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Oct 31

Zaytoons

This was just a quick, light pre-Halloween dinner, so I only have a cursory
sense of the place. I had a chicken schwarma pitza, which was nice and
grilled just right, but I always wonder if it's OK to say "pitza" without
sounding silly. I almost don't want to order it, but it's nothing compared
to the inexplicable embarrassment I'd have as a teen ordering The Super Bird
(a glorified club sandwich) at Denny's. I'd always crack up while saying it,
though I never had a problem with Denny's Moons Over My Hammy (ham and
scrambled egg sandwich with Swiss and American cheese on grilled sourdough,
as per their website). Funny.


Zaytoons * 283 Smith St., Brooklyn, NY

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Oct 29

Brooklyn Banh Mi

I’ve since re-rediscovered Vietnamese sandwiches after moving to Sunset Park a couple years ago. Despite the good Mexican food strip and the Chinatown, the neighborhood is mostly home to a disproportionate amount of harrowing Brooklyn trash (people, not garbage, duh). Thank god the area is also host to an abundance of great banh mi. An Dong was my original discovery. Ba Xuyen soon followed. Now they have a bright and shiny second branch on 8th Ave. in the low 40s that kicks ass in every way possible. They’ve upped the goodie quotient with tons of sweet things in the self-serve case and a table full of snacks, many a mystery to me. In addition to great fried spring rolls (one morning I was all sad because they didn’t have any, but it was just because they hadn’t been cooked yet. While waiting for my sandwich I was able to witness fresh, hot spring rolls being brought out. It was my lucky day.) they often have two different types of summer rolls. The one with pork and shrimp is just meaty enough to ruin the seemingly healthier effect of fresh versus fried rolls.

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Oct 29

Singapore Laksa

Ok, I’ve since had the real deal. I sampled Singapore laksa in Singapore at Lau Pa Sat and a Holland Village branch of Katong Laksa this past summer. I never thought I’d live to see the day. What I did see was where the Portland version was coming from, and it’s not totally off-base, though chicken isn’t a major laska ingredient. There might be shrimp and/or cockles, but I didn’t see any poultry being used. At least not in the Singapore version. I have heard of chicken in laksa, though, but it’s a different style. The only problem with laksa in Singapore is that there is so much damn food to be sampled, you don’t want to go overboard with it or else you’ll be ruined for the rest of the day. I totally had to restrain myself.

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Oct 23

Schnack

1/2

I'm getting to know the new neighborhood, and trying my darndest to avoid
all the red sauce and meatballs. Being new to the whole Smith St. scene I
don't have major prejudices against Alan Harding ventures. I'm just happy to
live in a neighborhood with restaurants other than KFC and Taco Bell — and
where one might argue that Schnack is but a mere notch above fast food —
you won't hear me complaining.

I had a not terribly authentic, though still tasty cubano, and James had
the quint, which is five slider patties on one giant bun. We shared fries.
The menu is what I'd call "grubbin'" even though hate to use stoner lingo.
But you know the kind of food I'm talking about. I would go back and I would
eat the banana and chocolate bread pudding, no doubt about it. (10/23/03)

Schnack is a hit. We don't go there a lot, but we're always happy when
we do. It works for burger lover, visiting vegans, and me who always orders
the same damn cubano.

My sister's boyfriend was impressed when the day after we went to
Schnack, it was the focus of Cookin'
in Brooklyn on TV. But then, it doesn't always take much to wow
British folks. (4/30/04)


Schnack* 122 Union St.,
Brooklyn, NY

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Oct 17

Khao Sarn

OK, so I professed the wonders of using green apple in
lieu of green papaya in a som tam, but that was a bad Brooklyn produce,
last minute desperate measure. I don't want to see actual restaurants
pulling this off, and especially not without warning you first.

I wouldn't expect mind-blowing Thai food in Williamsburg in the first
place, but being in the neighborhood on a hungry Friday night, I thought I'd
give Khao Sarn a shot. And it was all very adequate, which apparently is
fine for all the locals wielding chopsticks and downing their BYOB Corona
six-packs. But I would've liked a little more oomph. I'm swear not a snobby
fussbudget (well, sometimes), but Thai cuisine is one of those things where
I'm pretty particular. If I don't see lime leaves, if I do see chopsticks,
and particularly if I'm given green apple passed off as papaya, it's
curtains for a restaurant. Khao Sarn Rd. is totally the Bedford Ave. of
Bangkok so in some way it all makes senses really.


Khao Sarn * 311 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn, NY

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Oct 12

Carl’s Steaks

1/2 It was a perfect post-cat show treat. Not that cheesesteaks have anything to do with fancy cats. It's just that Madison Square Gardens and Carl's are both on 34th St. Though not a super close straight line, and that's what inspired my first Manhattan public bus ride. I ride in Brooklyn all the time, but Manhattan…I don't know, that's for subways. It was all very exciting and surprisingly efficient (at least compared to the B63). James thought the meat on his cheesesteak was skimpy. I didn't think mine was paltry though the meat was loaded heavier on one side like how Taco Bell always seems to accidentally compile their seven-layer burritos vertically as opposed to the preferred horizontal method. As you work your way through the burrito you get separate mouthfuls of rice, then sour cream, then beans, and so on. The cheesesteak was much more balanced than that. Definitely sufficient. And besides, the MTA doesn't go to Philly.

Carl's Steaks * 507 Third Ave., New York, NY

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Oct 3

Sunset Park Banh Mi

I've since re-rediscovered Vietnamese sandwiches after moving to Sunset Park a couple years ago. Despite the good Mexican food strip and the Chinatown, the neighborhood is mostly home to a disproportionate amount of harrowing Brooklyn trash (people, not garbage, duh). Thank god the area is also host to an abundance of great banh mi. An Dong was my original discovery. Ba Xuyen soon followed. Now they have a bright and shiny second branch on 8th Ave. in the low 40s that kicks ass in every way possible. They've upped the goodie quotient with tons of sweet things in the self-serve case and a table full of snacks, many a mystery to me. In addition to great fried spring rolls (one morning I was all sad because they didn't have any, but it was just because they hadn't been cooked yet. While waiting for my sandwich I was able to witness fresh, hot spring rolls being brought out. It was my lucky day.) they often have two different types of summer rolls. The one with pork and shrimp is just meaty enough to ruin the seemingly healthier effect of fresh versus fried rolls.

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Oct 3

Max

1/2

This was my way of easing into the new neighborhood. Not a huge fan of
Italian food, I figured I'd venture Max since I was familiar with the East
Village outpost, and it's pretty darn close to the apt. I'm mixing all my
tenses here. It's because we ate at Max before actually moving into the apt.
proper, it's been a month since and I haven't had time to write up mini
review capsules and now the restaurant has already gone out of business,
replaced by something called Fragole (which reminds me too much of Fraggle
as in Fraggle Rock. That's not appetizing). I hope this isn't a curse. Since
moving into the new apt. I also noticed that Red Rail up the street has gone
belly up.

So, now it seems pointless to talk about Max's food, as the menu now
belongs to Fragole, which is Italian but not quite the same. I would've
preferred the space to have turned into a good Vietnamese (for banh mi) or
Mexican (for tacos and tortas) place, but then that would be my neighborhood
and what would be the point of a new neighborhood environment?


MaxCourt * 394 Court
St., Brooklyn, NY

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