So this isn't a brunch entry but it is a Brooklyn restaurant that serves brunch so I think it qualifies as brunch blog entry.
reBar is a gastropub located on the main strip in Dumbo - literally underneath the Manhattan Bridge at 147 Front Street between Jay and Pearl. reBar is part bar, part restaurant, part movie theater playing indie and old movies. The last part was a pleasant surprise to us and we'll going back to give it a try in the future. They have a full menu (food and drinks) in the movie theater so it looks like a good time. Now back to reBar as a restaurant. It's dark and gothic looking with metal gates and high backed leather chairs. In the dining area, there are a bunch of small 2 person tables and then 2 very large banquet style tables where you will be sharing table space with your neighbor. The space is dark with candlelight and a good mix of music from Kid Cudi to Adele. A huge beer list - like 3 pages just for bottles and then another page for whats on tap.
The menu is seasonal with both small plates and entree-size portions. I opted to try mainly small plates with a salad for my main while Justin had the entree-size portion along with the small plates. They give you olive bread to start with olive oil. Great bread - the olives were big pieces and the bread was soft and warm. It was a step up from the usual white or sourdough bread that you typically get at restaurants.
We tried 3 small plates: Polenta with an egg, salmon rolls, and buffalo mozzerella served with flatbread crisps. The polenta was a great dish - the fried egg took up a large portion of the bowl with polenta served underneath. The polenta was just the right amount of creamy and flavorful. The salmon rolls were interesting - it's Asian-inspired American cuisine - thin wrapping with salmon served sashami style along with some other vegetables. It was an interesting combination of flavors but they seemingly worked. The buffalo mozzerella ended up being a small bowl of fried cheese which was just too cheesy. One small bite of it and I knew that we had misordered. So one small plate - delicious, one small plate - good, and one small plate - gross.
My salad was an iceberg wedge with snow peas, preserved lemon, manchego, and pistachio vinaigrette. Mistake - an iceberg wedge is just too much lettuce. The other bits were nice but after I had ate a healthy portion of salad (including lettuce) - I still had tons of lettuce left over. Justin got the lamb which he thought was well-cooked and flavorful. It was interesting cut of meat since it was fatty but the fat made the lamb very tasty so essentially - it was a good piece of lamb. It also came with vegetables that needed salt.
Last we got a strange desert - marjolaine cake. It's no flour but yet it stays together somehow with custard and almonds/nuts. Not sure how to describe it except cold, custardy, and confusing.
I liked reBar but didn't love it. Yet, with an ever changing menu and a movie theater inside, I would return in the summer time to give it another try.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Peaches Hothouse - Bedford-Stuyvesant
From the owners of The Smoke Joint in Fort Greene, Peaches and Peaches HotHouse feature an updated twist on Southern cooking and fried chicken. So in an effort to try and a new neighborhood - we trekked out to Bed Stuy to see how good this fried chicken really was. We opted to try Peaches HotHouse @ 415 Tompkins, the newer, cozier, and slightly cheaper sister to Peaches. The Hothouse is located half way between the Nostrand Avenue & Kingston Throop stops on the A and C or you can take one of a million buses. However none are that close so you will have at least a 5 block walk.
The place itself is small - maybe 10 tables. There's a small bar in back with 4 chairs as well. We got there and were told we'd have about a 10 minute wait. With the NCAA game in the background, we were content to wait....but where? Since there's no space in the restaurant to stand and we didn't want to stare at someone eating their food, we squeezed into the bar area. After about 20 minutes with a good 10 of them including me giving the evil eye to diners who had already paid but were lingering and watching the game - we got a table.
The menu is about a page with Southern classics: fried chicken, salmon, short ribs, and meatloaf. Each come with one side and there are alot of sides to choose from: collard greens, garlic kale, mac & cheese, french fires, bacon creamed corn, etc. There's also a bunch of non-traditional Southern dishes including rice bowl dishes including jambalya and lump crab. The place also features salads and sandwiches for those looking for lighter options. We had a really nice waiter who sat down and introduced himself and gave us food suggestions. First all drinks come in mason jars. I got a fruity coconut rum drink that was delicious, colorful, and also really strong. One was plenty! Also this isn't the sort of place where you get champagne. As our waiter said to a lady who ordered champagne and wanted a flute- "This is the HOTHOUSE, it's going to come in a cup". Suffice to say, she ordered a Coke.
I got the Nashville-style fried chicken because well it's the Hothouse. Also staring at the signs advertising the chicken and watching satisfied diners proved to me that I should get it. For $12, you get three pieces and they are big pieces. It's served on the top of white bread which doesn't really seem to add anything to it. Now a word about the entree: among the best fried chicken I've ever had!! Crispy but not overly crispy. Flakey, flavor-ful, and just darn good. Also liked that I also got to get a side (garlic kale) which was had alot of spice which made it hot and good. We also got mac & cheese and corn with bacon. The mac & cheese was a little bit too cheesy and basically the same that you get at Smoke Joint. The corn with bacon was alright but a bit too much bacon and not enough corn for my liking. Justin got the jambalaya which was a whole bowl of rice, sausage, shrimp, veggies, and some other things all thrown in together. It was good with alot of flavor and spice. Both of us were a fan of this dish and I'd consider getting this dish on my own. Too full for desert even with our waiter's suggestions even though the options did look really good.
Overall this place is worth the trek! Peaches Hothouse features good Southern food at reasonable prices and a welcoming, warm atmosphere. The waitstaff was very helpful and let us sit for awhile after we were done with our meal, which added to our experience. The menu has a wide variety of choices that makes this a place I want to return to.
The place itself is small - maybe 10 tables. There's a small bar in back with 4 chairs as well. We got there and were told we'd have about a 10 minute wait. With the NCAA game in the background, we were content to wait....but where? Since there's no space in the restaurant to stand and we didn't want to stare at someone eating their food, we squeezed into the bar area. After about 20 minutes with a good 10 of them including me giving the evil eye to diners who had already paid but were lingering and watching the game - we got a table.
The menu is about a page with Southern classics: fried chicken, salmon, short ribs, and meatloaf. Each come with one side and there are alot of sides to choose from: collard greens, garlic kale, mac & cheese, french fires, bacon creamed corn, etc. There's also a bunch of non-traditional Southern dishes including rice bowl dishes including jambalya and lump crab. The place also features salads and sandwiches for those looking for lighter options. We had a really nice waiter who sat down and introduced himself and gave us food suggestions. First all drinks come in mason jars. I got a fruity coconut rum drink that was delicious, colorful, and also really strong. One was plenty! Also this isn't the sort of place where you get champagne. As our waiter said to a lady who ordered champagne and wanted a flute- "This is the HOTHOUSE, it's going to come in a cup". Suffice to say, she ordered a Coke.
I got the Nashville-style fried chicken because well it's the Hothouse. Also staring at the signs advertising the chicken and watching satisfied diners proved to me that I should get it. For $12, you get three pieces and they are big pieces. It's served on the top of white bread which doesn't really seem to add anything to it. Now a word about the entree: among the best fried chicken I've ever had!! Crispy but not overly crispy. Flakey, flavor-ful, and just darn good. Also liked that I also got to get a side (garlic kale) which was had alot of spice which made it hot and good. We also got mac & cheese and corn with bacon. The mac & cheese was a little bit too cheesy and basically the same that you get at Smoke Joint. The corn with bacon was alright but a bit too much bacon and not enough corn for my liking. Justin got the jambalaya which was a whole bowl of rice, sausage, shrimp, veggies, and some other things all thrown in together. It was good with alot of flavor and spice. Both of us were a fan of this dish and I'd consider getting this dish on my own. Too full for desert even with our waiter's suggestions even though the options did look really good.
Overall this place is worth the trek! Peaches Hothouse features good Southern food at reasonable prices and a welcoming, warm atmosphere. The waitstaff was very helpful and let us sit for awhile after we were done with our meal, which added to our experience. The menu has a wide variety of choices that makes this a place I want to return to.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Char No. 4 - Carroll Gardens
A favorite cited by a bunch of my friends, I was eager to try the brunch menu at Char No. 4 located on Brooklyn's restaurant row, Smith Street. The place itself has a different look with its black-brown siding than other area restaurants, which intrigued me. The bar area is located in the front of the restaurant so it looks super crowded and almost cramped when you get in. Yet once the host leads you to your table, the place seems to grow in size with a narrow dining room and then a comfortable large back room. The placement itself has dark woods and black painted walls - yet it still feels bright, light and airy.
The menu itself is Southern-inspired with Southern takes on egg and ham dishes. I was torn between ordering shrimp & grits or the house smoked artic char over crispy potato cake with a fried egg and egg remoulade. I decided to go with the artic char as I was interested in what exactly the potato cake would be. The dish itself was a fairly small portion despite its $15 price tag. The char was well cooked and seasoned and I liked the placement of the egg on a fish dish. Yet the rest of the dish was blah. The potato cake turned out to be a typical potato pancake (like the frozen kind you warm up in the oven) and there was an overabundance of sprouts on my plate. There were more sprouts than food. It was the kinda dish that might have worked better had the potato pancake been swapped for a biscuit on the bottom. Perhaps I should have opted for the shrimp and grits? I also got a buttermilk biscuit on the side, served with tasty pumpkin spice jam. Loved the biscuit as it was soft, flakey, and completely delicious.
Justin got a meat two ways sort of dish – the Char No. 4 Biscuits Benedict with house smoked ham, poached eggs & bacon gravy. It was sort of a meat and eggs dish that he seemed to like while I did not. I like the idea of a biscuits benedict but I don’t think it needed that much meat. Coffee was a bit pricey at $3 each which involved us trying to find our waiter for 20 minutes when we needed a refill. While we were seated fairly fast, it took awhile for us to order and then my biscuit came out 10-15 minutes AFTER our dishes came out.
All in all, a good brunch with an interesting and new take on what Southern brunch food can be. However is it really worth $46 for brunch – I don’t think so.
The menu itself is Southern-inspired with Southern takes on egg and ham dishes. I was torn between ordering shrimp & grits or the house smoked artic char over crispy potato cake with a fried egg and egg remoulade. I decided to go with the artic char as I was interested in what exactly the potato cake would be. The dish itself was a fairly small portion despite its $15 price tag. The char was well cooked and seasoned and I liked the placement of the egg on a fish dish. Yet the rest of the dish was blah. The potato cake turned out to be a typical potato pancake (like the frozen kind you warm up in the oven) and there was an overabundance of sprouts on my plate. There were more sprouts than food. It was the kinda dish that might have worked better had the potato pancake been swapped for a biscuit on the bottom. Perhaps I should have opted for the shrimp and grits? I also got a buttermilk biscuit on the side, served with tasty pumpkin spice jam. Loved the biscuit as it was soft, flakey, and completely delicious.
Justin got a meat two ways sort of dish – the Char No. 4 Biscuits Benedict with house smoked ham, poached eggs & bacon gravy. It was sort of a meat and eggs dish that he seemed to like while I did not. I like the idea of a biscuits benedict but I don’t think it needed that much meat. Coffee was a bit pricey at $3 each which involved us trying to find our waiter for 20 minutes when we needed a refill. While we were seated fairly fast, it took awhile for us to order and then my biscuit came out 10-15 minutes AFTER our dishes came out.
All in all, a good brunch with an interesting and new take on what Southern brunch food can be. However is it really worth $46 for brunch – I don’t think so.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Traif - Williamsburg
Many entries to update but first a dinner update. Located near the JMZ and not much else, we journeyed to Traif in the southern part of Williamsburg. A pig on the front door gives you a good idea of what the menu is going to be like even before you walk in.
The decor is similar to many newer restaurants on Smith Street with lots of tables crowded on one side with a long bar on the other. We waited for about 5 minutes before we got a table though the Hostess had told us to anticipate a 20-30 minute wait. We were lucky enough to sit in the enclosed patio in the back of the restaurant with a view of the sky above and a garden behind us. It was cozy and comfortable.
Chef Jason Marcus is a chef well-known in Manhattan and so many people trek to Williamsburg to give this outpost a try. The menu is mainly small plates/tapas style with alot of bacon. Ironically enough, Traif is the Yiddish word for food that is not kosher. Dishes featuring shellfish, bacon, and cheese are decidedly not kosher so Marcus’s clever play on words is appreciated by this blogger.
We had inconsistent service. We waited for about 10 minutes before we were finally able to flag down a waiter. First, we got the bacon-wrapped blue cheese stuffed dates over spinach. This was the dish that food critics had raved about. It was good, not great. The blue cheese sort of overpowers the rest of the dish. You taste cheese and a slight crunch from the bacon - that's it. However, the tuna tartare and broccoli rabe dishes were each excellent - just a perfect dishes. Standout dishes period.
We also got pork belly, clams, and roasted carrots to round out our dishes. These dishes were pretty tasty too. The portions were all fairly small so I'd recommend 5-6 for 2 to split. After a long wait, we finally found our waiter to order desert. We HAD to order the bacon donuts for dessert because....well...bacon donuts, need I say more! They were great and a delicious way to end the meal. However, finding our waiter to get our check was a challenge. After debating where in the restaurant we’d sleep, our waiter emerged with the check.
All in all – Traif is recommended. For a bacon lover, this should be number one on your list. For someone who likes to try different and eclectic combinations of food, this is also a must visit. I’d give the food a 8 as the dishes are fun and unusual combinations but also delicious. I’d forget the bacon-wrapped blue cheese dates and order more tuna and broccoli rabe as they were truly spectacular dishes. Including service, I’d give Traif a 7 as the service was so spotty.
The decor is similar to many newer restaurants on Smith Street with lots of tables crowded on one side with a long bar on the other. We waited for about 5 minutes before we got a table though the Hostess had told us to anticipate a 20-30 minute wait. We were lucky enough to sit in the enclosed patio in the back of the restaurant with a view of the sky above and a garden behind us. It was cozy and comfortable.
Chef Jason Marcus is a chef well-known in Manhattan and so many people trek to Williamsburg to give this outpost a try. The menu is mainly small plates/tapas style with alot of bacon. Ironically enough, Traif is the Yiddish word for food that is not kosher. Dishes featuring shellfish, bacon, and cheese are decidedly not kosher so Marcus’s clever play on words is appreciated by this blogger.
We had inconsistent service. We waited for about 10 minutes before we were finally able to flag down a waiter. First, we got the bacon-wrapped blue cheese stuffed dates over spinach. This was the dish that food critics had raved about. It was good, not great. The blue cheese sort of overpowers the rest of the dish. You taste cheese and a slight crunch from the bacon - that's it. However, the tuna tartare and broccoli rabe dishes were each excellent - just a perfect dishes. Standout dishes period.
We also got pork belly, clams, and roasted carrots to round out our dishes. These dishes were pretty tasty too. The portions were all fairly small so I'd recommend 5-6 for 2 to split. After a long wait, we finally found our waiter to order desert. We HAD to order the bacon donuts for dessert because....well...bacon donuts, need I say more! They were great and a delicious way to end the meal. However, finding our waiter to get our check was a challenge. After debating where in the restaurant we’d sleep, our waiter emerged with the check.
All in all – Traif is recommended. For a bacon lover, this should be number one on your list. For someone who likes to try different and eclectic combinations of food, this is also a must visit. I’d give the food a 8 as the dishes are fun and unusual combinations but also delicious. I’d forget the bacon-wrapped blue cheese dates and order more tuna and broccoli rabe as they were truly spectacular dishes. Including service, I’d give Traif a 7 as the service was so spotty.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Heights Cafe - Brooklyn Heights
After a not-so-successful brunch at Teresa’s next door, we tried Heights Café. We had walked by the place a few times and they have an interesting menu so we decided to give it a try.
Strike of the frozen butter again! Our bread basket came with butter on the side. Like Teresa’s, the butter was completely frozen and unusable for a good 10 minute
s. Note to restaurants on Montague Street – stop serving frozen butter!
I got a Spinach and Feta Cheese Tart with a tomato-asparagus salad and mixed greens. It was very spinach-y (which I loved) and tasted almost a quiche though there were no eggs. I co
uld barely taste the cheese though. It was a nice, healthier brunch for me. Justin got a roast beef – egg sandwich with fries that tasted good (though not great) but he seemed to enjoy it. Neither dish was amazing nor were they unappetizing. The place did have the standard egg/pancake/bacon dishes as well as some healthier options which I liked. It was the sort of place that I’d totally recommend for a group as they have a wide variety of menu options.
Strike of the frozen butter again! Our bread basket came with butter on the side. Like Teresa’s, the butter was completely frozen and unusable for a good 10 minute
s. Note to restaurants on Montague Street – stop serving frozen butter!I got a Spinach and Feta Cheese Tart with a tomato-asparagus salad and mixed greens. It was very spinach-y (which I loved) and tasted almost a quiche though there were no eggs. I co
uld barely taste the cheese though. It was a nice, healthier brunch for me. Justin got a roast beef – egg sandwich with fries that tasted good (though not great) but he seemed to enjoy it. Neither dish was amazing nor were they unappetizing. The place did have the standard egg/pancake/bacon dishes as well as some healthier options which I liked. It was the sort of place that I’d totally recommend for a group as they have a wide variety of menu options.Mesa Grill - Union Square
Mesa Grill is Bobby’s Flay’s signature restaurant located on 5th Avenue near Union Square in Manhattan. The restaurant has opened in a few other locations, including Las Vegas, but this was the first one and has been recommended by a host of people. Since Bobby Flay is now a Food Network personality and a household name, I was curious to try the place that made him famous. Justin had tried the brunch and liked it, so we decided to try it in mid-January.
Onto the experience….
With all the construction on 5th Avenue, we missed the entrance a few times. The place itself is brightly colored with colorful art lining the walls and a large bar area. It felt warm inside because of all the bright décor though not sure if it really reminded me of the southwest. There’s a main level with an upstairs balcony that overlooks the downstairs area and bar prime for people watching. Our table was near the kitchen but still had a good view of the rest of the restaurant. We had a celebrity sighting with Kelsey Grammer (aka Fraser and current divorce drama) sitting in the table next to us with his family.
Onto the food…
The menu is mostly standard brunch faire (eggs, pancakes, etc) but with a southwestern flair. The bread basket had cornbread, muffins, and cakes – a good selection of different grains. They refilled our coffee numerous times and we had very attentive server.
I ordered t
he Cornmeal Crusted Chile Relleno (eggplant and manchego cheese with sweet red pepper sauce and balsamic vinegar) which is one of the signature brunch dishes. The dish was sort of fried which I wasn’t expecting but nonetheless, it was delicious. It was an interesting combination of soft, melted cheese and harder, flavorful eggplant. The presentation was also beautiful.
Justin got the Ranch Style Eggs Tostada. I liked the idea of the dish as it was a fun play on what could be a standard egg dish. I tried a bit and thought it was really good – the crème fraiche was a great addition to the dish. Justin got a side of chorizo which I thought was majorly blah. It was like something you’d get a basic diner.
Mesa Grill has a fun, inventive brunch that is definitely worth a try. Get there early as the place fills up quickly.
Onto the experience….
With all the construction on 5th Avenue, we missed the entrance a few times. The place itself is brightly colored with colorful art lining the walls and a large bar area. It felt warm inside because of all the bright décor though not sure if it really reminded me of the southwest. There’s a main level with an upstairs balcony that overlooks the downstairs area and bar prime for people watching. Our table was near the kitchen but still had a good view of the rest of the restaurant. We had a celebrity sighting with Kelsey Grammer (aka Fraser and current divorce drama) sitting in the table next to us with his family.
Onto the food…
The menu is mostly standard brunch faire (eggs, pancakes, etc) but with a southwestern flair. The bread basket had cornbread, muffins, and cakes – a good selection of different grains. They refilled our coffee numerous times and we had very attentive server.
I ordered t
he Cornmeal Crusted Chile Relleno (eggplant and manchego cheese with sweet red pepper sauce and balsamic vinegar) which is one of the signature brunch dishes. The dish was sort of fried which I wasn’t expecting but nonetheless, it was delicious. It was an interesting combination of soft, melted cheese and harder, flavorful eggplant. The presentation was also beautiful.
Justin got the Ranch Style Eggs Tostada. I liked the idea of the dish as it was a fun play on what could be a standard egg dish. I tried a bit and thought it was really good – the crème fraiche was a great addition to the dish. Justin got a side of chorizo which I thought was majorly blah. It was like something you’d get a basic diner.
Mesa Grill has a fun, inventive brunch that is definitely worth a try. Get there early as the place fills up quickly.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Bubby's - DUMBO
So Justin and I trekked to DUMBO to try out Five Front near Grimaldi's. DUMBO is a Brooklyn neighborhood lacking in public transportation so there was an extensive walk underneath the BQE. Once we got in the general area, we started to scope out the place. We walked in a full circle past the long line of customers at Grimaldi's looking for Five Front. When it was clear that we weren't going to find it - we headed to Bubby's (the other DUMBO restaurant on the Brunch Blog) for brunch instead. We found out later that Five Front has since closed.
This is the second Bubby's with the original location in Tribeca, somewhat close to City Hall. A place that's proximity is what many have said was the only good thing about jury duty. This Bubby's, located at 1 Main Street, is nestled between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges with a great view of both bridges and lower Manhattan. The place is quite large with two floors and an expansive dining room and separate bar area.
The brunch menu is quite large with alot of different and unusual brunch ideas like trout scramble and sourdough pancakes. They served hot, flaky biscuits with butter and jam as we waited for our entrees. The biscuits were delicious but very crumbly. I settled on the Applewood House Smoked Lox Scramble with with cream cheese & scallions, served with toast & homefries or anson mills whole hominy organic carolina grits. I opted for toast and homefries. The dish itself was interestin
g. The cream cheese wasn't as mixed in as it could have been but overall I liked the dish. The scallions gave it an onion-y taste which I liked it. The combo of lox and eggs was great. I only had one piece of bread and a few homefries, as I was stuffed, as they were good but not particularly special.
Justin got one of the specials, a tenderloin florentine, which our waiter said was a good choice. It was usual eggs florentine with the addition of steak which he felt was a perfect addition and raved about the dish throughout the meal. I took a bite but felt that while it was good, eggs and meat should just be left alone.
Bubby's Brooklyn is a great brunch spot with both the standard brunch faire and fresh new takes on brunch. While it's a bit pricey with most entrees running between $14-$21 and $4 coffee - the food is filling and the views are priceless. Plus they also have a photo booth for old fashioned pictures and it's nestled between DUMBO art galleries, bookstores, and bakeries making it a great place to start a Sunday afternoon.
This is the second Bubby's with the original location in Tribeca, somewhat close to City Hall. A place that's proximity is what many have said was the only good thing about jury duty. This Bubby's, located at 1 Main Street, is nestled between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges with a great view of both bridges and lower Manhattan. The place is quite large with two floors and an expansive dining room and separate bar area.
The brunch menu is quite large with alot of different and unusual brunch ideas like trout scramble and sourdough pancakes. They served hot, flaky biscuits with butter and jam as we waited for our entrees. The biscuits were delicious but very crumbly. I settled on the Applewood House Smoked Lox Scramble with with cream cheese & scallions, served with toast & homefries or anson mills whole hominy organic carolina grits. I opted for toast and homefries. The dish itself was interestin
g. The cream cheese wasn't as mixed in as it could have been but overall I liked the dish. The scallions gave it an onion-y taste which I liked it. The combo of lox and eggs was great. I only had one piece of bread and a few homefries, as I was stuffed, as they were good but not particularly special.
Justin got one of the specials, a tenderloin florentine, which our waiter said was a good choice. It was usual eggs florentine with the addition of steak which he felt was a perfect addition and raved about the dish throughout the meal. I took a bite but felt that while it was good, eggs and meat should just be left alone.
Bubby's Brooklyn is a great brunch spot with both the standard brunch faire and fresh new takes on brunch. While it's a bit pricey with most entrees running between $14-$21 and $4 coffee - the food is filling and the views are priceless. Plus they also have a photo booth for old fashioned pictures and it's nestled between DUMBO art galleries, bookstores, and bakeries making it a great place to start a Sunday afternoon.
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