GASTRONORMOUS

Saturday morning the Hubs and I got out onto the street at the crack of noon to go shopping for a bunch of new-apartment needs (storage, repair, and organizational items, mostly), and on the way to the subway we stopped by the Green Apple Cafe for a country (aka Sunshine [carrot, etc.]) muffin, a cheddar scallion scone, and two iced coffees [$8.50]. The pastries were delicious and I wondered if they were baked on premises (the place was tiny, so I kinda think not). I had my iced coffee black and found it a little bitter, but with milk and sugar it was fine. The service could not have been friendlier! I only wish they were open when I go to work in the morning!

After a looong day of shopping, we ordered in Indian food for dinner from Amin. The food was just okay in my opinion, except for the Mottar Ponir, which was awful. I wouldn’t rush to order from them again.

More shopping for the apartment on Sunday. We stopped by the Brooklyn Flea, hoping to have for breakfast some of the delicious waffles we had been hearing about while perusing the furniture and other goods. Unfortunately, no dogs were allowed, and we had our little one with us, so no waffles for us! Instead of waffles, we decided to go for an even healthier breakfast option: pizza!

We got a slice to share at Mario’s in Clinton Hill [$2.25]. A sign outside proclaims them “The Best Pizza in NYC!” That, I assure you, it is not. It wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t anything better than your average corner slice joint. The crust tasted it like it might have once been frozen. A bit later, we shared a second slice from the comically named Not Ray’s [$2.50]. It was better than Mario’s, and better than your average corner pizza place, but still not as good as some of my favorite pizza places, like L’Asso. The crust at Not Ray’s was chewier and fresher, and the sauce was saltier than the sweet sauce Mario’s employs. Not a bad slice.

At the end of our big errand-running walk, we stopped by Gnarly Vines to pick up a bottle of wine. We chose Cline’s Zinfandel, and big, rich, chocolaty-fruity red. If you like big reds, this is a good inexpensive one [$11.00]. Gnarly Vines has a friendly staff and pretty good selection (and a few more less expensive options than nearby Green Grape and Thirst). A bonus: they will enter the wines you buy in a databse (if you want them to), so you can keep track of those wines you buy and enjoy but never can remember…

For dinner, we went out with the Hub’s cousin to Luz, which bills itself as “Nuevo Latino” food. The food was pretty good (though the salads looked like they had been dressed an hour before they arrived at our table–a bit on the soggy side), but the service was unreasonably slow. We weren’t in a rush, but even so, there was way too long a wait before the first course between courses, and then again before the bill. Plus, two of our entrées arrived a good ten minutes before the third. If they work out their service issues I would consider going back, but in the meantime there are many other restaurants to patronize…

All in all, not the healthiest weekend, but we had fun exploring the food offerings of our new neighborhood! Soon, very soon, I will get back to cooking for myself.