Maison Premiere's Oyster Happy Hour

The oysters were no joke. The happy hour was an in good faith event, not "chef's choice" style which also means "no choice" for you. An abundant selection of east and west coast oysters and a quick 15 minute wait for 2 bar seats, where I had summery drinks and he had alcohol mixed with alcohol (good in a different way).

We'll be back soon, concentrating on the east coast oysters, which we deemed brinier and less creamy.

Also, how are the barkeeps so impeccably clean?

The Pines - Brunch

Speedy Romeo

A few weeks back, before the year's first heat wave, Kev and I took a trip to Speedy Romeo in Bed-Stuy for a quick brunch. We sat at the bar and had some big cappuccinos, chatting about the sleepiness of the neighborhood, the signs of a young and hip New York creeping steadily into a old New York part of the borough. The pizza was good, Roberta's is better, and what I really loved was the roasted beet dish. As you see below, big blocky chunks of roast beet and other big, simple ingredients. 

Littleneck

Last Friday the heat wave had yet to break, the work week was short (after Memorial Day), and we were craving summery, shorey things. We love clams and oysters on the half shell, and each year look forward to Clam Bar in Montauk in August with his family. Raw bar offerings are so reminiscent of summer for me, and are amongst the company of strawberries and watermelon. Fun fact: Kevin introduced me to the world of raw seafood - sushi, clams, and oysters.

I got there a little earlier, and sat on the quaint little bench out front. I was jamming to old school Mariah Carey, and Kev was in a bad mood, stuck in traffic on his way to Gowanus.

Been a while: Diner

Since moving to Brooklyn and with the warming weather, we've been enjoying early morning brunch on weekends, which gives the added bonus of making the days feel longer and more luxurious.

We got to Diner at 10, were seated immediately, and ordered the following:

the potatoes with chorizo oil
bacon with kumquat marmalade, ramp yogurt, and oats
duck hash with rhubarb, ramps, topped with a fried egg
bacon with polenta, fried oysters, green garlic, onions, and a sunny side up egg

Yum!

Then we bought some Diner swag, a tee and a tote.

Birthday dinner: Ichimura at Brushstroke

Last night Kevin took me out for my birthday, which was last week, which was packed busy with friends, visitors, and snow. On Friday a blizzard named Nemo came through and dumped 10 inches of snow, and the two of us were worried we wouldn't be able to make it to our seats. We did, and it was a joyous experience. I didn't take pictures until halfway through the meal, only after another girl seated at the bar brought out her iPhone.

We had small bites, the best, freshest uni ever, then moved on to sashimi pieces, then to sushi. It was really cool the way chef Ichimura kept plopping down more pieces of fish as we ate the sashimi, and the way we were instructed to eat the sushi pieces with our hands, and were presented with the little gems one at a time.

The meal started with golden crab and dungeness crab chawanmushi, and ended with a deliciously earthy green tea and a tea pudding. Kevin got for dessert a bowl of mirin ice cream and soy sauce ice cream into which the chef placed a pearl of fresh wasabi and told us in his soft spoken way, "it tastes better."

mirin ice cream, soy sauce ice cream, wasabi

tea pudding

monkfish liver and spicy ponzu jelly

clam

aged mackerel

New Year's Day

Kev and I went to Roberta's for brunch this morning. I like the idea of starting a new year with an old favorite and without a hangover. I had polenta with roasted carrots, watercress, and a poached egg, and he had the bee sting pizza. As we ate we watched the place fill up slowly, I enjoyed my coffee, and it felt so good to be back in that neighborhood again.