Red Hook Food Cart Season

I've heard about the yummy food carts at the Red Hook soccer field and I've finally had the chance to visit on the last day of the 2008 season. It's rare to see people lining up for street food in new york but with ceviche, tamales, tacos, fried plantain, pupusas, huaraches, and elotes - all authentic cooking from Mexico to El Salvador, its worth the wait.

The pupusas stand normally has the longest line up. But I finally got to try the one stuffed with pork and cheese and then one with chicken while waiting out a hurricane like rain storm while sheltered under the blue plastic tent.

Taco is a traditional Mexican dish and it's a must try at an authentic Mexican food cart. Beef and chicken tacos were wrapped with fresh soft tortilla stuffed with lettuce, tomatoes, and cotija cheese. The tacos were very tasty but it can't beat the foot long Huarache.

The spicy pork Huarache was wrapped in grilled corn tortilla stuffed with chilli pork, avocado, tomatoes, green tomatillo salsa, crumbled cotija cheese, sour cream, and shredded cabbage. The pork was so tender and juicy and the tortilla was so soft and fresh. It's totally worth $6 and a return trip next year.

Red Hook: Red Hook Playground, Brooklyn

Redemption

My first visit to The Chocolate Room was not a good first experience but sometimes it's worth a 2nd chance. As we were seated, the waiter served us a complimentary chocolate sorbet which gave us a taste of things to come. I read the chocolate layer cake was their signature dessert and it's made fresh daily. The chocolate was rich and smooth; the cake was moist and perfectly sweetened. This is one of the best chocolate layer cakes I've had.

Cobble Hill: 269 Court St., Brooklyn (btw Butler/ Douglass)

Tribeca Iron Chef Alley

Greenwich Grill is a fusion between Japanese and Italian,   similar to Basta Pasta but it's a bit more pricey. After we were seated the waitress first brought us only the cocktail menu, it's a good sign that i won't be rushed out on my Friday night dinner. I can finally relax and enjoy a real meal after a long week.

Started with the "Wagyu" beef carpaccio. The beef was thinly pounded and topped with slices of parmesan cheese and mustard aioli sauce which gave a nice garlic flavor over the fresh tender meat.

The Mixed Seafood Ceviche was prepared with the special red snapper. The seafood was all very fresh and tasty but I had better ceviche elsewhere.I rarely eat lamb because of the gamey flavor but tonight i made an exception. Grilled lamb chops rubbed with Moroccan spice and vegetable couscous in tomato sauce. Wow! Amazing. So tasty. No gamey flavor. Lamb is back on my meat list starting tonight.

Thai green curry with Dungenes Crab on pappardelle. No frozen crab meat here - all fresh crab meat and real crab claws. Even though there was good amount of crab meat in the pasta, I was still struggled to get the meat out of the claws cause no food goes to waste.

The dishes were well portioned which allowed me to finish the nice dinner with a dessert. The blueberry cobbler took 15 min to baked but it was totally worth the wait. The sweet blueberries were buried in the crusty pastry topped with fresh whipped cream.

The Mont blanc was made with chestnut whipped cream with a hidden meringue inside and blueberry. OMG! Sooooo gooooooddddd. I had to be selfish this time, "Order your own - I'm not sharing."

Tribeca: 428 Greenwich St, New York (btw Laight/Vestry St)

Jerking Around in Red Hook

Driving around Brooklyn for the perfect weekend brunch hunt ended up in a big disappointment. Ventured out to Red Hook for the well-known, high rated diner, Hope and Anchor. Jerk chicken hash with 2 eggs sounds interesting. I had high expectations, the food was well plated but the taste was.... boohoo... bland. I taste no jerk, only diced up dry chicken.

Peeking over to my other half's Red Hook Burger, i wanted to inconspicuously swap the plates while he sipping on his Stewart Root Beer. But looking closely at the "medium" cooked burger, it seemed more like a well-done jerk patty. 

Red Hook: 347 Van Brunt St, Brooklyn (btw Dikeman & King St)

The Smoke Joint or Little Piggy Market?

I was in search for Little Piggy Market after a BAM show and it was no where to be found. The same address happens to be The Smoke Joint, after talking to our waiter, The Smoke Joint is the Little Piggy Market. Daytime Piggy, night-time Smoky. Spare rack, crispy cornmeal crusted catfish platter, and BBQ fries. What a feast!! The meaty spare rack was marinated with a dry rub and hada smoky flavor. The crispy catfish was lightly battered with cornmeal and fried in high heat so that no oil can penetrate into the flaky fish. Last but not least, the bbq fries were perfectly crisped even a stuffed fat belly cannot resist.
Fort Greene: 87 S Elliott Pl, Brooklyn (x Lafayette Ave)

Southern Bourbon Whiskey Bar

The distinct scent of charred oak bourbon barrel enriches the smell of whiskey as you walk past the 300 whiskey bottles in Char No.4. The smoky sourthern barbeque permeates throughout the small dining room and out to the intimate outdoor garden seating area. The perfectly grilled pork sausage over sweet red onion, scallion, and saute spinach was so juicy that a bib might be a good idea to avoid splatter on your nite-out dress.

Carroll Gardens: 196 Smith St, brooklyn (btw Baltic & Warren St)

Italian-Japanese Fusion

Italian Japanese is a rare mix fusion in nyc. Basta Pasta was a great success. The aroma in the restaurant immediately causes my mouth to water. Monday night is usually a quiet nite for dining out, but not for Basta Pasta. The unusual small open kitchen and dining room was packed before 7pm. Started the night the Special Squid with black ink sauce antipasti. The squid was lightly battered and fried, accompanied by the black ink sauce with a touch of heat. The squid was not overly breaded, nor too oily.
Immediately came the Tortino di Granchio: crab meat tartare, avocado, green apple, Yukon gold potato and basil aioli with grapefruit and watermelon radish. The perfect bite with the mixed ingredients and watermelon radish is unforgettable.

Spaghetti con Prosciutto e Parmigiano served in a half wheel parmesan cheese at the table is a very popular dish through out the dining room. The thinly sliced prosciutto was placed over the cheesy al dente spaghetti pasta gave a touch of saltiness to the dish.

Linguine al Ricci di Mare: fresh sea urchin basil and pink sauce. You rarely find sea urchin cooked, since this is no sushi bar, the sea urchin is cooked but the taste of sweetness remains.

Last but not least, the dessert round. Chestnut mousse with espresso sorbet; Almond crepe with ice cream filling, and the dessert special pear panna cotta. They were all amazingly good and the down side is it's never enough.

Union Square: 37 W17th St., NY (btw 5th & 6th Ave)

Cremated Kobe

Going back to my old neighborhood Lower East Side, the vibe has changed dramatically. Artsy and intellectual group is long gone. Now it's more like frat party. Nonetheless, there are many new resto in the LES that are worth the adventure. The warmly decorated wood interior has attracted me to try the Spitzer's Corner. The selection of beer on the tab was extensive. Kobe burger sounded like a good idea and Vegetable pappardelle is a good compliment dish with the meaty burger. After a long 45 minute wait, my Kobe burger was totally cremated to a dry, salty jerky patty. And the garden fresh veggi pappardelle was tasteless. The overall experience was disappointing. But i hope my food-porno will not misrepresent the taste. 

Lower East Side: 101 Rivington St., New York (Rivington St x Ludlow St)

Ki Sushi

Ki Sushi is one of hottest sushi spots in Brooklyn. Not only is the fish fresh, but the seaweed is as well making it  tasty. The rolls are considered large by the standards. Order of 2 rolls and an appetizer is enough to fill 2 persons. Their specialty sushi menu is original, not the typical roll you see in japanese restaurants. 

Ki roll: tuna salmon yellowtail inside, topped with spicy crunch king crab avocado caviar with a decorative edible gold leaf.

TNT roll: spicy tuna inside, topped with a fresh mouth melting fresh fatty Toro.

 

The quality and portion of food served are such great value that this is my usual resto of choice when I'm craving sushi. 

Boerum Hill: 122 Smith St, Brooklyn (btw Dean & Pacific St)