Lobo: Court Street (Brooklyn)

It’s been years since I hit up Lobo on 5th Avenue (that picture-poor post here), and when I heard there was a Court street location (just a 2 minute walk from the F train), I made plans to meet up with a friend who’d recently moved back to NYC.

I got there a little early and started with the regular house margarita—pleasingly tart, just a hint of sweet, and just an all-around great drink.

The bartender, Jenell, was welcoming and greeted me as warmly as he did all the regulars who came in the restaurant (and there were a lot of regulars). Even people walking by the restaurant would wave hello, making this spot feeling amazingly homey.

My favorite rita at Lobo is still the Sangre de Lobo (wolf's blood), made with cinnamon-infused tequila. This smells and tastes amazing. The cinnamon gives it a sweetness without a ton of sugar. This is absolutely one of my favorite margaritas in the world. La margarita mas favorito del mundo!

The menu is a sea of delicious options—from Tex-Mex to southern fried steak to brunchier options. I decided to try the chicken chimichanga—and you’d better be hungry if you order this! You get TWO very decent-sized chimichangas.

The chicken is delicious, it’s not overly seasoned, and the salad that comes on the side (and takes up half the plate) is fresh, crunchy, garlicky, and the perfect balance to the heavier, but so-satisfying, chicken dish). It's not greasy-heavy-- it's fried, yes, but surprisingly light, but it will fill you up, which is great if you're also a fan of their delicious margaritas!

My friend "II" ordered the shrimp & steak fajitas. She asked for no sour cream and no guacamole (2 of my favorite things!) and they happily accommodated her. She seemed to enjoy the food, too, and though she is not a margarita fan, they made her a virgin 'rita to enjoy as well. She was not expecting to like it that much-- there's still a lower expectation for Tex-Mex food in NYC, especially when you've lived anywhere that's known for it (as she & I both have)! She's happy to join me in another visit here!

Infused tequilas (pineapple, cinnamon & many more!)

The food is delicious, the margaritas are top-notch (and interesting!), but what puts this location above and beyond your regular joint is the service. Jenell and the other workers there clearly have earned a loyal following, and yet they were just as inclusive to us on our first visit there. We were immediately brought into the scene, and we'll happily return again. (This place IS cash only, but there's an ATM at the top of the stairs)

There are plenty of places to get a good margarita, and a decent number of great ones. But it's extremely rare to visit a place that so easily makes you feel like you're a regular on your very first trip. It's just staffed by nice people who are happy to see you, and I was impressed with how much that makes them stand out from the crowd.

This is NYC, baby, and there are so many options that you'd never need to go to the same place twice. Thanks to the great service at Lobo, we'll visit a third, fourth, fifth, and fiftieth time!

Thanks, Jenell & Company!

Lobo
218 Court St
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(718) 858-7739

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Bourbon & Brunch: Char No. 4

I met up in Brooklyn with Sara (of NYC Nom Nom) and her fiancé (that's right! Engaged! Congrats and Mazels all around!) Mike--after some wandering we stopped for lunch at Char No 4, recommended by one of Sara's friends. Char is in one of my favorite Brooklyn 'hoods, Cobble Hill. It's a great place to walk around, barhop, restaurant-stroll, you name it.

The entrance is a bit nondescript, but the wall of bourbons inside is most certainly not! Bourbon is a main claim to fame here, so we each tried a drink accordingly:

Sara had a Noreaster (on the right): Ginger beer, lime, maple syrup. Quite lovely! Mike had the bloody mary, which came with a slice of pickle and a hefty dose of heat, which tickled and prickled nicely long after your sip.

Mine was the Bourbon Bonnet, with fresh pineapple juice, habanero peppers, cherries, and a bit of brown sugar. YES. I wish I had another one of these right now-- sweet/sour and so refreshing!

I was also impressed, yes, I said it, with the ice cubes---they're pretty striking all on their own!

We shared an appetizer for the table: smoky, deep-fried pork nuggets. These were tasty on the first bite, but one was plenty for me. PS: That hot sauce is no JOKE, son.

I'd had some eggs already that morning, so I opted for a lunchier option: their pulled pork sandwich, which came with baked beans and pickled veggies on the side.

I don't know if I've ever had a more melt-in-your-mouth pulled pork. Wow.

The beans were also delicious, not sweet, and everything on that plate was even better that night (I had half the dish at lunch, half for dinner).

Mike's dish was impressive looking-- poached eggs over a giant biscuit that was more the size of a serious Belgian waffle. He generously let me try a bite and damn, that was a good biscuit.

Sara went for a breakfast sampler dish: it came with a poached egg, cornbread, ham, home fries, and cheese grits. I am not a grits person, but I had at LEAST 2 bites of these. Mmmm cheesy. The home fries were tasty, not greasy at all.

Everything was great. The food, the service, the prices. Our server went above and beyond in making sure none of the dishes contained peppers (Sara's allergic), and even made sure she knew Mike's & my drinks were spicy and she shouldn't sample them. I loved our experience at Char No 4 and will happily return for more bourbon & brunch!

Char No 4

196 Smith Street

Brooklyn, NY 11201

(718) 643-2106

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Cheap & Tasty Thai

A trio of us were looking for a quick, tasty, and of course, affordable lunch spot the other day. My friends took me to Ghang Thai on Smith Street in Brooklyn. As I walked in the building I had a powerful feeling of deja vu, but dismissed it, as I knew I'd never been anywhere called Ghang. It wasn't until we sat in the back that we saw the old doors to Miriam, propped up in the outdoor seating area. Miriam (the Court Street location) was a former favorite spot of mine. Apparently Ghang took over the spot when Miriam (oh, how I loved the shakshukah, which inspired this meal) closed.

The lunch special there is ridiculously affordable. A salad or soup, appetizer, and entree for 7 or 8 dollars (depending on your protein: shrimp, beef, chicken, and tofu and 'vegetarian duck,' aka seitan). For less than $10 bucks? Yes, please.

It was a muggy, muggy June day, so I started with a glass of Thai Iced Coffee. This was delicious--strong coffee flavor, just enough sweetness. Sometimes it can be TOO sweet, but this was perfectly balanced and oh-so-refreshing.

We all started with the house salad, a lovely mix of greens and veggies and fried tofu with a scrumptious peanut dressing.

For my entree, I picked the drunken noodles with chicken, and a single spring roll as my appetizer. Crisp green beans, bell peppers, and deliciously sauteed onions were tossed with glass noodles and chili peppers. I asked for somewhere between mild and medium, and they hit it right on the mark. It was also an insane amount of food--I barely ate half of this, leaving mostly noodles (and eating all the chicken/veggies first).


This was as tasty as it was cheap. The service was friendly and quick without making us feel rushed. Ghang is a new one to add to my list of cheap eats in my favorite borough!

Ghang
229 Court Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
718-875-1369

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The Chocolate Room

How good is this place? Soooo good that ABF (who is not really a 'chocolate' person), routinely asks "When can we go back to the Chocolate Room?" It's THAT good.

ABF & I walked from Brooklyn Heights to Cobble Hill one Sunday, which was a pretty good haul. I was expecting it to be a little stuffy and unwelcoming, but everyone behind the counter was absolutely pleasant, welcoming us in and inviting us to take a seat. It smells HEAVENLY inside. Chocolate and goodness and such.

As soon as we took our seats, the sincerely friendly server brought us each a tasting of their homemade, dairy-free, chocolate sorbet. It was a mouthful of dark and tasty yum.

The menu is scrumptious-sounding, start to finish, and each item comes with a suggested drink pairing, from wine to cordials. We were there that day just for the dessert, but someday I'll go back and try a pairing. Someday soon, I hope. :) For that night, ABF & I quickly agreed to split the brownie sundae. Chocolate Room makes their own ice cream AND their own freshly-whipped cream. Drool. I had a coffee (strong and delicious), and ABF had an amazingly creamy cappuccino.

The answer to "When can we go back there?" is: "Not soon enough."

The Chocolate Room
86 5th Avenue
New York, NY 11217
(718) 783-2900

Sahadi's

Yoga Jen brought me to Sahadi's for my first trip a year or so ago (maybe longer??). We were there to snag some of the pickled garlic her friend had served for Jen's birthday bash. I must have eaten 10 cloves that night (and no, I did not wake up reeking of garlic the next day--that's the beauty of pickled garlic!) and I wanted more. Jen took me to the source--just a short walk from the R train stop at Court Street.

Sahadi's is not that big a place, but it's jam-packed with an almost-overwhelming amount of options: spices from A-Z (well, almost), more than a dozen types of coffee, every sort of olive oil imaginable, endless varieties of jams, jellies, custards, cheeses, you name it!




It's a foodie's dream, and the prices are mostly reasonable. You can also find the most interesting of items: from specialty tomatoes imported from Italy to Sirop de Jallab, which the translation in English describes as... Jallab syrup. Thank goodness for Google. As I'm not much of a rosewater fan, I passed on this. Babaghanoush in a can? Yeah, they have that.

Like olives and nuts? Sahadi's is your place. They'll call out your number and a helpful worker will fill up the containers to your liking. This is where a gal can get her fix for pickled garlic, spicy chickpeas, sugar-coated chickpeas, macadamia nuts, brazil nuts, candy, picholine olives, kalamata olives, stuffed olives, herbed olives...well...you can see there's quite a vast assortment of goodies. I went late on Friday, just before closing, and was delighted to see NO line. The man took my order immediately, and I even had some time to wander the aisles without wading through a sea of people (ahh, August in NYC). If you're in the neighborhood, I highly recommend you stroll through this spot!

Sahadi's Imports
187 Atlantic Avenue
New York, NY 11201
(718) 624-4550