Restaurant experiment: Saul

Saul

140 Smith Street between Bergen Street and Dean Street

Brooklyn, NY 11201

718-935-9844

http://saulrestaurant.com

For my birthday dinner destination, I carefully poured over the list of Michelin-starred restaurants and cross-checked with OpenTable for availabilities and researched the menus online, keeping an eye out for tasting menus.  What was kind of edging itself into the forefront was Saul which kind of flies under the radar since it’s in Brooklyn, Boerum Hill to be exact.  And it’s not flashy or gimmicky.  Matter settled.  Reservation booked, Dave and I headed to Brooklyn.

We almost went into Apartment 138 next door, oops.  Once you step into Saul, you see that it’s not a huge space by all means.  The walls are brick, and some rectangular abstract art paintings decorate one wall, while grass-like plants sprout up on the other side.  I am not an interior decorator and do not know what to call these things.  Interestingly enough, there are fans on the ceiling, which consists of gray patterned tiles.  Background music consisted of slowish songs by Wilco, Radiohead, and others.

The menus were cutely presented, with each one featuring a different photograph.  I only glanced at the appetizers and mains since I was more fixated on the tasting menu, which is its own separate menu.  For some reason, only one is given, and Dave and I had to share it.  But looking at the seven courses, we approved and decided to go for it.  It’s $85 plus an optional $60 wine pairing which we nixed.  The tasting menu courses did all seem to come from the regular menu.

There was plenty of wine to choose from, but the cocktail list didn’t really grab me.  The bartenders, while appearing to serve up a full bar, could not make an amaretto sour.  Hmm.  Dave found his dirty martini made with Tito’s Handmade vodka to be satisfactory.

A runner brought out bread and then an amuse bouche which was a mushroom puree with croutons and truffle oil.  What a warming ramekin on a winter’s day.  There was also warmth brought about by a peppery undertone.  A positive, auspicious start to the meal.

Crudo of Japanese Yellowtail
marinade of citrus extra virgin olive oil, cilantro, peppers

It was like having summer in your mouth, with the lightness, the citrus flavors, the fish.  I requested no cilantro, so the evil herb was thankfully left off my dish.  Wonderful way to start off the meal.

Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi
sugar snap peas, parmesan, prosciutto

Peas made their first appearance.  The gnocchi weren’t as cheesy as you’d expect, but they were pleasing.  The prosciutto was fried up to resemble bacon.  Mmm.

Grilled Spanish Octopus
slow cooked pork belly, grilled scallion, kohlrabi, sriracha chili, honey, lime, sesame

Hmm, what do I remember.  I did believe the octopus to be dandy, and I recall liking the vinaigrette it was in.

There was an odd long lag time between the octopus and the striped bass.  Not sure what was going on there.

Sautéed Striped Bass
spring vegetable ragout, smoky ham hock broth

The veggie soup was comforting and went down easy.  Eating bass at a restaurant named Saul makes me think of Saul Bass who designed the opening titles to Psycho.  I wonder if anyone else thought that.  Cooked fish items tend to not impress me all that much, but I liked this fine.  The white corn in the ragout was delightful.

Foie Gras Terrine
duck confit, brioche, cherry

The superstar of the meal was definitely the foie gras.  Here it was paired with sweet fruit flavors.  Quince, apricot I believe.  I forgot what the runner said.  Brioche on the bottom.  Oh, if only there were more.  I do dig the semi-juxtaposition of liver with fruit.

Roasted Breast & Confit Leg of Squab
potato puree, Brussels sprouts

After the foie gras, the squab was kind of a letdown.  Okay, that’s bit harsh, but it just was not on the same level.  Don’t get me wrong, it was great, but no foie gras.  Yummy mashed potatoes, excuse me, potato puree, and Brussels sprouts.  Peas make another appearance.

Choice of dessert or cheese

For dessert, you were given a choice of cheese or a traditional dessert.  The options hailed from places such as Oregon, Indiana, and France.  Dave initially wanted to get the cheese but decided not to when he learned that you only were served one.  The dessert options included Baked Alaska, panna cotta, bread pudding, apple cherry crumble, pine nut tart, and goat cheese cheesecake.  I was going to choose the goat cheese cheesecake since the Baked Alaska didn’t seem very exciting to me (coffee and vanilla ice cream on dark chocolate cookie), but then I thought, what the hey, the Baked Alaska is Saul’s signature dessert, and I’ve never had such a thing before.  Looking back, the dessert was the weakest dish in the tasting menu, Dave and I both agreed.  The pear sorbet portion of Dave’s goat cheese cheesecake was a revelation.  You could taste the grainy pear bits in the sorbet.  It was like if a pear froze itself and became sorbet.  The Baked Alaska resembled a gooey marshmallow-covered porcupine.  Generally I do not like meringue much so I was in trouble, but the ice cream and cookie portions redeemed it all.  Apparently Saul’s frozen ice cream treat is so famous that there was an episode of Throwdown! with Bobby Flay featuring the Baked Alaska.

The service was maybe not as refined as some restaurants I’ve been to, as silverware was sometimes kind of dropped down, and not all of the crumbs were scraped off the table paper.  The table paper reminded me of the wings sports bar where we had been earlier, Blondie’s on the Upper West Side.  Our waitress sometimes seemed nice, and other times she seemed moody.  Couldn’t figure her out.

We also received a treat with the bill: two homemade caramels.  And we were stoked when we were given a small tin of the caramels to take home.  I love restaurant take homes!  The tin was even decorated with Christmas masking tape.  Perfect way to cap off a fantastic meal.

P.S. Chef Saul Bolton also owns The Vanderbilt which I have never been to but have heard of.  Just an FYI.

Restaurant experiment: Rye

Rye

247 South 1st Street between Roebling and Havemeyer Streets

Brooklyn, NY 11211

718-218-8047

http://www.ryerestaurant.com

The Sunday was not off to a particularly sweet start.  Drizzle combined with a skinned knee (please do not throw your watermelon rinds onto the sidewalk) did not a merry morning make.  Anyway, for a proper introduction to Williamsburg, I took Joni to Rye which with over 200 positive Yelp reviews, seemed like a safe bet.  No menu outside or anything; we weren’t sure if it was even open, but I gave the door handle a tug, and it revealed Rye.

Since it was still on the early side, there were a handful of patrons in the dining area.  We were offered a choice between the occupied front area and the silent back area.  The back it was.  The two of us agreed that Rye is a beautiful restaurant, with tile floors, chandeliers, and warm wood.  The bathrooms are worth a peek, even if you do not have to pee.  As Joni says, you think the lights aren’t on, but oh, they are.

Joni was giddy to see challah French toast on the menu.  She ended up getting the Rye Slam ($12) which had the toasts, eggs, salad, and bacon or sausage (I made her go with bacon).

My choice was the Rye Benedict ($12) because you know I just can’t pass up eggs Benedict at a brunch.  The menu reads “grilled pork belly, hollandaise, buttermilk biscuit, potato & mixed greens.”  The potato was a hash brown ball, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.  The Benedicts themselves were a tad small and I would have preferred the hollandaise to be richer and stronger, but overall, I was very satisfied.  The bacon which Joni kindly shared with me, was fatty but sweetly bacon-riffic.  Mmm, pork product.

I am never sure if standard NYC brunch protocol includes dessert or not.  Seems like no, so I was surprised when our waiter offered us the option to purchase sugar treats.  We were both full and declined, but if I weren’t full…

A comment on service: our waiter was nice, and all the other employees were ready with smiles and were attitude-free.  You never know about hospitality with ol’ Billyburg!

Restaurant experiment: Traif

Traif

229 South 4th Street between Roebling and Havemeyer Streets

Brooklyn, NY 11211

347-844-9578

http://www.traifny.com

[I'll 'fess up.  I went to this restaurant a long while ago but have been too preoccupied to post this until now.  As a consequence, my memory on all the dishes has gone fuzzy.  I shall do my best but am just going to post pictures for you to figure out.]

I’d heard some buzz about Traif before, some from pals, some from between the pages of Time Out NY.  Naturally, I was eager to try this South Williamsburg hotspot, cheekily named Traif, Yiddish for non-Kosher, which features the decidedly non-Kosher ingredients of pork and shellfish.  A rarity for Williamsburg, you can actually call and make a reservation, so we did, and we were able to score a table for four on a Friday night at 9:30.

Traif, much like every other joint in this town, is low on space, so the tables are scrunched up against each other.  It looks like there is a back patio area which I didn’t investigate.  The kitchen is mini and right next to the bar which has a TV showing Iron Chef episodes on loop.  Unfortunately, the placement of the kitchen was not good for the temperature of the dining room, since it was toasty in there.

Our waitress started off being attentive, but as the evening went on, she didn’t seem to be around as much.  After much hemming and hawing, we settled on what tapas-like small plates we wanted to try.  The plates were often brought out one at a time, which didn’t help the meal progress.  This was likely due to the teeny kitchen.  Ian and Laurel ordered a bunch of plates for themselves, and Dave and I did the same, and the four of us shared a couple of plates together. 

1

Bacon-wrapped blue cheese stuffed dates: these hit all the high notes here, with cheese and bacon all in one.  Yum yum yum. 

3

4

5

BBQ braised short rib sliders with sweet potato fries: the meat was sweet and rich and almost buttery.  These, I could go either way.  If we didn’t have them, I’d be fine, but if we did, I’d be fine. 

7

Seared foie with fingerling potatoes: at this point, I was feeling pretty stuffed and couldn’t really enjoy this heavy dish which was a crying shame.

Complimentary dessert: a cube of orange flavor.  Laurel and Ian were indifferent, but Dave and I thought they were charming.  And hey, can’t argue with free.

I was super dejected because we were too full for dessert.  And it was really late, past midnight.  Nearly a three hour meal?  Crazy.

Restaurant experiment: Egg

Egg

135 North 5th Street between Bedford Avenue and Berry Street

Brooklyn, NY 11211

718-302-5151

http://www.pigandegg.com

As some friends were visiting from out of town, a big gang of us ended up at Egg for brunch on a Sunday.  Unfortunately, Egg is not the place for a large group, unless you like squishing around a table which is what we ended up doing.  Or Egg is not the place if you do not like waiting long waits or paying by cash.  But if you do enjoy delightful brunch plates, you will like Egg.

Sam directed us to nearby Blue Bottle which was also packed but at least had a line that kept moving.  Between Blue Bottle and a visit last month to Stumptown, I’m really feeling like a West Coast coffee snob even though I am tea-4-evah.  I should add that it was a freezing Sunday early afternoon, but the temps did not deter the hipsters from queueing up.

After hemming and hawing over the Southern-influenced menu, I selected a pot of tea as my drink, and I settled on the Eggs Rothko ($9), ”easy-cooked egg in a slice of Amy’s brioche and topped with Grafton cheddar. Served with broiled tomatoes and a side of meat or seasonal vegetables.”  I picked out bacon as my meat. 

 

I definitely felt warm feelings about the Eggs Rothko (cheese galore!), but my only complaint would be that it was on the small side.  I guess that was to be expected with the $9 price point.  If you do order this dish, and I suggest you do, definitely get a side order of something, but not the caramelized grapefruit with mint, as Ian and Laurel were not impressed as it seemed like no one gave it the proper care it deserved.  Our waitress was a cheerful gal with a good attitude about serving such a large gaggle.  And if you’re into restaurants that farm from their own farm, Egg has a farm in Upstate New York, cool.

Restaurant experiment: Kellogg’s Diner

Kellogg’s Diner

514 Metropolitan Avenue at Union Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11211

718-782-4502

http://kelloggsdinerwilliamsburg.com

I’m out at 4am and there’s a bouncer assessing my need to be in the place.  Where am I?  Am I drunk and trying to get into a club?  Heck no.  I am about to enter Kellogg’s Diner because we’re starving, and it’s there, and it’s open.  Why is there a bouncer here?  Color me confused.  You enter and stand in the entryway while the bouncer goes inside and tells the hostess how many are in your party.  Wack.

Dave told me that the diner used to be smaller but expanded into the space next door.  It’s all chrome-y looking outside, like an old 50s diner which is kind of cool.  I’ve noticed it ever since the first time I stepped out of the Lorimer stop.  Dave and I were seated in a minibooth.  Our waiter came around only once in a blue moon.  The table across the aisle from us was full of four obnoxious hipsters-in-training.  Blech.

We settled on the black and blue burger and buffalo wings, both for about $11 each.  Totally overpriced.  The burger bun was wimpy and conked out on me.  The buffalo wings were essentially chicken nuggets.  Not what I wanted.  And blue cheese (or BBQ sauce) was supposed to come with them, and it was noticeably absent, so I had to wait until we flagged down our waiter again.

Not impressed.  The next day, I had a stomachache.  Coincidence??????

Restaurant experiment: Marlow & Sons

Marlow & Sons

81 Broadway between Wythe Avenue and Berry Street

Brooklyn, NY 11211

718-384-1441

http://marlowandsons.com/

Marlow & Sons had a while ago been recommended to me by Stacy, but as Dave found ourselves in the area, we decided to finally check it out.  Walking to it from the subway, we passed Peter Luger, and the wonderful aroma of steak entered our nostrils.  Mmm.  As this is Williamsburg, Marlow & Sons is hipster central.  Lots of tattoos and such.  Even though it was prime dinner time on a Saturday night, we lucked out and snagged a table outside; other parties of two didn’t have to wait all that long either, but large groups got to know the sidewalk quite well.  No reservations are always frustrating, but at least plastic is accepted.  Outside seemed like the sweeter deal since inside was dark and noisy.

The seating is typical New York, very tight.  That is why we ended up listening to what our neighbors were saying, not because we wanted to but because we had no other option.  The pretentious pregnant couple always seemed to be getting their food before us even though we ordered before them.  Suspicious.  The bathroom has a scale for some reason, and it also has Dr. Bronner’s soap.

Our waitress knew her stuff, but owing to it being a Saturday night, there were large gaps between ordering and eating.  The menu is quite small, and only three entrees are listed.  The food items are not described in detail, and therefore the waitress has to describe them over and over to each group.  Although many of the plates sounded appealing, we finally settled on our choice, but we ordered drinks first.  I got the Forrest Hills ($10) which was a cocktail concoction of Earl Grey Boodles Gin, Pimms, lemon, and ginger ale.  It was quite ginny.  Okay, but I’d prefer a Pimms cup instead.

Dave ordered the chicken liver pate ($11) and I went with the crostini ($8) for my appetizer.  The appetizer also featured stuff like salads, soups, oysters on the half shell at $2.75 each (I’d get ‘em if they were cheaper), cheeses, meats, fettuccine, and morel toast.  The evening’s crostini was garlic sauteed broccoli with goat cheese and parm, all on sesame bread.  Yum!  I’d like the bread to be more toasted, but oh well.  The pate was out of this world.  What a generous ice cream scoop size serving too.  Needed a little more bread, and I’m sure we could have gotten it, but it was easier to not ask for it and wait around. 

As for the matter of entrees, I selected the soft shelled crab sandwich ($16), and Dave requested the off-the-menu steak ($29).  The steak earned raves from Dave, and I was also keen on my crab sandwich.  I will freely admit that it was on the small side, and the chips weren’t my bag as they were spiced with some hot herb.  Loved the touches of bacon on the sandwich and the delish mayo based sauce and lest I forget the pickled red onions.  Mmm.

Maybe Marlow & Sons keeps the portions small so that you are sure to order appetizers and desserts?  If so, well done.  There were three desserts featured that evening: mint chocolate pot de creme, buttermilk panna cotta with strawberries and rhubarb, and a caramel chocolate tart with sea salt.  We decided that the latter should grace our taste buds.  The slice that came out of the kitchen was massive.  See below.  It was incredibly rich.  And it was cold and hard to cut; we had to ask for a knife.  Oreo-like crust.  My main criticism was that it was too salty.  The insides were salted as well as the top.  Sea salt is potent and packs a punch; just on the top would have been fine for me.  Or at least reduced within the chocolate and caramel parts.  Mmm otherwise!

I got a kick out of scrutinizing the hipster girls’ ugly outfits.  Gosh, fashions nowadays are wacky.  If you want people watching, Marlow & Sons has got it.  Sister restaurant Diner right next door is supposed to be superb, so I look forward to trying that soon.

Restaurant experiment: Cafe Argentino

Cafe Argentino

499 Grand Street at Union Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11211

718-782-9477

http://cafeargentinony.com/

Dave and I had walked by this sharp little corner eatery several times.  Once I asked Laurel about it, and she said it had just opened recently.  When the opportunity arose to give Cafe Argentino a shot, we all were eager to find out what it had to offer us.

Since Dave and I arrived first, we picked out a booth-table hybrid towards the back.  I should mention how there were hooks above my head for jackets and such, but they were inserted into the white-painted bricks so high that short guys and gals would have problems.  The booth was low and the table was high, resulting in me slicing my meat near my neck.  For a Saturday night, the place was not crushingly crowded, as I had noticed DuMont down the street being.  Fine with me.

The drink menu featured lots of wine.  Since I saw other tables with pitchers of sangria, I decided sangria might complement our meal nicely.  Cafe Argentino also had pitchers of something which turned out to be basically sangria made with champagne; sadly I forgot the name.  Laurel came up with the smart idea of asking for sangria samples since she read in some Yelp reviews that the sangria was too sugary.  The nice waiter obliged.  The white sangria mimicked a mimosa too much for me, but the red wasn’t too bad though I detected a slight bitterness from orange peels.  Pitcher of red it is!

Eventually Dave and I settled on what we wanted.  He ordered an appetizer of the caracoles ($7) which were essentially escargot in garlic butter sauce.  Since I’m not one for snails, I dipped bread into the garlic butter sauce.  Yum.  We all tore our way through three baskets of bread.  Free bread is good.  Laurel and Ian shared some empanadas as their appetizer and liked them well enough I believe.

Here is/are the short ribs with a side of salad.  They were fantastic!  So flavorful, you didn’t need any sauce.  Buttery almost, well-seasoned.  Yay.  This was a little under $20. 

Here is the 16oz ribeye steak with a side of mashed potatoes (a little over $20).  I enjoyed this cut of meat but maybe since I ate it after the short ribs, I was a little let down.  Just didn’t seem as busting with flavor though adding the steak sauce helped.

The mashed potatoes were not high on anyone’s list.  They tasted like they had been born out of an envelope: very instant.  I like instant mashed potatoes, but I can buy them at the grocery store; that’s not what you want at a restaurant.  The salad was fine: some lettuce, cut miniature tomatoes, red onions, with the house’s simple oil-based dressing.

Laurel and Ian split the mixed grill which was about $38.  That was a crazy ton of meat.  It says it’s for two people, but I’m sure that could comfortably accomodate three.  If you like sweetbreads, Cafe Argentino is the place to be, I’ve learned.  But what was not cool was that the mixed grill for two people comes with only one side (the aforementioned mashed potatoes or salad, also potato salad or fries are options).  Silly.  The mixed grill also had a black sausage which looked like a baby purple eggplant.

Later in the evening, a party of three came in and sat in the adjacent corner.  I whispered to Dave that I wasn’t sure if one person was a man or a woman, and he had been thinking the same thing.  His conclusion was that the person was a man dressed in somewhat women’s garb.

In conclusion, Cafe Argentino is reasonably priced and rather filling with friendly service though some of the foods are slightly spotty.  I did not even want to look at the dessert menu; that’s how meat stuffed I was.  Meat coma.

Restaurant experiment: Mercat Negre

Mercat Negre

65 Grand Street between Kent Avenue and Wythe Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11211

347- 223-4599

http://www.mercatnegre.com

In the interest of full disclosure, my dinner companions are friends with the owner of Mercat Negre; I haven’t met him however.  Ian and Laurel had been to Mercat Negre a couple of times and were overwhelmingly enthusiastic.  The Catalan-inspired restaurant is the younger brother of tapas bar Mercat in Manhattan which I haven’t  been to either.  Anyway, I couldn’t wait to try Negre that evening.  Firstly, Mercat Negre is huge and appears to be an old warehouse.  The ceiling is at least two stories high, and the front doors were opened, letting the brisk air waft in.  Interpol’s Antics was playing on the stereo system though later the music switched to more of an African bent.

Our waitress was slightly green (only on the job two or so days, she revealed) but eager to please and seemed genuinely to want us to have a great experience.  Service was attentive, with the busboy, other model-tall waitress, and manager all making frequent stops at our space; no cleaned plate spent much time on the table.  The restaurant wasn’t that crowded though it was pretty late for dinner.  In honor of it being St. George’s Day, ladies received red roses though gents did not receive books.

I didn’t take pictures because I neglected to bring my flash camera (fail), and it was dark in Mercat Negre, plus there were too many dishes to shoot.  So you will have to use your wonderful imaginations to visualize the small plates.  Note that the menu changes all the times, and you might find completely different dishes featured instead.

• Tempura rose petals (off the menu)–fried awesome.  These dainty delights melted on the tongue.  Who knew you could deep fry flowers?
• Bomba–Breaded Chicken & Pork Meatballs with Brava Sauce.  The sauce looked like ketchup but packed a kick.  The bomba was more like a croquette; we were picturing spaghetti-style meatballs.
• Bunyols–Cod Fritters with Romesco Sauce.  Not bad, fried fried fish.  Fried seems to be the word of the day?
• Empanada sampler–I sampled the chicken, shrimp, and pork ones.  The shrimp one strongly recalled New England clam chowder.  Not a bad thing by any means.  I was sorry I missed out on the blue cheese one.  The chicken one was creamy and hot.  Pork was almost like Thanksgiving turkey.
• Duck salad–pulled duck meat on top of greens, nice.  Detected a hint of salt on the duck.
• Steamed clams–small bivalves steamed in olive oil with crushed pepper.  Simple and a crowd-pleaser.  I was relieved there wasn’t too much pepper.
• Octopus–cooked and presented with watermelon and garbanzo puree.  Pairing octopus with watermelon is a bold move; the watermelon looked like raw tuna at first.  Seriously, you can’t go wrong with the eight-legged sea creature.
• Short ribs–I didn’t eat much of this by accident and ended up only tasting a tiny portion.
• Arros d’anec–Bomba Rice with Duck Orange and Pineapple.  A quick Google search reveals that bomba is a type of Spanish rice used for making paella, noted for expanding in width, not length, when cooked.  I could have told you that.  The grains of rice were definitely tubby.  This paella comes out in a frying pan the size of an XL pizza.  Ian and Dave were thorough in scraping all the rice off the pan, for the crunchier grains.
• Pa amb xocolata–Toasted Bread topped with Olive Oil, Chocolate and Salt.  These resembled egg rolls but were more stellar.  I was expecting a flat piece of bread instead of a roll.  Salt+chocolate works so well, I’m always amazed.  I need to try making chocolate covered popcorn.
• Xurros amb xocolata–Homemade churros served with chocolate.  The churros were delicate capital D shapes.  The chocolate was a pool of deep dark intensity.  There was too much to coat all the churros, and therefore Ian procured a container for taking it home.  Thou shall not waste liquid chocolate.
• Chocolate truffles–eight tiny cubes of truffle goodness.  Ian also let me sample his lemon frappe which was whipped up and strongly lemony; I am rather fond of the citrus.

Let’s not neglect the drinks.  I’m not going into them because I forgot all the components, but I had the Grand Street Grog which was rather grand, living up to its name.  Rum and other good things.  Oh wait, I found them: dark rum, muscatel (Spanish muscat wine), pineapple, citrus.  Everyone else was content with his/her beverage.

Bathrooms decorated with Calvin and Hobbes and Spanish cartoon pages, cool.  Cash only, boo.  There’s a rooftop deck opening up in the future which is rather exciting for the upcoming summer months.

Restaurant experiment: Grimaldi’s

Grimaldi’s

19 Old Fulton Street between Front and Water Streets

Brooklyn, NY 11201

718-858-4300

http://www.grimaldis.com/2/Index.htm

Supposedly Grimaldi’s is the top pizza place of all five boroughs.  Through the friend-vine, Nick and Lily have both been here, and Nick is Team Grimaldi’s while Lily think it’s aight.  My first trip here was with the brother since he had heard the rumors and wanted to try it out.  Of course I was game.

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, we arrived at this place at 11:10 AM and were not the first people there (they open at 11:30).  A line formed soon after.  I killed time by going through a box marked FREE which some bearded dudes had put out on the sidewalk.  Scored some CDs.  If you wanna know, the unofficial line forms away from the water as we learned as some woman in the line tried to act all high and mighty.  Shut up, lady.  These Italian tourists vouched for us, so there!

The doors finally opened, and it was kinda like Black Friday at Wal-Mart.  The place was full ten minutes later.  Wha?  The walls have pictures of famous folks who have eaten there, and the shirts read “I’m gonna make you a pizza you can’t refuse.”  I sat under a picture of The Godfather with this phrase.  The oven is out in the open.  As I waited in yet another line (for the bathroom), a dad was telling his son all about how the coal oven has to get super hot and such.  Free hand sanitizer, hey.

The brother and I decided to share a small pizza which was perfect for two people.  I had black olives and sausage on my half, and he had mushrooms and sausage on his portion.  The pie appeared pretty zippily.

Would I wait an hour outside for this pizza?

No.

Let me tell you why.  The black olives were bizarrely salty.  And I think they salted the underside of the dough.  What the heck?  Or since I just saw Fantastic Mr. Fox, what the cuss?  I ate everything, but I was craving water like the insane all the rest of the day.  Messed up.  Brother fared better, but he wasn’t exactly majorly impressed.  Oh well.  That’s what you get when you go to these hyped places.  Cash only, bleh.

When we left, there was a long line of pizza gobblers waiting outside.  Team Lombardi’s!  (Sorry Nick)

Restaurant experiment: Pio Pio Riko

Pio Pio Riko

996 Manhattan Avenue at Huron Street

Brooklyn, NY 11222

718-349-5925

On our way to a party in Greenpoint on Halloween, Dave and I were walking up Manhattan Avenue but dismayed by the lack of appropriate dining options.  Granted, it was a little late, close to the witching hour, but still.  After a Polish place literally shut its door in our faces and an American joint was overflowing and pulsing loud music, we were relieved to unearth Pio Pio Riko.  The place was very dead.  Sometimes hipsters would pop in to use the restroom to change or to check the World Series game score, but the dining room was quiet.  Quiet in that there weren’t many people, but not really quiet, since a singer was belting out tunes in Spanish while playing a Korg keyboard.  ”Lady in red!”

The menu has a lot of seafood but Dave and I decided on the chicken because we love Dominican chicken, and rotisserie chicken in general.  Pio Pio Riko started things off on the right foot by offering free roasted corn.  Yum.  Our waitress placed the heavenly green sauce on the table in anticipation of our whole chicken.

Outstanding chicken!  The skin was salty much, but that could be forgiven, seeing as the meat was moist and well oiled and tremendously tasty.  Dip in green sauce, and you are good to go.  The maduros and rice and beans are good accompaniments too.  Thanks for being there when we needed a friend, Pio Pio Riko.  They have a couple of locations in Brooklyn and Queens but sadly not in Manhattan.  Tear.