White Truffle Gnocchi Parmegiano, Melted Butter, Mushrooms & Broccoli Rabe
by Celia Cheng
February 10th, 2006
SWEETWATER RESTAURANT
105 N. 6th St
Brooklyn, NY
(Berry St & Wythe Ave)
718-963-0608
Okay, so I’m a little in love with Williamsburg. Well, actually, I’m in love with the good food in Williamsburg. I love the fact that on a Friday night, I can walk into a good restaurant or gastropub, like Sweetwater, and not have to wait for a table, eat a delicious meal, enjoy the company of not only my own party but the eclectic (though not annoying) crowd in the rest of the joint and not pay an arm and a leg. What it boils down to is no attitude, good grub and reasonable fare. Now why is that so hard to find in Manhattan?
I originally thought I would be trying Sweetwater’s burger for dinner, but when I saw the white truffle gnocchi, I knew I had to order it. White truffle, gnocchi, parmesan, butter, mushrooms and broccoli rabe are all my favorites. I do have to warn you, not that it’s not obvious, but this is a heavy dish. Although totally worth it, and I didn’t realize at the time that my system would suffer from the richness of this dish for a couple of days. But if I had to do it over again, I would still lick the plate. Well, maybe half of it next time.
I feel like this review is too short, but at the same time, I’ve said all I needed to say: why the restaurant is wonderful and what I crave. Sometimes, it’s just that simple.
Posted in American , Pub , Williamsburg
menu • map • tell-a-friend • print • comment
DuMont Burger
by Celia Cheng
January 16th, 2006
DUMONT BURGER
314 Bedford Ave
(S 1st & S 2nd St)
Brooklyn, NY
718-384-6127
Whoa! News alert! Celia has found a burger that she loves. Yes. Loves. Do you know how many nights of sleep I have lost in the past three years, not knowing when I’d be able to find a burger I could safely say I liked in its entirety? Well, let me just say that I’ve been sleeping very well lately. My quest for good burgers will never end, but DuMont makes a perfect burger that satiates my craving. I tried the burger at both the original DuMont Restaurant (on Union Avenue, also in Brooklyn, on the L train Lorimer stop) and at DuMont Burger, and, while both are excellent, I think I would prefer to go back to DuMont Burger, a smaller space that is slightly more modern than the original. And hey, it’s next door to Bonita (click on Bonita to read the review).
DuMont Burger is a bar with a short menu, serving mostly sandwiches and salads. The burger comes in two sizes, regular or mini. The difference is in the size of the beef patty. While the mini looks very cute, for hardcore meat-lovers like myself, I would recommend going for the regular. The burger is served on a grilled brioche bun with bibb lettuce, thick-cut tomato, red onion and pickles. The onions are pickled with a deliciously subtle anise taste. The choice to use brioche bun over regular sesame bun, bibb lettuce over iceberg and pickled onions rather than raw, makes it seem a bit fancy, but it’s really not. It’s just a careful selection of higher quality staple ingredients behind this tasty combination.
I was impressed by the whole package, but the beef patty was the real winner. My medium rare request came out perfectly: pinkish red on the inside and grilled to a perfect crisp on the outside. I had heard a rumor that they soak the patty in special sauce to make it juicier. When I tried to inquire, they were a little secretive about it but told me that they do use butter to grill the burger. Whatever secret ingredient they use, it makes a TASTY burger! I added Cheddar and a side order of avocado on my burger, and I was in blissful heaven by the end — I nearly licked the plate. The sandwiches are served with a choice of salad or fries. I tried both, but I think next time I will stick to the salad — yes, a rarity for me, the absolute potato-lover, but the fries were not nearly as tasty as the burger and fell short in flavor even compared to the salad.
With DuMont Burger and Bonita only a block away from each other, I might just have to move to S 2nd Street in Williamsburg. But for now, I’ll count my blessings since I am only a 5-minute train ride away.
Posted in American , Burger , Pub , Williamsburg
menu • map • tell-a-friend • print • comment
Quickly Sautéed Escarole w/ Slab Bacon
by Celia Cheng
October 4th, 2005
JIMMY’S
43 E 7th St
(2nd & 3rd Ave)
212-982-3006
Jimmy’s has the good intention of aspiring to be a gastropub, and I think chef-owner Jimmy Carbone is really trying hard. But, if Jimmy’s is going to last, well it won’t be on the merit of its food.
A visit to Jimmy’s on opening night was disappointing, to say the least. The selection of beers is good but they’re rather overpriced, and perhaps this is because of the neighborhood it’s in.
I didn’t understand what quickly sautéed escarole meant, so I was confused when it arrived looking more like a salad with slab bacon. When I tasted it, I realized that it was literally sautéed for just a couple of seconds. Interesting.
The skillet-fried beer sausages were good, but again, it’s hard to screw this one up.
Risotto with clams and bacon sounded really promising, but it arrived with olives all over and no sign of clams. It tasted of onions and olives and is, I have to admit, the worst risotto I’ve ever had.
The roasted spare rib in chickpea tomato stew looked delicious in New York magazine and sounded really innovative, but again failed the taste test. I don’t think it was awful, it just didn’t suit my taste.
All of this is really too bad because I so wanted to like Jimmy’s; to have a good neighborhood pub that served good eats, nothing fancy necessarily, just things that are good to go with beer, other than stale pretzels. Unfortunately, the search continues.
Posted in East Village , Pub
