Kellogg
BOQUERIA (times square)
In the oldie but goodie category, and one of the few rapid expansions that isn’t a disaster. Mostly hits, just a couple of misses.
Croquetas (mushroom and ham, now offered separately), roasted brussels sprouts, mini burgers, mushroom flatbread (meh), padron peppers, french fries with serrano ham and an egg (meh), avocado toast (meh), and fresh churros (dulce de leche better than dark chocolate in the sauce options).
Good cocktails too.
5 Likes
We hit Oxomoco for brunch last Saturday, at the behest of a Mexican friend who wanted to see what the only Michelin-starred Mexican place in NYC had to offer. It was my first trip to Brooklyn in well over a decade and absence did not make the heart grow fonder, at least in terms of navigating the neighborhood and finding parking, etc. I’m team Queens all the way!
Anyway, the restaurant was lovely and the food and drinks were good, although IMO not Michelin-worthy. We shared the red peanuts, guacamole and papas fritas to start - all solid but not mind-blowing. I loved my drink (a spicy mezcal, pineapple and passionfruit concoction) and our friends enjoyed the Ixmand, a cantaloupe frozen margarita.
For mains I chose the lamb barbacoa tacos and Mr. Bionda had the chorizo breakfast burrito, while our friends went with the flank steak tacos and huevos rancheros:
Again, mostly solid, but not special. The green piperade on my lamb was delicious, but the lamb itself was a little dry and not sauced/seasoned all the way through. Blue corn tortilla was rather bland. DH’s burrito was fine, but had quite a few too-large chunks of underseasoned and slightly undercooked potato inside. The huevos rancheros were a fail, IMO - the sauce was rather bitter and the crispy mole crumble was overwhelmingly smoky - just really unbalanced overall. I didn’t taste the flank steak tacos (ordered by my Mexican friend) but he said they were “nice” (and coming from him that is NOT praise, LOL).
We shared a tres leches with kumquat and white chocolate for dessert:
I liked the combination of the tart citrus and white chocolate but the cake itself needed work - it was the wrong texture for tres leches and didn’t do a great job absorbing all that liquid without getting mushy.
Service was good but not exceptional. I know brunch isn’t always a perfect measuring stick, but my feeling is that there is zero chance this place would have a star if it were in Manhattan. Worth a trip if you live nearby but I wouldn’t go out of my way for it (and since only the G train is close by, it’s out of the way for just about everyone). We finished up our sojourn with a quick trip to Sunshine Laundromat for some beers and pinball, and hightailed it back to civilization (did I mention I hate Brooklyn? 
).
2 Likes
I was there for dinner in February of 2023 and concur with your assessment. It was good, and also about 30% more expensive than it should have been (I guess that’s the “star” markup).
Oh yeah, at least. $27 for two tacos? That I have to go to Brooklyn to eat? Give me a fucking break.
1 Like
Doesn’t Corima have a star?
I’m not big on Michellin, but the bibs may have yielded a better filter. I like Atla and Alta Caridad both a lot (the latter chef I have followed starting at Eletteria, which I still miss).
Looks like they do now - my friend is the one who told me Oxomoco was the one and only, but his intel must have been outdated.
Star or not, a disappointing meal is always unfortunate.
Empanada Mama has gone all official since I last ordered from them – the most popular empanadas now come in bags printed with their names on it: “Brasil”, “Pernil”, “Shredded Beef”, and so forth. I didn’t order that version this time, but I wonder how people would feel going around with empanada bags emblazoned conspicuously with “Viagra”.
[Google’s Artificial “Intelligence” assures us that “No, the “Viagra” empanada at Empanada Mama does not contain the medication Viagra, but rather is a seafood stew empanada with shrimp and crab.”]
That aside, EM does offer decent quality, if not bang, for the buck.
1 Like
Not Brooklyn! Hope the TSA went easy on you.
I hear they are deporting people to Staten Island.
That does sound inhumane.
And I was born there.
man does not live on pizza alone.
CRAVE SUSHI BAR / CRAVE FISH BAR
I like Crave, especially for happy hour, and their sushi bar even more.
– Salmon sashimi mini tostadas with avocado, calabrian chili, and crispy shallots
– Sea bass crudo with ponzu and serrano
– Sea bream nigiri with dumpling sauce and sesame seeds
– Steelhead trout roll with asian pear, nam prik pla, and crispy shallot
– Big eye spicy tuna roll with crispy rice
– Sea bream roll with shishito and miso mustard
– Scallop nigiri with brown butter and lemon
– Big eye tuna nigiri with yuzu kosho and aji verde
– Warm crab roll sauteed in ghee
For dessert, mochi and their delicious warm giant chocolate chip cookie a la mode. I always want another round of nigiri for dessert, but that is not what my dining companions usually want 
3 Likes
Superiority Burger is doing a Pok Pok Ny pop-up today, and no way was I gonna miss it.
Het paa naam tok, the hottest thing I have eaten since I was in Bangkok, and I eat a lot of hot things. The wild mushrooms were out of this world. I also got the tamarind whiskey sour, which was fine, no great shakes. Bonus: free pandan water.
And this gelato, half jasmine rice (excellent), half milk coffee (also very good, but not as interesting as the jasmine rice).
9 Likes
Always great when a 1st time dinner at a new place (to me) is really good. Very busy and surprised we got a res so late on a Sat at Bird Pepper in the BK at south side of Flatbush between 6th & St Marks.
Great food, we had Jerk chicken and jerk salmon. Portions were nicely sized with rice and peas and roasted seasonal veggies.
Fast efficient and friendly staff. Wish we had time for desserts. Alas.
The only reason it isn’t all 5s, is the music is way too loud. With a large hard surface room like this, there needs to be either some acoustic treatment on walls and ceilings or more smaller speakers working less, and preferably both. Conversation was pretty hard.
Reminds me a bit of Travelers Rest in Nassau, Bahamas.
5 Likes
Essex Pearl is back! Inconveniently for me, at Pier 57. It’s just a small counter service place now, serving four SE Asian spiced sandwiches (mayo lobster roll, buttered lobster roll, crab roll, shrimp patty) and a seafood bisque. I got the crab roll, my fave from the old location, and the bisque. The crab roll was as good as ever, but the bisque was too sweet and not hot enough, and the coconut overwhelmed the seafood flavor. The counter guy told me the menu will expand as they settle in. But he does not expect the dollar oysters to return. 
2 Likes
What’s going on on top of the crab roll?
1 Like
Toasted coconut sounds really good
