Not Your Usual Brunch Spot...at House of Small Wonder in Williamsburg!

I was looking for a unique brunch spot in the Williamsburg area since my fiancee and I were out there early this summer to see Chvrches play an outdoor show, and House of Small Wonder fit the bill perfectly.

The modest little cafe is nestled next to Zenkichi, right by N6th st and Wythe.  The space is tiny but has cute whimsical decor, and has a tree in the center of the room that extends from the floor to the translucent ceiling that lets natural sunlight through, almost giving the cafe the feel of being in a tree house.  And yep, both Zenkichi and House of Small Wonder are both great date spots because of the ambiance, one for romantic Japanese dinner and the other for a casual brunch.

The menu is also pretty cool, and mixes of French/European cafe and Japanese fare, with dishes like hamburg steak, sashimi don, but also traditional brunch items like French toast and croque madam.  

I settled on the Okinawan Taco Rice, which is ground pork in a chili-style sauce over salad and rice, topped with a fried egg.  Sounds VERY weird, but oddly enough, it works.  

She chose the croque madame; their version comes with scrambled egg on top, with the bread still containing ham and cheese, and your choice of salad.

They also have a lot of small sandwiches and treats.  I also ordered the Nutella banana croissant, cuz it has Nutella, banana, in a croissant! And yes, it's as good as it sounds!

House of Small Wonder

77 N6th st

(between Wythe and Berry St)

Brooklyn, NY 11211

(718) 388-6160

A Mixed Bag at Talde in Park Slope, by Top Chef Alum Dale Talde

I had been curious about checking out Talde and upon recommendation by a friend after an awesome St Vincent show in Prospect Park, my fiancee and I were fired up for some good eats (well, maybe I was!).
We walked a few blocks over to Talde, which was still packed past 11pm on a Saturday night.  We were able to be seated after about a 20 minute wait though.

Talde is a cozy bar/restaurant that has a small menu devoted to Pan-Asian food--mostly Thai and Filipino.  I was eager to try two of their popular items, the wings and their pretzel pork and chive dumplings.

I thought the pretzel pork and chive dumplings were quite pedestrian.  Yes, you do taste a touch of pretzel mixed into the filling, and the dumpling skin is crispy, imitating a pretzel.  Textural differences aside, at $8 for 4pcs taste-wise it's really not that much different from your $1 dumpling stands in Chinatown.

Now their Kung Pao chicken wings were great.  Tangy and sticky, and the peanuts add a nice textural dimension.  The homemade buttermilk ranch dipping sauce was delicious as well.  I could've eaten another order...by myself!

Lastly, we split their Crispy Oyster and Bacon Pad Thai.  This also tasted great, but take out the oyster and the bacon the dish is just a decent Pad Thai dish.  It still was pretty good and worth ordering if you are there though.

While some of the dishes are hit/miss, I would visit again when I'm in the area to try out the other dishes on their menu.

Talde

369 7th Ave

Brooklyn NY, 11215

(347) 916-0031

Get Your Polish Gastropub Fix... At Kristophe in Williamsburg

Polish food is one of my favorite comfort foods.  My favorite Polish spot in Brooklyn is the delicious and super reasonably priced (we're talking almost Chinatown prices!) Krolewski Jadlo.  It's so good I wrote about it twice..HERE and HERE.

I was very nicely surprised to find out that the owners had opened up a second, ,more upscale in the area after a Yelp search of nearby restaurants to eat after a fun and free Chvrches show during a recent weekend at McCarren Park.  Kristophe is the name of the new venture and we were both happy we stopped by there when St Anselm had a wait!

I ordered the pork chop with raspberry wine glaze, parsnip puree, and beans.  The pork chop was cooked well and the wine sauce was tasty.

My fiancee ordered the duck legs with potato dumplings, red cabbage, and a cherry sauce.   The sauce was also delicious and the duck legs cooked well, and were not dried out.  The portion was enormous as you get two whole legs!  The potato dumplings were also delicious and also very filling, and we ended up having to take most of the food home!  For a nice sized duck entree the price was very reasonable at $18.

The meal was great and I would definitely go back!  Kristophe is just a few doors down from uber popular St Anselm and is a great (and arguably better) alternative rather than waiting for a table at that restaurant.  

Just a quick tip that on their website it says that happy hour is daily from 5 to 7pm if you can make it that time...if you do you score some $3 beers, $6 wines, and half off apps.

Kristophe

221 N4th st
(right by Metropolitan Ave in the Williamsburg area
Brooklyn NY 11211
718-302-5100

David's Brisket House in Bed Stuy for Some Amazing Pastrami

Now that I don't work in Brooklyn anymore, one of the places I really miss grabbing food after work is David's Brisket House, right near the Nostrand and Atlantic Ave by the Bed Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn.  The decor is kind of dingy and it's not in the best of areas but don't let it stop you from stopping for a bite; they do have tables to do sit down meal.

The deli is known for their brisket, corned beef, and their pastrami sandwiches, served in small medium or large servings.  Do yourself a favor and pick the pastrami, since they probably have the best I remember having in recent memory  I haven't had Katz in a few years, but remember being almost underwhelmed by their pastrami.  When I've gone on a few occasions, David Brisket House's pastrami was just so mouthwateringly (spell check says that adverb isn't  even a word but that's how I feel about it!) good, fatty, tender and flavorful, and is quite a bit cheaper than Katz.  The "small" i got had about 1/3 lb of meat and runs about $6 or $7.

It's been a while since I've been there, but I should definitely make my way back soon...it's worth the trip!

David's Brisket House

533 Nostrand Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11216

Phone number(718) 789-1155

Sooo Good! The Mussels and Cream Crepe at Pates Et Traditions in Willamsburg

One of my girlfriend's favorite places to eat is a quaint little spot in Brooklyn called Pates Et Traditions, which is quickly becoming our go-to spot for crepes.  Nestled in a quiet corner on the outskirts of Williamsburg, the cozy restaurant is decorated with rustic French decor, complete with some French waitstaff (minus the snobbishness!)

The must haves here are definitely their savory crepes; the savory crepes are soooo good they trump their sweet dessert crepes.  I've been here several times to try some different savory crepes, but my favorite has to be the mussels crepe, which also has Swiss cheese, cream, and onions.  For a seafood crepe it tastes very decadent, and the fact that they serve their savory crepes are open-faced mean that there's more filling than if they had completely wrapped it.

My girlfriend ordered the shrimp curry crepe.  This was also amazing; the spinach tasted very fresh and was sauteed well, and the shrimp perfectly cooked.  The curry flavor was evident but not overpowering.

I highly recommend this restaurant.  There will be a wait on weekends during brunch and peak times during dinner, but it is definitely worth trying and will fill satisfy your crepe cravings!

Pates Et Traditions
52 Havemeyer St.
Between N6th and N7th st
Brooklyn NY 11211
(718) 302-1878

Xixa...Inventive Mexican Tapas from the Good Folks That Brought You Traif

Traif is one of my favorite restaurants in the city as they continue to create creative combinations with food in a casual cozy environment (it is in Williamsburg, Brooklyn after all!)  The restaurant has done well since opening its doors a few years ago, and so when I heard that they expanded to a new space a few doors down focusing Mexican/Asian fusion cuisine, I was excited to try it.  The restaurant is called Xixa, and just like Traif, they focus on small tapas style plates for sharing.

There were some great dishes, as well as a few that needed some tweaking.  Here are some of the highlights...

One of their popular small plates is the duck lettuce wraps, mixing Asian influences.  The spicy roasted banana sauce is amazing and the duck was flavorful.

Xixa's "nam prik num" guacamole was excellent as far as guacs go, but I do wish there was a little more heat since it seems to have a thai influence as well.

Grilled Carrots with honey, lime crema, feta, and dill.  This sounds like a meager set of ingredients but it was one of the best dishes of the night.  It was recommended by our server and I could see why.

One of my favorites of the night was the Steak Tacos, with bone marrow and steak tartare.  This seems like an odd combination but somehow it works; the pepper marmalade ties both ingredients together really well.

Their veggie small plates were good as well, including their scallion and potato dish with anchovies, almonds, with a Romesco sauce.

Their scallop ceviche dish was so-so.  It combined jalapenos, pistachios, cucumber and avocado.  It sounds good but it tasted a little flat and needed more acid.

Their "carnitas" dish combined pork belly, brussels, chorizo, corn, etc and served with a carrot puree.  The flavors were solid and the meat flavorful.

The biggest disappointment of the night was also their priciest dish.  At $21 the yellowtail collar sounded awesome, but the dish was very overpriced for what it was....a make it yourself fish taco plate.  The fish was tasty but had very little meat.  The plantains were pretty good but the slaws were forgettable.

Xixa's play on a cheese course featured Goat Ricotta, mangoes, kiwi, grapes and some Togarashi for a spicy kick.

The Bunuelo Sundae was awesome.  The banana ice cream, bunuelo crumble, and a black sesame mousse made for a great dessert.

The Tres Leches in Cappucino is exactly what it sounds like.  Solid dessert.

Xixa

241 S 4th St
(between Driggs Ave & Roebling St) 
Brooklyn, NY 11211

(718) 388-8860

Meat Bonanza! The Parrillada for two at El Amacen in Brooklyn

Prior to seeing  Emily Wells last night at Brooklyn Night Bazaar last December, my brother and I headed to El Amacen to try out their Parrillada, or the mixed grill for two.  For a reasonable $46 ($23 pp), you get an 18 oz ribeye, 8oz short rib, choizo sausage, blood sausage, sweet breads, a roasted pepper, truffle fries garnished with a side of truffle salt, and two dipping sauces.

If there was any doubt to how much food that exactly is for two people, just look at the picture below! The portions are huge and served on a wooden block.  We couldn't even finish the food and had to take some of it home.

El Amacen is a great option if you're craving steak in before seeing a show in Williamsburg.

El Amacen

577 Driggs Ave

(right near the L train Bedford stop)

Brooklyn NY

(718) 218-7284

Googa Mooga at Prospect Park in Brooklyn (Day One)

There's already been a crazy backlash from many people who went to Googa Mooga on Saturday 5/19/12 on their FB page and other forums, but our group kinda was expecting the long crazy lines and went to the festival as the gates opened to get our grub on.

Things were pretty calm early on from around 11:30 to 2pm, and then the lines to get food went from at least one hour plus per stand (I read some stands took up to TWO hours!).  But by that time thankfully we were mostly done and just sitting around on our blankets.  Two weird things they did was put the beverage and beer lines together so people who wanted regular cold drinks had to wait in line with people who just wanted to grab a beer, making the lines insanely long.  The other weird thing is that the beer and wine tent did not take cash.  You had to fall in line to get "Googa Money" to exchange at the tents for cash to get to try the microbrews or the wineries.

Some of the food we had was pretty good though.  We started at the M. Wells stand for their horse bologna and foie gras grilled cheese sandwich.  It was very pricey at $15 but still pretty tasty...at least they gave you a big piece of foie and the creaminess worked well with the grilled cheese.

Some of the items were more worth it than others.  There was a HUGE line early on for Colicchio and Sons' pork belly tacos, but again you're paying $12(!) for two tacos.  We had to see what the fuss was about and split some orders.  The pork belly was really good, but the prices were just insane for a few small slices of pork belly (even at Momofuku two of their delicious pork belly buns are cheaper!)

The slabs of pork bellies on the spits looked really good.  At $12 for two tacos one spit probably has about $1000 of pork belly right there!!

My brother took the plunge at the Crawfish Monica for their crawfish pasta.  At $9, it was a complete rip off!  You get a small bowl of pasta with a few pieces of crawfish.  The taste was ok, but you're paying for crawfish, not lobster!

What was good was the Blue Ribbon Chicken Wings.  I have no idea what they put on their wings, but it's a little spicy and maybe even has some Old Bay seasoning drizzled with honey.  Six big wings and a cucumber salad for $10 was actually very reasonable price.

This is part of a Blue Ribbon wing haha...so damn tasty that a bite was taken out of it before the pic was taken!

One of the best things I had was definitely Katzie's Milk Chocolate Dirt Cake.  My brother actually recognized her from Top Chef Desserts, and she recreated one of her items from her show.  The dessert was awesome; it was a mix of chocolate pudding and chocolate devil's cake, orange cream, Werther's Worms (gummi worms), with orange cream.  Such a unique mix of flavors and it all works really well!

Katzie was cool enough to take a picture of the fun and playful display as well that's made to 

imitate a garden!

I was also looking to try Red Rooster Harlem since I've never been to Marcus Samuelsson's restaurant.  They had a BerBere Roasted chicken with Mac and Cheese for $7.  It was a pretty hearty and tasty dish.  The chicken was very moist and had very interesting flavors.  The mac and cheese was also rich and creamy.  The cornbread served with it tasted a little weird though.

Do or Dine had a foie gras filled donut with some sort of jelly filling.  This looked really interesting but the idea might have been better than the execution.  The foie just tasted ok, and tasted like a savory cream filling with a little berry.  

And finally, a picture of a pig roaster in the shape of a, well, giant pig!

So all in all, it wasn't terrible as long as you went early.  As the day went on the lines got insane and people barely moved.  They have some things to fix if they want to do this again next year, but I actually had more fun eating at Smorgasbourg or last year's awesome Taste of Williamsburg.

Saint's Alp Tea House for Great Teas and Desserts!

Saint's Alp Tea House in the East Village has been a favorite go-to spot for a quick post dinner dessert or for a nice variety of hot and cold teas, bubble teas, and shakes.  It's often packed with students from NYU and is busy even on weeknights, as they also serve noodle soups, and small savory plates of Chinese appetizers that work great as snacks.  You can check out the extensive menu on Menupages.

If you do go there for dessert or even a quick snack, you MUST order the toast with condensed milk and butter.  As simple as that sounds, the combination works really really well and if you ordered one to share, you will want to order another one for yourself.

One of the savory dishes ordered was the Taiwanese hors d'oeuvres sampler with fried shrimp balls, boiled tea eggs, and glazed chicken wings.  

My go-to drink when I'm there is the black tea with milk (served hot).  It's a classic and you can't go wrong with it!  They also serve a variety of fruity drinks and milkshakes.  

Saint's Alp Tea House (Two locations)

39 3rd Ave
(between 9th St & Bowery) 
New York, NY 10003
Neighborhood: East Village

The other location is in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and I've been to both :)

164 Bedford Ave
(between 7th St & 8th St) 
Brooklyn, NY 11211

Second Visit to Krolewski Jadlo in Brooklyn for Some Awesome Polish Food

This past winter, I was able to visit Krolewski Jadlo in Brooklyn on two occasions for Groupons that needed to be used up.  (You can see my first post here).  Even without a Groupon though, the Krolewski is a great Polish restaurant that serves hearty food at affordable prices, with entrees ranging from just $7 to $15.

For appetizer on the second visit we had potato pancakes with smoked salmon and herbed cream.  These were great and the salmon/potato cake combo was awesome.

One of the entrees we ordered was the delicious hangar steak with dark beer sauce, creamy spinach, and mash.  At $14 this is actually one of the most expensive items on the menu!

One of the specials we ordered was the grilled pork shoulder with honey.  The glaze on the pork shoulder was sweet and complemented it well.  It came with some great roasted potatoes as well.  Another hearty dish!

The other special we ordered was the pan roasted rabbit with a nice berry reduction served with a side of fried dumplings.  This was probably the best rabbit I've had.  I've ordered rabbit a number of times in the past and it has often come out dry and stringy; like overcooked chicken breast.  They cooked theirs really well as it was still very moist and flavorful!

So there it is...you too can get a hearty Polish meal at a decent price if you're in Brooklyn in the Greenpoint area.  Just head to Krolewski Jadlo and sample one of their awesome dishes.

Krolewski Jadlo

694 Manhattan Ave (in Greenpoint)

Brooklyn NY 11222

718-383-8993

Krolewski Jadlo in Brooklyn for Incredible Polish Food for Amazing Prices!

Getting a full entree in and around the NYC area for around $10 is rare enough, but getting QUALITY food for that price is even rarer...and getting a Groupon for such a place is almost unheard of.  So when a Groupon for Krolewski Jadlo, a Polish restaurant in Brooklyn, came up for two apps, two entrees, and a dessert for $19, I had to snag it!

But wait, I know as your reading this the question is...is it worth going there without a coupon?  The answer is an emphatic "Hell Yes!"   Most of their entrees are below the $10 mark!  The only ones that are above $10 are the understandably more expensive game meats...roasted rabbit legs for $14.50?  Yep that's pretty much the most expensive item on the menu.   There's a delicious sounding party platter for four people at $44, but even that works out to about $11 a person!

You can check their menu and prices HERE:

So for the deal we had two apps:

First is the chef's pierogies, stuffed with spinach, goat cheese, and in a creamy mushroom sauce.

The flavors were great, and the portion is huge for an appetizer (but good if you have a big 

appetite though!)

We also got the beef tartare.  Yes that's raw ground beef with a raw egg on top, with some onions, pickles, capers, and mushrooms.  The dish tasted fresh but we had to add some salt to season it.

You also get some sliced bread, pickles, and some spread...which was delicious and almost tasted like a creamy chicken salad.  Just enjoy and don't ask what it is.  (The secret is that it's in lard!)

We had a third person so we ordered an extra entree.  The pork in crepes with mushrooms (only $8.50!) was the best dish of the day.  The pork and crepe were so delicious and full flavored...and the portion is big!

The stuffed wild boar in pepper cognac sauce was ok.  It's stuffed with I believe dates and spinach.  

The sauce and the stuffing were a touch on the sweeter side, so I was hoping the sauce would taste more savory.

The other entree was venison meatballs in a mushroom sauce with boiled polish dumplings. 

The meatballs were tasty and lean, the dumplings tasted good as well but were heavier and doughy.

Finally, for dessert we got the apple pie, which was delicious.  The pie 

was served piping hot and the tart sauce was a nice counter to the pie and ice cream.

So there it is...a great meal at a great restaurant.  Groupon or not, you're delicious, unique food at super affordable prices.  Definitely one of my favorite spots in Brooklyn and will be back many more times!

Krolewski Jadlo

694 Manhattan Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11222
Neighborhood: Greenpoint

(718) 383-8993

More Eats From Taste in Williamsburg (Part 2)

As promised, here are more eats from the other vendors we tried on Sunday 9/18...

Dressler and Dumont (two separate restaurants and same owner?) had a stand that had gazpacho with marinated rock shrimp and basil oil.  The person running the stand was awesome and didn't even bother punching our tickets after we waved it in his face.  On top of that the gazpacho was very well done and rock shrimp was still oh-so-tender.  The basil oil was the icing on the cake!    Dressler is another place I would love to stop by and check out.  Their New American menu looks amazing...Dumont Burger is supposed to not only have good burgers but also an excellent mac and cheese.

Halcyon Gourmet had a stromboli with chickpea and grated carrot salad.  The stromboli was solid and the grated carrot and soy based dressing made it taste almost like an appetizer salad you'd get at a Japanese restaurant.

Amber, a Greenpoint steakhouse, had delicious looking NY Strips , served with mash and steak sauce.  The sample dish was also solid and the steak was just cooked to medium rare (my preference).  A look at their restaurant menu shows that their steaks appear to fairly reasonably prices in the $20s and the appetizers are mostly less than $20.  Non steak meat entrees, as well as seafood entrees, are all below $20...Methinks this is another restaurant to add to the list!

Caracas, an arepas bar with locations in the East Village and Brooklyn, is a place I've been looooong meaning to try.  The sample was a tilapia stew with rice, black beans, plantains, and mini-arepa.  The flavors were great and everything tasted very homey...the actual arepas at the restaurant are probably amazing...

Teddy's had a lamb burger with greek salad with feta and olives.  Although another pretty solid dish, the serving size was pretty good and the sample was substantial.

Loreley Beer Garden had a sausage with kraut, as well as a few German beers for sample.  Here I got a half pint of the Gaffel Kolsch.

Calyer had a delicious looking chicharones with tangy tomato sauce....they were ok, but the serving size was TINY (ironic that it's all caps hahaha).  Still, their very new restaurant has gotten some pretty good reviews on Yelp so far...

Two other cocktails worth noting...Trix Bar's Trix Cocktail..  Red and White grapes with Pisco, lime juice, and chardonnay.

The Counting Room's "Modern Fleet" cocktail...Rum with vanilla infused port, fresh lime, and allspice.

Lastly, this seemed interesting so I'm going to just throw it in...Zico, who sells flavored bottled water, had a stand that was giving out free bottles.  I had to try the chocolate flavored water...and interestingly enough....it actually works!  It's like a lighter, low cal chocolate milk....but the flavors are still there.

So that's it...two entries, a ton of food and drink samples, and all for $35 with a half off coupon.  Hopefully they'll have a similar deal next year!