First Amy leaves, and now it appears that HamDel is undergoing unexplained cosmetic surgery. What will be next? Limited hours with a breathalyzer test at the door? A man can only handle so much change.

We agree buddy. What the hell is going on here?

Bwog’s love for HamDel is no secret, but our long-term relationship with Amy the HamDel Lady certainly surpasses any fling we’ve had with a specially sauced Lewinsky. For that reason, it is with great sorrow that we now report to you that our darling Amy has left HamDel for good. For the past week, we’d been missing Amy’s judge-free service during our 2 am sandwich runs, so this morning, we called the deli to find out where Amy had disappeared to. We’re told that Amy left HamDel a week ago after securing a “better job,” i.e. one that didn’t require her to stay up all night catering to the cravings of drunken college students.

While we can’t say we blame Amy for her choice, HamDel just won’t be the same without her. Join us in our celebration of this most lovely of neighborhood fixtures, and leave your favorite Amy memories in the comments!

HamDel has always been our go-to for a number of collegiate necessities, albeit generally of the comestible variety. Where would we be without our beloved Lewinsky, our oft-craved Stallone? Even when we’ve needed some preemptive ibuprofen to go with our late-night (read: drunken) meal, HamDel has always pulled through. And just when we thought we couldn’t ask for more, HamDel has raised the bar, yet again. We’ve recently discovered that our favorite delicatessen now sells cologne in two titillating varieties: “Sex in the City Men” and “Innocent.” We just had to find out more:

Fellas, pick up one of these babies before your next date

Bwog: Let me ask you, are those two bottles of men’s cologne for sale?
Cashier: [quickly double takes behind his shoulder] Yeah.
Bwog: Well, how much for them?
Cashier: They’re like 10 a piece?
Bwog: Ten dollars each?
Cashier: Yeah, I think that’s right. I would have to ask one of the chefs to make sure.
Bwog: How’d they end up there anyway?
Cashier: To be honest, I really don’t know. I don’t think anyone here does.

HamDel is open 24 hours/day—except on Sundays, when it closes at 9 pm, which has led to much embarrassment as this Bwogger has tried to get NYPDs and Twisters at 2 am on Monday mornings. But tipster Cole Diamond sends in a picture that may point to salvation! HamDel will be open 24/7 during finals season. But it looks like you may have to come in costume on Sunday nights. That or it’s just a Spoonerism!

A sign of things to come.

Bwog noticed this addition to the menu board at HamDel, and we plan to make it our next drunken order at 2 a.m. (read: tonight). Have you tried the Unknown Grilled Combo? Let us know in the comments!

There are many other members of both the Columbia and Morningside communities who make the years here a little more enjoyable. We at Bwog feel they deserve a little time in the spotlight for all their hard work. Today: Amy the HamDel lady

2:00 A.M. on a Saturday night: you’re all but crawling home, you lost your jacket and dignity somewhere and you’re so hungry you could eat a small person. Yet there are two reasons to praise the heavens: 1) Hamilton Deli is open and 2) no matter what sad state you’re in, you will find no judgment in the eyes of Amy (better known as The HamDel Lady) – not even when you order the Godfather Hero…with fries…and gummy bears…and Snapple.

Amy’s real name is Eman, “but nobody calls me that,” she says, “they can’t pronounce it. So it’s just Amy.” As I talk to her, she continues serving customer after customer. Originally from Alexandria, Egypt where she received a diploma in Social Service, she moved to the US nine years ago, after she broke up with her fiancée. She now lives in Queens, and can proudly declare “I take care of myself 100%.”

But she does miss her home. “[In Egypt] even the neighborhood is like family. If you disappear for two days they will knock on your door and ask you if you are okay. That’s the Arabic culture. New York is very lonely.” Read more…

“French fries in a bowl,” circa 2006 The Wikipedia Collection

The smell of old grease wafting from Morningside’s finer college-grade establishments is irresistible in this indecisive weather.  But which one to pick?  The musty, fast-paced oil of HamDel?  The old-fashioned, touristy lard of Tom’s?  Or, the sushi-soba mix of M2M?  In this installment of “The Rest of the Best of,” Bwog analyzes the gluttonous offerings of the area.

Tom’s Restaurant

They’re classic, they’re expected, they’re from your home town.  Tom’s McDonald’s-style fries are a pleasant American yellow, and once you’ve slipped a few into your mouth, it’s an easy, nostalgic ride.  The fries are thin, well-salted, and horrifyingly greasy.  The puddle left at the bottom of the dish at the end of our nutrient-deprived meal is more guilt-inducing than the threat of impending finals. They’re far from gourmet, but you’ve known that taste since you were born, and they’ve been served at diners across America.  Rely on them for a quick, lazy, 3:00 AM fix.

Read more…

It’s after midnight, and you’re tired. While Bwog can’t help you create your own individually tailored regimen of stimulants, we can provide your best nearby source of stimulating drinks to get you through that all-nighter: Morton, JJ’s or Hamdel.

The four drinks: Red Bull, generic coffee, Lipton tea, and Coke or Pepsi all of which have their Columbia constituencies. We’ve outlined below the price of a unit of these brain-enhancing beverages, and, for the caffeine-only stimulants, the bang for your buck in milligrams of caffeine per dollar). This comparison of course ignores other critical factors (steps from Butler, coolness of staff, availability of cookie products, etc.), but it still yields some surprising results.

For non-taurine fans, Hamdel is clearly the way to go, but, shockingly, Morton is actually your best source for Red Bull. Though The Market Basket’s official scoreboard says “Morton Williams: 0, Everyone else: 2,” those whose special tastes for instant soup and taurine are, amazingly, best served right across Broadway.  

- ESN

In the midst all this heart-breaking excitement about John McCain, we were reminded to check in (as we do from time to time) with his daughter Meghan, CC ’07. Today Meghan answered 11 questions for MSNBC, in which she revealed her love for HamDel and her father’s love for Tom’s. Tom’s.

“Q: Your dad is coming to Columbia this week to appear with Barack Obama for a Service Nation event. Since you went to Columbia, where are you looking forward to taking your dad around your old stomping ground?

A: The Hamilton Deli, it’s where I used to eat every meal. I also really love Tom’s. That was my dad’s favorite thing about Columbia — that it was by Tom’s Restaurant. He used to tell everyone, ‘Meghan and I ate at the Seinfeld restaurant!’ He could have taken me to Nobu, but we went to the Seinfeld restaurant (laughs).”

Oh and then she makes some joke about wanting to drink with Obama at the Heights, but Obama not wanting to. In conclusion, none of this will make you feel any better about being denied entrance to The Non-Partisan Service Spectacular of 2008.

Though we previously reported the Death of Off-Campus Flex, we’re here to edit that pronouncement. Kind of. While Hamdel sandwiches remain just out of reach (so close, yet also far!), CCSC President Michelle Diamond just announced that University Hardware is now accepting Flex. 

This way, you can use all the cash you don’t spend on kitchen appliances and housewares to buy all the Hamdel you want.  Everything comes full circle.

Bwog contributor Christopher Morris-Lent recently directed us to www.hamdel.com. We think, if you’re expecting ABC Specials and E-mail Deluxes, you’ll find it amusing.

As we reported yesterday, HamDel decided to stop accepting Flex Points. The secession came as a surprise to CCSC and to the positively Lincolnian Michael Novielli (of Student Auxiliary and Business Services), who stopped by HamDel today to speak with the owner, Nick.

According to Nick, the long lines of students eager for sandwiches and eager to pay with Flex were alienating his “regular customers.” (Though Bwog would have guessed that most “regular customers” are probably students.) Anyway, the long lines and longer wait time defied some basic tenets of economics and somehow equated in a loss of customers/profit, finally driving Nick to oust Flex from HamDel.

Novielli’s full email after the jump.

Read more…

Bwog received startling news from Tipster Casey Johnston who photographed the distressing sign (see right) outside of HamDel. And just three weeks into Off-Campus Flex’s brief flirtation with existence!

Bwog called HamDel, desperate for answers. “Um… I dunno,” answered a HamDel employee when questioned about the disappearance (death?) of Off-Campus Flex. CC ’09 President George Krebs responded first with disbelief (“I went last night and it was working fine. I haven’t heard anything from the administration about the system going down”) and later shock: “weird…..”

However, to HamDel enthusiasts, the news of the deli’s secession from the restaurants-united-in-Flex comes as no surprise. Explains one such HamDel loyalist: “In the last week they’ve been getting progressively (and visibly) more frustrated with the card reading device.  They collectively roll their eyes and sigh deeply and sadly whenever I present them with my ID.”

Responses from HamDel manager (who, according to previously mentioned HamDel employee will “probably be in tomorrow”) and Michael Novielli, Director of Manhattanville Student Outreach forthcoming.

It’s moment you’ve all been waiting for [insert bombastic drum roll] because this spring all of you baby-blue donning lions and lionesses will be able swipe your parents’ money away in a smorgasbord of local vendors.  Because The Powers That Be want to test run the program before they expand to “any/all interested vendors” in Morningside, they asked we the people to vote for the places that we visited most.  And because all of the award shows are  being canceled, Bwog will be giving out the 1st Annual Roaree Awards to the vendors winners of the survey.  Results after the jump. Read more…

In which Bwog generalist Chris “The Frank Bruni of Amsterdam Ave.” Morris-Lent reviews the leftmost column of sandwiches offered by everyone’s favorite surrogate cafeteria, Hamilton Delicatessen (est. 1991).

GODFATHER

Description: With a name suggestive of Al Pacino’s greatest performances and a variety of meats within its buns that would put even the most diversified of Sicilian slaughterers to shame, the Godfather is the ultimate cold-cut Italian-style sandwich.  Ham, salami, and pepperoni explode like a car bomb with flavor, and the two varieties of peppers, sweet and hot, are a nice touch.  The only problem is the excess of balsamic vinegar, enough to dissolve the mothballs in Marlon Brando’s cheeks, which soggifies the bun and overpowers the meats.

Rating: 3.5/5

AMERICANA

Description: The Godfather’s emigrante counterpart, the Americana substitutes the traditional meats of roast beef and turkey for The Godfather’s salami and pepperoni while adopting a more austere mix of veggies and cheese as well.  The liberal drizzling of vinegar ensures that both taste largely the same, but I tired of eating the Americana far faster.

Rating: 2.5/5

Read more…