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.

Grimaldi's

Occasion: Post speed-dating debrief dinner with Mamie and Sheila
Location: Grimaldi's on Old Fulton St in Brooklyn (grimaldis.com)
Edibles: pizza, natch - one with mushroom and pepperoni; one with sausage and roasted peppers

Musings: OK, y'all, I know this place is supposed to be legendary... but I walked out feeling like it's kind of overrated. I mean, they make some good pizza, but it's not good enough by itself to get me out into the hinterlands, a.k.a. the outer boroughs.

The dough for the crust is really nice and chewy - this is a pie where I'd actually eat the crusts. But the slice itself is soggy and limp. The sauce was bland and watery. And you certainly don't go to Grimaldi's for the ambiance. So what's the big deal, exactly?

Bubby's

Occasion: Dinner with Yining before Nerd Nite
Location: Bubby's on Main Street in Brooklyn, tucked under the Manhattan Bridge (bubbys.com)
Edibles: pulled pork tacos and a milkshake for me; a burger for Yining, with a side of collard greens

Musings: Tonight was actually my second time in this place, the first occasion being Rachel W. and Simon's wedding. The space is actually perfect for a smallish wedding - there's a raised area that works great as dance floor and a nice long bar that wraps around behind it. Tables can be set up alongside the ground floor windows (stunning view!!) and the menu makes for a nice, casual event.

For dinner, Bubby's is a bit of a bust. It's never a good sign when you walk into a place on Friday night and it's pretty much empty. I was psyched to try the fried chicken.... before being told that it would take 35 minutes. Why would it take 35 min to make fried chicken? I mean, don't you have a deep fryer up to temp for fries and stuff?

Yining's burger was average; I note that the collard greens were nicely done (I thought I could taste apple cider vinegar). My tacos were okay, but both Móle and the Endless Summer foodtruck are vastly superior.

Oh, and yeah - when your milkshake costs $7? It shouldn't taste like it was made from a powder. Shake Shack's kicks your ass.

Very disappointing, Bubby's.

Endless Summer

Location: Bedford and N 6th St in Williamsburg (endlesssummertacos.com)

Winnie and I passed this truck on our way to The Yarn Tree for craft supplies. I noticed: 1) a delicious meaty scent in the air; 2) lots of people waiting in line. Both promising signs of good eats. On the way back, I campaigned hard for a snack break.

I tried a beef taco and a pork taco, and both were lovely. They're garnished with a white sauce and a green sauce (thinned-out sour cream and tomatillo, respectively, I think), a few slices of radish and a wedge of lime. Winnie thought the beef was a smidge dry, but I hardly noticed it under all the sauce and lime juice. The corn tortillas were wonderfully fragrant and pliable. You get two per taco, and you could conceivably refashion two smaller tacos for daintier eating if you were not standing at a streetcorner, as we were. Or you can just stuff them in your face as-is - I can say from personal experience that it works just fine.

$2.50 for the pork, $3.00 for the beef. Another reason to venture out into the hinterlands...

L&B - Pizza Crawl Stop #2

Location: L&B Spumoni Gardens on 86th St between 10th and 11th St in Brooklyn (spumonigardens.com)
Edibles: thick-crust Sicilian pizza

Musings: A totally different beast. A whole rectangular pie yields twelve hefty slices. The dough is nice and yeasty and the sauce is solid, a little spicier than Totonno's. The cheese is under the sauce, a good ¼ inch of it. A slight ding for the quality of the cheese - it tasted like grocery store processed mozzarella. Though yummy in its own way, this one is breadier than I like my pizzas.

My tally: A whole slice here, for a running total of 2½. I think at this point Tom was up to a group high score of five.

Totonno's - Pizza Crawl Stop #1

Occasion: Gary's Second Annual Pizza Crawl! Participants included Jill and Tom, Kristina and Ryan, Amanda and Chris, Adrienne, Jeannie, Debby and me.
Location: Totonno's Pizzeria Napolitano on Neptune Ave between 15th and 16th St in Brooklyn (totonnos.com) [Note: another location in Manhattan on 2nd between 26th and 27th - just a hop and skip away from my apt!]
Edibles: a white pizza and a regular pizza with tomato sauce (pictured below)

Musings: A no-frills neighborhood place. We ran into a local boys' soccer team celebrating with pies and root beers. It was very cute.

I thought Totonno's standard pie was outstanding. Thin, chewy crust with a good snap to it. Good structural integrity - not soggy at all. Fresh and zesty tomato sauce. The white pie was also tasty, if a touch too garlicky for me.

A few caveats. First, getting there. The closest subway stop is Coney Island / Stillwell Ave - all the way at the end of the line on the N, Q, D and F. It takes a good hour to get there from Manhattan, plus it's a bit of walk from the stop. Also, they don't serve single slices, only whole pies.

As good as the pizza was, I'm probably not going to be making the trip out to this location very much. But I will definitely be visiting the Manhattan location soon for a comparison. Stay tuned.

My tally: Trying to pace myself, I had a half slice of the white and a full slice of the tomato. So 1½ slices and counting.

Stonehome Wine Bar, part II

Occasion: Drinks with Liz, Jana and Olivia
Location: Stonehome Wine Bar on Lafayette Ave between Elliot Place and Portland Ave in Brooklyn (stonehomewinebar.com)
Edibles: gingerbread cake

Musings: Another brief encounter with Stonehome. We were looking for a mellow place to have some wine and chat, and Stonehome really fit the bill - bustling but not loud or crowded, with nice glowy indirect lighting. The bar was full, but we managed to finagle a table after some negotiations with the waitress. A fortunate happenstance, since I wouldn't have ordered dessert otherwise. AMAZING gingerbread cake.

Stonehome Wine Bar

Occasion: Pre-theatre (A Streetcar Named Desire) dinner with Kristina

Location: Stonehome Wine Bar on Lafayette Ave between Elliot Place and Portland Ave in Brooklyn (stonehomewinebar.com)

Edibles: tagliatelle with mushrooms for both of us (no time for an app, according to the waiter)

Musings: The space is narrow and cosy with perfect date lighting, and just a few blocks from BAM's Harvey Theatre. I feel like I only had a quick how-de-do with this place but I'm excited for my second visit, whenever that may be. The pasta was terrific, the wine was exactly what I asked for, and the French press coffee at the end was just the thing to stave off sleepiness during the show.

I really do think we could have fit two courses in (after all, you can sear a scallop in three minutes), but that's just a quibble.