Breaking Down the NYC Mayoral Candidates’ Bodega Orders

Only one candidate proved he wasn’t afraid of salt, which matters to me, personally.

By Claire Guinan  |  October 17, 2025 | 4:19pm
Photo: Screenshot
Breaking Down the NYC Mayoral Candidates’ Bodega Orders

The three candidates in New York City’s mayoral race met at Rockefeller Center Thursday night to debate the city’s most urgent issues, like “What’s your bodega order?” and “Will you condemn Hasan Piker?” You know, the stuff that really matters to New Yorkers.

Let’s recap: Since Mayor Eric Adams ended his reelection campaign in September, due to his lack of popularity and growing list of scandals, the remaining candidates are: Zohran Mamdani (D), Curtis Sliwa (R), and Andrew Cuomo (I), who notably lost to Mamdani in the Democratic primary but unfortunately refuses to take no for an answer. Something Sliwa hilariously pointed out during the debate.

Now that we know the cast of characters, let’s return to the real test of NYC leadership: the bodega order. It’s a staple of NYC debates because in this city, your deli order says more about you than any policy platform ever could. In June, Cuomo already caused an uproar when he told the New York Times that his “favorite breakfast sandwich” is a BEC on…an English Muffin. “Then I try to take off the bacon, but I don’t really take off the bacon,” he added. “The bagel I try to stay away from, to keep my girlish figure.” Blasphemous.

If you ask me, if you walk into a Jewish deli and order a BEC, you shouldn’t even be approved for an apartment—let alone elected to office. It’s important that this city has a mayor who understands this. Honestly, I wouldn’t be shocked if each campaign held entire focus groups to perfect their sandwich strategy. Let’s break down their answers.

Curtis Sliwa

“Egg and cheese on a roll,” he told David Ushery—an anchor for NBC 4 New York and one of the debate’s four moderators—adding with his signature Sliwa flair, “No salt, please.”

Safe. Respectable. Evergreen. But “no salt” raises red flags. He either likes his food flavorless or he’s watching his sodium intake. But then again, he’s 71 years old, so both are plausible. (Also, he wasn’t wearing his signature red beret, which was very disorienting.)

I’ll give him an A for Native New Yorker energy, but a C for flavor.

Andrew Cuomo

“Same thing,” he said. “No salt also.”

OK, you can’t just steal what Sliwa said. Be original. But Cuomo’s clearly still reeling after NYC collectively dragged him for the outrageous answer he gave the NYT. Again, an English muffin? That’s got to be the worst possible vehicle for eggs and cheese I could ever fathom. I’m sorry, Andrew, but there’s just no possible way to come back from that. If the sexual harassment allegations and the killing of the elderly in nursing homes during covid didn’t already do you in, the English muffin should.

I give Cuomo one star for lack of originality and then a negative one star for lying about loving English muffins. So he gets zero stars.

Zohran Mamdani

“Egg and cheese on a roll with jalapeños.”

Finally, a little personality! No fear of salt, either, which matters to me, personally. This answer is traditional, but still genuine. The jalapeños show flair and a willingness to spice things up while staying true to a New York tradition.

Mamdani gets a 9/10.

Given Cuomo’s deadpan response and Mamdani’s half-sigh/half-laugh, it’s clear these guys are over the bodega questions. Especially after English Muffin-gate. Fair! They want to move on to the real New York issues, like the Middle East!

Like clockwork, the candidates were asked about Israel’s right to exist and Palestinian statehood. And Cuomo, desperate for footing, demanded to know, “Why wouldn’t [Mamdami] condemn Hamas? Why wouldn’t he condemn Hasan Piker?” Yes, that Hasan Piker, the YouTube streamer.

But Mamdani still managed to outdo Cuomo, both in the polls and with the line, “What I don’t have in experience, I make up for in integrity. And what you don’t have in integrity, you could never make up for in experience.” Mic drop.

But I, for one, still think Sliwa had the line of the night: “I try to avoid yellow cabs. As you know, I was shot in the back of one in 1992 by the Gottis and the Gambinos.” Classic New Yorker.

The candidates will face off again next week, on October 22, hopefully with new questions. Maybe something like, What’s the right way to cut a bagel? Or, Quick! What trains do I take to get from Crown Heights to Yankee Stadium at 11 a.m. on a Sunday? But if this bodega question proved anything, it’s that there’s only really one candidate who’s tough enough to handle a little heat—which, I’d argue, is just what New York needs.

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