Category Archives: Instagram

Brooklyn Kolache Co.

Posted on by

Instagram Post 7/8/2018

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

You can track down the sweet and savory Czech pastries known as kolaches as well as select coffee and tea in the namesake bakery, Brooklyn Kolache Co. at 520 DeKalb Ave. These folks have ported small-batch Texas style kolaches to Bedford-Stuyvesant, “Deep in the Heart of Brooklyn”. Texas style? Yes, it’s a thing – and they’ve taken care to keep everything as sustainable, locally sourced, and organic as possible. This puffy blueberry cheese kolache made a righteous quick breakfast.

Second photo shows a peek inside.
 
 

Claro

Posted on by

Instagram Post 7/7/2018

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

The Spanish word claro carries many meanings from “clear” to “sure!” and among those definitions is “distinct”. Perhaps that one best describes Claro, 284 Third Ave in Gowanus, in that it’s not your typical Brooklyn Mexican restaurant. Attention to its Oaxacan roots is evident not only in their distinctive spin on the cuisine but also from the clay dinnerware to the décor. Claro’s reputation is as much about its aura as it is about the food, and although we weren’t blown away by any flavor bombs, the freshness and quality of the ingredients were evident as we enjoyed the boon of ideal weather in the charming backyard.

[1] Yellowfin Tostada – tuna marinated in a pasilla oaxaqueña sauce with avocado, orange, and chicharrónes

[2] Barbacoa Tacos – beef cheeks and garlic scapes

[3] Pork Memela – made with heritage pork ribs in a sauce of chile de arbol, topped with fresh crumbled farmer cheese

[4] Mole Negro – meltingly tender short ribs with grilled Mexican green onions and potatoes

Portions are a little on the short side; upscale to be sure, what you see here is exactly what we ordered plus a single drink for each of us – total for our party of four including tax and tip was about $190.
 
 

Fan Fried Rice Bar

Posted on by

Instagram Post 7/6/2018

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

A relative newcomer (about three months) to Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood and certainly a welcome one is Fan Fried Rice Bar at 525 DeKalb Ave. A cozy, sunny spot with only a few tables, they offer a number of Taiwanese delicacies like Popcorn Chicken, Fried Bone-In Pork Chop, Taiwanese Sausage, and Mushroom Mapo Tofu, but the real focus is on their novel fried rice variations.

[1] Numb Numb Pastrami Fried Rice with chili paste, scallions, pastrami, onions and peanuts. I get a pronounced Szechuan málà peppercorn hit delivered with a lot of char (as opposed to wok hei); the pastrami itself is salty, moist, and a little smoky, but unlike the deli style pastrami you might expect from the name. Definitely good eats.

[2] Breakfast Fried Rice is good any time of day with tasty thick cut bacon, eggs, peas and carrots, and everything-bagel seasoning. No numbing peppercorns in this one, but plenty of salt, intensified by the toss of potato chips atop.

And yes, I’m a fan of the Fan. 😉
 
 

Pata Market – Part 1

Posted on by

Instagram Post 7/5/2018

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

The departure of Sugar Club, the beloved Thai snack bar and prepared food market in Elmhurst, Queens, left a void that is currently being half filled (because the space was subdivided) by Pata Market at 81-16 Broadway. I was pleased to find a considerable assortment of grab-n-go snacks, both sweet and savory, but since I didn’t have time to buy a fridge full of food that day, I picked up only two items from the sweets department.

I didn’t catch the name of the white squares, but I thought they were quite good – crispy puffed rice with a sugary “icing”, at once sweet and salty, and believe it or not, a little buttery; those black sesame seeds provide a significant flavor component as well as decoration. They’re keeping company on this plate with Quail Egg Candy (Khanom Kai Nok Krata) also known in Thailand as Turtle Eggs. You could tell from the modest price that no quail (or turtle) eggs were harmed in the making of this snack (I wouldn’t call it “candy”) – the name stems simply from the shape. The dough is made from sweet potato; they’re a bit sweet and somewhat chewier and more resilient than a doughnut. I have a feeling that they’d be a lot better fresh out of the deep fryer.

The second photo shows a view of bisected Quail Egg Candy to give you the inside scoop.

I’ll report back on how the savories stack up after a future visit.
 
 

Sing Kee – Fresh Squid with Pepper and Spiced Salt

Posted on by

Instagram Post 7/3/2018

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

Perfectly tender, perfectly seasoned, perfectly fried Fresh Squid with Pepper and Spiced Salt was one of the best dishes we had at Sing Kee Seafood Restaurant, 42 Bowery – OG Cantonese in Manhattan’s Chinatown. Sometimes, less is more.

(Like the text of this post! 😉)

More dishes from Sing Kee to follow….
 
 

Chao Thai – Soft Shell Crab Chu Chee

Posted on by

Instagram Post 7/1/2018

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

It’s soft shell crab season, so we sidled over to Chao Thai at 85-03 Whitney Ave, Elmhurst, Queens for their Soft Shell Crab Chu Chee bathed in a mildly spicy sauce of Thai red curry with coconut milk and topped with red pepper and kaffir lime leaf. Missing from this photo, but not from our table, is an order of sticky rice to soak up the savory goodness.
 
 

Tamales from Tulcingo

Posted on by

Instagram Post 6/29/2018

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

Just the name Tulcingo, a municipality in Puebla, Mexico, evokes the region’s cuisine and is probably the reason that it’s such a popular moniker for restaurants and panaderías around these parts. And Tulcingo Bakery, 103-02 Roosevelt Ave, is one of my favorite destinations in Corona, Queens when I’m craving those flavors. First, the array of fresh baked goods is dizzying – traditional Mexican breads, sweet breads, holiday breads, cookies, cakes, tarts, and much more; watch this space for an upcoming post. It’s also a small but comprehensive market where you can purchase refrigerated and packaged ingredients for your own forays into Mexican cooking.

But today’s post concerns their weekend specials. It’s my go-to place for delicious carnitas and amazingly tender barbacoa (goat) so succulent that I’ve been known to bring friends there just to secure a pound and share it al fresco, plastic forks and abundant napkins at the ready. (More about the meats in a future post, too.)

On my last weekend visit, I tried their chicken tamales in three varieties. Not only are the fillings distinctive, the masa from which they’re made is righteously infused with the flavors of the fillings as well.

[1] Jalapeño – the white chicken meat and the masa picked up the piquant flavor of the jalapeños.
[2] Mole – rich, flavorful, a skillful blend of mole components.
[3] Rojo – red chili peppers made their presence known; the spiciest of the three.

And in case you’re wondering, they were equally delicious!
 
 

East Wind Snack Shop – Dry Aged Beef Potstickers

Posted on by

Instagram Post 6/28/2018

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

My initial foray into the new North 3rd Street Market in Williamsburg, Brooklyn: I suspect there is still a lot of space for new businesses, but of the stalls that were there, East Wind Snack Shop caught my eye with their Dry Aged Beef Potstickers. I had been a little skeptical, but I was convinced when I tasted one: exceedingly beefy and extremely juicy – not what one might characterize as classically Asian, of course: that’s not what they’re aiming for. And yes, it really tasted like aged beef. Glad I tried ’em!

North 3rd Street Market is located at 103 North 3rd St (obvs) between Berry St and Wythe Ave.
 
 

Malaysian Kueh

Posted on by

Instagram Post 6/27/2018

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

Three views of the same item from the grab ‘n’ go prepared food section near the register at Little House Café, 90-19 Corona Ave in Elmhurst, Queens. I assumed this would be the sweet Malaysian kueh (or kuih) that I had enjoyed elsewhere, in this case a pandan (green) and palm sugar (brown) rice flour/tapioca flour dense “custard”, but I was pleasantly surprised by the salty component of the pandan layer in contrast to the sweetness of the palm sugar layer.

They’re shown flanked by eggy almond wafers, crunchy but not crispy, and a satisfying textural contrast to the kueh.

These folks definitely have their own spin on Malaysian food – and I like it!
 
 

Dakwa

Posted on by

Instagram Post 6/26/2018

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

I may have a found new favorite West African sweet snack: Dakwa. A popular treat in Ghana 🇬🇭 and Togo 🇹🇬, it goes by spellings and names that run the alphabetical gamut from Adaakwa to Zowè. Fortunately, I had only to travel to New Harlem Halal Meat on 2142 Frederick Douglass Blvd at 116th St in Manhattan to spot these treasures tucked away in a large plastic jar perched on the cashier’s counter (see second photo).

Made from ground roasted corn flour and peanuts, spiked with cloves, ginger, chili powder, sugar and a little salt, tightly compressed into 2½ inch balls with a measure of peanut oil to stick it together, its texture is similar to Middle Eastern halvah, perhaps a little stiffer. The balls come tightly bound in plastic wrap; the first photo shows one broken apart for closer examination, but mainly for easier eating. 😉

Sweet, spicy, salty, zowie!