missmasala's Profile
After the Ball Fields
Either Van Brunt or Court St would fit the bill, tho I, too, can't imagine being hungry after the ballfields. If you do Van Brunt/Red Hook, make a quick stop at fairway just because the location is so amazing. Then there's baked, fort defiance, the lobster pound, etc. Red Hook on a sunny saturday sometimes feels like a beach town, which is kind of nice.
Court St has more shops, restaurants, and boutiques than Van Brunt. It also still retains it's Italian flavor, if you're into that. Caputo's fine foods is a great place to stock up on fresh pasta and other things for later. There's also esposito's pork store, with its homemade salamis, and monteleone's bakery (great for cookies) and court pastry (great for filled italian pastries). Luna Rossa and Enoteca both have decent pizza, and Lucali's is nearby, if it's evening and you're wiling to brave the mobs. There are also plenty of trendy/decent places to eat, though on weekend days they tend to be completely mobbed by brunch-starved hipsters and families.
Is the Red Hook Lobster Truck overrated?
I think it depends on where in new england. in some places it's hot buttered lobster and in others it's cold lobster with mayo. But the hot, lavishly buttered hot dog bun (preferably top split) seems to be a constant.
Talde
glad to know an amazing version can still be had there. Now if only we could figure out which version is coming out of the kitchen ahead of time, before ordering.
Where do you eat in Jackson Heights?
I'm a huge Tawa fan too, which is probably obvious, since I have posted a bit about it. Get the chicken kati roll. and the tea. it's definitely my go-to spot in JH these days as well.
Talde
BTW, got takeout tom kha gai from sri the other day and it was just as you've described--button mushrooms, no pieces of lemgrass, galangal, or lime leaves, and, despite many chopped green chilis, short on acid or heat, rendering it far too sweet. This was by far the worst version I have ever had from them.
If this is the new face of tom gha gai at sri, i will be v sad.
Is the another place around with stellar tom kha gai?
brooklyn heights, carrol gardens, cobble hill area pizza crawl
They have canoli at Caputo's? Never knew that. Where do they get the shells and cream from, do you know? i don't think they are equipped to bake themselves. Or are they?
Ramps sitings
in markets or restaurants? saw them at the carroll gardens farmers market this weekend, so am assuming they will be at most of the farmer's markets.
feel like i saw them on a menu recently also, but can't remember where.
brooklyn heights, carrol gardens, cobble hill area pizza crawl
depends on what you want. the lobster tails and other cream filled italian pastries and cannoli are best at court st pastry, but the cookies are better at monteleone's a couple of blocks down court, on the other side of the street. it's next to esposito's, the pork store, which has rice balls, but they are huge and no replacement for joe's, an establishment that is sorely missed around here.
brooklyn heights, carrol gardens, cobble hill area pizza crawl
I like the pizza at Enoteca, but if it was too upscale for you, then Luna Rossa might be as well. Though I think the pies at Luna Rossa are better (marginally) the two places seem very similar to me (believe both owners have connection to Marco Polo restaurant). So if you aren't hitting the far end of court street for any other reason, then you could Enoteca instead of Luna Rossa.
There's also south brooklyn pizza, which does (expensive) slices. Different from the others, but if you're doing a pizza crawl, maybe worth a stop.
Talde
we shared one order for a table of 6. I assume it's meant to be shared, as they brought a large bowl and then smaller bowls to ladle into. Would be big portions for two people, decent for 4 as part of a larger meal. With 6, i definitely wanted more.
Talde
Agreed. That's why I said "Most of the time." 8 times out of 10, it will be excellent, once it will be less than excellent, and once it will be downright mediocre. But even mediocre, it's still better than most of the tom kha gais out there.
Fei Long Hot Pot first time suggestions?
If you mean the stir-fry place, I usually just point to what i want and ask for it spicy. I've only done all-vegetarian there--i like mine with lotus root, fried tofu, potatoes, spinach, mushrooms, snow peas, and napa cabbage. Don't be shy about asking them to put in as much (or as little) of any ingredients that you want.
Talde
Finally made it here, and I have to say, I don't see what all the fuss is about. Was expecting american/european food with asian touches, but found it to be more gussied up asian. Though the best dishes were those that seemed to stay closest to authentic asian versions.
we ordered a lot, not sure i can remember it all.
pretzel dumplings: found these greasy and not that different from regular dumplings. Don't understand the raves for them.
papaya salad (or was it green mango?): good, but not better than in a good thai restaurant.
fried chicken: fine, but not sure the grapes and yogurt sauce did anything for it. Can get better fried chicken elsewhere.
ribs: too sweet.
lobster tom kha gai: hands down my favorite dish of the night. Partly it's because tom kha gai in general is one of my favorite dishes and good renditions are hard to come by in NYC. (sri has the best--most of the time.)
steamed fish stuffed with herbs: also good. fish was fresh and herbs shone through
pad thai: nice tamarind kick but gloppy texture
fried rice was bland but sticky rice was good. corn was no better than i could get from the ballfields in red hook.
dessert was okay, but marred by way too much captain crunch on top. a more measured hand is needed.
all in all, i found the food too sweet and not "different" enough. I guess I would go back for the lobster tom kha gai, but mainly the meal left me wishing I had just gone to queens and eaten real asian food for half the price.
pressure cooker beans vs. stovetop cooked beans
Canned beans are pressure cooked, so if you like the flavor of canned beans, you'll like pressure cooker beans just fine. (tho they are better than canned and don't have to be mushy)
I think it's true that stovetop beans might have a slightly better flavor, but for me this is offset by the fact that i eat beans way more often because of my pressure cooker and not having to plan so far in advance.
Do you keep frozen dumplings in your freezer?
I wish I had room in my freezer for 100 dumplings. That's part of the classic nyc dream (besides the extra room in your apt): the extra freezer where you can stash all the amazing ethnic stuff available and eat like royalty any day of the week.
Walking food tour of Brooklyn?
sunset park is a great choice. here are some other options, copied from the thread gforce links to above. Note that the west indian stuff is in queens, but you travel through brooklyn to get to it.
If you walk across the brooklyn bridge and do the middle eastern stuff on atlantic (and this is a great thing to do) keep going about 10 blocks further down court street and you'll find what's left of the old Carroll Gardens italian neighborhood. Get a lobster tail pastry at court pastry, some coffee at D'amico's, and some house-made soppresata at the pork store.
Bensonhurst has great pasta and pork stores and villabate, a sicilian pastry shop like no other, plus various chinese and other places (the neighborhood has become a real melting pot)
Or take elevated F train ride out to coney island, eat a pizza lunch at totonno's, and then walk down boardwalk to brighton beach and head into brighton beach ave. check out the russian grocery stores and restaurants. Walk up to neptune if you can and visit Georgian Bread, a takeout shop that has great bread, khachapuri, and spreads.
For west indian, head out to liberty ave on the A train (I believe it's the ozone park/lefferts blvd stop,but someone correct me if I'm wrong) and walk down liberty ave, stopping in the trini/guyanese places to eat (I rec singh's roti house). Plus, I beleive there are some bangladeshi/Indian restaurants out there as well, as well as some Indian shopping (think there's a patel bros. an indian grocery store chain, out there)
edited to add: the elevated F train ride to coney island is nice--you'll experience the highest point in the whole subway system and get views of the statue of liberty and the harbor. the train goes up and then down and then up again.
authentic italian in BK
al di la is excellent. definitely worth a try.
people also seem to like locanda vini e olii in clinton hill. I believe it is run by Italians and the menu is very authentic-looking, but I personally haven't made it there yet.
I'm sure there are others, but can't think of any at the moment.
Chicken Kati Roll at Tawa Foods
No, but part of me always wishes I did. I live in brooklyn, but go to JH/Woodside/Elmhurst for a lot of my shopping--and some eating. And hit tawa foods every time, because the potato parathas and chicken parathas are staples for my kids. If I were you, I would be psyched to move nearby.
Don't know that I have any recs for you that haven't been covered on this board. I think the area is a food-shopping mecca--between patel bros, trade fair, the korean grocery, and pacific market (which is the only weak link, as it's shabby) and the smaller thai, filipino, mexican, and himalayan markets, you can almost cook the world shopping there. And the eating out is pretty great, too. I feel like I haven't explored it much lately, because the kids always want to go to tawa, so that's where we end up.
Chicken Kati Roll at Tawa Foods
hmm. been a long time since i had a regular kati roll, but i think these are slightly bigger. good for a small meal or a large snack. If i was really hungry, i could eat two. (but i'm a big eater) I can def always eat two regular kati rolls.
ground beef and pasta dinners besides spaghetti?
Also, if you have farfalle (or small bowties) and ground beef, you can make kasha varnishkes with meat. But you need a box of buckwheat groats. This is a staple of my SO's family. Plain but good.
What is a good site to learn how to cook Indian food properly?
I like this blog, too, and think the recipes are great for beginners, though I don't always like them. But if you're tentative about Indian food, this is a good place to start.
What is a good site to learn how to cook Indian food properly?
No one here is a "show me the curry" fan? love those ladies!
http://showmethecurry.com/
ground beef and pasta dinners besides spaghetti?
How about afghan lasagna? This is a staple of my mom's, and based on some afghan dish, but she simplified it.
Saute ground beef with onions, some coriander and cumin and sliced leeks. Add a little tomato paste and a can of chickpeas. Should be thick, like a pasta meat sauce.
Break some lasagna noodles into irregular pieces (egg lasagna is best, but my mom uses regular), and mix some thick (greek style) yogurt with minced garlic and salt.
Then just layer: noodles, beef, then yogurt. Top all with some chopped cilantro and fresh or dried mint if you have it.
A nice change from italian.
Chicken Kati Roll at Tawa Foods
I know I sound like a shill for this place because I do really like it, but had the chicken kati roll again today here and, I have to say, this is one of the finest sandwiches in the city. I was extremely cold and hungry, so maybe I wasn't as objective as I should have been, but I've had it before and it's always delicious.
There's something about the hand chopped meat, combined with the red onion and peppers on the griddle, all wrapped up in an extremely fresh paratha, that just works. It's one of those sandwiches where less really is more. But be warned that it's nothing like an actual kati roll—it's its own thing, but a delicious one!
Pok Pok Opening?
Drove by today and it looks as if it is ready to open any minute. Anyone know when the projected opening date is? Totally looking forward to being able to walk to excellent thai food for a change. Will be v dejected if it turns out to be bad.
Cafe Glechik on Coney Island Ave.
Have been meaning to try Glechik for years but haven't gotten there. Gonna try soon, though, because cabbage varenikis sounds right up my alley.
I totally love Georgian bread, but have gone a couple of times when they literally haven't had anything but bread (No salads or Khachapori), which can be frustrating if you wanted the other stuff, too.
Went in M&I a few months ago and also noticed that it seemed deserted and poorly stocked. I assumed that it was in a sort of "closing down" phase, so am surprised that it's still open. Does anyone have the story on M&I?
Woodside Cafe dinner (mostly vegetarian)
Sounds like the samay baji at woodside would beat tawa's because i'm pretty sure the poha at tawa comes out of a bag. It looks (and tastes) just like the kind I use, and the first time I had it there, I was surprised because I didn't even know that people ate it without cooking it. I've only ever used it to make a cooked breakfast/snack dish with potatoes.
this place is going on my short list.
Donuts
This captures my take on both doughtnuts and dough. totally found the ones at dough to be too large, too one-note and lacking the essential crisp, fried, sweet thing.
wish i knew where to go for a good cinnamon yeast doughtnut. I'm a yeast doughnut person and the cinnamon ones seem to always be either cake doughtnuts, or a cinnamon roll which is too big and usually not that good.
Woodside Cafe dinner (mostly vegetarian)
Hi,
Thanks for the report. Will have to try this place. Have you tried the samae bhaji at Tawa Nepali Hut? Just wondering how they compare. They seem to come with the same kinds of dishes, including a pickley daikon thing. I love the one at Tawa, so am curious to try this one.
Brooklyn - Gowanus -Park Slope
I ate there once and was so underwhelmed, I never went back. Also didn't like the space--I found it cold.
