's sesame seed roll. Variations on the OG continue with The Cajun Joe, made with a few good shakes of Slap Ya Mama! seasoning and cut up andouille sausages. There's even a meat-free Vegan Joe with Beyond Meat and tamari on a vegan roll. And if you come with a little one who is new to the 'slop' game, you can christen their taste buds with the Jr. Joe served on a slider. Following its company ethos, you can even slop your hot dog, just pick a sauce of your choosing. But Farley's takes this Joe on the road, with takes from around the world. There's the Mekong, a Southeast Asian mash-up with fish sauce, crab meat and coconut. The Cubano Joe tackles the iconic, layered sandwich, albeit in 'slop' form, mixing in ground pork and cubed ham, with Swiss cheese and dill pickles. Saverance maintains that, in a way, every culture has some form of food that 'slops' as customers have already suggested Filipino versions with spam or adobo and Polish alternatives that riff off of goulash. 'We can 'slop' any culture if you try,' said Saverance. 'That's what I love about this venture. To have fun with it, respectfully, but also have a sense of humor with it." And if after reading, you've started to feel just that bit of nostalgia for a Manwich, Farley's is hosting a grand opening party this Sunday, July 27, with a live DJ, new menu items and activities for the kids, so you can get your Sloppy Joe on.
Eater
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Eater
It's Sloppy Joe Time in Brooklyn
It was only a matter of time until Brooklyn got a sloppy joe-themed restaurant. At least that's what Samuel Saverance was thinking as he stewed over his next move. Saverance, who has been a partner in the popular Bushwick Ethiopian restaurant, Bunna Cafe, for more than a decade, decided it was time to right that wrong and open a spot devoted to the cafeteria staple. Places have put sloppy joes on their menu here or there (Superiority Burger has a 'sloppy Dave'), but make it the entire menu? Saverance is betting on your childhood nostalgia at Farley's Sloppy Joes. The business tagline is 'Lunch ladies unite.' 'If you're American, you probably grew up having a sloppy joe in grade school,' says the Texas native. 'I thought it was weird you can't just go into a restaurant and get them; love them or hate them, it's a strong part of American culture.' The sloppy joe has obscured origins, but it's thought the 'loose meat' sandwich — typically made with ground beef on a hamburger bun — was conceptualized in Sioux City, Iowa, by someone named Joe. Similar recipes have appeared in cookbooks under other names as well. But the basic premise was a Great Depression-friendly recipe due to its cheap ingredients, preparation ease, and ability to be made in large batches, doled out. Others say it originated in Havana, Cuba, from a man named José Abeal Otero with a 'Sloppy Joe' nickname. But much like the dish's origins, the Farley's menu also takes a global look and veers away from the schoolyard. And, as Eater proclaimed in a 2021 article, 'At the Post-Pandemic Bacchanalia, We'll Be Serving Sloppy Joes,' the time seems right given the way other comfort foods have been reimagined. Farley's is styled like a retro diner takeout spot, with just a couple of seats and checkerboard flooring. After pop-ups at bars throughout the borough, Farley's is debuting at 439 Marcus Garvey Boulevard, between Macon and MacDonough streets, in Bed-Stuy. It opened its doors earlier this month, with a roll-out of full hours of operation coming in July. (Saverance's partner is Matt Buentello, who's been involved in kitchen operations at Nitehawk Cinema.) There's a classic sloppy joe on the menu — ground beef with ketchup and Worcestershire sauce — on a Martin's potato bun. Their version encapsulates 'the flavors of a sloppy joe, being condiment-heavy, but also has a good amount of veggies, decent ingredients,' putting in more care than a school cafeteria often can. Saverance tapped his friend, Fred Hua, the owner of Nhà Mình — a hybrid Vietnamese cafe inside the music venue Trans Pecos — to consult on Farley's Sloppy Joe development. There are six joes currently ($10 to $12), with more coming in the pipeline. The Mekong uses ground chicken, fish sauce, crab meat, and Thai red curry, and coconut on a brioche bun; there's the Cuban, with ground pork, Swiss cheese, andouille sausage, and shrimp, on a kaiser roll. There's even a vegan one, using ground Beyond Meat and tamari instead of Worcestershire sauce (not vegan); a Joe Jr., a half-sized portion of the original, priced at $4, is fit for kids. Several different chips (like Dirty's Mesquite BBQ) and sodas, like the iconic Cel-Ray, are available for purchase. But the focus here is on the sloppy joe itself. Saverance knows transforming a childhood favorite could furrow some brows: 'The only reason sloppy joes could be considered controversial is because people don't make them very well,' he says. 'It's a chance to branch out from the typecast version.' See More: NYC Restaurant News NYC Restaurant Openings
