dhs's Profile
woodchips for smoking in Brooklyn/Queens
FWIW, since I started this thread a couple of years ago - I have been using The Woodman. Not the least expensive, but for delivery in the 5 boroughs, they do right by me.
Where to Get Groceries in Kensington?
I drove down McDonald yesterday and there is a new or at least relatively new, larger sized, grocery near Ft Hamilton. I can't speak to it beyond its existence.
Thai Sausage: Are Any House Made?
Not sure about those two, but last time I was in Chao Thai I was told they make their own - both the sour and Esan sausages. I'm a huge fan of sour sausage but don't have the guts to try to make it at home :)
-----
Chao Thai
85-03 Whitney Ave, Queens, NY 11373
Chipp Pizza
I tried it a couple of weeks ago. I was not overly impressed. I did like the sauce. The sauce flavor really tasted bright. Beyond that, I found few notable qualities and the total of the components did not transcend what they were. I do love pizza and finished the whole pie. So, it was not bad. One thought I had was if they were busy, and the oven was humming, things could be different? I was one of two customers at the time.
DeStefano's in Bklyn.
My one and only experience was not positive. I went with a group for a business dinner. Many people went for the hanger steak special, which turned out to be a true hanger steak. Very tough, very irony. Whatever their capabilities with steak, they should have been ashamed to have served those imho. I can't recall what I ate. Completely unremarkable.
Give it a try and report back. I would try again with some positive feedback on what they are good at.
Sik Gaek
I bet you can call to find out. Never had a problem speaking in English to the waiters/staff on a couple of visits to other locations.
Other locations, same restaurant atmosphere/menu. Most recently in Sunnyside:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/716030?tag=search_results;results_list
Goods - Airstream food trailer
If you travel up and down Metropolitan Ave in Williamsburg much, you probably noticed the dilapidated old ice cream stand at the corner Lorimer has been replaced with a gleaming Airstream trailer with a surround built around it. To the side there is a yard where I can see there is outdoor seating but it has not been open when I visit for lunch.
I have been a couple of times now and I love the trailer itself. Airstream is an icon and to see it converted to a kitchen is very cool in my book. For this reason alone I had to stop by and give it a try.
Two meals down and so far I have found the food to less than love. I have had the fried green tomato sandwich and the pulled pork sandwich plus a side of curly fries. I really wanted to love the FGT sandwich. It was well put cooked but lacked in flavor for me and was on the small side. I'd give this another try just because I love the idea. The pulled pork, I would not. It had no redeeming or memorable aspects that would compel me to give it another try. Bland. The curly fries were just plain bad. If you are going to serve fries and charge $3.25, make them fresh.
And that takes me to the over all reaction I am having from Goods. Prices are definitely not commensurate with what you receive in taste, qty, or surroundings/service. I’d gladly pay $6-$7 for an undersized sandwich if it was rocking but do the same for a ho hum sandwich, and it leaves a bad taste.
As an aside - Does anyone know if this is the same trailer as was owned (and maybe still owned?) by the owner(s) of Diner/Marlow & Sons?
Best sandwich outside of Manhattan?
Anicca, great info. Joe's of Avenue U also serves the Sicilian panelle sandwich. The 'especialle' is a heart attack on a bun. They also serve the meat version, vastedda, which used to be lung I believe or maybe spleen. According to my mother, it no longer is that meat because you can't get the cut but it is mysterious meat no doubt ;). For the original poster, John's Deli is about 10 blocks away from Joes of Ave U.
-----
Joe's of Avenue U
287 Avenue U, Brooklyn, NY 11223
John's Deli
6801 5th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11220
Best sandwich outside of Manhattan?
DeFonte's -> best of the old school sandwich shops, in Red Hook. Served these at my wedding reception.
John's Deli -> another old school sandwich shop - on Stillwell Ave on the Gravesend/Bath Beach border
going to throw this in there because it is interesting (and painfully cool/hip) Saltie - this is new school - interesting options, some you would never think of working that do. Saltie is located in Williamsburg.
-----
John's Deli
2033 Stillwell Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11223
Sik Gaek sunnyside has anyone been there?
I believe you are mistaking the old place that occupied that space, also a Korean restaurant, with the new Sik Gaek restaurant that is in there. You would know you are in Sik Gaek almost instantly. It has a young, in your face, sort of approach. From the greeting/good byes being hollered for every entry/exit of a patron, to the waiter’s very comfortable crouching while taking orders, the loud music, plus multiple waiters running to grab plates for delivery to a table as if it were a competition, and more. You may recognize the place from when David Chang and Anthony Bordain visited the Flushing outpost and ate live octopus among other dishes for a No Reservations episode.
-----
Sik Gaek
40-01 149th Pl, Queens, NY 11354
Sik Gaek sunnyside has anyone been there?
Loud atmosphere, featuring fresh seafood, but it is just not very good food. Been to both the one in Flushing and in Sunnyside now and had the same impression of both.
Paulie Gee's Pizza - THE SIZE
One of the areas Paulie Gee sticks with the Neapolitan style of pizza is in the size of the pie.
-----
Paulie Gee's
60 Greenpoint Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222
Places that serve punch
Maybe my last pro tiki post. This really has nothing to do with punches and if you are going to gulp, this won't help. BUT one of the things about strong yet heavy on the crushed ice drinks, especially on warm days, is they can last much longer than a non-iced drink while still maintaining flavor. I'd argue they are designed to do this (to a degree of course), mellow out over time with dilution. Not a tiki drink but the preeminent example of this in my mind is a mint julep. Little more than a shot with some sugar, but with the ice it mellows nicely and the mint comes through.
Places that serve punch
So does 12 seconds mean you can't help but gulp or just not enough liquid? Never been to Painkiller but I have and would pay that price for a good Tiki drink. The good ones are complex and a treat to my taste buds. There are so many and I can't say I like them all or even tried that many. A classic MaiTai is great and I have fallen in love with the Jet Pilot at Dram Bar in Brooklyn. Plus they are much more involved and many times include more difficult to source components than a Martini or Manhattan. The volume of alchohol in MaiTais and several other classic Tiki style drinks will kick your butt for sure if you suck them down too fast. For me, the value is lost when I watch a person make a drink that I could have easily bettered at home and even bought a new bottle of bourbon for the price of a couple of them.
According to their web site, Painkiller does serve a selection of punch bowl drinks.
Best Pizza Margherita in Brooklyn
I have not been to Franny's, but what makes you say it has a heads up? Are they in the same style? I thought they were and also thought Paulie Gee's made a pretty darn good pie. Might have to make the time to get to Franny's ASAp.
thanks
-----
Paulie Gee's
60 Greenpoint Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222
Best Price on Parmigiano Reggiano in Brooklyn (or any outer borough)
try calling a few places. It is a favorite sale item for many italian shops, here is possible list to try:
Collucio (718) 436-6700
Pastosa (718) 236-9615 (multiple locations)
Meats Supreme 718-372-4555 (multiple locations)
Bari Pork Store (718) 372-6405 (multiple locations)
Fairway is a great suggestion as well
and there are plenty of others
-----
Bari Pork Store
158 Ave U, Brooklyn, NY 11223
Scarpetta - a bit of a let down
My wife and I went to Scarpetta this past weekend. It was our first dinner there.
We had high expectations. Maybe that was the problem. Nothing really wowed us. We did two raw fish starter dishes, one yellow tail one fluke. Yellow tail was better of the two but not very remarkable. We then had one of their signature dishes, the polenta. This was the best dish of the evening. It was quite tasty and well executed. I liked that you could taste the mushroom reduction separate from the polenta and vice versa. For pastas, a weakness for my wife and the main reason I had choosen Scarpetta for a special dinner, we went for another signature dish, the spaghetti wth tomatoes and basil. We also did one of the specials, a ravioli of short rib with brown butter. Spaghetti was the better of the two dishes but it turned out to be very similar to a family recipe and quite possibly, not as good. In hind sight maybe we should have gone for a more exotic pasta choice as our second pick. For a main we split the halibut wrapped in lardo. Maybe the biggest disappointment. I don't really recall the flavors of this dish.
The bread basket was another item I had looked forward to being a home baker. I was not impressed. It was a hot and humid day and the crust showed it, but from some of the comments on here I was thinking something more along the lines of bread we had experienced at Bouley or EMP. Instead it was more along the lines of neighborhood Italian bakery bread I can pick up at any number of places in the city, sliced.
Maybe the saving grace was there did seem to be a good amount of value. Everything seemed reasonably priced and the portions were of a good size. Still I would have given up on some qty for a bit of WOW. Not sure if I will go back.
-----
Scarpetta
355 West 14th Street, New York, NY 10014
Pies 'n' Thighs recs?
I have not gone past the chicken box. I think their fried chicken pretty much rocks. The pulled pork is just ok, i wouldn't pass it up if it were in front of me unless there was fried chicken behind it!
PECTOPAH Uzbeki in Bath Beach
I don't think this place is kosher. It is open 11am-11pm 7 days a week per the menu.
PECTOPAH Uzbeki in Bath Beach
Does anyone know how can you get the chow board image upload to allow for image large enough to read. this and the last menu i posted are both 11x17 and will never be readable at the low res they are chopped to?
PECTOPAH Uzbeki in Bath Beach
Went to another newish place last night on 86th street in Bath Beach last night. PECTOPAH is an Uzbeki place along the lines of Cheburechnaya. I'd say it topped Cheburechnaya in quality of the grilled meats we tried. (Cheburechnaya is my only other experience with Uzbeki food). The bread was not as good but the meats and the tomato and cucumber salads made up for it. We also tried an order of large steamed dumplings which were, well large, and filled with a meat mixture. No sauce was included. I am not sure if that was an oversight or not. They were still pretty tasty.
Here is the menu, definitely worth investigating if you are looking to get your meat on in the area. If you look at the menu, you will see there are a lot of non-grill items too available.
PECTOPAH
2170 86th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11214
718-373-9393
-----
Cheburechnaya
518 Neptune Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11224
Luck Grand Hunan in Bath Beach
The descriptions of dishes in the below linked Outerboroughs post had me thinking about what else I should try. Similar to what is mentioned in the linked post, all the other dinners had the fish head with diced peppers on it, so that is a definite to try. I took a moment and scanned the menu.
Luck Grand Hunan in Bath Beach
I went last night to a new place that opened in the last year on the same stretch that Pho Hoai 86 is at in Bath Beach Brooklyn.
The place only had 3 tables of customers and was not too busy so I was not overly optimistic. I am glad we did go in though. It was a very memorable meal and has me thinking about all the other gems that must exist on the menu that I have to try (not really up on Hunan cuisine).
We started out with Beef Tendon - which comes in a spicy oil. I had this before at other restaurants but this one was extra good because the tendon pieces were larger and there was a lot of cilantro included. We also had the cucumber with hot sauce. Again I had similar elsewhere but this was excellent with just a hint of vinegar and both dishes being cold were a nice way to start of the meal.
For soup we had Chinese Yam and Backbone soup. This was one of two dishes another table was having and somewhere in requesting the dish from our waiter there was confusion and we wound up with this (the dish I had wanted was the other one that was bright red from the pepper component). It was a happy accident. There was plenty of heat in other dishes during the meal and this was a bit of a palate cleanser/heat extinguisher. The flavor reminded me of congee from carts at dim sum places but it is pork based and there is no rice. Yams are maybe Daikon or one of the hundreds of root vegetables I probably don't know about but it was not starchy or yam like. A very tasty soup. I just had it again for breakfast.
We then had two main dishes. Cumin Mutton was the first to arrive. I ordered this thinking that I really did not know much about Hunan food but by name it reminded me of the bing at Xian Famous Foods out in Flushing. I was hoping it would not be as strong in the cumin department and it was not. This was the standout dish for me. There is lots of heat with three or four different peppers both dried and fresh in the dish. The cumin flavor was not over powering plus a ton of cilantro in there again. It is just a wonderful melding of flavors with a slight finish of the lamb taste.YUM!
The last dish was one our server recommended as we stared blankly at the menu (this was after we convinced her we were ok no ordering from the 'Chinese American Selections' on on the last page of the menu). The dish is called Scorched Rice with Squid and comprised of what I think is a patty of deep fried rice cake (sort of like puffed rice) topped with a large amount of squid and wood ear mushrooms, scallions and ginger, topped with a wonderful gingery white sauce. A hit. The texture and absorbency of the rice cake was especially pleasant.
From their menu:
Lucky Grand Hunan
2347 86th Street, Brooklyn NY 11214
Phone: 718-373-0068
-----
Pho Hoai 86
2171 86th St, Brooklyn, NY 11214
Things I love about Brooklyn
Haven't been but it is worth to mentioning the proximity to Totonno's. It is basically across the street! I will definately make a stop there next time I go for a pie. Thanks
Cocktails good for pitchers, BBQ
I would recommend a Bourbon Smash or Mint Julep. Julep is not quite as refreshing but they are both great summer drinks.
If I were to do this in large qtys, I do a lot of prep before hand. Rather than mash/macerate the smash, make that a prep step of mint simple syrup and juicing lemons. Ditto with the julep. Mint as a garnish but rely on mint simple syrup for flavor to allow for quick assembly.
You can use crushed ice with one or both to allow your guests to drink for longer per glass (ice melts, more to drink). It is amazing how long a Mint Julep can be sippable while it is melting away.
When working with such large qty's you may do well to keep the in a chilled state rather than mixing in ice till serving.
Best Raw Bars
Brooklyn Fish Camp in PSlope is one option in Brooklyn that pops to mind.
I'd say you are better off going to Manhattan for this request though. Mermaid Inn has a very nice tower at their newer location in the village, City Hall steak house does a good one too (underated imho). Grand Central Oyster Bar is not all that special feeling/looking but their raw clams/oysters are always top notch (stray beyond them at your own risk). Plus lots more options/opinions if you ask on the manhattan board.
-----
Brooklyn Fish Camp
162 5th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217
Authentic Mexican in Brooklyn or Queens
I really like Tacontento near Junction Blvd on Roosevelt Blvd in Jackson Heights. They do tacos without the guacamole if you have a preference. Go on a weekend or late at night when they are busy and the Al Pastor is on the spit.
You could (and some have) spend all day walking Roosevelt hitting just taco places both brick and mortar and carts/trucks along the road.
-----
Tacontento
96-15 Roosevelt Ave, Queens, NY 11368
Interesting breakfast options in Sunnyside, Woodside, JH or Elmhurst?
My wife and I were eyeing those last night on the menu. A couple of the breakfasts looked really good. I think we are done with Coatzingo for dinner (never was impressed) but will try it for breakfast.
Paulie Gee's - New pizza in Greenpoint
Have been back, meant to post an update. Both my wife and I noticed there was a marked improvement in dough flavor. Still significant char (more than last time), maybe a little more than i would have liked this time but I have a feeling it may be a mark of their style. Pies were slow to come out, same as the first time. Gave us some pause time to talk and take in the atmosphere while I was watching the pizzas being made.
Loved the rooftop pie with marianted kale and the arugula/prosciutto/parmesean and lemon was just lovely again. Tried the arugula salad and it was very subtly dressed but delicious in its simplicity (orange/onion salad was not on the list). Paulie Gee's place is definately in the upper echelon of pie joints and I look forward to going again.
-----
Paulie Gee's
60 Greenpoint Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222
Banh Mi or Not Banh Mi that is the question?
Yes still around and a choice if you are in the EV, but not as good as others in this discussion. But still a yummy post drinking snack for sure.
