[Pigging by Wilfrid: December 15, 2014]
Ocabanon, the swish little cave à manger--okay, wine bar-- may call it "pâté en croûte." I found it to very like a rectangular pork pie, and a good one too. I like pork pies.
Don't worry, not a big mouse. I'd already taken a bite out of it. I drop by this place from time to time for French wines by the glass.
There's pasta or a daube if you need something more substantial, but I haven't been lured for a full meal yet. Suffice to say, there's nothing remotely downtown in the look or feel of the place.
I have eaten full meals at Dziupla on Bedford Avenue--just haven't written about them. It boasts traditional Polish food, but the setting, ambience, and service are a long way from old school Polish hangouts in the East Village, or just the other side of McCarren Park in Greenpoint--or indeed S&B, which Dziupla replaced.
As for the food, it's nicely done, and anything with duck seems to good. Believe me, there are a lot of things with duck. For example, from the lunch menu, the roast duck sandwich with cheese and cranberry-chipotle sauce (right, not quite your traditional Polish). It came with fries, and I stole a fried duck pierogie from another plate.
Prices are kind, if not bottom drawer. Twelve bucks for that sandwich, $9.50 for the pierogies. In the evening, massive plates of food like the New Zealand veal shanks I gorged on once, are priced in the teens.
Summit Bar on Avenue C, which is now one of multiple cocktail bars on the strip, actually has a raw bar. I mean one you can see, not shellfish hiding in the kitchen, and they'll serve you a dozen mixed oysters for $15 between 5.30 and 7.30pm, while the signature cocktails are half-price too.
And finally, if you're following along with the Fritzl's Lunchbox story, how about some "burrachos?" Nachos with gooey burrata, lentils, pickled jalapeños...
Strips of crunchy chicharron too, but I'd already dug in and made a mess when they appeared from the kitchen. Plenty to share for $11, but I didn't.
Comments