Any plans for pizza? Brooklyn has some of the best pizza it would be shame to not sample some.
L’industrie and Luigi’s (Park Slope). You got the new school and old school classic NYC
Thank you!
I guess I ate enough “old school” growing up here (60-'s-80’s. Is that old school?), and I understand pizza here is great, When I come with my husband we eat a LOT of it.
I’m sure I’m missing out, but I will save it for a trip with the family.
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Interesting color that fried plantain. Since you like them riper/sweeter, do you deliberately fry them less? How long and in what oil?
Not deliberately, just poorly.
I only cut one up to see if it was really a plantain, or just an underipe banana.
I peeled with a steak knife, used not enough vegetable oil, in a shallow pan, and stopped before I made a big mess . I couldn’t/didn’t do it like I would at home ( in a wok)
and wasn’t that motivated.
I prefer them like this!
I’m not too old to learn though! Any pointers?
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I’m just wondering if you could treat undersweet plantain like fried green tomatoes, adding some sugar to a coating?
Maybe! But procrastinating is always my go to! They’ll ripen! Unless they are "cooking bananas "! I think that’s it.
From Wikipedia; bunch of "cooking bananas " ( guineos) and single plantain on the right,
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I’ve always been intimidated to make them, but I order them whenever I see them on a menu!
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I finally made it to "Prospect Heights " and the Brooklyn Botanical garden.
I decided to let go of piecing together walking, busses and trains, and take a Lyft. While it may have been a cop out, it worked out fine.
I finally had a delicious “BEC”; toasted , with salt and pepper. " (Bacon, egg, and cheese for newbs 
) at Lincoln Station, close to the Eastern Parkway entrance to the gardens.
I thought I had a better picture of the entrance, but this one reminds me of ones I’ve used in the past.
There are fruit trees, etc in here, so it’s on topic.
Afterwards, I was looking for "Wino(t)*,
…and was pleased to find myself near Agi’s Counter, but not pleased to find it closed until tomorrow.
Oh well; I bought patties and coco bread at golden crust.
I may not eat much of it, but nice to have, if only to make husband jealous.
I’ve certainly become a frequent flyer on Lyft, but I tell myself that Lyft and Grubhub were only a small part of my expenses.
*Why is it so hard get a bottle of California, or any wine here? I don’t remember that part.
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i meant to go to Agi’s when i was in town last weekend, but didn’t get around to it. soon though!
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It’s not? At least, not anywhere I’ve been. No wine stores in your daughter’s neighborhood?
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There are three on Google maps within 0.5 miles, one of which I’m pretty sure, after having walked past three times, is now a garage, in spite of the fact Google maps says it’s open. I could be wrong.
The other two are fine ( and I think Black owned! ), but seem to prefer wines from South Africa, New Zealand, etc, over California. Might be the right thing, just not what I’m used to.
What I’m really not used to is not being able to buy it in a grocery store. Or on Sunday? Not sure about that. I remember something similar when living in D.C.
LOL! Yeah, the grocery store thing is due to the powerful liquor store lobby. But there are wine stores open on Sunday (not mine, unfortunately) - those blue laws were repealed a while back.
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Prospect Park is such an amazing place, including the Botanic Gardens, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Library, and miles and miles of hiking trails, lakes, and some historic buildings. Though I was there in summer, so I was able to spend most of the day outdoors.
Golden Krust is better than almost every other option around me.
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Inspiration! Maybe I’ll get back for the museum.
FWIW, I had no trouble spending several hours outdoors today at the park, but I LOVE gardens.
And apparently the weather was not THAT different than it was at home.
ETA The high was 64 at home, 59 in Brooklyn. It’s going to be a coldish low (38f) where I live in Nor Cal tonight, 37 at 6AM in Brooklyn.
There wasn’t much blooming in Brooklyn, but it was nice to see the “bones”, and their approach to pruning.
Adding the Botanical Garden to my Brooklyn wishlist!
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It is an absolute gem. The cherry blossoms alone are worth a visit. It’s awe-inspiring.
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Dios mio!
Green are used to make tostones. Fully ripe and black are used for maduros. Really simple to make. No need for a lot of oil. About 1/2” or less is all you need. Tostones need a double fry. Fry once and smash then refry. Maduros only once until golden and caramelized.
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My wife and I spent 30 days in Stuyvesant Heights (Bed-Stuy but on the border of Crown Heights) last August-September and are booked to do so again this coming August-September. Our trip was very much focused on food and I have detailed notes about nearby restaurants.
I don’t have a good sense of specifically where you are located, but some highlights for us that are roughly in your areas of interest included Peaches Bar & Kitchen (393 Lewis Avenue), a really friendly but insanely popular Cajun-Southern place with excellent food; Trad Room (266 Malcolm X Blvd), a Japanese izakaya with a very pleasant garden and delicious food (we sat next to Wyatt Cenac, which delighted my celebrity-watching wife); Saraghina Pizza (435 Halsey) for top-notch pizza and small plates (this was the only restaurant we ate in twice during our 30-day stay), Rodo Foods (420 Putnam Avenue), tiny hole in the wall Nigerian place, with a couple of plastic outdoor tables, with tremendous sirloin and salmon suya, highly highly recommended; David’s Brisket House (420 Putnam Avenue), old-fashioned roast brisket sandwich (but now halal), quirky and satisfying; Olmsted (659 Vanderbilt Avenue), probably the best meal we had during our 30-days, “creative” American small plates, expensive but not insanely so, has its own garden; Leland Eating & Drinking House (755 Dean Street), solid creative American restaurant, moderately priced; El Tenampa (706 4th Avenue), taco place in the back of a grocery with options like goat offal enriched with goat blood, really good.
They’re huge hikes for you, but I definitely endorse Steve’s recommendation of Dong Bei Da Pai Dang in Flushing (especially the chicken skeleton salad; full disclosure, I ate there with Steve) and BKeats’ recommendation of Hometown Barbecue in Red Hook (we just got back from 6 days in Austin and Hometown is as good as anything we had there).
You mention Al Badawi in Brooklyn Heights; again a little bit of a hike for you, but we had a fabulous meal there; nothing particularly innovative, just superbly done Lebanese/Palestinian/Syrian food. Warning: It is extraordinarily loud, even by NYC standards.
Finally, we didn’t eat there, but Department of Culture (327 Nostrand Avenue, Bed-Stuy) is a new Nigerian prix fixe restaurant that has gotten really high critical praise, including James Beard nominations. Good luck in getting a reservation there, though.
Doug
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I see (too late) that you’ve already left Crown Heights. I’ve added your recommendations (especially Peppa and Grandchamps) to our to-do list for this coming August-September in Bed-Stuy. I’m disappointed you weren’t thrilled with Peaches on Lewis Avenue; we had a really good meal there (and it was only a five minute walk from our apartment).
If you mean me, not yet! I’ll be here for a few more days, and may get to try some of your suggestions. Read Romm seems especially doable, and I might try ordering from the brisket place if I don’t get back to that area.
I am near Atlantic and Thomas S. Boyland. Stuyvesant Heights sounds pretty ideal. It was a bit too far from my daughter’s place.
I really enjoyed the atmosphere at Peaches; It was just that I could have had the same brunch anywhere. I probably chose poorly, but I am not much of a brunch person.
I’ve seen several of the places you mention on Google maps, but many are a couple of miles away. I was thinking a few moments ago about walking that far just to get to a bus as a child, but I haven’t been motivated to walk two miles to and from while here, and the closest subway is the A or C.
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