A food blog.
The Bistro Truck is a fantastic addition to the food-truck scene. There are sandwiches, but the food leans towards French-Moroccan plates instead of street-food - like the light and fluffy poached tilapia in extra virgin olive oil with Moroccan spices, basmati rice, and a salad with a mustard vinaigrette.
A new cafe (official name is unclear) has taken over the former What Happens When/Le Jardin Bistro space on Cleveland Pl. The menu has soups, sandwiches, salads, desserts and brunch - like the creamy biscuits and gravy served with fruit & salad - and is best eaten out back in the spacious and lush garden.
To be honest, I usually prefer a cocktail den or wine bar to a beer hall, but Spritzenhaus in Williamsburg is a major exception. The big, open, airy space was full without being overcrowded, it feels modern, and the menu includes a selection of oysters and good sausages, like this chicken sausage with curry ketchup.
The salty pretzel with mustard.
A side of sweet sauerkraut is a great addition to any of the sausages.
Eating seafood at Il Pesce @ Eataly is a great experience. We ate our way through the specials on a recent visit - starting with a gorgeous soft shell crab swimming in butter and wilted greens.
The smoked trout was a beautiful and delicious dish with rich smoky flavor, a light fluffy texture and sprinkled with capers and lavender blossoms.
Even the crudo trio was fantastic - a silk snapper topped with red lava salt, pumpkin swordfish with crushed almonds and blue fish with a salty gaeta olive aoli.
I have to admit, the first time I heard of geoduck (pronounced gooey duck) was while watching the exotic surf & turf episode of Top Chef Masters. When a friend and I were at Momofuku Ssam Bar and it was on the menu as a special, I couldn't resist trying it. Thinly sliced carpaccio of geoduck arrived with a cucumber gazpacho with paper thin slices of cucumber and creamy globs of apple butter. It was refreshing, delicious and utterly approachable.
Rockaway Beach has just become so much cooler. Like a mini Smorgasburg or Hester St Fair, it's a boardwalk full of mouthwatering food vendors, like Veggie Island, with mint chocolate chip and other milkshakes, cones and smoothies that are perfect after a day reveling in the sand.
Blue Bottle is also here with their amazing overnight cold brewed New Orleans style iced coffee, rich with chicory flavor. It's a great start with the breakfast appropriate la fresh arepa from Caracas Arepas Bar - tomato, avocado, cheese and tangy sauce on a corn flour bun.
The Caracas stand, right next to the Blue Bottle stand, below.
Rockaway Taco, the curators of this awesome lineup, also have a stand - although if you want a taco, you'll still have to go to the original location on Beach 96th st.
For a (vegan) sweet craving, Babycakes is on hand with doughnuts, waffles, and brownie ice cream sandwiches.
Ode to the Elephants is a yummy looking Thai stand, with everything from satay skewers to a Thai burger.
The Veggie Island stand.
At a fun dinner at the recently opened The Dutch, we started with fantastic cocktails – the Sullivan St Fix-up with gin, green chartreuse and celery bitters and the Aviation Royale with gin, maraschino and crème yvette.
The food started with a loaf of moist, dense cornbread with whipped butter.
The Hiramasa tartare with salsa verde was bright and fresh, and balanced by a small touch of crema and crunch of seeds.
The beet salad was also light with fresh beets, smoked eggs and dill over a yogurt sauce.
Entrees were massive and amazing – the lamb neck was incredibly tender in a deep, smoky, slow-burning mole sauce over dirty rice.
A hangar steak arrived with a beautiful onion topping dripping down the side, and a creamy smoked potato and horseradish side.
