de-rolled!

Looks like we've been removed from Grub Street's blog roll! Oh, well. No hard feelings Grub Street. I never knew why you wanted to link to us in the first place so it was an honor while it lasted. I still love you and read you every day even though I am not a fan of the site redesign.

P.S. Excited about the opening of Umi Nom. I hope they deliver!

Il Torchio First Taste

Dan and I recently had our first taste of Il Torchio on Myrtle Avenue. I had personally held off after perusing its menu as the prices seemed really high. What is it about Myrtle Avenue? I can't imagine rents are higher than that of Dekalb, but we stopped going to our laundromat because they were charging $.90/lb for drop-off, way more than what we used to pay in Park Slope.

On this night though, I was craving Italian and didn't want to cook. Il Torchio's rustic decor provided warmth and coziness on a very cold night. Maybe a little too cozy, because even though the place was about a third full it felt a little crowded. I think the tables are too big for the space. The menu looks like it's been pared down a bit (both in price and choices).

Our meal began with the antipasto platter, which took forever to appear. We had barely tasted the mozzarella, Parmigiano-Reggiano, prosciutto and another salumi which I can't remember the name of (but it was thick-cut and quite dense) when our server asked if we wanted our entrees now or have the kitchen hold off. I'm glad we didn't ask them to hold the entrees, since the plates appeared moments later. Obviously, they were already done when we were asked that question and if we had opted for the second choice, our meal would have sat under a heat lamp for who knows how long?

Dan's rigatoni bolognese was decent - the ragu was nice and thick but too much on the sweet side. My spaghetti vongole was a disappointment. It was super dry as there wasn't enough broth or sauce, and what was in the dish wasn't that flavorful either. There was a generous portion of four different types of clams, though. I shudder to think how it would have tasted if it did sit in the kitchen any longer!

Mojito Cuban Cuisine First Taste

Got delivery last night from this Cuban restaurant, Mojito that's located in the Chocolate Factory building near the Navy Yard. The menu on their website, the Myrtle Avenue Partnernship site and Menupages are all pretty outdated and our dinner wound up costing about 25% more than I had anticipated. We ordered a side of tostones and two sandwiches, with a plan to share them half and half: the Cubano and the Pan con Bistec, thinly sliced steak with Swiss cheese, potato strips, lettuce, tomato and garlic mayo. Despite the restaurant's proximity to us nothing was overly warm upon delivery, which took about 30 minutes. The tostones managed to retain some its chewy but crispy at the same time texture and were a nice compliment to the sandwiches, especially when dipped into the two sauces that were provided. The mojito was a little thick and viscous, but anything that garlicky is never a bad thing. I loved the green sauce, which was similar in consistency and taste to what you get a Peruvian joints. The Cubano held up way better than the steak sandwich, where the meat was a little tough and the cheese hadn't really melted to bind it all together. Neither the garlic mayo or the potato sticks were discernible either. Still we were mostly satisfied and we'll definitely give this place another try. Something tells me in-house dining is the way to go though.

Weekend Eating in the Neighborhood

Saturday August 25

Headed to Bittersweet on Dekalb for an iced coffee. No iced coffee here, so I ordered an iced Americano. The Americano was poured over a plastic cup of ice and the barista began pouring water over it, telling me to say when. As the coffee changed hues from deep brown to more of an iced tea shade, I got nervous and spit out, "When...uh...can I get another shot?" Also bought an almond croissant, which is supplied to Bittersweet by Balthazar. Spent 5 and change. Need to remind myself to get there earlier for more of a pastry selection. It was slim pickins when I got there.

Walked about two blocks east before realizing that I wanted to hit the farmers market. Bought a couple of tomatoes ($.90) from a produce stand, and a half and half and some garlic cheese spread from the Ronnybrook Farms Dairy stand ($4.50, I think?). Before heading back home, I abandoned the idea of eating my almond croissant and went to L'Epicerie for a baguette ($2.75) and some black forest ham ($2). At home I cut off a hunk of baguette and spread both sides with the a little garlic cheese. Then I layered ham, fresh mozzarella and slices of tomato and popped it on the panini press. Yum. Later that day I snacked on baguette and cheese spread and gave the croissant to Dan.

That evening we headed over to Balgavy's to play some board games. Papa John's was eaten, but for fear of being mocked, I won't delve into.

Saturday August 26

On Sunday early afternoon, we decided to eat at Bonita, which we eat at often. I like their brunchy options, though I didn't love the chicken enchiladas smothered in guajillo sauce with eggs any style I had last time. We started with a bowl of deliciously tangy lime soup served with chicken falling the bone and lots of cilantro, onions and tomatoes and a few tortilla strips sprinkled on top. Dan got steak tacos and I ordered one of the day's specials, sopas with chorizo (which is handmade every day according to our server). The duo of sopas were topped with crumbly sausage, lettuce, white cheese and crema and a liberal dose of tomatillo sauce at my doing. I have learned to stay away from their habanero sauce, which has caused me great pain in the past.

For dinner, we got cheesesteaks from the BB Sandwich Bar cart at Shea Stadium as the Mets stunk it up. I've gottencheeseteaks from their flagship on W. 3rd Street a couple times and have liked them, but the thin slices of meat on the Shea variety reminded me a little of Steak-Ums. It's a nice alternative to all the fried options and the cart is right by our section.

wake up maggie (and franny) i think i got something to say to you

I've figured out why it took nearly three years to try Franny's for the second time. As my (sometimes...seriously, where are you?) co-blogger the CLC would say, "I'm just not into them." I remember feeling pretty disappointed the first time we tried Franny's, which I think was around the time they first opened. Years pass and the near-universal acclaim piles up yet, I have never felt much of a need to go back. Well I finally did over the weekend and I think it's safe to say that Franny's is simply not my type.

DMR, the CLC, Balgavy and I headed to Franny's after downing mint juleps and derby pie at Commonwealth in Southgreenslopeset. I won zilch, thanks a lot Paul Lo Duca. Having not had any time to read up on the horses, I went with Captain Red Ass' Trifecta Picks. Sure, he wound up picking the winner but at 4-1 odds it was nothing like his bingo call of Giacomo a couple years back. DMR and I actually started the afternoon with a couple of tacos from Tacos Nuevos Mexico (aka Jack's). I got a spicy chicken and queso taco and they were easily the best I've had from there. The green sauce on the queso was SPICY!

Anyway, back to Franny's. We get seated after a 30 minute or so wait and delve into the menu, which looks great. The restaurant's environmentally conscious philosophy is admirable but it confused me that it appears they print new menus out every night. I guess when the market dictates your menu you need to do this? Surely they can find an alternative, maybe even a few whiteboards as they use at Superfine in Dumbo?

We began with a couple of starters: the trio of house-cured meats and house-pickled vegetables. The waitress informed us that bread was not served with the meats and wondered if our order would that be enough food for us. I'm not quite sure why they don't serve bread since there are crostini variations on the menu. There's also uh, you know, a nice, hot oven in the kitchen where a thin round of pizza dough could be fired up and cut into wedges to accompany the meats. Our waitress was also not nearly as good as she thought she was. She forgot to bring Dan's beer and went out of her way to tell us that she wouldn't be pressuring us to order more food and drink. Thanks, we appreciate it.

I'll start the least appetizing of the house meats. The proscuitto (although the website lists pancetta, so now I'm confused. I thought the menu that day was offering proscuitto, but I may be mistaken) looked and tasted like uncooked bacon strips. It was fatty and chewy and not overly appetizing. The soppressata and coppa, on the other hand were delicious but our waitress was right, there wasn't enough of it. I think we paid about a dollar per small slice of meat. The vegetables used for the house made pickles were an interesting mix, ranging from kohlrabi to baby fennel. They each had different brines, some were sweet and tangy and some packed a bit of heat.

Our table decided to split three pizzas among the four of us. We went with two tomato, buffalo mozzarella and house-made sausage pies and one with clams, chilies and parsley. The pizzas failed to live up to the hype. Where was this magical light and thin crust? We got bready, puffy crusts that reminded us of Bobolis. Granted, it was fine, but not what was expected and certainly not amazing. I was pleased with the number of little briny bellies that dotted our clam pie, but there was something missing. Some garlic would have been nice. The chilies that were promised were barely there and the parsley dominated each bite. The sausage pie was too much outer crust, with the tomato sauce populating too small an area. I remember not loving the sausage last time because it tasted too gamey to me. Had the same thought this time around too.

Despite the promise of "Brooklyn's best panna cotta," we chose to skip dessert. I don't know if that's a line our waitress was told to say or if she truly believed it, but we wouldn't bite. I had no reason to trust her. The bottom line: the pizzas are good, but not that good to make us want to shell out $16 for a pie. The bathroom is very nice, however.

The following day DMR and I went to Maggie Brown's for brunch. We had nice experience dining on the outdoor patio the week prior, even if the service was spotty. I think our waiter disappeared halfway through our meal never to be seen or heard from again. I again went with the Beryl Evans - corned beef hash with a biscuit on the side, along with delicious raspberry butter. We should have branched out because it was just not Maggie's day. My hash came sitting in a pool of oil so it was barely eaten. DMR ordered the Maggie Brown, which is a scramble of cheddar, horseradish and chives. The kitchen forgot the cheddar. He also ordered a side of yogurt with fruit and honey, only first we realized the honey was missing and then we realized the yogurt was missing! Our server, despite seeming super harried, was super apologetic and even took 15% off the bill, which was definitely unexpected.

I could probably write more, but it's taken me like 5 day to write this so I'll just wrap things up now. Plus, I want to post about dinner the other night at Craftsteak in the next day or so.