Aurora by Morning

There are not many Italian places to dine in uber-Polish Greenpoint. This is a fact, and I have accepted it. So when I get a craving for a heavy carb meal like my grandma used to make, Rob and I usually head to Williamsburg for some Fiore action. While its good and all, the menu can get old kind of fast and I've been craving something different. This is where Aurora on Grand Street -- also in Williamsburg -- comes in.

I've seen it many times on my sporadic trips to Sprout, the cutest little flower shop you'd ever hope to see. I never thought to go back, though, until Shivaun was in the area for a small eclectic jewelry shop. I guess the Grand Street/Wythe Ave area really is a great destination for odd shopping.

It turns out to be the perfect spot for brunch. There was no wait, unlike most places near our apartment at noon on a Sunday. The atmosphere was rustic and quaint. We sat in the clear-covered garden area so we could both enjoy the sun and not freeze. AND they were playing Elliott Smith. This is basically my idea of brunch heaven.

The menu had quite a few interesting and unique items. I was intrigued by the fried poached egg option, as I've never had a poached egg prepared any way but regularly poached. It was actually really good, crispy on the outside but not too affected on the inside. In came sitting atop smoky prosciutto and a small mound of soft polenta. The flavors and textures played really well together, but it was not enough food for a hungry person such as myself.

So that's why I ended up eating a lot of Shivaun's frittata. Sorry Shivaun. (How did this blog become such a forum for apologies?) It was baked with goat cheese, zuchiniand a few other goodies. I thought the goat cheese was a really great touch, as I've found that frittatas tend to blandify when they're baked. Goat cheese to the rescue!

Rob took the fancy route and ordered the L' Anatra -- duck confit & bacon hash with organic poached egg & baby spinach. Great combination of flavors and one of the more fun brunch items I've seen in awhile. Unfortunately, he didn't get much of a portion either. But that's really the only negative thing I can say about Aurora's brunch. Well, that and no credit cards. What's with all the cash-only places recently? Since when is cash king again?? I demand to know.

I was so enchanted by brunch that I dragged Rob out to Aurora for dinner a few days later. It was good, but not as impressive as I had hoped. I guess the place is aptly named, then, since Aurora is the Roman goddess of the dawn. In my eyes, she is the Brooklyn goddess of the poached egg.

The appetizers were definitely the strongest points of the meal. The ricotta tart was simple and rustic, with the outer layer of dough gently folded over the cheese. Pork belly with seared scallop and beans were also really good. I love these items together, despite the fact that they are not a very original threesome. The fresh flavors and soft textures do a great job piquing your appetite.

The entrees, on the other hand, were a little weak. The pasta was obviously fresh, but both our dishes were a little tasteless. I was expecting anything but bland when I ordered the chestnut flavored, roughly cut pasta with braised beef short rib ragu. I did not detect any chestnut flavor, and while the short rib had a great consistency, it was definitely missing something. Rob felt the same away about his dinner, spaghetti with clams and tomatoes. Maybe they were a little too lighthanded with the salt that evening?

Dessert was an apple tart with caramel and vanilla ice cream. It was a nice way to end the meal.

Well, despite dinner being sort of a disappointment, this place has its redeeming factors. Brunch, for instance. Appetizers. A really great wine list and a pretty authentic rustic vibe. Can't you just feel the warmth by looking at this terribly lit iPhone pic?

(My apologies for forgetting my real camera. And now I'm done apologizing... at least for this post!)

Aurora

70 Grand St (between Kent Ave & Wythe Ave)

Brooklyn, NY 11211

(718) 388-5100

Southern Food for the Soul -- Egg and The Redhead

This spring I had the pleasure of dining at two fairly hyped Southern cuisine spots with short cutesy names: Egg in Williamsburg and The Redhead in the East Village. While I did not indulge in any grits, black eyed peas or other super traditional south of the Mason-Dixon favorites, I must say that both experiences were pretty enjoyable.

Rob and I visted Egg both for breakfast and dinner over the past month, and as you probably guessed, its breakfast is much better. The OJ tastes like you're sucking on an orange still ripening on the tree, and the coffee is strong and comes in individual french presses. I am a big fan of this. I also like to draw palm trees on the white tabletops with crayons while I wait for my food. A few drawbacks though -- the wait for brunch on the weekends can be insane and the barren white wall decor leaves something to be desired. And no credit cards.

As for the brunch itself: Rob had the chorizo and salsa verde and it came with an insane amount of chorizo. I didn't think there was enough to offset all the spicy meat, but I don't really remember because I forgot my camera that morning. I had the biscuits in sausage gravy. I believe the biscuits had the right amount of stick-to-the-inside-of-your-mouth-ness to satisfy the craving, and the cream base was good and satisfying, if not a little heavy.

We headed back for dinner, when we knew it'd be quieter. I had the chorizo sandwich and I should have known, they sure like to give that chorizo away! It was impossible to pick up the sandwich because it was heavy and chorizo was falling out and the bun was sticking to the plate, so I had to eat it with a fork and knife -- not quite what you want to do when you just want to pick the thing up and take a bite. It was tasty and all, just the same chorizo from brunch on a roll. Yawn. Rob's duck breast and duck leg in "dirty rice" (which included duck heart) was pretty amazing though. Nice juicy meat that soaked into the rice for the perfect soppy bite... man, I should have ordered that. Next time. Maybe.

Egg

135 N 5th St

Brooklyn, NY 11211

(718) 302-5151

We headed over to The Redhead sometime during March Madness when our friends Sam and Virginia came to visit. There were two reasons we chose this place: 1) I've heard good things and 2) it was only a block away from Momofuku Milk Bar, which we had yet to try. I was underwhelmed with the bakery but very happy to have experienced The Redhead.

The place is cozy and warm without being pretentious -- brick walls, tv in the corner of the bar, family patrons of all ages. Also had a really hard time choosing something off the menu because I wanted to eat it all. We finally narrowed it down to a reasonable amount of apps, and The Redhead did not disappoint. I loved the bibb salad with hazelnuts, bacon and cheddar dressing. The perfect amount of salty and sweet to spice up a salad. The homemade waffle chips with homemade onion sauce was surprisingly addicting. Seared scallops were good, but standard -- no frills.

I would have thought that this was one of the places where the apps outshine the entrees, but then they placed the fried chicken in front of me and I knew I was wrong. I'm not normally a fried chicken person (well, I haven't been since sophomore year...) but this might be enough to turn me back. The friendly people next to us claimed they were fried chicken fanatics and that this was the best they'd ever had. Good enough for me. Super crunchy on the outside and extra juicy on the inside, salty all around. Fantastic. Rob got the grits with shrimp and andouille, which I thought was phenomenal. The grits were "gritty" in just the right way, and the cornbread had the perfect amount of butter baked into them.

Sam had the salmon, which he said he enjoyed. He gets salmon everywhere he goes, so he knows what he is talking about. Sorry I cut your eyes out of this picture, Sam. Virginia got the well-done burger which I did not take a picture of because it hurts me to see overdone meat. I am sorry for that, too.

The Redhead
349 E 13th St (between 1st Ave & 2nd Ave)
New York, NY 10003
(212) 533-6212

So we weren't really hungry for it but of course we had to check out Momofuku Milk. The complete opposite of what we had just experienced. The place was so overcrowded that Sam said it was more like a nightclub than a bakery. He was right. Kind of obnoxious when you just want something sweet and quick. Rob's chocolate chocolate chip cookie was too bitter for me and needed milk -- which we did not buy because it was so overpriced to begin with -- and my bavarian cream soft serve was unique and all, but not worth elbowing your way through an overdressed crowd to get to the surly counter people.

Momofuku Bakery/Milk Bar
207 2nd Ave (between 12th St & 13th St)
New York, NY 10003
(212) 254-3500

In summary: I think I'm turned on to Southern cuisine now and would like to try a more traditional, non-NYC-fusion spot next time. However, I'll be back to Egg to sample their famous Eggs Rothko, and I will definitely be back to the Redhead to have one of everything. I will probably skip dessert.

Churning Out Winners at the Doughnut Plant

Sunday was such a gorgeous day that upon stepping outside, Rob and I immediately abandoned our movie theater plans to wander aimlessly around in the (finally) rainless day. Not knowing where we were headed, we followed our feet down Greenpoint, into Williamsburg, and across the Williamsburg bridge. Before we were halfway across, I think we both knew what stop was next. Last time we were on this bridge, it was a Sunday afternoon. We were in a car with Adib and Kelly. And we were headed to the Doughnut Plant.

I'm not a donut connoisseur by any measure of the word, so you can bet I wouldn't know a good donut from a bad one. So I have to wonder that if a place so consistently crowded (like the Donut Plant) is actually good or just clever hype. I've examined my donut statistics and come up with a

few interesting, if meaningless, pieces of info. First, I've noticed a trend: people flock to places where they spell "doughnut" the longhand way. I guess it makes it look more traditional, and therefore more desireable? But these donuts are

anything but traditional. Some of their donuts are even square. Edgy, right? I don't think I'm giving them enough credit. New Yorkers are generally uninterested in gimmicks. I think this place has genuinely earned its true fried dough wings on product alone.

Well, strange marketing speculation (and my inner monologue rambling) aside, these donuts (or doughnuts) are pretty darn good and might be worth the hype. The consistency is different from any donut I've had before because of its chewiness. It resists your bite better than any Krispy Kreme ever did. The dough themselves are not very sweet, but the sticky glaze on top makes up for it and reminds you of what you're eating. It's not so much that it's the best I've ever had. It's just donut, redefined. And the flavors are not typical either. Where else can you get a PB&J filled donut?

On our last visit, we tried the myers lemon glaze (sweet and bitter at the same time), the vanilla bean glaze (my personal favorite), and a chocolate cake donut (I'm not a cake donut fan). This time we tried the cashew. The dough again is what surprises you, I want to call it "extra chewy" but I know that's not right, so I'm going with "slightly springy" and "donut al dente" for lack of a better phrase. The cashew-studded glaze, though, was forgettable. Next time, I'm trying the creme brulee. The only reason we didn't get it this time is because its literally the smallest donut they have, but they sure rave about them on yelp.

Unfortunately, this place is really tiny, so if you don't get a spot on the bench outside you're SOL, that is of course unless you have a friend to drive you back over that bridge.

The next step, obviously, was to make our way down to Chinatown for some pork soup dumplings at Nice Green Bo. Still a great bargain and decent dumpling, but I'm open to suggestions on a new pork bun spot if anyone has any ideas.

Doughnut Plant

379 Grand St

(between Essex St & Norfolk St)

New York, NY 10002

(212) 505-3700

Friday Night Beer Tasting at Brouwerij Lane

Two weekends ago, a little beer shop called Brouwerij Lane popped up about half a block down the street from us. I kept meaning to go but when I heard they were having a $2 beer tasting on Friday night, I stopped putting it off.

I'm glad I did. I was really impressed with their beer selection -- over 150 bottles, and many I had never heard of. Rob recognized some from his travels in Germany. That's probably a good sign.

They have ten beers on tap, and they switch up their selection quite a bit. They actually keep an updated list on their blog which is pretty cool. While these are usually reserved for $10 growlers, Friday was the first night you could try before you buy. They had a nice little atmosphere for a beer store: a couple of makeshift tables and chairs (aka boards on upturned crates) and a woodfire in back. The guys working there seemed really nice too. Nice that we finally have a great alternative to buying the same old stuff at the bodegas.

Brouwerij Lane

78 Greenpoint Avenue

Brooklyn, New York 11222

*4/14 Update -- They now have beer tasting during all business hours!! WOOHOO!

Don't TEAse Me: Williamsburg Tea Houses

During the week, I prefer my caffeine in its strongest form: coffee. For most, I think its a necessity for powering through the workday. Weekends, however, are a different story. You have time to sip, savor, recouperate and enjoy the antioxidant power of the ancient healing potion: tea.

Alright, I'm not going to act like there are any ancient teahouses near me in hipsterville. But there are a couple of places I have been frequenting more often now that spring is here. Greenpoint doesn't have any teahouses, but Williamsburg sure has its share. First up: Saint's Alp Tea House. I actually had my first bubble tea experience at Saint's Alp on the lower east side when I first moved to NYC. I wasn't a big fan of it; I think it's an acquired taste. But now that I'm an old hand at hunkering down those gobs of tapioca from an oversized straw, I was all about it when I saw they opened an outpost on Bedford Ave. It's orange, it's sterile, the plastic chairs make you think you're back at the kiddie table, but that's OK with me. Bubble tea really is a kid type of drink to begin with, right? Unless, of course, we're talking about the vodka green tea that used to be served at Bar Q (RIP).

We went with a bunch of friends and we all tried something different: black tea, chocolate, coconut, etc. Pretty tasty. And, more importantly, fun.

Saints Alp Teahouse
164 Bedford Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(718) 486-3888

The other Williamsburg spot recently put on the brunch rotation is the Roebling Tea Room. They have over 70 types of tea to speak of, and each is served in an individual pot so you can steep til your heart's content. I've tried a few so far, and haven't been crazy wowed by any of them. The almondina is probably my favorite, it's sweet and tastes faintly like a Christmas cookie. I tried the red macadamia last time with milk and honey; it wasn't very memorable, as the others I have tasted. The food and the atmosphere make up for it, though. It has the quaint bustling feel a Brooklyn warehouse-type place should. The gorgeous green wallpaper evokes an old-timey fox hunt. And the menu actually serves up a few unique options. No huevos rancheros or eggs benedict here. I'm not hating on these weekend favorites, but sometimes you need a change of pace.

The steak tartar with a deviled egg and truffle oil can be a bit much for the first thing in the morning, but if you're up for it, it's a treat. Great quality meat, and the mushy egg and steak is well-complemented by the crispy pieces of bread. They don't give you very much, but I guess that's a good thing. It's probably not all that great for you. The fruit dish with apples, pears, honey, mint and walnuts is a good accompanyment. Makes you feel a little less guilty for eating all that raw meat.

Rob's favorite is the cheddar baked eggs with grits and fennel toast with apple butter. The eggs are a little heavy for me, but that toasted bread is both sweet and savory.

I wouldn't get the drunken beans again, because, too many beans. But it has a great strong flavor -- whisky, maybe? -- but it just gets boring after awhile. Maybe it's missing something? The well-done egg halves and generous heaping of shredded cheddar is appreciated, though.

I'd recommend the ricotta and fig paste on toast. Great soft cheese, but that one can get a bit boring too. The side dishes help spice things up a bit -- bacon, sausage, grits or above mentioned fruit and honey.

There are still a few other Williamsburg tea places I've been meaning to try. Blackbird Parlour is at the top of that list right now. I have yet to find that perfect atmosphere in which to enjoy my weekend drink of choice.

Roebling Tea Room

143 Roebling St. at Metropolitan

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 11211

(718) 963-0760

Le Bernadin

Yes, you read that right. I recently had the pleasure of dining at Le Bernadin, one of the top restaurants in the city! Rob's uncle took us and the family for dinner before an evening at the Met Opera. It was a ritzy and glamorous evening and will be hard to match. Three and a half years in NYC and I finally got to see a side of it I've never experienced before. Sometimes life is pretty good to me.

I'm not normally a huge seafood fan, but everything here was fantastic. In fact, a lot of things I'm not normally big of -- shrimp, dessert wine, heavy & rich chocolate desserts -- all of a sudden were amazing items that I could not get enough of. We had the chef's tasting menu with wine pairings for each course. I have never experienced this before and was absolutely blown away by the quality of wine and the perfection by which it complemented each carefully arranged course. Each dish was presented to us before the sauce, broth, "essence," or whatever other liquid was poured on top, directly at the table. The meal started with raw fish and eventually progressed to fully cooked seafood. We experienced something similar at Anissa with the course of tuna prepared in three ways: raw, seared, and cooked. I like it; it makes sense.

Our meal went like this:

First, our pre-course dish: raw baby shrimp in a spaghetti squash foam. The shrimp had perfect texture, tender and firm, without much of a taste themselves. The squash foam gave it a sort of sweet note.

First course: strips of very thin raw fluke, brushed with soy sauce and topped with crunchy "rice crispy" puffs for texture and flakes of gold. Not very often you can eat gold in this economy, unless you can afford a nip of Goldschlager of course. The taste was very mild and not mind-blowing, but I did enjoy the juxtaposition of slippery raw fish with crunchy toppings.

Second course was very Japanese: "ultra rare" scallops topped with daikon radish, shiso, lily bulb and sake with a super thin and delicate stick of cayenne laid on top (how do they do that with pepper?). It was good, but not incredibly memorable. I think the presentation might have outdone the taste on this one.

Next: seared salmon with a citrus emulsion and gingered baby bok choy. The website says there was also water chestnuts and "pea tendrils" but I didn't know that's what those are. This one was one of my favorites. I love the half-cooked style, the sashimi side and the cooked side taste almost completely different, and a forkful of both just makes it fun to eat. The citrus sauce was incredible. I could not stop myself from soaking up eary last bit with my sourdough roll; I know it was probably not the proper way to do it but I'm an Italian and that's just how its done.

Number four: skate wing with bamboo jus and dog ear mushroom atop fine cellophane noodles. Skate is always a treat for me as its very hard to properly cook. I've had skate as less-than-stellar restaurants and been disappointed by the hard texture or too many tiny bones. Not here; the skate easily came apart and was well-complemented by the glass noodle and faint bamboo taste. My favorite part of this course was probably the wine. Up until this point, every course was served with white wine; this one was served with a Flower pinot noir because the sommelier "likes to break the rules." That was A-OK with me because I like reds much more than whites, even if the whites do complement fish dishes better. The site I linked the wine to describes it as a "fruity bouquet supported by a clean minerality with hints of spice and violet." It's too bad that words can only go so far in describing it. It was so much more than that, but, I'm no better at trying to describe delicate tastes in a wine, so I won't bother trying to explain. But its good. Very good.

Last course before dessert was the pan-roasted monkfish. Now I've had monkfish liver at Bozu and Sushi Azabu, but never actual monkfish meat before. It was very fully cooked and tender, served with an amazing veal-based black garlic and Persian lemon sauce with dried pomegranates, I believe. Lots of interesting flavors, both heaty and light. The sauce had a subtle dried fruit tang to it. I enjoyed it, but not as much as the Israeli cousous tabbouleh. Oh My God. It was heavily lemon-scented and had an amazing firm texture that sort of popped in your mouth. I was savoring it slowly when I was told I had to hurry up if we wanted to make the opera. I hated shoveling this in but there was no way I was going to let it go until I was done.

Now for the desserts! The first was my favorite; panna cotta with pomegranate pearls and a side of pomegranate sorbet, adorned with myers lemon cream, orange peel and mint. Rob commented that if he could sit at the bar and order this every night he could, and he is not at all a dessert person, so that is some high praise right there. The greek yogurt had this soft texture and amazing taste that trumped any ice cream I have ever had. And I love ice cream, so there's some more high praise. Cue heavenly chorus!! The pom sorbet, eh. It was all about the panna cotta baby.

At some point in here we saw Eric Ripert walking around introducing himself. Not to us, mind you. But it was fun to gawk.

Next was the baked chocolate dessert. I did not record any information about this one because I had to eat it really quickly because the opera was going to start in like ten minutes and if we did not make the final bell then we were in trouble. I'm really not a fan of these types of heavy desserts but somehow it was perfect, the creamy hot and melty chocolate in the middle was heavenly. It was accompanied by some sort of coffee/hazelnut ice cream which was soft and melty and luckily a lot easier to gulp down than the delicious chocolate mess. By the time the petit fours came out, a car was outside and waiting for us. I was able to grab a tiny chocolate truffle and pistachio mousse -- it surprised me how good it was -- but at this point I was the only one left at the table and had to grab my coat and run. I regret not snatching the last two of the petits for the road.

We made the opera, but just barely. Once we opened our private door to our box seats and sat down, the opera started as if on cue. The Sicilian set of Cavalleria Rusticana was amazing. I was slightly tipsy from all the wine.

The entire evening was absolutely exquisite. And I'm not the type to use that word.

Le Bernadin
155 W. 51st St.
New York, NY 10019
212-554-1515

Itchin' for Ichiran to Open

It has been speculated since at least 2007 that the empty spot at 1013 Manhattan Ave will someday become an outpost for Tokyo's well-known ramen chain, Ichiran. When will it happen?

Last time Rob and I walked by, we saw a few signs in the window displaying pictures of steaming bowls of ramen promising an upcoming opening. Unfortunately, the inside seems to tell another story. It looks like a dusty old abandoned classroom. The following (very charming and slightly vague) sign is penned in both English and Japanese:

Right now "Ichiran" is tried to prepare for regular opening. In order to realize the same quality as delicacy of Japan, we have spent sufficient time for supply and research of raw material. All our foods will be manufactured at our own factory as well as Japan, without depending on external order. Since the taste will change delicately if raw material changes, sensitive adjustment of the taste which is needed with a process and technique is not easy.

As the "Restaurant Specializing in TONKOTSU RAMEN" where we represent Hakata in Japan, in order to pursue ultimate "TONKOTSU RAMEN" also in USA, we never compromise and never give up, and we are making thoroughgoing preparations so we can offer the genuine taste. We appreciate you are waiting so long time, but we need more time for that reason. Although formal opening is undecided, please wait a little more time. Before we open completely, we will make this shop provisionally open as "Limited Membership Shop" in the sense of the place which receives customer's severe opinion and frank comment.

This open is indeterminate date and only specific day, and we will tell you (registered member) available serving date. Only those living in the distance that walks from this shop can be registered. If you are interested in registration, please fill out the form and put it in the mailbox.

We are looking forward to serving you.
Thank you very much!

We signed up. Can't wait!!