Food and Drink: January 2006 Archives

So there's this new club on Smith Street--white walls, futuristic white seating, crazy red branches creeping up the wall--O wait, that's Em, the new Smith Street Thai restaurant, my bad. But it wouldn't be a horrible club if only they hadn't played Dirty Vegas' "Days Go By" (aka that Mitsubishi commercial song) twice. But on to the food. As I mentioned before, the menu is extensive and fairly creative for a Thai place in this neighborhood, with a notable number of duck dishes. We started with a spicy squid salad ($6), which was served on iceberg lettuce, which seems to be a habit here. The sauce was a pleasing mix of lemongrass, lime, mint, chili, but I thought the squid tasted too much of the freezer. Both of the mains we tried were from the Em Special section of the menu, and both were deserving of their "special" moniker.  In particular, the Duck Thai Herbal ($14) had a complex flavor that tasted most heavily of lemongrass, though it was a tad salty and also served on a bed of lettuce (who eats this lettuce at the bottom of a dish). We also tried the Chiang Mai Noodle ($9), mainly because I'm a sucker for a good noodle dish. The dish's fried egg noodles sit atop the mound of meat (chicken) and veggies (potatoes, pickled cabbage), which lounge in a pool of yellow curry.  I would order it again simply for the novelty of the noodles and pickled cabbage, though I would have enjoyed a healthier dose of the cabbage. If Em can keep the quality up on the more expensive dishes and manage to switch out the music in its CD player, I think we have a Smith Street contender. Plus, it's BYOB!

Ahh the NYPD. While I appreciate that our city has a cache of cops ready to head off danger at any sign, what I can't appreciate is why this danger includes bicyclists and people pushing shopping carts (or, for that matter, people who declare a pants-optional subway ride). Doesn't really give me a lot of confidence in the NYPD top brass when they think that shadowing and harassing citizens not out to harm anyone is a good use of police time. Has too much a touch of a "police state" feeling for me. Perhaps I'm just bitter because I showed up for the Idiotarod in Williamsburg, along with a handful of spectators and at least one shopping cart, only to learn that the event's starting point had moved to Fort Greene. In my blissful ignorance, I set out early to have a fab early brunch at Bonita in Williamsburg, without ever checking to see if the start point had changed. You can see Idiotarod photos on Flickr, but sadly, I have none. Gothamist also has some great coverage.

I did, however, decide to make a day of it in Williamsburg. Made stops at all my W-burg favorites: the fab used bookstore Clovis Press, the great Indian-influenced clothing and jewelry boutique Pema (225 Bedford Ave), the ever hip Mini Minimarket stuffed with appropriately ironic but not overdone T-shirts,  the uber sexy lingerie and bedroom store Sleep, the Golden Calf, which is where I'll shop when I finally have that $1million loft or brownstone to fill, Academy Records so I can stand around and watch my hubby buy records and Love Shines (249 Grand St) because there is no better place in New York to purchase goods from Peru and dance to funky disco all while saving 50 percent off just because the owner wanted to be nice and have a sale. 

Along the way, our crew stopped for several rousing games of outdoor pingpong at Iona, which is my new favorite Williamsburg bar. Cheap drinks (Boddington's on tap for $4! and $4 mixed drinks, too!!), friendly Irish bartender, decent music, chill patrons, and a cute backyard, perfect for those winter days where it's 50 degrees outside (wassup global warming).

We then hit up DuMont spin-off, DuMont Burger, where we sampled both the DuMont Mini ($7, background and left) and the DuMont Burger ($9.50, foreground). Order them done medium, topped with Gruyère, and enjoy the disparity between the charred outer coating and the warm, juicy inner core.  Though a side of fries does the job, I'd recommend either the amazingly sweet, thickly breaded and sliced onion rings, or--if you are feeling particularly guilty about all that meat--the generous side salad tossed in a rosemary vinaigrette. Of course, your diet doesn't really matter here because you're going to need to spring for the boat-load of mac and cheese ($10, easily split among five of us)--the spiral pastas happily drown in a creamy melted mess of cheddar, Gruyère and bacon and are delivered with a crust of toasted bread crumbs. Still not as good as the chipotle mac and cheese at Pioneer Bar, but nothing to be ashamed of.

Update: Brownstoner covered DuMont Burger previously.

So I've tried the Jacques Torres spicy hot chocolate in DUMBO (so thick and rich I can never even finish a small without tossing the cup halfway through and walking the mile or so back to Carroll Gardens in the hopes of working a few hundred of the calories off) and I've waited in line for the classic concoction at The City Bakery (which really does cool too quickly in the ceramic mugs, and should always be ordered with the fresh marshmallow). I've experimented with the peanut butter hot chocolate at Chocolate Bar (a store that I believe also use Jacques Torres chocolate, but they serve it in a much more hip fashion that at the Torres factory where the staff members are affectionately called "oompa-loompas"), and I've enjoyed some take-out Mexican hot chocolate at Cafe Mexicana. However, I think my favorite hot chocolate in the city now comes from the semi-new Chocolate Room on 5th Avenue in Park Slope.  Not only is the storefront run by a very friendly group of women serving up some rather fabulous chocolate delights, it serves a mean hot cocoa. Thick, but not too thick, chocolate-y but not overwhelmingly rich, the drink quickly acts to set the endorphins flowing and make distant memories of that cold and windy walk across the Gowanus.

I must be in a good mood, and I think it's due to the copious amount of Boylan's sodas I consume. All of Boylan's sodas are good, but I'm a seltzer girl myself, and I'm convinced I have never tasted a better seltzer.  The lemon has just a hint of the fruit--without overdoing the flavor and making it taste like a lemon-flavored soap, a problem I find many seltzers face; the orange, my particular favorite, goes all the way with its citrusy taste, and damn is it refreshing. I saw the Boylan's truck delivering this morning on Court Street, and my heart skipped a beat.

For what a Boylan seltzer lover might consider a porn shot, go here.

Oh, and a  local writer gets crushed on. [via Gawker]

We have it on good authority that Abilene at 444 Court Street will have a soft opening tonight (Friday). There's been much discussion around if and when the bar (formerly the Red Room and several other things) would open, and ABrooklynLife is quite excited about the prospect of a new neighborhood drinkery. So cheers to another area watering hole--we're eagerly waiting the reports!

A few neighborhood restaurant transitions to report. The former 3 Bow Thai at 278 Smith Street is now 'Em, a much slicker and more modern space. In an attempt to separate itself from the other Thai establishments on the block, its takeout menus--a familiar mix of spicy fish cake, satays, larb, pad thai, curries etc--are folded like fans. The anomalies are the appearance of "moc duck" and some different sounding dishes like Chiang Mai noodle, cumin-smoked chicken and duck Thai herbal. As one who likes a variety of veggies in her dishes, I'm glad to report the appearance of snow peas, mushrooms, peppers, carrots, etc. Rice, however, will cost you: Coconut rice and Thai-sticky rice are $2 and jasmine rice is $1. (Perhaps this is the new way of Thai restaurants, but I'm still not a fan of paying for rice.)

Also of note is that Zombie Hut moved down the block from 261 to 273 Smith Street.The decor looks like it was lifted from the old and seamlessly set down in the new space, that is, notably, twice the size.

And last, but not least, Blue Star at 254 Court Street has morphed into South (same phone number) as of Wednesday. The nice man on the phone said the restaurant was aiming for a southern fish shack feel, with cheaper entrees, beer and wine. He also mentioned "better service" (was it bad before?) and said the raw bar and the po' boy would still be available. The funny thing was, I called yesterday because I'd never gotten around to going to Blue Star, and I was finally going to take the plunge. C'est la vie.

Yep, a big banner hanging above the old Leonardo's confirms the already confirmed rumors: The Dunkin' Donuts invasion of Carroll Gardens has begun. Shall we stage a boycott? Conspicuously drink cups of coffee from Le Petite Cafe, Brooklyn Bread, D'Amico or Giorgia's Place outside the offending store? I can't decide if this would be better or worse if we were discussing a Starbucks opening ...

For whatever reason, I haven't made it over to Fort Greene as much as I'd like--might it be my laziness combined with the inconvenience of the G train? Regardless, I was thrilled this weekend when a friend suggested brunch in the 'hood. We started at Liquors, which was either closed for a post-holiday vacation or is really closed. Next to Ici, which caught my eye in Adam Platt's list of his favorite New York restaurants.  The wait being what it was, we sent a reconnaissance crew over to Luz. No wait for a table of five had us plunked down in the darkened back corner of the restaurant considering an inventive Latin-hued cocktail list and weighing the merits of poached eggs atop yucca cakes and Caesar salad with chicken croquettes. I sampled the tortilla espanola, more of a fluffy quiche than an omelet as the menu describes--its topping of coriander creme lifting it from the normal world of brunch to something a little different. The "something different" showed up in the juevos revueltos, too, scrambled eggs and smoke salmon dressed with avocado and a lime sauce. While this was not the most revelatory Latin meal of my life, it was a nice switch from the usual eggs and bacon, and not having to wait for brunch really is a priceless commodity in New York. Bonus: For $6, it's all-you-can-drink mimosas.

I don't want anyone thinking I don't like vegetarians, so I thought I'd report on their excellent taste in lamps. Had the chance to go to Heirloom last night, a vegetarian and vegan place on Orchard Street in the Lower East Side. If you are vegetarian you will think it's the cat's meow--and if you are not vegetarian you will probably still really like it (unless you only ever eat meat, in which case you are a very boring  person, culinarily speaking).  Anyway, the lamps on the wall caught my eye, as the light they sent out made it appear that the wall had been textured somehow, or maybe painted with special effects.  In reality, the walls had been painted au natural, but the lighting really livened them up. A little research led me to James Dieter and his lighting studio dform, located in Williamsburg on Grand Street. He puts out some very cool wood veneer lighting products, including the ones at Heirloom. If I were in the market, I just might have to splurge on one. And while I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy, I'll report that Russell Simmons is a vegetarian, a super nice guy, and also appears to appreciate vegetarian restaurants with cool lamps.

So I was in Key Food on Court Street, torturing myself with sub-standard produce and refrigerated items of questionable freshness, when I hear this shrill young voice cutting through the Muzak din. "I want bacon. I want bacon. I want bacon. I want bacon." Lo and behold in the meat section, a young boy (perhaps 6 or 7 years old) is swinging around a support poll pole chanting the very phrase I was thinking when I woke up on January 1. His mother, with a full cart (how does this happen in this abominable grocery store?), is rooting through the frozen not-meat section of the grocery.

In a sad but probably inevitable move, Schnack on Union Street raised its prices. The new menu focuses more on burgers and dogs (now the black Angus beef dog from Stahl-Meyer), which according to its website will allow the restaurant to focus on specials. Personally, when I crave Schnack, it's the burgers I'm after.
I don't have a copy of the old menu, but I know the burgers suffered a price jump. I believe the single Schnackies used to be $1 and they're now $1.65.  Doubles are $3.86, triples are $5.25 and the quad is $6.90. Of course, toppings like cheese (.75) and lettuce and tomato (.60) are still extra. And it's hard to down a burger without a side of fries ($3.75) or onion rings ($5). Beer even took a hit, with Schwag coming in at $3.75 a pint--before I *think* it was $2.50. Normally, when we do a Schnack run we can be in and out with tip for $25. This time, it was more than $25 without tip. The rise in price won't stop me from getting my burger fix because I do love these little burgers, but here's hoping the extra cash will improve the very friendly but often confused service.