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: Blue Caravan

Blue Caravan

467 Columbus Avenue between 82nd and 83rd Streets

New York, NY 10024

212-595-4300

http://bluecaravan.com/

Dave’s friend is the head chef at this brand spankin’ new eatery in the Upper West Side so when we were invited to the grand opening, we leapt at the opportunity to check Blue Caravan out.  Despite our reservation, we had to hang out at the bar for a while; the place was filled to the brim with happy friends and family.  The hostess tried to seat us more in the front lounge area, at two large chairs and a low table.  Um, no thanks.  Then one of the bartenders didn’t know how to make a midori sour.  That worried me a little.  Luckily the other bartender came to the rescue. 

Eventually we were seated in the dining room proper which is just behind the front lounge/bar area.  There was some live music going on for the grand opening, and there were groups around the tall tables and folks lounging around on the sofas.  There was also a back dining area which looked as though it could be used for private parties. 

The menu consists of small plates and large plates, plus a few sides and desserts.  For the small stuff, Dave and I split the goat cheese salad, garlic shrimp, and mushroom bruschetta.  All items were around $10.  I was expecting microscopic portions like other tapas places in the city, but to my surprise, the square footage of food was quite impressive.  The shrimp’s flavors were too intense for me, but Dave loved the sea beings.  The arugula, we concluded, was also on the dominant side.  Cutting the leaves with a milder lettuce would have been my suggestion.  The salad needed more of the candied walnuts!   Yum.  There was a lot of goat cheese.  A dash of sea salt would have been perfect.  Anyway, what was perfect was the mixed mushroom bruschetta!  Different varieties of fungi (I even spotted enoki in there) topped with parm.  Superb!  I could have eaten another serving for sure.

We picked out two large plates (~$20) to share.  The waitress suggested that it was too much, but it was all consumed by us.  We showed you!  Anyhoo, one dish was the squid stuffed with chorizo with squid ink risotto, and the other dish was the duck magret.  Firstly, I am eh about squid so I wasn’t enthralled with the squid which was also a sentiment shared by other friends.  Bold but a little off.  The risotto was fine though but it was almost scary eating food so black.  The magret was magnificent, cooked perfectly.  The sugar snap peas and beans were fine complements as well.

Even though that was a lot of food, I still wanted dessert.  There was no dessert menu but just a list of sweet treats that our waiter (the waitress’s shift was up) recited for the two of us.  I found out later that the desserts are not made in the kitchen but are shipped in from Italy or something.  The passion fruit mousse cake was a wonderful way to finish off the meal: fruity, light, and delicious.

The waiters took years to bring the check and credit card slips back.  Slow slow slow.  Once the service kinks are smoothed out, Blue Caravan will be a rockin’ restaurant.

Restaurant experiment: The Stanton Social

The Stanton Social

99 Stanton Street between Orchard Street and Ludlow Street

New York, NY 10002

212-995-0099

http://www.thestantonsocial.com/main.html

Stacy’s friends Jen and Courtney were in town, and Stacy decided that we should go to The Stanton Social after their Broadway show, as small plates let folks sample a bunch of different options, and we were at varying levels of hungryness.  And Stacy had been to The Stanton Social a couple of times before, so that it would not be an unknown.  Good enough.

Since we arrived before Jen and Courtney, Stacy and I went upstairs to the bar area to sip a libation in the meantime.  I dislike being carded, but what can you do.  The bar was stuffed and loud as a club.  I settled on the “Bea’s Gin-Lemon Mojito” which consisted of “Bombay Sapphire, shredded mint, fresh lemon, lemon syrup & lemon-lime soda” for $13.  Stacy liked this drink so much that she ordered one for herself later.  Lots of fresh mint really made the drink stand out.  Perfect on a boiling summer day/night.

We escaped to the calmer downstairs after a while.  Both Stacy and I poked fun at the all the girls.  There sure were a lot of women at The Stanton Social, especially big tables of girls celebrating birthdays or somesuch.  Is there a secret dress code?  If you have a short, skintight dress, the place to wear it is here!  And with your 10″ heels too!

The hostess was sweet and didn’t give us any issues about the other members of our party arriving later.  Eventually she seated us in a U-shaped booth, and we began perusing the menu.  The other folks showed up soon after.  We started off with a male waiter but he was replaced by the chipper Allison who was cool.

The plan was for everyone to pick our two plates for everyone to share.  Since Courtney was a veggie, we all selected at least one non-meat dish which was easy to do since a lot of the dishes sounded appealing.  Here’s what we ended up with.

Zucchini Tempura - tomato jam and asiago $7: this was fine and exactly what you’d expect: fried up squash.  Came out piping hot too.

French Onion Soup Dumplings $12: a bit too sweet for my tastes.  Tons of cheese was melted atop the dumplings.  And the homemade croutons were a nice touch.

Red Snapper Tacos – creamy avocado & spicy mango $10: I never was super into fish tacos.  These were tiny and therefore cute.  Spicy for sure.

Stone-ground Blue Corn Crabcake ‘Corn Dogs’ – $12 Since I’m not into crabcakes nor corn dogs, these weren’t really winners with me personally.

Grilled Cheese Slider - aged cheddar, house cured jalapeño bacon, fried green tomato & lemon aioli $7: my other pick.  Too bad this came out near the end since I was getting full, but it was very comforting and familiar.  And you can’t fail with cheese and bacon.  No sir.

Grilled Ovendried Tomato Pizzetta - fresh mozzarella and grana, roasted garlic & chile oil $13: Lots of tomato on a thin thin crust.  

Garganelli Pasta – baby artichokes, spinach, grilled cherry tomatoes, smoked goat cheese  $15: this ended up being a table favorite.  I was getting stuffed and wasn’t able to enjoy it as much.  Though $15 is a bit steep.

Grilled Corn - chipotle butter, lime & cotija $6: Both Stacy and I vehemently agreed that Cafe Habana (or my friend Wayne) does the grilled corn 1000x better than Stanton Social.  The flavors weren’t balanced right.  Too spicy.  Not cheesy enough.

I opted-out of dessert since I was feeling full with food.  The others picked out the following and were generous enough to offer me bites.

Chai Crème Brulee – spiced ‘misfortune’ cookies  $9: Allison told us that the pastry chefs have senses of humor.  They sure do, as evidenced by their snarky fortunes tucked inside the cookies.  Heh, misfortune cookies.  Strong chai taste, verging on bitter.

The Red Velvet ‘Twinkie’ - cream cheese – crème fraiche filling  $4 each: I love red velvet cake.  This was a win.

Mint chocolate pie – a special of the evening.  Allison described it as an Andes mint pie, and she was spot on.  Mmm.

It was bizarre to wrap up dinner past 1 in the morning.  But the staff was chill and weren’t trying to hustle us out.  I would say that you’re paying for the scene if you eat at The Stanton Social, hence the social in the name.  Oddly enough, most of the tapas were servings of three, and you had to request four.  Isn’t four a standard number?  Weird.  And the desserts outshine the dinner dishes.

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: Tia Pol

Tia Pol

205 Tenth Avenue between 22nd and 23rd Streets

New York, NY 10011

212-675-8805

tiapol.com

Occasionally I get these mild desires for tapas. Because who doesn’t? The Spanish small plates are delectable, and you can sample lots of items. But after the bill arrives, I remind myself of how tapas are practically a scam: so little food for so much money. If your stomach’s the size of a grasshopper, you’re fine, but ravenous me needs more more more. So much for sticking to my budget.

On a crispy fall Saturday, Leslie and I made our way over to Tia Pol which is petite and unassuming across the street from boisterous big eateries with patios across the street. The place is small but we were on the early side so it wasn’t crowded, though it filled up by the time we left. Our duo sat at one of the tall black tables by the kitchen. I’m not sure why tall tables are in right now; I don’t like them. The staff are hipsters but are friendly and helpful.

There’s a brunch menu, but we opted for tapas which range in price from about $3 to $16. Leslie and I gobbled up:

• Croquetas de jamón ($4.50)–two small, verging-on-miniature deep fried balls of softness/cheese and ham bits. Not bad. Fresh out of the fryer, sizzling hot.
• Pinchos morunos ($6)–lamb skewers poked into a piece of bread, too salty, but at least the meat was tender.
• Paquetitos de jamón con alcachofa ($9)–Serrano ham enveloping artichokes and manchego cheese in neat little triangles. Hammy!
• Piquillos rellenos de ensaladilla rusa ($6)–”sweet peppers filled with Spanish potato salad topped with imported white tuna,” not a party in the mouth, but solid. The description reads like a picnic.
• Montadito de crema de habitas con beyos ($4)–beaten fava beans with a green hue and beyos cheese on toasted bread. Good one.
• Plato de queso combinado ($7.50)–cheese plate. I zoned out while the guy was describing the cheeses and accompaniments. One was manchego and one was a blue. There were also candied almonds, drunken cherries, and another sweet item that came in cube form. You can’t go wrong with a cheese plate.

As is the case with most New York restaurants, the food is appetizing but the tab is unappetizing. Darn you, tapas! How can I resist you?