In My 'Hood - Van Horn Sandwich Shop

I know that sometimes I might feature food that seems a bit hoity-toity or unfamiliar, but like everyone else, I can enjoy simple food. One afternoon I was craving something that wasn't going to make me think very much about what I was eating. I just wanted something familiar.

I can't think of anything more familiar than a chicken sandwich. Yup. A simple chicken sandwich. Van Horn Sandwich Shop's sandwich completely fit the bill.

I will say that this by far one of the best chicken sandwiches I have ever tasted. I always fear that chicken sandwiches will be DRY with no flavor especially when I see an outside coating. This chicken sandwich was so juicy, and the cabbage slaw's tanginess added a nice acidic bite. I didn't even add anything to the sandwich, if I remember correctly. This is one of Van Horn's signature dishes along with their fried catfish sandwich and bacon, lettuce and pimento cheese sandwich.

Of course, I couldn't leave with just a sandwich, so I went and had the hush puppies, too. You might want to share the order (unlike me).

Nothing beats the crispness of a well-fried hush puppy. They're only made better by the honey-infused butter that accompanied it.

Simple indeed.

Van Horn Sandwich Shop

231 Court Street

Brooklyn, New York

Food Porn Friday - Peaches

I like southern food, but I had a really bad run in with grits when I was a kid. The woman who babysat me would make them, and I would refuse to eat them. Grits were like tasteless mush to me. I swore them off for years until probably a few years ago. I don't think we really have a Caribbean equivalent (others who may know this, feel free to check me on that).

I finally had a chance to go to Peaches, a restaurant in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. Bed-Stuy (as it's called here) is changing very rapidly. It's definitely not the same Bed-Stuy that the Notorious B.I.G. once mentioned in his songs. I think it bodes well for the neighborhood, but change can be hard, too. That's for another post.

If you are looking for a laid back southern jazz brunch, please come here. The band was great albeit a little loud for such a small space. It was still a nice atmosphere (Jazz for free? Thank you!), and I loved my dish.

Grits & Blackened Catfish

with spicy tomato salsa

I've said before that I'm not a southern food aficionado, but these grits were goooood. Silky and buttery. The catfish was seasoned wonderfully (I don't care if it's a bottom feeder). Even though I had overcome it before, I have definitely been cured of my grits phobia. :)

Happy Weekend!

Peaches

393 Lewis Avenue

Brooklyn, New York

In My 'Hood - Chuko

I don't know anything about ramen. One thing that I have learned recently is that it's called "Japanese soul food". People line up all over Japan for their favorite local ramen joint, which can come in the form of the most upscale to a completely Mom & Pop operation. Here's a great Intro to Ramen video from the New York Times Travel section.

I'm still learning so much about what's authentic and what's not regarding ramen, but as usual, I aim to eat what tastes good. When I heard about a new ramen restaurant, Chuko, opening up near me in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, I knew I needed to go. We are a little starved for good ramen in this part of Brooklyn. Chuko was highly anticipated because the two men who've opened the restaurant were formerly at Morimoto. If you've ever watched Iron Chef, Iron Chef America or even Top Chef, you're probably familiar with Mr. Morimoto himself. Either way, Chuko's founder were bring a lot of buzz with them.

Chuko

As per usual often in Brooklyn restaurants on a Saturday night, there was a wait; and, boy, did we wait. Even with a walk to kill time, we waited and waited some more. I will say that the staff was friendly and apologetic about the situation. The staff and service at Chuko is friendly, quick and seamless (just go earlier or later on busy evenings). Often at small restaurants, service seems to be the forgotten element, and it wasn't at Chuko.

I was in the mood for veggies, so Husband J and his visiting friend, Davey, agreed to have some veggie appetizers.

Charred Brussel Sprouts

with fish sauce, peanuts and sliced chili

WHAT?! Brussel sprouts should always be made this way. I purposely went for the chilis while avoiding the peanuts and made sure to cover the brussels sprouts in fish sauce when I could. Asian flavors are the perfect way to highlight this fall vegetable.

Crispy Kale Salad

bacon, golden raisins, ginger dressing

When we tried this kale and the brussel sprouts, we realized that the wait was worth it. I'm still wondering how they made the kale so crispy. I was impressed that the chefs had found a use for the ubiquitous ginger salad dressing that you get at Japanese restaurants. It was stuck on the bottom of the bowl, but what a nice surprise when you reached that portion of the dish. Also bacon. 'Nuff said.

Yes, we actually DID eat ramen.

There are three types of ramen on Chuko's menu, and you have a choice of having them with added chicken, pork or sans meat add-ons for the vegetarians.

Our friend Davey had the Pork bone ramen (the soup base was pork bone) with poached egg. I have to say that I didn't taste this. Davey and I are cool (I still like him even though he laughed at the Giants' loss to the Redskins yesterday), but we're not sharing food.

Husband J had the miso ramen that night, and I had this on a subsequent visit to Chuko.

It's like buttah! Seriously, this soup was buttery smooth. When I think of miso, I usually think salty, but that just might be my limited understanding of the power of miso. This ramen was creamy, with al dente like noodles and crunchy corn kernels. There was something so warming and comforting about this soup. Let's just say I understand ramen's Japanese soul food designation now.

My dish...

Spicy Pork Ramen

red bean paste, kimchi, spicy minced pork

Noodle money shot :)

O.M.G. First of all, when the waitress said kimchi, she had me. I don't think that kimchi is usually associated with ramen (Anyone? Anyone?), but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have spicy ramen AND kimchi. The soup almost resembled a creamier base than some of my favorite Korean soups (kimchi jigae in particular) with the addition of chewy noodles and a very soft poached egg. It was heavenly. Please note that this is a special, so I don't know how much longer Chuko will serve it.

By the way, since I'm not a ramen expert, I don't know if Chuko wins any points for authenticity. Just know that it's good.

Winter is definitely in the air. Thank goodness for good ramen close by!

Chuko

552 Vanderbilt Avenue

Brooklyn, New York

In My 'Hood - Littleneck

We don't have enough good restaurants specializing in seafood in this part of Brooklyn. When Littleneck in the Gowanus area opened a few months ago, I was happy to see that it filled a cuisine void.

Littleneck attempts to replicate a New England seafood shack, and I think they do a pretty good job, especially with the decor.

The bar

looks like a bait and tackle shop

They got the decor right, but did they get the food, right? I'd say so...by the way, I forgot my camera that night so these are all IPhone pics in a dimly lit restaurant. :(

When we go to seafood restaurants, I let Husband J take the lead. After his years of growing up and visiting seafood restaurants throughout New England, I will say that he knows a thing or two about raw bar offerings. We kept it light, since we were still recovering from Thanksgiving dinner. We got two oysters from Rhode Island, two from Long Island, and two from Washington state. All fresh and all good. I love oysters!

Husband J has to order the chowder. A mark of a GOOD "New England-esque" seafood restaurant has to be its New England Clam Chowder. We both figured that we couldn't stomach a full bowl of chowder each, so we had the kitchen split the bowl for us. It was a good move that we even ordered it because this might have been one of the highlights of the whole meal.

New England Clam Chowder topped with dill

Usually I find chowders to be overly salty to the point where it really overpowers most other tastes. Yes, I know that seafood is inherently salty so that will affect the taste of the soup, but it didn't affect Littleneck's at all. As a fan of spice, I loved that Littleneck's chowder was spicy, if not perhaps a little too spicy (Well, not for me. Although a dash of salt would have balanced out the spice a bit more). It was such a breath of fresh air to have a chowder with bite. Also it wasn't unflatteringly goopy like some chowders can get. I loved it, and so did Husband J. The dill was a nice touch, too. I wonder if they will deliver this in the winter. :)

I think these are crab cakes with a basic slaw, if I remember correctly. Husband J had these. Good, not mind-blowing, which is fine.

A not-so great IPhone pic. Maybe I do need a DSLR? :)

I actually had one of Littleneck's signature dishes, its Clam Roll. WOW!

The Clam Roll = FABULOUS!

I really do think it has to be the great mix of the tartar sauce, lightly toasted (and spot on traditional) roll with the not overly breaded and lightly fried clams that really makes this dish work. Each element is totally on point here, but my hats off to the perfectly tangy tartar sauce. Husband J had never had a clam roll before (more chowder, fresh clams or clam cakes), and even his New England seafood snobbery was put aside for a few moments. It's not cheap for what you get on the plate, but usually neither are losbter rolls. We'll have to get Littleneck's lobster roll next time.

Finally, Husband J was transported back home by this:

Narragansett beer. You can take the boy of out Rhode Island, but you can't take Rhode Island out of the boy. **shoulder shrug**

This beer brings back memories for him, especially of unsupervised high school parties.

Thank you, Littleneck, for adding something new and needed in a neighborhood that I am sure will soon be a destination (there was no wait on a Saturday night (at least not yet)). Yay!!

Littleneck

288 Third Avenue

Brooklyn, New York

James

I had been hearing about the restaurant James for some time, and I hadn't made my way over to Prospect Heights, one neighborhood over from us, in a while. There has been so much opening in Prospect Heights lately, and I feel like I've got to get over there more often.

I had also read that James was rather small and that was definitely the case when I got there. Is this place any bigger than my apartment? I'm not so sure. A small restaurant like this means you need to get there early or hope you get lucky with a table (Although 2 person seatings were empty for much of the time we were there). Husband J's parents were in town, they prefer an early dinner, and so James was a perfect choice.

The interior of James. I want their chandelier for my apartment.

(source)

We shared a few appetizers.

Carolina Shrimp with Roasted Garlic Polenta & Harissa Jus

The jus reminded me of a seafood-based soup that you would find somewhere in the south of France (or at least I imagine you would as I've never been to the South of France..le sigh...). I was happy to get perfect, soft polenta after having a bad experience with some a few months back. Polenta should be smooth and airy like this.

My mother-in-law and I were both smitten by the description of the special of the night, which was rabbit.

Sorry, Bugs!

If you're wondering what rabbit is like, it tastes and has a texture just like chicken. :) This dish also had Mediterranean flavors with olives and tomatoes featuring pretty prominently in the sauce. I can say that the rabbit was well-cooked and that perhaps I'll have rabbit again as a dish.

My father-in-law had fish.

Roasted artic char, farro, roasted beets, celery leaves

I only tried a smidgen of this, but again, great cooking technique. Artic char is in the salmon family, and I loved how the chef was able to take advantage of the crispy skin and thick flesh. If you like salmon, then you'll like artic char. I want to cook and eat more with farro, which is essentially a whole grain. The farro here was prepared simply.

I was kinda shocked that Husband J ordered roasted chicken. Like me, he usually goes for more complex dishes when eating somewhere new.

Pressed young chicken, squash, chanterelle mushrooms, wilted spinach

At the same time, this was such well-cooked chicken. Again, the chefs have found a way to make proteins the star without overcooking anything or pulling anything odd that ends up mistakenly masking its true flavors. If you can make your ingredients stand out without fancy cooking techniques, then that is a mark of good cooking. That's what's going on here with this chicken. I will say that my only criticism is that the skin may have been a little too salty, which is crazy since many of you know I loves me some salt. :)

We also got an order of herb fries. I can't resist fries. These were large and the herbs fresh.

I also wanted extra vegetables, and we had an order of roasted beets. I have been loving beets lately.

Honestly, this is probably one of the best meals I've had in Brooklyn all year. This is more than a neighborhood gem, and perhaps even worth a ride out to Brooklyn on the subway. We'll be back again (and we get to walk there :)).

James

605 Carlton Avenue

Brooklyn, NY

2011 ING NYC Marathon

"If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon."

-Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to enter and run the Boston Marathon

I saw this quotation yesterday, and it really summed up why I love watching the NYC marathon as it goes through my neighborhood each year. It's a yearly reminder to not take my physical abilities for granted, and overall to keep thinking about how I can push myself both physically and mentally.

I blogged about my experience watching it last year, but I thought I would do something a little different this year. This time I'll let you experience the sights and sounds of the marathon from my perspective. If you don't mind my crudely edited video, here's a look at yesterday's marathon below. If you listen closely, you can hear me talking in the background.

My area was a major flashpoint in the marathon as it had an entertainment center, something new that the New York Road Runners, the marathon's organizers, added this year. Also the local news/marathon coverage had a strategic broadcasting position right there. Husband J says that he saw he me on TV at one point when he went back to our apartment. :)

Some things I learned yesterday:

-Most of the marathon goes through Brooklyn. About 10 of the 26.2 miles.

-The ING NYC Marathon is the largest marathon in the world with over 47,000 participants this year. Supposedly over a million (maybe two million) people actually come out to cheer on the runners.

-All of the top 3 male finishers set course records. Wow!

Are there any events out there that inspire you?

Food Porn Friday /In My 'Hood - Smashburger

Midwesterners, you've been holding out on me. You didn't tell me that I'd fall in love with Smashburger. I feel somewhat cheated, but also quite lucky, that the only branch in New York City is a quick walk away from my home. Five Guys, based out of the DC/Maryland/VA area, has also opened two shops relatively close to me; AND Brooklyn's first Shake Shack, with its perpetually long lines in Manhattan and elsewhere, will be opening close by, too. We're about to have one big burger glut here in Brooklyn. Maybe that's not such a bad thing. :)

I can say that I appreciate Smashburger for the fact that it's a clean and simple burger. I tend to order the Classic, which comes with lettuce, tomato and onion with melted cheese on the burger. Sometimes when there are too many toppings on a burger I feel as if someone is trying to hide something.

The accompanying Smash Fries are worth it. In general, I wish these fries were tad less oily and had even more of the rosemary that gets sprinkled on top. Please be healthier than me, and just get the sweet potato fries.

Have any new fast-casual restaurants or food shops from other regions of the country (or even parts of the world) opened up near you lately?

Smashburger

80 DeKalb Avenue

Brooklyn, New York

Happy Weekend!

Food Porn Friday - More Birthday Eating

Okay, so I lied a little about the continued birthday mentions. Here's some more celebratory food. In all my birthday celebrations consisted of my BFF and I going out for some apps; I bought some celebratory cupcakes; I had a nice meal for myself and one with Husband J at Marea. Phew! This is perhaps why I am on what I call a "Reset Week". I'm going to talk more about what that is some time.

Grande Piatto Misto Di Salumi & Formaggi at La Piazza at Eataly (for more info on Eataly, check out this post)

BFF and I hung out at the marble tables right in the center of Eataly's La Piazza. It was fun to stand and eat cheese, good bread, salumi and the most amazing honey ever (amaretto honey!!). It did get a little tiring to stand after awhile, but it was still fun. I felt very...Italian. :)

Robicelli's Cupcakes

I only ate one on my birthday. I saved the other for the next day. I have some semblance of restraint. :)

left: Southern Belle (banana bourbon cake, vanilla buttercream, brown butter-bourbon pecans), right: Tiramisu (espresso soaked cake, espresso ganache, marscapone buttercream, cocoa powder)

Sticky Date Cake at Colonie

Colonie is my favorite new restaurant in Brooklyn. Each time I've been, I've forgotten my camera. Totally smart, I know. I love this dessert.

The ice cream tastes like buttermilk!

Don't worry. All of this eating was over a five day period, and I've been resting my stomach ever since. :)

Happy Weekend!

Summer So Far - A NYC Summer

Even though there is still technically over a month left of it, I can already feel people beginning to turn their attention towards fall. I've been feeling a cool underlying breeze even with 80+ degree Fahrenheit temperatures, and I'm just not ready yet for a change. I am still in summer mode.

I think I'm having a pretty good summer, or at least I should say that I'm taking advantage of opportunities to see and do things around the city. While many may complain about the heat and odd smells (it's NYC, y'all), I love New York City summers. There are free concerts, movies, festivals, and really anything that you can imagine at your fingertips with much better weather (I'm going to ignore our heatwave last month).

Here's a look at what I've been doing this summer.

Summer movie at Bryant Park

I remember when this park just homeless folks and drug addicts. Really. Yet now this place used to house Fashion Week, has holiday markets and skating rink later in the year and is a overall oasis in Midtown Manhattan. It's also the place where I tend to indulge in outdoor movies. Every summer people pack in here for free movies ranging from comedies to classic dramas. My BFF and I managed to catch one this summer. If you ever go, GET THERE EARLY!! Half the lawn will be full by 5:15pm, fifteen minutes after it's opened to the public.

It gets crowded with picncikers (is that a word?).

You all should know that I don't show up to things like this without requisite provisions. Who am I?

I also had some quinoa salad and a cold crab dish not shown here.

We came to see "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," and Marilyn Monroe singing "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" was priceless. The movie was actually quite funny with a real modern sensibility. I was surprised, since I tend not to like older movies.

Can you see Marilyn?

A Mets Game at CitiField

To me, summer means baseball, and I usually go to at least one game per year. I am a Mets fan, which mean I like teams that lose. :( Either way, the only 2 year-old Citi Field is a great place to see a baseball game because it's small, intimate, open and airy. I'll also still refer to it as Shea (the former stadium name) partially becaue I'm annoyed at corporate naming rights. :)

One of the best reasons to go to Citi Field (the Mets are not enough) is for the food. It's got an outpost of the infamous Shake Shack with its accompanying ridiculously long line. My personal favorite is Blue Smoke. Its order of Kansas City ribs is satisfying for two adults. Make sure to catch the beer stand with over 20 beers on offer a few feet away. Food must be taken seriously, even at the ball park. :)

Brooklyn Botanic Garden After Hours

Husband J and I are members at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Support your local cultural organizations, everyone! Anyway, we get free admission and, during the summer, special after hours privileges.

July 4 in New England

Not NYC, but sometimes we need to leave. :) Husband J's family is from New England, the U.S.A.'s birthplace. We've never spent a July 4 weekend there and decided to change that this year. I will say that I did enjoy the small town parade. It was an interesting piece of Americana for me, the city slicker.

Most of the parade was classic cars and tractors. It's fun to see how people in different parts of the country celebrate holidays.

There was a whole ton of water fights. I stayed away from that.

How's your summer been? What's been your favorite activity or event so far?

River Cafe

I am still thinking about our anniversary, so I thought I'd talk about our meal at River Cafe.

River Cafe is important to Husband J and I because it's the restaurant where we had dinner the night we got engaged. River Cafe sits right on the water on the Brooklyn side of the East River with unforgettable views of the lower Manhattan skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge.

Husband J proposed to me in August 2008 at the park right on the river adjacent to River Cafe now called Brooklyn Bridge Park at Pier 1. Actually the park was still under construction, so we sat on a park bench near the small makeshift park substitute facing the many boats passing by at sunset. I had been somewhat fooled into going down to the river by a convoluted story Husband J told me about taking a picture at the river to send to my now mother-in-law....Yeah...exactly (Don't fall for that one, ladies!). The next thing I know Husband J was on one knee, and I was blubbering. Afterwards, we walked over to River Cafe and had a lovely dinner.

Some people think River Cafe is overrated, yet I like it for what it is. It's one of the few formal fine dining experiences to be had in Brooklyn. The restaurant requests that gentlemen wear a jacket in the main dining room for dinner. There is a man playing classic jazz tunes on the piano. There's very little like this still going on in Brooklyn these days, and I appreciate River Cafe for that.

What makes dining at River Cafe an experience is the excellent service, beauty of the space and the views. THE VIEWS!! We thought about getting married here, but it was much more than we wanted to spend. It was nice to revisit it for our anniversary.

For once, I look relatively fashionable on this blog. No travel clothes!

Entrance to the garden area

The garden

My dream alternate wedding ceremony would have been here in the garden .

When you walk into the main dining room, what you see are wall to wall, practically floor to ceiling windows displaying Manhattan. The most coveted seats are right next to the window. We scored one! Even Husband J was surprised we got that table.

The pictures below were taken simply by me lifting my camera a few inches off the table and in some cases using the zoom. The view is just that cool.

Statue of Liberty in the distance

Brooklyn Bridge

Of course, we did come to eat. I'm not sure if they have changed the concept a little, but you have the choice of a three course pre-fixe (choosing anything on the menu) or six course pre-fixe of set dishes. Since the six course pre-fixe had everything I wanted to try, we chose that.

First, the amuse bouche/hello from the kitchen

Gazapacho (l), watermelon with parmesan shavings(?) (r)

I think I'm forgetting which cheese this is, but you get the gist, right?

Refreshing and palate cleansing as a summer amuse bouche should be.

Taylor Bay Scallop Ceviche

On the half shell with sea beans, tomato and coriander

I felt bad picking up the shells so that I could slurp a little bit of the ceviche juice/broth, but it was totally worth it. It proved that just a few fresh ingredients can really create real flavor complexity. Taylor Bay is in Cape Cod, Massachusetts (I had to look that up).

Wild Rock Lobster

Roasted lobster tail, mango, fennel, lemon and olive oil

It's fresh, simple lobster. What more can I say? :) The mango made me think of the Caribbean.

Branzino Fillet

Branzino = Mediterranean sea bass; shrimp & chorizo "stuffing" (really a layer), petite zucchini, charred vine tomato with lemon confit (aka a little lemon juice)

I love that this dish toyed with wanting to be light and with the savory richness of the chorizo. It was New Orleans meets an Italian fishing village, and it worked. What stole the show (or perhaps the plate?) was the charred tomato. By the look of it, you would not expect something that tastes like it just came from a grill. Actually the taste made me feel like I had just walked through the remains of burned building. Yes, that transporting.

Foie Gras

Strawberry reduction, strawberry filled crepes, crumbled pistachios

Please don't hate me 'cause I eat foie gras. :( Loved the strawberry crepe.

Charcoal Grilled Sirloin

Red wine mushroom marmalade on the side

This came with

Russet & Sweet Potato Gratin

potatoes with blue cheese fondue

The steak was fine, if perhaps a bit overcooked. I'm not a big steak fan, so I don't feel too qualified to comment on them very much. On the other hand, those potatoes were heavenly. I guess melted blue cheese would make anything better, wouldn't it?

Finally dessert. We had a choice of deserts, and we each picked our own.

For Husband J:

Coffee Caramel Parfait

For me:

Chocolate Sticky Toffee Cake

Accompanied by butterscotch sauce with a pistachio ice cream sandwich on the side. Also a "Happy Anniversary" message for us.

Both great desserts, and the ice cream sandwich should be its own menu item. We also had a tray of petit fours. Yes, I know...a ton of food. I didn't eat much beforehand on purpose. :)

We had awesome meal, and River Cafe remains a romantic spot to make googly eyes at your special someone. We'll definitely be going back.

River Cafe

One Water Street

Brooklyn, New York