The Brooklyn Sandwich Society

Exciting news... Brooklyn Edible Social Club (one of the most respected supper clubs) is opening a sandwich shop in Fort Greene, called The Brooklyn Sandwich Society.

Best wishes Andres & Melissa!

Court Street Grocers: Serving Dinner

Court Street Grocers, a local favorite sandwich shop, is now introducing dinner to their menu!
Currently its two seatings, 730 and 9PM once a week, three courses for $35. BYOB.
The next dinner is this Wednesday April 11th.
 Contact info@courtstreetgrocers.com for a spot.
 Many thanks to Piedmont in Brooklyn for sharing their reservations with us.  It was delicious!

Underground Lunch: Sandwiches & Salads

Better Being Underground is a hidden organic lunch spot in the West Village.  The only advertisement for them is an inconspicuous black sign on Leroy and Varick St stating: GoUndergroundForLunch.com.

The store is masked under scaffolding and buried in the basement. As of today only 14 yelpers have learned about Better Being Underground. It hasnt even been blogged on SeriousEats yet. But word of mouth has spread since their opening in April and while the closet space can barely hold 6 people at at time, you can expect a line.

Better Being Underground is take-out only.  It's opened weekdays 12PM to 3PM. Meals are made fresh daily, and menu is constantly changing depending on market availablity. The novelty and quality of your meal  makes up for the price and occasional small portion size. We liked it so much we've been 3 days in a row.

Day 1:
The R@dical Roll: FRESH LOBSTER ROLL w/Spiced Lemon Butter on Toasted Potato Hot Dog Bun (Lots of meat. Better than Lukes Lobsters. No mayo, whew)
The Slumdog Millionaire: Curried Free Range Chicken w/Cilantro, Spinach & Mint on Pressed Garlic
(could of used a litttttle more curry, but loved that the chicken was so moist!)
The Salad: Marinated Kale w/Roasted Brussel Sprouts, Radishes, Walnuts & Shallot Vinaigrette
(Huge portions. Delish!)

Day 2:
El Jefe: Grilled Free Range Chicken w/Chipotle Mayo, Avocado Salsa, Pinto Bean Puree, & Homemade Chimmichurri (mother f-in huge)
Peasant Salad: w/Sourdough Croutons, Feta, Tomatoes, Cukes, Red Onion, Basil, Oregano, & Red Wine Vine
The Rauschenberger: Seared Tuna Burger w/Chipotle Mayo, Avocado, & Rainbow Micro Greens
(wow, best one so far)The Knishwich: w/ thin layer of pastrami (wish it was as big as Katz)

Day 3:
The Monte Cristo: Antibiotic Free Turkey & Ham w/Cranberry Jalepeno Jam, Mustard & Swiss on Egg Pressed Brioche
The Is-What-It-Is-Wich: Free Range Chicken Salad w/Cranberries, Walnuts, Apples, Blue Cheese on Toasted Everything Bagel (kept me full all day)


We'll see how long Better Being Underground can be kept a secret. Until then, check out their daily menu.

Baoguette v.s. Num Pang

So after trying both Baoguette and Num Pang multiple times,
Ive concluded that I favor Num Pang.
'Oh well' if the portion is smaller and cost is more expensive.
Num Pang is all packed with flavor and consistent.
No substitutions. Cash only.
My favorite so far is their pork belly dripping with fat. Amazing, especially in this weather.

The Original Supper Club: Trading Lunches

This past rainy Sunday, I re-experienced the phenomenon of trading lunches. I havent done this since elementary school where I always traded my slice of cafeteria pizza for my best friends' home made sandwich.

Our FunList group of 9 met up in midtown, rented a van, and made a 10.2 mile trek on the Appalachian Trail through rolling farmland, woodlands, and a hike up to an incredible vista overlooking the Hudson Valley. Mud, wooden planks, rocks-- you name it, we walked it.

After 2 hours up, we finally reached a landing overseeing this beautiful view.

And then we shared our sandwiches. Trading lunches is like the advanced version of potluck transitioning to the sophistication of supper club.

4 of 9: Top Left to Bottom Right: Chicken Parmesan Wrap, Turkey on a Roll, Peanut Butter and Honey, and Ham, Lettuce Tomato on a bun.

5 hour hike allows you to eat all the Supper Clubs you want!

Travel: Portland, Oregon

So I took a mini vacation 4 days, 3 nights to Portland, Oregon in the beginning of September-- mostly to bicycle around, relax and...EAT!

Besides Stumptown, Voodoo Donuts and food carts-- here are my favorite establishments narrowed down to breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Pine State Biscuits for breakfast!
They are famous for their Reggie Deluxe, which is a precious layer of biscuits, fried chicken, bacon, egg, cheese and graaaaaavy. $8 = stomach full all day. I then rode up Mount Tabor and to Vancouver trying to burn off the calories.

Bunk Sandwiches for lunch!
I know..I know...we have Defontes in Red Hook which will always be my favorite-- but Bunk was just another level of greatness!! I ordered the Pork Belly Cubano Sandwich with ham and cheese (bottom left). Excellent twist of flavors and fatty belly! The meatball parmigiano hero is also one of the best sellers, along with that roast beef .... There is a line out the door just like Pine State.

Clyde Common for dinner!
It was fate to dine at Clyde Common--I stayed at the Ace Hotel next door. Their menu is New American just the way I like it--nothing normal.
-Started with the complimentary focaccia bread in olive oil/pepper--still moist and warm.
-Then I ordered the chicken-fried chicken livers--anything fried is good!!! Frisee and pickled onions really eased the way to finishing it all up.
-My main course was a whole (DE-BONED, how convenient) grilled trout--slightly charred skin, topped with a sunny side egg!! Genius. It came with side potatoes and beef cheeks. Mmm... yeah, Im no vegetarian.
-And last (yes, I saved room for dessert), I had a tartine with figs and melted ice cream.

When youre on vacation-- there is no diet!

Good Monday Morning: Bacon

Good morning! Thought Id start the week off with pictures from a BLT House Party thrown in Fort Greene, last Saturday. A nice way to start your day (unless youre a vegetarian).

These ingredients pictured below make a BLT complete! Oh and the sandwiches were washed down with Bacon Infused Bourbon Old Fashioneds. I wouldnt expect anything less from our gracious host. She knows how to throw a party!

No Oscar Myers here...

Uncooked...

Sizzling!

This is only 4 of maybe 10-12 different bacons brought in.
Los Paisanos was the overall best-- although 1 lb was not enough to feed the huge crowd
Marlow and Daughters the saltiest!
Char No.4 tastes better at the actual restaurant...

Beautiful lettuce and tomatoes from the CSA....

Homemade mayo--seriously? Awesome.

For the less adventurous/ purists

Gotta have your bread...

And there you have it. A BLT party.

Additional pictures here.