Plate Of The Day

Food Blog

Bamn Automat New York

37 st. mark’s place, New York City. (between 2nd and 3rd ave.)
1-888-400-BAMN open 25 hours!

Have you been down to St Mark’s recently? Strolling past all the punk’d out Japanese noodle and sushi joints is a bright new PINK ‘restaurant’ called Bamn Automat. It’s the return of the nostalgic Automat! On the awning is says Open 25 Hours! – not really sure what that means but if you think about it twice it’s really just about how convenient the store/restaurant is. Automat’s were pretty popular at the begining of the 1900s – the first opening in Philadelphia 1902 and the first in NY in 1912. Outside of Amsterdamn, I don’t know of any other real operating Automats these days. The concept of an Automat is a restaurant space filled with vending machines – you run in, put in your money and take the food out.

The BAMN automat was opened by a few Asian entrepreneurs so it’s understandable that there’s an Asian twist on the food – such as the TeriBurger (teriyaki burger) roasted pork buns (cha xiu bao), Japanese donuts, and Musubi. Bamn Automat also features desserts in addition to your basic staple of burgers, sandwiches, etc. One interesting note is that one of the co-owners is Chef Reilly, Executive Chef of The Water Club, who is responsible for menu development. Prices at the Bamn Automat range from a few dollars for a burger. For drinks or fries, you can ‘interact’ with a human vendor behind the counter. Check it!