Fette Sau

Occasion: Continuing shenanigans with Yining
Location: Fette Sau on Metropolitan Ave in Brooklyn (fettesaubbq.com)
Edibles: we (okay, I) ordered...
2 slices of brisket
1/4 lb pulled pork shoulder
1/4 lb boneless beef rib
1/8 lb of thick-cut bacon (the guy wasn't really supposed to let us order so little, but he let us do it)
1 link of spicy sausage
2 St. Louis style pork ribs
small coleslaw
piece of cornbread

All of the above came out to $40 including tax. Meat-a-palooza!

Before:

After:

Musings: I was chatting with these two hefty guys (I'm talking like 200+ lbs each) while waiting in line. Very nice guys. Told me about an all-you-can-eat Korean bbq place in Queens. After I paid, I heard them order, "What she's having." So there you have it - confirmation that I'm competitive way above my weight class.

My favorite bbq item is baby back ribs. Sadly, these were a bit underdone for my taste. One of my co-workers, who competes in bbq competitions, says that the proper doneness for a rib is when you can take a clean bite, without having to pull (underdone) or having the rest of the meat fall off the bone (overdone). By that standard, Fette Sau's ribs were cooked perfectly - but I personally like them with the meat falling off the bone.

The pulled pork had good texture, though it was slightly lacking in flavor. I don't think it matches Wilfie's awesome pulled pork sliders, or even Great Jones Cafe's. It needs a generous squirt of bbq sauce to be even halfway decent. You can take a pass on this one.

My favorite was the beef rib, a cut so tricky I've never attempted to cook it myself. Absolute perfection here - tender, robust and flavorful. Yining's favorite was the brisket, with the beef rib gaining slightly as we made our way through the tray. So surprisingly enough, in a restaurant named for the majestic pig, the beef won the day.

The sides are also worth mentioning. The coleslaw is actually pretty exotic for a place like this, with hand-cut cabbage, peppers and chunks of apple. The dressing is thin and tastes like sesame - it's got tahini, I think. I'd definitely recommend an order of it to give your palate some relief from all the meat. The cornbread, which is about six inches square and two inches thick, is light and fluffly. Also excellent.

All in all, the best bbq joint I've been to in the city - there isn't even a close second. Fette Sau, I'm going to be back soon. Real, real soon.

Sunday Gravy

Location: Brooklyn Flea in Williamsburg

Bread boat with meat sauce, chock full of shreds of pork shoulder, slices of sausage and mini meatballs. Hearty doesn't even begin to describe it.

Perhaps a bit heavy for the weather, but it was the most interesting (to me, at least) of the remaining food stalls. The $7 price tag was a mite high but I absolutely fell in love with that sauce. I bought a quart jar of it to take home. It ran me $23, which is expensive but still less than what something comparable would cost you at a restaurant.

A note on the jar: It's not commercially vacuum-sealed, so I wouldn't keep it for more than a week in the fridge.

[One quibble: If you're going to feature a red Le Creuset pot in the company logo, you should really be cooking in it. I could clearly see the stainless steel insert that they were really cooking in. Perhaps they have issues with the sauce sticking to the bottom?]

Asia Dog

Location: Brooklyn Flea in Williamsburg (asiadognyc.com)

The Vietnamese-style Vinh dog (on the left) was disappointing. The carrots and the daikon weren't pickled long enough and tasted pretty bland.

The Thai-style Sidney dog (on the right) was better. The mango relish is a lovely condiment for a hot dog (though it'd be even better with a homemade chicken sausage). I think the ingredients minus the fish sauce would make a great lobster salad too. Yining immediately agreed that we have to try it.

Regular dogs (beef, chicken or veg) are $4 each or two for $7. Organic dogs are $5 or two for $9.

All told, Asia Dog was not particularly memorable and, by itself, is not enough to drag me off my island. The flavor combinations are thoughtful and interesting but the hot dog is dragged down by the grocery-store quality meat and bun. They should definitely consider making their own sausages. Or, at the very least, sourcing some fresh local stuff.

Macondo

Occasion: Huijin's birthday dinner, with Yining and Melissa
Location: Macondo, on E Houston and Allen (macondonyc.com)
Edibles: clam ceviche; chorizo and shrimp; pork belly flatbread; mofongo de pulpo (mashed plantains and octopus), feijoada (a Portuguese stew) and duck tacos; two desserts to share - chocolate cake filled with dulce de leche and French toast stuffed with lemon cream cheese

Musings: I've passed this place a hundred times and never felt the urge to go in. That sign, maybe - it just looks cheesy.

But now that I've been, I'm definitely going back. The reason? Their awesome and totally addictive pork belly flatbread with tomatoes, lima beans and mahon cheese. It's super crispy and savory... just wonderful. If we hadn't ordered so much other food, I'd've insisted we get another one.

If the flatbread was the winner of the table, the feijoada was the loser. It was a special, not on the regular menu. One of the most expensive dishes of the meal at $15, the stew just sort of muddy and didn't have any depth or pizzazz.

Everything else was tasty. The portion on the duck tacos is perhaps a bit small and hard to share, but they were delicious. I also really liked the clam ceviche. Very refreshing, and it's a generous serving.

The French toast dessert (torrija) is HUGE - even with four of us eating it, we barely made a dent. Both it and the chocolate cake (brazo de gitano) were very, very sweet. I personally would have had trouble finishing a whole dessert by myself but it was great to have just a few bites.

With a round of cocktails, tons of great food and two shared desserts, our dinner came out to a very reasonable $40 per person including tip and tax.

Mmmm... improvised mushroom sauce

Occasion: Dinner party at Ben and Rebecca's

OK, this turned out to be one of the more eventful dinner parties I've attended. Here's the story.

Ben had decided on a main course of grilled halloumi cheese* with marsala sauce to accommodate Karen, our vegetarian. I offered to go early to help cook (as his sous chef - I would never usurp another cook's kitchen) and Ben accepted.

When I get there, he says, "Why don't you make the marsala?" So I start by slicing an onion and browning it. I add sliced brown mushrooms and sauté. I look to Ben for guidance on what to do next and he tells me, "Oh, I trust you. Just wing it."

I don't have a recipe for marsala sauce in my head!! I freak out for a few seconds, then figure what the hell... I'm sure I can cook something decently edible. I add a dab of tomato paste to the sautéed onions and mushrooms. (You always want to cook tomato paste a bit, to get rid of that raw flavor.) I'm now ready to add the marsala and deglaze. At which point Ben hands me a bottle of merlot.

Marsala, for the record, is a fortified sweet wine. Not the same thing as regular red wine at all. So okay, I'm rolling with the punches. I use the merlot, and toss in a handful of sugar to compensate. After a few minutes to let the alcohol burn off, I pour in some vegetable stock, and season with salt, pepper, and chopped fresh tarragon.

The ingredients bubble together for a bit, and the sauce reduces. I check the seasoning one last time, and throw in a knob of butter at the end for gloss and flavor.

The final product was pretty tasty, if I do say so myself. It ended up being more like a beef-less boeuf bourguignon than a marsala sauce but it went well with the halloumi. (It'd also go well with the more robust meats - beef, pork or lamb. For chicken or veal, I'd use a proper marsala sauce, like Martha's.)

Ben served salads with grilled artichoke and ricotta salata to start, and sides of individual sundried tomato bread puddings and steamed asparagus with the halloumi. Abby contributed a pan of chewy, gooey brownies and coffee ice-cream for dessert, and Ben pulled out a ridiculous assortment of digestifs to complement.

Ben and Rebecca, thanks for having us all over to your gorgeous apartment - and busting out the good china to boot!

Karen, it was so nice to have you back with us! Come back again soon!

*Note: Halloumi is a goat and sheep's milk cheese, originally from Cyprus. One of its unusual qualities is that it can be grilled or fried without melting.



Libertador

Occasion: Cinco de Mayo! Dinner with Brigid after an Opera Hispanica showcase.
Location: Libertador on Second and 89th
Edibles: chicken, beef and spinach empanadas; skirt steak

Musings: All the Mexican places were crazy packed, natch. We were too hungry to wait out the crowds and so ended up at Libertador, figuring that Argentinean was sort of in the ballpark.

It had been a long and frazzling day, so I took full advantage of their fantastic half price Cinco de Mayo drink specials. (I think they offer the awesome prices for regular happy hour too.) I had something that tasted like boozy Welch's grape juice and then their sangria. Both packed quite a punch. I like a bartender who pours generous.

Good empanadas. I liked the beef the best; Brigid liked the spinach. But all were yummy.

We sat at the bar around the grill, and watched quite the parade of sizzling meats before our dish came up. By that time, I was positively drooling and pretty much dove in headfirst. Awesome skirt steak with some nice garlicky fries on the side. Not cheap but so very, very good. Meat-tooth happy.

I'll definitely be back. I've been looking for another restaurant within walking distance of Brandy's for ages!