Diner

Although I am a Manhattanite, I find myself migrating more and more towards Brooklyn for many things culinary. Brooklyn has a lot going for it. Young, unafraid pioneers, cheaper rents and a hip, captive audience. Diner in Williamsburg is a pioneer, having opened their doors almost 11 years ago. To this day the joint is jumpin with youngish hipsters who line up to dine on sustainable, local, well prepared food in a cool funky atmosphere.

The restaurant is housed in an 1920's Kullman diner. It shows its age and at the same time shows that it is ageless. It is a quite dark and somewhat cramped space, especially if you sit in one of the booths up front. People must have been a lot skinnier in the roaring 20's! Probably all that dancing!!

The food is strictly of the 21st century, that is, sustainable, local and often organic. The wine list changes often and has some cool progressive wine makers represented. Currently, many are naturally made wines from the Loire Valley and some delicious Gamay, especially the La Souteronne from Herve Souhaut in the Ardeche department of France. Souhaut's Gamay is made from 60-80 year old vines planted in Granite soils. There is no new wood used and very little sulphur added. In other words it is made as naturally as possibly. It has a great smoky quality which one would typically associate with Syrah being made in the Ardeche, but it also has the great earthy fruit tones and minerality that one would associate with the best Cru Beaujolais. An interesting mix and an excellent food wine.

We started by sharing a salad of Spinach, shaved Apple and Radish Salad with Caraway Vinaigrette, the Grilled Flatbread w Quince Paste, Prosciutto, Shallots and Fontina, and the Parmesan Broth with Poached Egg, Bitter Greens, Crushed Fingerling Potato's and Croutons. All three were excellent. The salad was super fresh and the vinaigrette had the perfect balance of salt, acidity and oil. The ingredients on the flatbread played well off each other, the Prosciutto adding a slight salty element which melded with the slightly sweet/sour of the Quince paste, the deep sweetness of the Caramelized Shallot all tied together with the nutty Fontina. The soup was a nice combination of light Parmesan Broth with the crispy rustic croutons, greens, and potato's adding a lovely texture and flavor.

As a mid course the three of us shared Risotto with Broccoli, house-made Italian Sausage, Fontina and Parmesan. The meatiness of the sausage melded well with the broccoli. The rice was cooked just beyond al dente and the texture was creamy. Grated parmesan tied the dish together well, adding a bit of salt and acidity to the creamy rice.

For the main courses we shared 1/2 Roasted Chicken with Brown Buttered Napa Cabbage and a Caraway Sherry Vinaigrette. The chicken was cut into thigh, leg and breast, all moist meat and crisp skin. The accompaniments were very flavorful and a great foil for the chicken. We also ordered the Burger which is one the best burgers in New York. The meat is very tender and extremely flavorful, the fries perfectly crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. It probably helps that Diner also owns a fantastic butcher shop down the street called Marlow and Daughters. The butcher shop provides sustainable meat and poultry, mostly from local farms, for the groups two current restaurants, Diner and Marlow and Sons, which is next door.

The three desserts were all excellent. The Flourless Chocolate Cake is a staple on the menu. The cake is served room temperature with whipped cream. It is deceptively simple but to my mind the perfect chocolate cake. Very light, almost flaky and rich with the flavor of what seems like a high quality circa 70% chocolate. We also very much enjoyed a Pumpkin Spice Cake with Caramel Buttercream and Candied Pepitas. The cake was light, moist and the buttercream was not very sweet or at all cloying. Apple and Persimmon Tatin was also a standout. Beautiful light pastry, excellent fruit flavor and great caramelization.

Diner
85 Broadway Brooklyn, NY 11211
Phone: (718) 486-3077
Subways: JMZ to Marcy or L to Bedford
Open Daily 11am until 2am
Lunch Mon - Fri 11am - 5pm
Brunch Sat & Sun 11am - 4pm
Dinner Sun- Thrs 6pm - 12am
Dinner Fri & Sat 6pm - 1am
Owners: Mark Firth & Andrew Tarlow
Executive Chef: Sean Rembold
No reservations

num pang sandwich shop

A funny thing happened on the way to Brooklyn. The connection between my stomach and my brain sucked me out of the Q train at Union Square. Once above ground I made a bee line for a Cambodian Style sandwich at Num Pang. The bahn mi sized shop whose name means Bread or Sandwich in Khmer, is owned by Ratha Chau of Kampuchea Restaurant on the lower east side and his college friend Ben Daitz.

The menu is divided into two main sections of six Classic Sandwiches and five Special Sandwiches ranging in price from $7.25 to $8.75 (one vegetarian option is offered daily). I must say it was a very tough choice, but in the end I decided on one of the specials, Ginger Barbeque Brisket with Pickled Red Cabbage for $7.50. I took my sandwich up the circular staircase to a small room with 8 stools and a counter over looking an indoor parking garage, and a bench that can seat 4 with a counter overlooking 12th street. A cool funky space indeed!

The sandwich was the perfect balance of tender brisket with the right amount of fat, crunchy bread, perfect creaminess and heat from the chili mayo all tied together with the subtle flavor of cilantro wrapped in a whisp of ginger. It is definitely a three napkin sandwich.

All the sandwiches are served with cucumber, pickled carrots, cilantro and chili mayo on Parisi Bakery bread. Incidentally, Parisi has been baking bread in a wood fired oven, with only natural ingredients for 106 years!

num pang
sandwich shop
is open
Monday – Saturday
11am to 10pm
Sunday
12pm to 9pm

Address
21 East 12th St
between 5th Ave and University

phone: 212.255.3271
Cash Only!
Mostly take away, with seating up stairs for 12

Luke's Lobsta Mobsta and Mary's Fish Camp

The Lobsta Roll wars have heated up of late with the addition of Luke's . Lukes, owned by father and son Jeff and Luke Holden, and run by GM Ben Conniff, is the new claw in town. Mary's Fish Camp is the old pro. The styles are very different but they are both making some of best Lobster Rolls I have experienced.

At Luke's the Maine lobster is brought from the dock to Jeff's Portland Shellfish. There, the claws are steamed, packed in individual 4 oz servings and shipped the 315 miles to Luke's in the East Village where they end up unadorned on a simple buttered bun. The taste is very fresh, pure lobster. The stand alone roll (4 ounces) is currently $14. Luke's is giving a portion of their profits to the Maine Lobstermen's Association. This seems like a sustainable way of doing business and I applaud Luke's for that. You can also get a Lobsta Mobsta Card which gives you one free Lobster Roll for every ten that you buy. Luke's is basically take away with a few stools for dining in.

If Luke's is the Prius of Lobster Rolls then Mary's Fish Camp is the Bentley. The beautifully buttered brioche buns are overflowing with large, luxurious chunks of perfectly cooked lobster with house made mayo, chives and what seems to be a tiny bit of celery. The balance is perfect, the flavor incredibly satisfying and rich, and the shoestring fries are the perfect accompaniment. Squeeze a tiny bit of lemon on your roll and add some malt vinegar to your fries and you will be a very happy camper! The rolls, which i expect have closer to 8 ounces of Lobster are currently priced at $25, including the fries.

In addition to the Lobster Roll ($25) we had 2 starters. Flash Fried Silver Hake with Sunflower Sprouts and Cilantro Vinaigrette for $10 and Peekytoe Crab Beignets with Key Lime Aioli for $12. Whoever is working the fryer at Mary's should be well paid. They are doing the job very well. Both the fish and the beignets were perfectly cooked, crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. I could have used a bit more crab in the beignets but it was a minor point and the balance was great with the Key Lime Aioli. Mary's is sit down, eat in, casual restaurant. They have a nice counter which looks onto the kitchen and has about 8 seats. It also has somewhat cramped table seating for about 16 and is first come first served.

Luke's
93 East 7th Street NY, NY 10009
212.387.8487
Hours:
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday - 11 am - Midnight
Thursday, Friday and Saturday - 11 am - 1 am


Mary's Fish Camp
64 Charles Street at the Corner of 4th Street, New York, NY 10014 tel: 646.486.2185
Hours: Monday-Saturday 12-3 and 6-11, Closed on Sunday
Beer and Wine are available. No reservations

Saltie / Williamsburg Brooklyn

Saltie is a new sandwich shop which opened three weeks ago today. It is owned and run by Caroline Fidanza (Cheffie), former executive chef at Diner and Marlow and Sons . I did not ask Caroline why she left the King Luke (Diner/Marlow) group, but she looked happy. Maybe she looked happy because it was her birthday! Saltie is essentially a take out place but they do have a counter looking onto Metropolitan and running along one wall with very uncomfortable stools. My advice, stand while you are eating. In the time it takes you to gobble down one of the delicious sandwiches, your legs will not get tired. Speaking of eating, the getting is good here and no surprise.

The bread is made in house, the organic vegetables come from Guy Jones at Blooming Hill Farm in Blooming Grove NY, about 60 miles from Manhattan and the dairy comes from a Cooperative in PA. Saltie has about 8 sandwich options which are posted. The sandwiches are described on handwritten menus at the front counter where you also place your order.

I had the Ships Biscuit for $6. It is fresh ricotta spread on Focaccia and topped/mixed with scrambled egg. A lovely breakfast, or in this case lunch sandwich. I tried at first to pick the sandwich up, but the ingredients slid off the bread. Then I dug in the grown up way, with a knife and fork! The balance was perfect, just the right amount of salt on the focaccia, cool ricotta and the hot egg.

I followed with a lovely apple tart with Saltie caramel ice cream. Again the balance was perfect. The tart crust was flaky and light, and not at all sweet and the local apples were very tasty. The ice cream was well churned, creamy and had a nice deep flavor. It was a nice foil for the tart indeed.

I am looking forward to trying some of the other sandwiches, some of the specials, like soups and salads and I definitely want to try some more of the ice creams!

Saltie is open Tuesday-Sunday 8-8 and is closed on Mondays
378 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn 11211
(At Havemeyer St)
Phone: (718) 387-4777