[Pigging by Wilfrid: June 17, 2013]
Brooklyn as the social and culinary arbiter of the 20-teens has become almost a cliché. And yet, and yet...
I really don't know where else in New York one finds constant stream of interesting (not necessarily great--but interesting) independent restaurant openings. I'm always playing catch-up.
Pot Likker
Pot Likker, by Liza Queen, shines a bright (and reddish) light from a storefront on the lower reaches of Bedford Avenue. The chef's calling card is regional American food--a kind of mash-up of regions--formerly offered by her at The Queen's Hideaway in Greenpoint.
The bar is the dominant feature of the room, and what a pity the stools don't seem made to measure. They're kind of low-backed and slopy, but the main problem is that they're way too high for the bar. In fact, they feel like kids' high chairs, except without the tray. (I know people love my seating reviews.)
But this is not to detract from the food, which is enjoyable in the casual, straightforward, heart way the kitchen surely intends. The kitchen's go to structure for its likeable creations is interesting carb, plus meat/fish/interesting vegetable. And so there are semolina gnocchi cakes, and pasta roulades, and cornbread, and sticky rice, garnished with ribs, or chicken, or spring garlic, or asparagus.
Or there's a "Dutch pancake." This could have stepped straight out of Fritz's kitchen in the Nero Wolfe books. The coracle-shaped pancake (looking a bit like an Indian bread) is ballasted with fresh goat cheese and bacon. The hot pepper jelly is indeed hot. The oysters come as a brace (you're not getting half a zoen for $13) but they're crisply fried. This is a sturdy appetizer.
I couldn't turn down a softshell crab special. The crabs were advertised to me as large, and this was indeed a broad-shouldered specimen (jumbo? whale?). Just very nicely done; I liked the house-pickled cucumber; the guacamole was fine; the potatoes were too al dente.
Drink local beers or inexpensive wine, and get out for forty to fifty dollars, which these days is a bargain.
Mayfield
Like Prospect (reviewed last week), Mayfield is basically a pub. Unlike Prospect, it has no pretensions to offer swank food in its simple premises; but it does try to go way beyond bar food--and largely succeeds.
On a very busy weekend evening, Mayfield was considerably more raucous than Pot Likker. The staff in the open kitchen were mopping their brows; the chef doing the expediting (not chef-owner Lev Gewirtzman) had...let's say...a furrowed brown; the fish and chips was the latest dish to be 86ed. But the bar staff were relaxed and pleasant, and the long bar had plenty of space (and comfortable stools).
Why resist clam bellies on a summer evening Straight out of the frier--true bellies, stretching elastically as I bit through the crisp batter. A horseradishy cocktail sauce and a mayo for dipping.
The grilled octopus was prepared in the increasingly fashionable style of being cooked almost to a char. The tip of the tentacle, in fact, was carbonized, but the thicker part, although crisped, was juicy enough inside. The accompanying slice of pork belly was finished with a sweet glaze. Anchoring the dish, a creamy white bean ragout. It occurred to me that I'd probably mark this more harshly if it has been served in more formal circumstances. As bar food, it was good eats.
The most accomplished dish--and one which would be happy on any menu--was the wild Long Island striped bass. Crunchy on top, flaky beneath, it was served over skinny green asparagus.
The knockout punch was the morel Hollandaise. Given the price, it's difficult for any restaurant in Mayfield's price bracket to be generous with morels. Chopping them into a well-made Hollandaise was a smart way of stretching the flavor, while giving the diner just enough of the texture too. Delicious (and I think about $18-$20). I did pay something like $75 for this dinner, but I could have forgone a course.
Sel De Mer
Finally, just a quick word on this popular, local seafood shack on Graham Avenue. The first thing to do when visiting is have a drink at Harefield Road, a rather superior beer bar just nearby. Sel de Mer offers simple pleasures, and you shouldn't worry about dulling your palate with a pint or three.
Clam chowder, steamed mussels or clams, salads, a raw bar, half a dozen fish, a lobster, fish and chips. Mains, even unto the lobster, are priced in the teens. I went the fish and chips route, hot and crunchy, with no shortage of fries. The oysters (east coast) were disappointingly small and under-flavored, but they're only a buck each.
Cheap, cheerful, and full of regulars.
Here are websites for Pot Likker and Mayfield. I am sure Sel de Mer once had a website, but I don't see it now: here's its Google+ page.
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