New York Eats (Part 2 - The Other Buroughs)

Han Joo
41-06 149th Place
Queens, NY

Going to this restaurant Murray Hill in Flushing, Queens from the Bronx zoo was a major trek, but we were convinced that it would be worth it. We let Josh and Iris take control of ordering here, and they selected the pork belly and thinly sliced duck. Shortly upon ordering, a quartz crystal slab was brought over to our table and placed on top of a burner.

meat.cooking.on.quartz

Next a huge variety of appetizers, including green onion cake, steamed egg souffle, eggplant, fresh greens, kim chi, and potato salad were brought our table. Then out came the meat. The server took charge of placing it onto the heated slab and cooking it for us. After the meat was mostly cooked, the kim chi was placed at one end of the angled slab so that all the juices from the meat would be absorbed by the kim chi. The pork belly and duck pieces were meant to be wrapped up in lettuce or sesame leaves along with your choice of the other sides on the table.

pork.belly.on.sesame.leaf

I particularly liked the refreshingly cold buckwheat tea served. We went through several bottles of the stuff and I felt like they were going to cut me off each time I requested a refill!

buckwheat.tea

This was my second time eating Korean food and I thought it was decent. However, I was not left longing for the next time I would eat this cuisine. It might be the spices and the pickling in this type of cuisine, but I can't say that I'm particularly fond of it.

3/5

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The next four places we went to were all in a period of 6 hours on an incredibly gluttonous day!

Supercore
305 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, NY

On Sundays they have a special for $20: enjoy any brunch item on the menu and receive unlimited drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic included). My meal was the American classic breakfast.

american.classic.breakfast

While the food itself wasn't stellar (and the portion sizes of some menu items, such as the curry, were small), I liked the concept of all you can drink. One drink I ordered was the green tea latte. It was nothing extraordinary and it tasted like there was coffee in it, which I'm not accustomed to. However, I really liked the sangria and wish I could have drank more, but was too worried that I would have to hit the rest room every 5 minutes.

bottomless.drinks

3/5

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Fette Sau
354 Metropolitan Ave
Brooklyn, NY

If you're in New York City, you MUST head over to Williamsburg in Brooklyn and taste the wonders of Fette Sau. Situated in a former garage, this place serves barbecued smoked meat that is to die for! We were told that this place often has long line ups (it can take up to an hour to get to the counter to order food), but for some miraculous reason, there were only a handful of people in line that day. We took it as a sign that we needed to eat there even though we had just eaten brunch. All of the meat is organic, or raised on small farms, and it is all sold by weight. The selections include meats such as brisket, ribs, bacon, sausage, and pork shoulder. Prices of the meat ranged from about $16-22/lb. Sides such as baked beans, coleslaw, and pickles were other options. They also have a bar specializing in microbrews and bourbon. We ordered a small amount of beef brisket and pork ribs with pickles and buns on the side.

bbq

Seating is available inside and outside, and we chose to sit inside at the cafeteria-style picnic benches. The meat was moist, tender, and full of flavor. The bun was buttery and the pickles were crunchy and juicy. I look forward to my next trip to NYC to make a special trip back to Fette Sau.

4.5/5

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Momofuku Milk Bar
382 Metropolitan Ave
Brooklyn, NY

Highly recommended by Iris, Momofuku Milk Bar was another "must" on our fooding adventure that day. They serve baked goods in addition to soft serve, coffee, and shakes. Even though our bellies weren't empty, Andrew and I shared some Cereal Milk soft serve coated with Corn Flakes ($5) and a pork bun ($8).

cereal.milk.soft.serve

What is cereal milk, you ask. Imagine that you're eating a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats for breakfast. After the cereal is gone, some milk remains. That milk has absorbed the sweet and oaty flavor of the cereal, and that is what they call Cereal Milk. Momofuku has their own cereal for soaking in milk, and the milk is then turned into soft serve. It was delightful, and I'm happy we chose to have the Corn Flake coating too. As stuffed as we were, we still managed to stomach the pork bun, which was also very tasty.

pork.bun

Josh and Iris also vouch for their cookies and Crack Pie, which I will gladly try another time. There are a few other locations spread throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan.

4/5

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Alligator Lounge
600 Metropolitan Ave
Brooklyn, NY

The last place we went to on this gluttonous day was Alligator Lounge. We wanted a cool place to sit down and watch the Euro Cup game. Here, the big seller is a free personal sized cheese pizza with the purchase of an alcoholic beverage! Additional toppings are $1 extra.

magners.irish.cider

Even though we were as full as heck, we couldn't say no to the value of FREE! I enjoyed a Magners cider ($6) with my brick oven pepperoni pizza, both of which I would order again in the future. This neighbourhood dive bar was definitely not an upscale place, but it was a quiet place to hang out on a Sunday afternoon. There are also a bunch of arcade games and a pool table in the back. I probably wouldn't choose to go to Alligator Lounge if I were looking for a night out clubbing, but may consider stopping here for a pizza and drink if I had the munchies at the end of the night.

free.pizza

3/5