Coming Soon: Double Trouble

I'm headed to the hospital in a couple hours to get induced! Double Trouble should be here at some point on Friday. These were our last meals out pre-DT.

Last brunch: No. 7
We love brunch at No. 7. The food is great and the service is attentive without being overbearing. It hasn't been overly crowded the couple times we've been so Double Trouble and I have had a little more belly room.

DMR and I split an order of waffles and half fried chicken for a DIY version of chicken and waffles. The waffle is good, though I prefer the thicker, Belgiany kind, as well it to be a little more on the crisp, well done side. It's served with two little dishes, one with candied almond slivers and one with an apple and raisin compote. I dig the apples pieces out and leave the raisins for DMR to consume. The fried chicken can be ordered in 1/4, 1/2 and whole portions. The 1/2 order is more than enough for us. You get 5 well seasoned pieces (a drumstick, a breast cut in half , wing and I think a thigh?). The batter gives off a nice crunch. I like alternating between dipping my chicken in the maple syrup and the home made hotsauce.

We also shared an order of latkes and a cinnamon bun the size of a squashed softball. This was the same exact meal we ordered the one other time we had brunch here, with a few minor tweaks. The latkes were all potato on our initial visit but the second time around some carrot and celery was mixed in. Our cinnamon bun was relatively straight up last time, this time it was studded with bacon bits.

Last dinner: iCi
I read about iCi's $25 3-course prix fixe on Grub Street or Eater and it sounded like a good deal. The restaurant offers up three appetizer and entree choices and then a choice of two desserts. DMR and I like different tastes, so we usually order and share our plates. To begin, we went with the crispy potato cake with goat cheese, apple sage chutney and a winter salad of frisee, radicchio and a roasted garlic vinaigrette. I let DMR eat most of the goat cheese as I'm not really supposed to eat soft cheeses, but at this point, it probably doesn't matter. The cakes were definitely crispy on the outside, but still tender and soft on the inside. The sage in the chutney was probably my least favorite part. We both could have eaten two cakes a piece easily, but the lightly dressed winter salad was a good partner and a good idea. Odd appetizer out: house cured salmon.

Dan ordered the roasted pork medallion with kale, pinenuts, currants and a sweet potatoes for his main and I opted for the Spanish mackerel with squash, red peppers and kalamata olives in a ginger lemon beurre blanc. The pork was unfortunately a little over cooked and tough, but the sauce and kale were delicious. My mackerel on the other hand was expertly sauteed. Odd entree out: tagliatelle with sun dried tomatoes.

There were only two options for dessert, so no feelings were hurt. We shared the chocolate pot de creme with chantilly cream and a coconut tart with almond brittle. Left to our own devices we probably would have each ordered the pot de creme, which is one of my favorite desserts ever. It easily blew away with the coconut tart, which was perfectly respectable (with the exception of the almond brittle, which contained some unexpected chewy citrusy ingredient). The pot de creme reminded me those melted chocolate bar cookies from The City Bakery. In a word, deliciousness. Dark chocolately decadent deliciousness.

First Taste: No. 7

No. 7 recently opened on Greene Street, its entrance tucked behind the stairwell to one of the Lafayette C stops. DMR and I met up with Kristy O for dinner the other week. It's a really handsome space that the owners make very good use of. The front area has a bar, along with some loungey seating. There are some mini u-shaped counters in the middle for more casual dining, or main dining overflow. Then there's the main dining area in the back - maybe a dozen tables, although don't quote me on that because I have baby brains and absolutely no ability to remember things that like properly these days. Might I add that the scented candles in the bathrooms smelled really good?

Upon being seated, the table was presented with a ramekins of house made pickles, and this white bean garlic spread. The pickles were thinly sliced cucumbers that tasted like they had a brief affair with vinegar. The not overwhelming acidity of the pickles was a great complement to the richness of the addictive garlic dip, which had the consistency and taste of the most delicious potato soup you could imagine. I could have called it a night after those two tastes and been happy!


To begin, DMR and I opted for the cold pork and Kristy the shrimp cocktail (off the bar menu). The latter came with a really delicious, spicy cocktail sauce, almost like a bloody mary. The very thinly sliced pork was a little dry and certainly overshadowed by the tempura'ed egg, which was halved on the plate to show off its gorgeous orange yellow, perfectly set yolk.

If you squint, the picture of my plate still doesn't look like much. DMR and I shared the shell steak special, 16 ounces of deliciousness served with mini latkes, a fennel salad and bleu cheese on the side. We ordered our steak medium and it was perfectly cooked and the portion was super generous. Above is my plate after I had given Dan half my food. The latkes were like homemade fancy schmancy tater tots and the fennel provided bites of lightness in an otherwise heavy meal.
Kristy ordered the roast chicken which arrived with flourish. It comes with a mini stainless stein (like the containers of cream at a diner) filled with truffled jus that you pour over the chicken. And continue to pour over the chicken, because why would you want to waste any jus?

For dessert, the butterscotch pudding (I am a huge pudding fan) was of course tempting, but DMR and I decided to share the warm chocolate gingerbread pudding which was studded with cherries and sprinkled with bits of minty crunchy things. So yummy. Oh and I spilled my decaf during dessert. I blame the cockamamie saucer the cup was resting on 60%, pregnancy induced clumsiness 40%.

Writing about this meal is making me crazy hungry. Even with a couple of wines and beers (and a club soda for me), the bill was totally reasonable. And the restaurant is a 10 minute walk from our house (well maybe more like 15 minutes these days as a Slowpoke Sally)! I'm looking forward to the follow-up meal. Also I hear they started serving brunch, including chicken and waffles!

The General Greene First and 2nd and 3rd and 4th tastes...

Whoops, I started this post months and months ago and never finished it. The General Greene opened in Fort Greene to much fanfare in the cursed corner spot on Dekalb and Clermont. This finally might be the restaurant to not only stick around but also offer up some decent grub. DMR and I had a first taste dinner on a late summer evening. At this point the General Greene was only using the front space. There's also a very long hallway that runs past the kitchen and opens into a second dining room. I had read a lot about the rushed nature of the service and felt it throughout the evening. Also, this is a small plates place and I can never figure out how much to order at such establishments. On the first visit at least, it's difficult to gauge because portion sizes are different things to every restaurant. We over-ordered and our table didn't have enough room for all the plates.

The three bean salad - very basic, but very fresh and delicious.

The roasted beets in a yogurt chive sauce. Super good and a very nice portion.

Nasty nasty "crispy chicken" that was anything but. The meat was stringy and chewy and the skin rubbery.

The pork meatballs were a disappointment as well. They were on the dry side and overwhelmed by a too sweet tomato based sauce that was reminiscent of the sort of vodka sauce you'd get at a pizzeria. We also tried the candied bacon (yum, but nothing I'd need to order again) as well as the cheeseburger. The cheeseburger here is an interesting beast. The kitchen uses a crazy meat to fat ratio so even if your burger is overcooked, as it was in our case, it remains somewhat moist. It will also drip non stop with grease. No fries on the side, instead you get a handful of store-bought potato chips.

Ok, now fast forward to present day. The General Greene starts serving brunch and we head out one weekend morning to give it a shot and guess what, it's delicious! We've subsequently been back a number of times (I think we went three Sundays in a row) and have been very pleased overall. Dan really likes the steak and potato skillet eggs, where all the ingredients are heated up and served in a cast iron pan. The potatoes form a deliciously, crisp crust and the skillet lends itself to nice crispy bits at the bottom which I like to scrape off. Dan does not have the patience. He's also had the surprisingly not overly sweet sticky bun french toast with fruit and some sort of sweet cream, which was also declared a winner. The portion is not big enough to stand alone as a meal so he sticks with the skillet eggs.

I had the frittata once in an attempt to diversify, but it's the egg and gruyere sandwich that makes me happiest. It's got a whole grain mustard aioli and I get bacon added for a buck. On the side are some very lightly dressed greens and overall the dish makes a really delicious and economically prudent ($6, including the added bacon) meal. We always supplement with a baked good, twice the moist, exploding with banana goodness banana bread, which is served warm. Once when the kitchen was out, we opted for an apple turnover which was ok, but no banana bread. We're also fans of the fruit salad and yogurt parfait. It's been a trio of blueberries, apples and bananas the couple times we've ordered it. I'm just happy to see a side of fruit that doesn't contain melon. The coffee can be a little hit or miss, but when it hits, it's out of the park.

Weekend Eating Highlights

I’ve decided to start making routine posts – AGAIN. Hopefully it will go better this time.

Friday night’s dinner

Was feeling nostalgic and in the mood for sushi, so met up with a friend at Sushi Samba 7. I was shocked to find that this place was still packed to the gills by the “fake” sushi eating masses at 10:00 pm on a Friday night in 2008 AND that people actually had thought to make reservations. I only went there as a joke, so couldn’t believe how many people were trying to eat there for real. Even though, based upon my best recollections, Sushi Samba 7 didn’t pop up on the grid, or rather below the grid, until the mid to late nineties, it definitely has a distinct American Psycho vibe. I literally expected to see Patrick Bateman come strolling in with some sort of gore stuck to the lapel of his Cerruti suit. Regardless, this is what we ate:

- Samba 7 Roll - crispy lobster, scallion, cucumber, celery & jalapeño with wasabi-chimichurri dipping sauce
- Neo Tokyo Roll - yellowfin tuna, tempura flake & aji panca
- Pacific Roll - king crab, avocado, asian pear, soy paper & wasabi-avocado crema
- Two Kumamoto oysters and one Fanny Bay oyster (I ate these without the help of my friend)
- One piece of mackerel sushi (also a solo job)

Afterward, most likely because I was drunk, I got he idea in my brain that I was still ravenous, so we went to Rare, where I consumed what most would consider a proper dinner, but I categorized it simply as a snack/dessert. After carefully weighing my options, I ordered the M&M Burger, which is flambéed in whiskey, topped with caramelized shallots, cheddar cheese and applewood smoked bacon. Just to be on the safe side, I also ordered a side of truffle butter. In hindsight, I think I was actually very hungry and not just eating my feelings, as I did not feel overly full upon finishing my second dinner.

Saturday evening hors d'œuvres

In honor of her adorable mother’s visit to New York, my friend Dani threw a little party at her apartment on Saturday night. Since I am a one trick pony, I promised to bring oysters and scallops wrapped in bacon (wrapped separately, not together). Since it is my only one, I feel very fortunate that it is such a great trick. Usually I buy my seafood for this exercise at the Citarella on Sixth Avenue and Ninth Street, but didn’t really give myself ample lead time so had to go to Provisions in Fort Greene. Despite eagerly anticipating the opening of the Greene Grape’s bougie grocery last spring, I have been avoiding it due to reports of how ridiculously overpriced everything is. But alas, my hands were tied and I had to pull the trigger on Saturday in order to procure my little fruits de mer.

Too many dollars later, I emerged from my maiden voyage to Provisions with one pound of Mexican dry scallops, a dozen Hurricane Harbor oysters and a pound of lovely d’Artagnan (did you know that this purveyor of fine frenchie meats was based in Newark, NJ?) uncured applewood smoked bacon. While I felt everything was absurdly overpriced, the fact that the butcher who assisted me with my seafood purchases (yes, butcher - apparently the regular fishmonger was off that day) looked like a more handsome, bearded, beefier version of Lukas Haas helped to cushion the blow a little bit. I was vaguely interested in posting a missed connections thingy, something like “You – cute Provisions butcher person with Social Distortiony looking tattoos poking out from under your chef’s coat. Me – short Asian with Huey Lewis pin who enjoys wrapping things in bacon”, but my inherent laziness got the better of me.

Anyway, I was planning on going to the Greene Grape wine shop to pick up a bottle of Prosecco, but felt like I had given them enough of my money for one day, so instead walked up the street to Olivino, where I purchased a nice and inexpensive bottle of Charles de Fère blanc de blanc. I am happy to report that my bacon wrapped deliciousnesses, accompanied by the above referenced sparkling, were very well received by the guest of honor and I hope to delight her with more bacon wrapped concoctions in the not too distant future.

catching up on june eatings

Fort Lee, NJ: Somyun in homemade dashi, with zucchini and a semi-poached semi-scrambled egg. You add spoonfuls of a sauce of soy, sesame and chilies to taste. I can be heavy handed with this condiment.

Palisades Park, NJ: Pile of veggies and fishcakes ready to get Shabu Shabu'ed at Pho 32.

Hot tub time for a piece of napa cabbage, a clump of enoki mushrooms and a fishball.

Thinly sliced beef ready for dunking.

Park Slope, Brooklyn: The house omelet at Moim is filled with kimchi, steak, onions and mozzarella cheese and partially bathed in a sort of demi-glace sauce you'd find in a yoshoku style restaurant. The home fries were perfect - super crisp on the outside without a trace of wetness, soft and warm on the inside. And most importantly, they were well-seasoned.

Inside view of the omelet. I'd definitely get this again, but would probably ask for it without the cheese.

Fort Greene, Brooklyn: The fruits of a quick trip to the Brooklyn Flea. Even with the chili pepper on the label, these are a lot spicier than you'd think.

Cobble Hill, Brooklyn: A pre-bocce dinner at Hibino started off so positively, with this duo of obanzai. The chicken meatballs were moist and had a pleasing char. The eel croquettes were like arancini with a decidedly Japanese twist (panko breading, tonkatsu-style sauce drizzled over). Unfortunately, our main dishes took nearly an hour to arrive and one of our orders didn't even make it from notepad to kitchen. We had to rush and were late to the start of the game And we wound up losing.

Edgewater, NJ: Gyoza and congee combo from China Table Tokyo Hanten at Mitsuwa. I almost always opt for ramen here but was in the mood to expand my horizons. This was yummy, but not as satisfying as a bowl of noodles. I did really like the mug of consommé.

Fort Greene, Brooklyn: Pupusas (whoops, I've been spelling these with two As) from a Red Hook ball field vendor at today's Brooklyn Flea! Brought home a bean and cheese and zucchini and cheese a little before it started pouring. Only $4.50!

The bean and cheese pupusa was dry and seemed like it may have been sitting on the griddle for some time, but the zucchini was wonderful. Maybe the water content of the zucchinis helped to keep it moist? By the time I got home, some of the sour cream had melted and mixed in with the salsa to create a delicious cream sauce. Pickles make everything better, and in this case, it was pickled cabbage.

Brunch at Ici

My tumultuous relationship with Ici continues. The first time was disappointing but the other week I was working from home and decided to stop in for some breakfast. I had a lovely spread of poached eggs with truffle sauce atop Anson Mills grits, a side of thick cut bacon (a generous three pieces) and some iced coffee out back in the garden. The weather was as good as it had been in weeks and I liked my waitress. She was attentive and workmanlike and even gave me a free refill on my coffee since I didn't get my first one until my meal arrive (as they had to brew a new pot or something like that). My eggs and bacon were fantastic and I was feeling really high on Ici and ready to try it more regularly.

This past Sunday after we saw off our guests from Memphis, DMR and I decided to get a second breakfast. The two of us had split a bagel with cream cheese at around 8:45 and by 1 or 2PM we were pretty hungry again. DMR wanted to hit Bonita, but I was feeling good about Ici and dragged him there.

I went with my eggs with grits and bacon combo once again and was overall pleased. I would have preferred the bacon a little more well done to render out more of the fat, so next time I'll ask for just that.


The egg dish was not quite as good as I found the grits a little dry, but overall it was satisfying until I got to the piece of twine/string/fishing wire that was tucked into the grits. Foreign objects seem to find their way into my food quite frequently. Or maybe I just notice them more than others. I was about three quarters of the way through my meal and it was probably a good time to stop anyway.


They wound up comping my eggs, but in general the service was not attentive at all. I couldn't get my water glass refilled to save my life. The verdict is still up in the air.

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.

Last Night's Dinner: The Smoke Joint

Last night was our board approval meeting (just found out a short while ago we got approved, yay!) in Clinton Hill and afterwards we walked in the cold to the Smoke Joint. I had foolishly decided to wear knee socks thinking that both my coat and skirt ran past my knees and by the time we got to the restaurant, I had lost feeling in them.

I've gone with the baby backs the previous two times I've been here and went with them again last night and they did not disappoint. They were the best they've ever been. I got a really nice portion of about 6-7 ribs that I gnawed clean. DMR went with the hacked and stacked beef sandwich and I stole a few nubbins of meat from right under his nose, which he lets me get away with all the time. His sandwich came with some spicy pickles and a small mound of vinegar-based cole slaw, most of which I ate. We also got a side of fries seasoned with their house dry rub and some simmered greens. The greens were completely unecessary due to the generous number of ribs and I couldn't finish them. If I could change one thing, I'd prefer if the greens were chopped into smaller pieces and I'd love it if they offered combo platters. I need a taste of greens or cole slaw, not an entire side.

Incidentially the proprietor of 67 Burger was digging into some barbeque last night, too.

Can't a girl get a decent burger around here?

We recently visited two new burger joints in Brooklyn. Burger stands seem to be to new restaurants what "wolf" was to indie rock during the past 12-16 months: Wolfmother; Wolf Parade; Wolf Eyes; Peter and the Wolf; etc. Yesterday's lunch was at the Brooklyn Burger Bar in Park Slope, in the space formerly occupied by Bar Minnow, and where they tout hand-made black Angus beef patties. We were hipped to it by the Larrys a couple days ago, although you couldn't miss the garish yellow awning if you tried.

The first sign of trouble was when the waitress took our order without writing it down, a huge pet peeve of ours. I went with a medium burger with bacon and mozzarella, while DMR went with provolone and caramelized onions on the side, cooked to medium as well. She came back a few minutes later to confirm the cheese type and double check whether or not I had ordered bacon. Can readers with wait experience chime in on why there's such an abhorrence to taking a pen to paper, especially in a casual restaurant setting? Our burgers arrived on plate with a mound of shoestring fries (though special house fries are offered on the menu, they were inexplicably unavailable on this day), lettuce, a slice of tomato, a thin ring of red onions and a new pickle wedge. When our server asked if we needed anything else, I answered with black pepper, mayo, mustard, a couple place settings, oh and the top bun for DMR's burger!
I was appalled. I don't think Dan nor the server noticed and when I pointed this out, she in all seriousness asked Dan to check under the lettuce leaf! I wasn't sure whether to bang my head on the table or burst out laughing. I wish the missing brioche half was the only shortcoming of the day. Despite the burgers looking solid appearance-wise, there's not much else positive to report.
The fries were cold and a bit too oily. The burger was void of flavor and juiciness. The caramelized onions had been reduced to a sickly sweet jam, so off-putting I had to scrape it off my burger. When our bill arrived, we noticed we were charged $4 for a glass of fountain root beer. GTLO! We were trying to think of an explanation for this exorbitant charge. Perhaps there were free refills, although the menu doesn't note that (or the price). We needed an explanation and what we were told was that the root beer served used to be the more premium bottled Abita. Used to? Meaning when the Brooklyn Burger Bar was Bar Minnow, a completely different restaurant? So they just haven't gotten around to reconfiguring Ordertron 2000? DMR and I both got the impression that we weren't first customers to point out this price gouging. Why don't they just charge $20 for a burger and hope that most people won't say anything or won't even notice. Oh, and where does a restaurant get the nerve to not give back coin change? It's one thing if you get shorted a penny or two (although I still find that to be really arrogant and aggravating - if you don't want to deal with unrounded numbers, alter your prices to include tax and even it off), but seriously, where was my 27 cents today? I wish Bonnie's was open for lunch.

On the flip side, we are going to give 67 Burger a second shot even though the CLC, DMR and I weren't blown away on the first try. There were some problems with the food preparation and overrall flow of the place but also a couple of little quirks and glimpses of greatness they can build on. I was a big fan of 67 Burger's fountain beverage choices. On tap were RC Cola, Diet Rite, Bosco Chocolate Soda and Stewart's Root Beer. The $1.95 price includes a free refill, possibly even refills, because the drinks were casually filled and never to the top. The french fries, when not sitting on the counter, waiting to be delivered to your table, were piping hot and delicious. Unfortunately, one of our orders of fries had the misfortune to sit out too long and lost its crispiness. All three of our burgers were way overdone. The CLC had ordered hers medium rare, while DMR and I went with our usual medium doneness. Only my burger showed any hint of pink. The outsides were charred and hard as a rock, as were the buns (note the bottom right of the plate). The insides though surprisingly remained somewhat juicy, which combined with the sauteed mushrooms and onions, aided in the disintegration of the bottom bun.
These guys should really ditch the table service. It doesn't make any sense at any time, but especially when there's a crowd, as was the case when we ate here. You order at the register, so why then sit around and wait for someone to deliver your food? Was I supposed to wait for a server to come around to ask for a drink refill or was it kosher that I turned around, stood up and took the three steps to the counter to ask for one? Service issues aside, our pal Balgavy was shocked upon hearing of our not too stellar experience, as he's had a number of perfectly cooked rare burgers here. That gives us hope.

Cambodian Cuisine becomes The Smoke Joint

I had no idea Cambodian Cuisine had closed its doors. While never its biggest fan, I liked the idea of this place as it provided an nice dining alternative for the area. It was just different and I loved the corner of land it occupied. Taking over its spot is The Smoke Joint, serving honest to goodness, real barbeque in Brooklyn! And it's REALLY GOOD!

DMR and I got some takeout to bring to Balgavy's the other week, where we caught up on the television shows we had missed while our interwebs and cable was indisposed. (For those keeping score at home, it took Time Warner 11 days to fix everything: 3 actual appointments and 1 made-up appointment where the technician showed up despite us never confirming the date or time.) Balgavy went with the mammoth beef short ribs and a side of fries shaken in the house "jointrub." I went with a half rack of baby-back ribs, while DMR chose the tips and bits drowned in the house sauce, "jointsmoke." We also shared an order of fries, mac n' cheese and greens.

I devoured my dry-rubbed ribs, which came 5 or 6 to the order. I liked being able to dip my rib into the sauce to control the amount. They were meaty and tender, and I licked them clean. DMR was a little hesitant about his tips and bits, as it was difficult to tell what was meat and what was bone amid the sea of sauce. Still, the sauce is damn good, and the crusty end bits made up for accidental gnawing on cartilege. Neither of us was overly fond of the other sauce - which was probably the brown-sugar chilie. The fries, served in a brown paper lunch bag, were a big hit. The Smoke Joint's jointrub is reminiscent of Utz's bbq chips, with sweetness coming from granulated sugar. Personally, I opt for Carolina-style bbq chips were vinegar provides a tang, but these fries were so tasty, it didn't matter. A fry can widthstand sweetness much better than a thin chip can.

I had read some reviews that said the greens needed work and the mac n' cheese was fantastic, but my experience was the opposite. My greens were slightly smoky and not overwhelmingly vinegary at all as some reports stated. The mac n' cheese, on the otherhand was too unctuous and the sauce didn't have much of a bite. And where were the crusty parts? Oddly, I enjoyed this side more the next day, when I reheated the leftover portion for a snack. The cheesiness was more prominent and the sauce had broken so it wasn't overly creamy.

We can't wait to go back and try the fantastic selection of beers owners Ben and Craig have put together. While we waited for our order, we chatted with Ben, who regards the Smoke Joint's beverages like his own children. A PSG favorite, Blue Point Toasted Ale is sold in bottles for $3.50. There is also a selection of cans from Butternuts Beer and Ale in upstate New York, each just a couple bucks and with great names (Pork Slap Pale Ale, anyone?). Dale's Pale Ale from Colorado, which I recently tried at Floyd is on the menu, too. Ben mentioned his favorite of all is Hennepin from the Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown.

There is still much on the menu, I want to try. Coleslaw, Brooklyn Wings and Hacked and Stacked, I'm looking right at you! You are warned, even though it will be difficult to not the ribs the next time around.