Brooklyn

Fried Chicken from Sidecar in Park Slope

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[Photographs: Robyn Lee]

I went to Sidecar with the intention of trying their burger, but a trusted food-loving friend told me I had to try their fried chicken too. "Best thing on the menu by far," he insisted. So I combined burger and fried chicken into one grand food-coma inducing meal (shared with a friend, that is—my digestive system has yet to transform into steel).

The crispy, juicy, and well seasoned buttermilk fried chicken (made with Bell & Evans chicken) is a worthy addendum to our Great New York Fancy-Pants Fried Chicken Roundup. Not every piece was saturated in moisture, but there was significant juice and fat drippage down my hand as I ate the thigh. The breading wasn't too thick or light, and it evenly coated the chicken. Aside from rosemary, the exact seasonings are a secret—admittedly, I ate it too quickly to discern all the flavors.

Continue reading »

Locavore Thanksgiving: Your Guide To Holiday Shopping At Farmers' Markets

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[Photo: Carey Jones]

We've shown you the brick-and-mortar options for Thanksgiving shopping. But the Pilgrims didn't head to Citarella for their first holiday meal. If you're looking to draw from our land and support our local farmers, hit up the farmers' markets for your Thanksgiving spread.

We've compiled a three-headed guide to market shopping: Union Square for the Manhattanites, Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, and the New Amsterdam Market—our favorite local food extravaganza, held conveniently on November 22nd.

All the info, after the jump.

Continue reading »

Opening Soon: The Meat Hook at Brooklyn Kitchen

"Large lambs almost a year old, half sides of pigs with their tails and kidneys intact, and dark-red, well aged beef."

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[Photos: Chichi Wang]

Since its opening in 2006, The Brooklyn Kitchen has been offering classes in everything from pig butchering to canning, all in their cookware shop in Williamsburg. Classes were so popular that the owners began running out of space. The solution? The Brooklyn Kitchen Labs, a brand new store and cooking school that will also house the city's newest butcher shop, The Meat Hook—opening November 16.

Owners Taylor Erkkinen and Harry Rosenblum found the space of their dreams at 100 Frost Street, not too far from their original store at Lorimer Avenue. Formerly a textile warehouse, the space provides ample room for their teaching kitchen and butcher shop, in addition to spaces in which to store and sell their wares.

The mission of Brooklyn Kitchen Labs? To offer affordable, informative classes designed primarily for the home cook. I went to check out their new space on Tuesday evening, and I'm happy to report that the place is a great collection of everything I love: quality cookware, vintage cookbooks and tools, and of course, humanely-raised and delicious meat.

The tour, after the jump.

Continue reading »

Brooklyn Star Brunch: The South Has Risen Again in Williamsburg

"Probably the best biscuits in newly biscuit-crazed New York City."

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Photographs: Robyn Lee

Brooklyn Star

33 Havemeyer Street, Brooklyn NY 11211 (map); 718-599-9899; thebrooklynstar.com
Service: Informal, friendly, genuinely helpful
Setting: Tiny, minimally adorned dining room.
Must Haves: Buttermilk biscuits, cinnamon buns, ham steak, shrimp and grits, pork chop
Grade: A-

Brooklyn Star chef-owner Joaquin Baca and I have a history I'm not particularly proud of. When he was partners with David Chang at Momofuku Noodle Bar, I raved about their chicken soup in the New York Times in 2006. There was only one problem. I spelled his name wrong in the piece (Vaca instead of Baca), which must have really hurt because it was the first time Baca was mentioned in the media. The paper published a correction, but the damage had already been done.

Carey Jones was not even aware of this sordid piece of food-media history when she raved about Brooklyn Star's dinner menu. So when the Serious Eaters descended on Baca's restaurant to check out his brunch menu, I found myself face to face with a man not named Vaca, and his wood-burning oven.

Baca grew up in Texas, so Brooklyn Star's Southern slant can't be considered a surprise. As for the wood-burning oven, it was left behind by the pizzeria that previously occupied the space. Southern cooking utilizing a wood-burning oven? As Baca himself points out: "My family is cattle ranchers in south Texas, and they cook everything in these big wood grills. They'll cook all the shit on them. It's not just bread and pizza."

This turns out to be a good thing. A very good thing, in fact.

Continue reading »

Neighborhood Favorites: Miriam Restaurant and Wine Bar, Israeli Goodness in Park Slope

Editor's note: New York has thousands of restaurants, so why should a few big names get all the attention? In "Neighborhood Favorites," we'll check out some of the excellent eateries on corners near you. Have a Neighborhood Favorite? Shoot us an email or let us know in the comments.

20091103miriamintro.png

[Photo: Carey Jones]

One could be forgiven, after glancing over the menu at Miriam Restaurant and Wine Bar in Park Slope, for not expecting a memorable meal. Babaganoush and falafel, chicken shawarma and stuffed grape leaves—this Israeli restaurant covers all the usual Mediterranean bases.

But read a bit farther, and the menu gets more interesting. Meatballs in pomegranate sauce; scallops with parsnip chips and grapefruit salad; Mediterranean crispy dough. (What, exactly, is that? Read on.) And even the fresh hummus, babaganoush, and chopped salads are made with far more care and attention to deliciousness than plenty of restaurants of its ilk.

What to order, after the jump.

Continue reading »

Fried Chicken from Sidecar in Park Slope

20091117-sidecar-friedchicken.jpg

[Photographs: Robyn Lee]

I went to Sidecar with the intention of trying their burger, but a trusted food-loving friend told me I had to try their fried chicken too. "Best thing on the menu by far," he insisted. So I combined burger and fried chicken into one grand food-coma inducing meal (shared with a friend, that is—my digestive system has yet to transform into steel).

The crispy, juicy, and well seasoned buttermilk fried chicken (made with Bell & Evans chicken) is a worthy addendum to our Great New York Fancy-Pants Fried Chicken Roundup. Not every piece was saturated in moisture, but there was significant juice and fat drippage down my hand as I ate the thigh. The breading wasn't too thick or light, and it evenly coated the chicken. Aside from rosemary, the exact seasonings are a secret—admittedly, I ate it too quickly to discern all the flavors.

Continue reading »

Locavore Thanksgiving: Your Guide To Holiday Shopping At Farmers' Markets

20091117marketintro.png

[Photo: Carey Jones]

We've shown you the brick-and-mortar options for Thanksgiving shopping. But the Pilgrims didn't head to Citarella for their first holiday meal. If you're looking to draw from our land and support our local farmers, hit up the farmers' markets for your Thanksgiving spread.

We've compiled a three-headed guide to market shopping: Union Square for the Manhattanites, Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, and the New Amsterdam Market—our favorite local food extravaganza, held conveniently on November 22nd.

All the info, after the jump.

Continue reading »

Opening Soon: The Meat Hook at Brooklyn Kitchen

"Large lambs almost a year old, half sides of pigs with their tails and kidneys intact, and dark-red, well aged beef."

20091112cow.jpg

[Photos: Chichi Wang]

Since its opening in 2006, The Brooklyn Kitchen has been offering classes in everything from pig butchering to canning, all in their cookware shop in Williamsburg. Classes were so popular that the owners began running out of space. The solution? The Brooklyn Kitchen Labs, a brand new store and cooking school that will also house the city's newest butcher shop, The Meat Hook—opening November 16.

Owners Taylor Erkkinen and Harry Rosenblum found the space of their dreams at 100 Frost Street, not too far from their original store at Lorimer Avenue. Formerly a textile warehouse, the space provides ample room for their teaching kitchen and butcher shop, in addition to spaces in which to store and sell their wares.

The mission of Brooklyn Kitchen Labs? To offer affordable, informative classes designed primarily for the home cook. I went to check out their new space on Tuesday evening, and I'm happy to report that the place is a great collection of everything I love: quality cookware, vintage cookbooks and tools, and of course, humanely-raised and delicious meat.

The tour, after the jump.

Continue reading »

Brooklyn Star Brunch: The South Has Risen Again in Williamsburg

"Probably the best biscuits in newly biscuit-crazed New York City."

20091110-brooklynstar-intro.jpg

Photographs: Robyn Lee

Brooklyn Star

33 Havemeyer Street, Brooklyn NY 11211 (map); 718-599-9899; thebrooklynstar.com
Service: Informal, friendly, genuinely helpful
Setting: Tiny, minimally adorned dining room.
Must Haves: Buttermilk biscuits, cinnamon buns, ham steak, shrimp and grits, pork chop
Grade: A-

Brooklyn Star chef-owner Joaquin Baca and I have a history I'm not particularly proud of. When he was partners with David Chang at Momofuku Noodle Bar, I raved about their chicken soup in the New York Times in 2006. There was only one problem. I spelled his name wrong in the piece (Vaca instead of Baca), which must have really hurt because it was the first time Baca was mentioned in the media. The paper published a correction, but the damage had already been done.

Carey Jones was not even aware of this sordid piece of food-media history when she raved about Brooklyn Star's dinner menu. So when the Serious Eaters descended on Baca's restaurant to check out his brunch menu, I found myself face to face with a man not named Vaca, and his wood-burning oven.

Baca grew up in Texas, so Brooklyn Star's Southern slant can't be considered a surprise. As for the wood-burning oven, it was left behind by the pizzeria that previously occupied the space. Southern cooking utilizing a wood-burning oven? As Baca himself points out: "My family is cattle ranchers in south Texas, and they cook everything in these big wood grills. They'll cook all the shit on them. It's not just bread and pizza."

This turns out to be a good thing. A very good thing, in fact.

Continue reading »

Neighborhood Favorites: Miriam Restaurant and Wine Bar, Israeli Goodness in Park Slope

Editor's note: New York has thousands of restaurants, so why should a few big names get all the attention? In "Neighborhood Favorites," we'll check out some of the excellent eateries on corners near you. Have a Neighborhood Favorite? Shoot us an email or let us know in the comments.

20091103miriamintro.png

[Photo: Carey Jones]

One could be forgiven, after glancing over the menu at Miriam Restaurant and Wine Bar in Park Slope, for not expecting a memorable meal. Babaganoush and falafel, chicken shawarma and stuffed grape leaves—this Israeli restaurant covers all the usual Mediterranean bases.

But read a bit farther, and the menu gets more interesting. Meatballs in pomegranate sauce; scallops with parsnip chips and grapefruit salad; Mediterranean crispy dough. (What, exactly, is that? Read on.) And even the fresh hummus, babaganoush, and chopped salads are made with far more care and attention to deliciousness than plenty of restaurants of its ilk.

What to order, after the jump.

Continue reading »

Mix It Up: Kings County Sour at Henry Public

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[Photo: Laren Spirer]

If I lived anywhere near Cobble Hill, Henry Public would be my neighborhood bar. Maybe it's because I've always been a big fan of the vibe at Brooklyn Social in Carroll Gardens, and Henry Public was created by the same team. Maybe it's due to the fact that although they are serving carefully crafted cocktails (with Kold-Draft ice, naturally), it's different from the other speakeasy-type establishments that are popping up everywhere. You'd be just as happy at Henry Public sipping a beer or an egg cream (also on the menu) as you sample the high-end pub fare, including grass-fed burgers, oysters, sinfully delicious marrow bones, and a ridiculously tasty turkey leg sandwich on custom Orwasher bread topped with fried shallots.

The atmosphere at Henry Public is hospitable and cozy, and reminiscent of a bygone era. Partner/Bar Director Matt Dawson and his wife Jen Albano were looking to create a saloon that might exist on the same spot a hundred years ago, patronized by the likes of Walt Whitman (who would have chosen the egg cream over a cocktail) or his compatriots. A photo of the Brooklyn Eagle, where Whitman was once an editor, graces the walls of the back room and brass eagles adorn the sconces flanking the fireplace as well as the top of the beer taps. All of the decorative elements were selected by Jen with meticulous detail—from the photos and letters on the walls to the antique books tucked into the bookshelf, to the faucets and signage in the bathroom. Each detail carries you back in time to an earlier, and simpler Brooklyn.

The recipes, after the jump.

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Mix It Up: The Good Word at Prime Meats

20091023goodword.jpgIt sounds a little crazy, but a bar can feel welcoming even when there are no stools.

If you're looking to linger over several rounds, be prepared to stand at Prime Meats, one of the more recent additions to the Frankies' culinary empire (Frankies 17, Frankies Spuntino). The bar has an old-timey feel—plenty of dark wood, the large antique mirror, and a daily punch offering, served from a delicate carved glass punchbowl that decorates the back bar. The cocktail menu echoes the yesteryear ambiance, with a list that includes pre-prohibition classics and variations thereof, as well as new creations from Bar Director Damon Boelte and his team. They'll offer suggestions, and are happy to veer off-menu if you provide a little guidance, but they won't offer you a seat, as the only seats in the house are reserved for diners.

If you get tired of standing, you should definitely stay for dinner (or brunch) and enjoy the German influenced menu, filled with charcuterie galore, housemade pretzels, local cheeses, and, of course, steak. That said, it's worth a visit even if you don't feel like eating. The cocktails alone make Prime Meats worth a visit standing or not—but keep in mind that it's cash only. Our favorite starter is The Good Word, Damon's variation on the classic Last Word cocktail, which calls for gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur and lime juice.

The recipe, after the jump.

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Junior's Cheesecake Has A Little Friend

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[Photos: Brooklynian via Gothamist]

Mice: Cute in cages. Not in cheesecakes.

Junior's didn't fare particularly well in our blind taste-test of the best New York cheesecakes, but it appears they have at least one fan of the rodent persuasion. (We're now just praying this little guy didn't nibble from ours first.) These photos were snapped at their Brooklyn location last week.

Come on, buddy—if you're going to do cheesecakes, at least hit up one of the better New York establishments. But this time, please stick to the trash cans.

The Dessert Files: One Girl Cookies

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Beautiful bakery displays can be deceiving; those perfectly crafted confections might not taste as great your eye would have you believe. At One Girl Cookies in Brooklyn, most of them do—but others don't quite cut it. The good is phenomenal, but the bad isn't worth your time. After the jump, the breakdown of what to get, and what to avoid, at One Girl Cookies.

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Serious Eats Finds New York's Best Cheesecake

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[Photos: Robyn Lee]

Our Top Five

  • The Winner: Two Little Red Hens
  • Mona Lisa Pastry Shoppe
  • Lady M Cake Boutique
  • Cheesecake Factory
  • Fairway Market

In the pantheon of iconic New York foods, not much outranks the proud cheesecake. Whether after dinner at Luger's, by the round at Eileen's, or shipped across the country by Junior's, New York cheesecakes are a force to be reckoned with. The cheesecake is a dessert that's perfect in its simplicity. A silky, creamy base, an optional thin crust—and that's it.

What makes a first-class cheesecake? It's smooth and creamy, just sweet enough, with a hint of tartness. If there's a crust, it adds something extra without overwhelming the taste of the cheesecake itself. And it's rich enough to seem a bit decadent, without going down like a cement pour. You should want to keep eating—at least, for more than one bite.

So we canvassed the boroughs for New York's best cheesecake, arrived at our finalists, and assembled our panel of crack tasters. All cakes were tasted blind, brought to the same temperature, in similar-size slices. We even scuffed up the edges of the more cosmetically privileged. And we had our tasters start with different samples, to cancel out the effects of palate fatigue—a real concern, after 14 cheesecakes. As it turns out, the first bite wasn't always the best bite.

(For the purposes of fair comparison, we went only with bakery cheesecakes, rather than restaurant ones. We also excluded all flavored and ricotta-based cheesecakes—stay tuned for later taste-tests.)

So after countless miles traveled, bites considered, and calories consumed, we've arrived at our winners. Our favorites, our surprise showings, and the best cheesecake in New York—after the jump.

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'Viagra Soup' at El Rey in Brooklyn

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Photo: NY Daily News

Only for those whose hearts are strong enough for... er, soup. El Rey, a chain of three restaurants in Brooklyn, is serving a dish they dub Viagra Soup, with fish, lobster, crabs, clams... and, the secret ingredient, half a shot of tequila.

And does it work? "I feel a little exhilarated," Angelo Coleman told the NYDN. Well, at $32 per bowl, it better leave you with a little something.

Ten Rainy Day Eats In New York

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So much for fall. In New York, it feels like we've gone from shorts to winter coats in just a few days. But fortunately, there are plenty of rainy-day eats to warm you up. Ten of our favorite comfort foods, after the jump.

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Top 10 Sandwiches in Brooklyn

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[Photo: Nick Solares]

Over at Chowhound, user Hanky T puts together a Top 10 list of Brooklyn sandwiches, and it's a pretty comprehensive one:

  • Panelle Special at Ferdinando's Focacceria
  • Grilled Pork Banh Mi at Ba Xuyen
  • DeFonte's Roast Beef, Eggplant, Fresh Mozzarella, Gravy, S&P on a seeded hero
  • Torta from Pueblo Market
  • Chicken Cutlet Hero from Catene Italian Deli
  • Hero from Lioni's in Bensonhurst
  • Cubano from Cibao on Smith
  • Falafel (from a place once called The Fountain)
  • [Roll-N-Roaster's] Roast Beef (as long as you put onions, gravy, salt and pepper on it)
  • Spicy Beef Patty inside coco bread from Christie's

We'd add the roast beef and mozzarella sandwich from Pollio in Park Slope. What are your favorite Brooklyn sandwiches? [via Brownstoner]

A Preview of Fatty 'Cue at Epicurious' Super Sunday

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[Photographs: Joe DiStefano]

To say I love football is as far from the truth as saying I hate regional Chinese food. Nevertheless, I joined some 300 or so folks last Sunday to watch the pigskin being tossed around at an event billed as Fatty Sunday: A Zak Pelaccio Lunchtime Feast. The elevator ride up was redolent of smoke and evoked an immediate Pavlovian reaction.

When I greeted Pitmaster Robbie Richter, he excitedly told me, "Freeman McNeil was here earlier." "Freeman who?," I thought as he patiently briefed me on the former Jets running back. My eye glazed over: I was there to preview the food from Pelaccio and Richter's Fatty 'Cue, and could care less about the game. Truth be told, it was hard to tell who was a football fan and who was a Fatty fan, but I know which camp I was in. I couldn't wait to sample the fare from the soon to open Williamsburg spot that owes as much to Southeast Asia as it does to Southern barbecue.

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Char No. 4: Bourbon, Barbecue, And Pork In Cobble Hill

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Photographs: Robyn Lee

Char No. 4

196 Smith Street, Brooklyn NY 11201 (b/n Baltic and Warren; map); 718-643-2106; charno4.com
Service: Relaxed but attentive
Setting: Minimally decorated bar and narrow dining room with booths, with a pleasant "garden" in the back
Compare It To: Brooklyn Star, Fette Sau
Must-Haves: Lamb pastrami, house-cured BLT, brisket sandwich
Cost: $20-$25 for lunch, including food, beverage (unless you're drinking hard stuff at lunch), tax, and tip
Grade: B+

Here's how Char No. 4 describes itself: "Char No. 4 is a whiskey bar and restaurant inspired by a passion for bourbon. It features over 150 American whiskeys and serves a menu of American fare with a Southern influence. The American whiskeys are augmented by an extensive list of whiskeys from Europe and beyond as well as a selection of all-bourbon cocktails."

Hmm: "Passion for bourbon." "150 American whiskeys." "All-bourbon cocktails."

I don't drink whiskey or bourbon, no matter what its provenance (yes, I'm a wuss who drinks so little my wife calls me a Mormon). So even though I've always been intrigued by the sound of the bacon and barbecue-centric American southern fare, I've managed to stay away from Char No. 4. Then I found out that the restaurant has started serving lunch, on Fridays only, during the week. That Friday gave me just the opening the Serious Eaters needed to descend on Char No. 4 one particularly lovely fall afternoon.

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It's hard to miss the whiskeys. They're lined up ever so carefully on a pretty backlit bar located in the front of the restaurant. We walked past the handsome wooden booths to eat in the small fenced-in outdoor seating area, in what would be the garden if there were any grass or plants to be found.

Char No. 4 is not exactly a barbecue restaurant or joint, but chef Matt Greco brings some legit barbecue bona fides as well as serious classic cooking technique cred to its kitchen. He grew up in Texas, smoking meat side by side with his dad; at the restaurant he uses only white oak, the same wood used in bourbon caskets, in his Backwoods Smoker made in Louisiana. When he was eighteen, he and his dad built a smoker together. (That's my kind of father-son bonding experience.) Add that to his CIA training and his years spent with Andrew Carmellini and Gray Kunz and you get Char No. 4's genuinely barbecue and pork-centric menu, infused with plenty of chef skills and know-how, that is not wed to traditional barbecue and bacon orthodoxy.

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Serious Eats Finds New York's Best Bagel

Or, 'Ed Levine's Existential Bagel Crisis'

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[Photographs: Robyn Lee and Carey Jones]

The Heisen-Bagel Uncertainty Principle

n. The principle of bagels that holds the following: The act of transporting a bagel to a second location produces fundamental uncertainties in its inherent qualities, such that determining a true "best bagel," in a head-to-head face-off, becomes impossible.

It's a question asked so often that it's astounding that we've never attempted an answer.

Who makes the best bagel in New York?

There are a few clear contenders. In the past, Ed has leaned toward the Upper West Side's Absolute Bagels; his exhaustive 2003 bagel hunt for the New York Times also saluted Bagel Oasis and Hot Bialys in Queens, Terrace Bagels in Windsor Terrace, and Manhattan stalwart Murray's.

And then there are Ess-A-Bagel and H&H, and neighborhood favorites like Bagel Hole and Brooklyn Bagel—all of whom have their fanatical defenders.

So we organized a simple taste-test. Serious eaters would fan out over the three most bagel-happy boroughs and hurry back to World Headquarters with their piping hot loot, as fast as their feet, bikes, buses, trains, subways, or Zipcars could carry them. We'd cut them all up; we'd do a blind tasting; we'd ponder their merits and crown a winner. Simple, right?

But it wasn't that easy.

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Ed, hard at work.

The problem became clear as we chomped our way through Round One, pens at the ready, taking bite after bite. None of the bagels were more than two hours old. All of them had been hand-delivered that morning. But chewing through so many mouthfuls of plain bagels, we all felt the same uneasy feeling descending upon us. Ed broke the silence.

"They all taste the same."

Well... not quite the same.

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Lunch for One: Saltie

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[Photos: Kathy Chan]

Saltie. Out in Williamsburg. The restaurant seats eight, with six stool seats lining the left brick wall, and two facing onto Metropolitan Avenue. The atmosphere: sunny, sparse, and cheerful. It's a neighborhood go-to in the making. The whole menu is available from open to close, whether it be museli with yogurt and apples, milkshakes, a Israeli meatball sandwich, a macrobiotic sandwich featuring wheatberries and miso—or a slice of cake.

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But first, you need something to drink. Iced mint tea? Hot coffee? Plum lassi? Or an agua fresca ($3)? I went with the latter, as the fruit of the day was cantaloupe. Blended on the spot, the agua fresca came frothy, over ice with sprigs of mint. Easily one of the best in town.

Sandwiches, salads, and sweets, after the jump.

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Peach Cobbler from Walter Foods

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[Photographs: Robyn Lee]

20090922-walterfoods-cobbler-innards.jpgAfter stuffing ourselves with burgers and fried chicken, my friend and I ended our dinner at Walter Foods in Williamsburg with their peach cobbler ($6), a bowl of warm sliced peaches topped with a layer of crisp and tender crust nuggets, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and a dusting of confectioners sugar. I ordered it upon the waiter's suggestion since I couldn't make up my mind, but this made me realize I ought to incorporate more cobblers into my life. Now the combination of soft, sweet peaches with buttery pastry and cool ice cream is something I crave.

Walter Foods

253 Grand Street, Brooklyn NY 11211 (b/n Roebling and Driggs; map)
718-387-8783
walterfoods.com

More Breakfast Pizza in Brooklyn at Toby's Public House

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[Photograph: Word in Mouth]

Add this to our list of Brooklyn breakfast pizzas: the bacon, sausage, and egg pizza at Toby's Public House. Peter Cherches at Word in Mouth writes:

"I wondered how the bacon and eggs would figure in the pizza. Would it be topped with cooked eggs and bacon? No, it appears that everything was baked together... I'm guessing that beaten eggs were poured directly on the crust after the cheese, dotting the pie, giving the eggs a fluffy consistency reminiscent of a baked frittata. All in all, it was a fabulous combination. "

Related
Toby's Public House, a Familiar Pizza in New, Laid-Back Surroundings
Nutella Ricotta Calzone at Toby's Public House

Simple Pleasures: Cinnamon Breakfast Muffins at Trois Pommes Patisserie

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20090920tpsign.jpgThe indecisive sweet tooth will have a hard time at Trois Pommes Patisserie, the small Park Slope bakery whose displays gleam with croissants and cookies, cakes and pies, and so much more. And though I'd rarely opt for a muffin at a patisserie, I'm glad I was steered towards this French breakfast muffin ($2.25). Like a cake doughnut, in muffin form, it had a firm outside crunch and a dry, but somehow appealing, crumb, with a generous sugar coating and elusive whiffs of cinnamon and nutmeg. With a Stumptown cappuccino alongside, it's the perfect start to a day.

Trois Pommes Patisserie

260 5th Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11215 (map)
718-230-3119
troispommespatisserie.com