GASTRONORMOUS

Mark Bittman does it again. This looks like a fantastic summer pasta dish, and a great way to use a glut of fresh herbs from your garden!

Gothamist gives some interesting history on 7-11 stores in their post on FREE SLURPEES TODAY!! Would that there was a 7-11 near me. I love Slurpees, but I am not sure it is worth going out of my way for a free one.

Again with the Slurpees. Serious Eats has a great story on how to pull a proper one. As a child of the sub-suburbs, I can wholeheartedly concur with the advice! They also include a handy list of NY 7-11 locations.

Midtown Lunch samples an off-menu special sandwich at Blimpie. That’s right. Off menu. At Blimpie. Compliments to the chef are said to be in order.

Figs in a smoothie? Leave it to Chocolate & Zucchini! So unusual I just might need to try it. Also of note is Clothilde’s explanation of the varying ways the French pronounce the word “smoothie.” I am partial to smoo-fee.

I am with the Kitchn on the controversial slash mstunderstood vegetable okra. I think I shall buy some this weekend, assuming the farmer’s market has some.

You know George Duran from his two hit Food Network shows “Ham on the Street” and “The Secret Life of…,” but there is much more to his lengthy resume. After hosting a radio show in New York and a television program in Miami, Duran moved to France to attend cooking school and ended up starring in a hit show on the network Cuisine TV. While there, the French, proving they enjoy food other than snails and a comic sensibility other than Jerry Lewis’, had the good taste to nominate Duran’s show “Pop Cuisine” for the Sept D’Or (French Emmy). He will add “author” to his list of accomplishments when his cookbook Take this Dish and Twist It comes out in the Fall.

A Brooklynite, Duran also happens to be an all around interesting and funny guy (for proof of the latter I point you the “injecto-dog” episode of H.O.T.S., where he uses various hardware supplies to attempt core and then fill hotdogs: high jinks ensue), as I found out when I recently had an IM chat with him.
Photo credit: Tommy Agriodimas

[Interview conducted, edited, and condensed by Erin E. Hayes]

GD: Hi Erin
EH: Hey George
So, I was just trolling youtube, and I found the sequence where you and AJ are trying to figure out the best way to core a hotdog. It is one of the finest bits of physical/prop comedy I think I’ve seen.
GD: It was a blast shooting that scene.
EH: It looked like it.
EH: I’d say your show (H.O.T.S.) is sort of unique among FN shows.
GD: Yeah…it pretty much stands out.
EH: How was it developed?
GD: The concept is originally mine: When I was in France, I had a cooking show on the French Food Network called Pop Cuisine. After some time I realized that I needed to do something edgier. So I shot a mini pilot of me going around the streets of Paris asking everyone to taste these special chocolate truffles I had developed.
EH: Parisians know there chocolate!
GD: Well…at the end of the tasting they said positive things…until I revealed to them that it was made with goat cheese! The reactions were fantastic! But I wasn’t able to sell it in France. It was too complicated.
GD: Well, I eventually came back to the US and pitched the street idea to the Food Network. They didn’t think much of it until we shot a pilot on our own… When they saw it…they knew it was big. And that’s where they decided to take it…
EH: What sort of food did you grow up with in Venezuela?
GD: I grew up with Venezuelan, Armenian, and American cuisine. My parents are Armenian…so there was plenty of Armenian and Lebanese food at home.
EH: What is your favorite type of food to cook at home?
GD: Seasonal…now, it’s grilling season! I’m part of a CSA…and I love exploring what is in season.
EH: Where do you buy the meat you grill? Do you have a fave Brooklyn butcher?
GD: If there are MANY people I am grilling meat for…I hit Costco.
EH: Costco??
GD: Great turnover rate for meat. Great price…great quality…but A LOT of meat.
EH: I didn’t even know there was a Costco in the area. [Note: there is one in Long Island City, as GD informed me.]
GD: As for a smaller party…I found a good Key Foods in my neighborhood that brings in decent cuts of meat.
EH: At Key Food? Really?
GD: Yeah, Key Foods in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The manager is good at what he does.
EH: Good to know.
GD: And we have a good relationship. So when I see something I like, I let him know, and he gets more of it.
EH: This is a brooklyn blog. What are your favorite places to eat in Brooklyn?
GD: I just went to “Bonitas” in Williamsburg a couple days ago….I LOOOOVE that place. Authentic Xuahacan cuisine!
I had a mole beef stew… It just cleaned out my system! I am still dreaming of it.
EH: Ha! we all need a good system cleaning every once in a while.
EH: What is the very next thing you are going to cook?
GD: In fact, I am about to cook up some breakfast pizza for my friends who stayed over last night.
EH: Care to share the recipe?
GD: Super easy…super good. Take a pizza dough and cook it (it can even be pre cooked). Once it’s properly cooked, remove from oven and let it rest aside.
Make scrambled eggs, add anything you wish to it (I use chopped spinach and breakfast sausage today). Make sure the eggs are under cooked as they are gonna go into the oven. Spread the egg mixture on the pizza crust evenly, sprinkle with some cheese, into the oven at 450 for about 5-7 min. And serve!
EH: Sounds great!
GD: It’s in my book.
EH: Tell me about your new book Take this Dish and Twist It.
GD: Its comfort food with a twist. Essentially taking classic American comfort foods and turning them into a gourmet dish.
EH: Any recipes from your show?
GD: Yeah! I took the Pepperoni Pizza Soup Recipe from the show, for example.
EH: Sounds like a Wylie Dufresne dish.
GD: Ha! I like the sound of that.
EH: Any injecto-dogs? Please say yes!!
GD: No injecto-dogs…too complicated for your average readers…but, I did put the Venezuelan Hotdogs in there.
EH: Which are…?
GD: Steamed hot dogs topped with finely chopped raw cabbage, onions, potato chips with a line of mustard, ketchup and mayo!
EH: Potato chips ON the hot dog?
GD: Yep…right on it.
EH: Now, I like the sound of that.
GD: It’s what I grew up with in Caracas.
EH: hm!
EH: You pull hidden-camera pranks on people in Ham on the Street? Has anything every gone terribly/hilariously wrong on the show?
GD: Yes. One time I popped out of an ice cream cooler. We rigged it so that there was a hole in the table and through the cooler. There was as sign that said FREE ICE CREAM. JUST RING BELL FOR SERVICE
EH: hee hee
GD: Well, I popped out on one guy and he let out a jump that Ive never seen before! He just started swearing and swearing! It was great!
EH: ha!
GD: He refused to sign off on the release…he was so angry!
EH: Really?? He must’ve really wanted that ice cream’
GD: Well, how can you not resist ice cream on the beach…especially when its FREE?
EH: I couldn’t.
EH: What else are you up to these days, besides the book?
GD: Concentrating on new projects.
EH: Such as?
GD: Its top secret…really…can’t tell you about it.
EH: Ah, shucks. We won’t tell! We promise!
GD: Let’s put it this way. The best is yet to come. You thought H.O.T.S. was cool… My next one will be off the charts!
EH: Excellent. We look forward to it!
GD:
EH: I’ll let you go, but need to ask one more question…
GD: yep
EH: Have you ever served guests crackers topped with cheese and meticulously sliced jelly beans, as you did once on H.O.T.S.?
GD: lol! Of course…You know I did.
EH: Really?
GD: I had to test everything out for my show.
EH: How did you come up with the idea? It is rather inspired.
GD: And I LOOOOVE playing around with peoples palates…and especially jelly beans. Well, because jelly beans have such precise “flavors”…I decided to just combine those flavors with real dishes. So it was really easy to use the granny smith apple jelly bean with cheese and crackers…it just made sense.
EH: How else have you incorporated jelly beans into your cuisine?
GD: I used the cinnamon jelly beans in my pancakes one time.
EH: Yum!
GD: What’s your favorite jelly bean flavor? Everyone should know that right off the bat. Its like asking what’s your favorite color!
EH: Hm. I like pear and I like the spicy ones.
GD: Like jalapeno?
EH: Yes, love jalapeno
GD: OK…that’s good.
EH: I am a spicy food freak.
GD: Mine: buttered popcorn. I don’t know why.
EH: It has that sweet salty thing going on, which is always good.
GD: Yeah…oddly enough I’m not the biggest fan of buttered popcorn itself.
EH: You are a mystery wrapped in an enigma
GD: Yeah, that’s what my mom says too!
EH: ha! Okay, now I’ll let you get to your breakfast pizza
GD: Yeah, they are getting antsy.
EH: Thanks for chattin’!
GD: I had a great time. It’s not always that I get to do my interviews in front of my desk with my underwear.
EH: Ha! I look forward to reading your book!
GD: Thank you! Its out in the Fall…and I should be doing signings in NYC too!

Check out georgeduran.com for more information on his upcoming projects.

Thanks to Josh Trevino for introducing me to GD.

Over the weekend we ate at a lovely little restaurant in our neighborhood, Bonita. (The restaurant also has an outpost in Williamsburg). The inside looks like it has changed little in decor from the space’s assumed previous life as a diner, but is oddly charming. We chose to sit outside as we arrived at one of the few times over the last weekend when the weather was a bit better than bearable. There isn’t much of an outdoor seating area, but there were a few tables available.

The guacamole and chips were excellent. I love all sorts of guacamole, from the chunky type filled with pieces of onion, tomato, and cilantro, to the smoother type in which the individual components are difficult to discern. Bonita’s is the latter type, and it was perfectly flavored. The chips, though not warm, were either homemade or very high quality. The beet salad was beautifully and unusually presented: a big mound of shredded lettuce, cheese, dressing, and pepitas sat atop extremely thin slices of beet. Unfortunately, the dominant flavor was the astringent lime juice used in the dressing. More oil, and perhaps a tad more salt, was needed to really make the salad taste as special as it looked.

More on this later, but I have long lamented the lack of good Mexican food in New York. And been puzzled by it. Certainly there are enough expatriates here that one should be able to find good Mexican food somewhere. (P.S. Don’t trust a native New Yorker who tells you some place has great Mexican Food. It seems you have to have lived in California or Texas, or ok, I guess Mexico, to be a reliable judge of this cuisine.) There are plenty of pretenders out here, claiming to peddle Mission style burritos! Ha! They are not even close. First, they use whole beans, which you would be hard pressed to find at California Mexican restaurants. Also, they always want to put lettuce inside the burrito, which makes no sense, it just turns into a slimy, limp mess.

All of this was to say that I was not expecting much from the burrito I ordered from Bonita. It had vegetables in it, for one, which I think generally detracts from the beans that should in my mind be the focus of any tortilla-wrapped meal. But I was surprised at the wonderful flavors this burrito contained! It looks like a total wreck (see picture, above), but all the flavors melded together nicely. It was mostly vegetables, in fact, with some beans and rice and cheese, plus more delicious guacamole inside. The fish tacos were a simple and delicious entree as well. The fish was perfectly fried, and folded into soft corn tortillas with lettuce, red onions, radishes, and a chili and sour cream-based sauce.

I would recommend Bonita for an inexpensive-ish dinner when you are having a hankering for Mexican-ish food. But don’t go expecting Mexican food of the type you find in California or Texas. For that, my East Coast quest continues…

Bonita
243 DeKalb Ave.
Brooklyn, NY
718-622-5300

338 Bedford Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11211
718-384-9500

Please note we now have a contact page (link in the heading). Please drop us a line!

I have a long and troubled history with pancakes. Every time I make them, no matter what recipe I follow, from the Joy of Cooking to Grandma’s, mine come out too dry, too tough, or flatter than, well, a pancake. This information is all given by way as an excuse for using good ol’ Aunt Jemima mix. It feels sort of homemade as you add essential ingredients like an egg and milk, but let’s face it, it is still pretty much cheating. I have come to grips with this.

This isn’t a moral standard to apply when facing the rest of life’s challenges, but in the case of pancakes, I feel strongly that it is better to cheat a bit and have nice fluffy pillows of dough on your plate, than be faced with honestly earned hockey pucks. And if adding fresh blueberries to the mix makes you feel more virtuous, so much the better.

Sunday morning I did just that, putting to use the second of two pints of New Jersey blueberries that I bought last week for my red, white, and blue sangria. I had more than enough berries to brighten up the ‘cakes themselves, so I decided to make a blueberry syrup too.

It was simple to make, I just combined a couple handfuls of blueberries with a couple tablespoons of water in a small saucepan and heated on medium until all the berries burst. I smooshed it all with the back of a big wooden spoon (which is now irreparably stained–next time I’d use a slotted metal one), and stirred occasionally until it got nice and thick, then I added a tablespoon or so of real maple syrup and a dash of salt (Yes, salt. Just a pinch. Trust me). Simple and astoundingly tasty (In fact, the Hubs told me it was better than IHOP’s blueberry syrup, though not certain that can be treated as  a compliment).

Once that was done, I fried up the blueberry-rich pancakes in butter on my great cast iron skillet. I only use real butter to fry  pancakes. Nothing else creates that crispy brown rim! Other than frying in butter, I am not a believer in a lot of pancake rules. This in fact may be the reason that my from-scratch pancakes never turn out too well. But when Aunt Jemima and New Jersey blueberries help make them come out as light, fluffy, and delicious as this, who cares?

Note: Blueberry syrup served from an Elvis mug? I think it would do him proud.

As I mentioned a couple days ago, I decided to use the scapes (the ones I didn’t put into my summer squash salad) to make a pesto. Rather than follow a recipe, I winged it, using ingredients other than those traditional to pesto. In fact, there is no basil, no pine nuts, and not even parmesan in this recipe (I know, what business do I have calling it pesto?)! I did have on hand some pine nuts, but not quite enough for the dish, so I decided to use a combination of pecans and walnuts instead. These nuts have a less delicate flavor than pine nuts, to be sure, but I thought they would stand up well against the strongly flavored garlic scapes. Also, I decided to use the asiago cheese I already had in my fridge, rather than the more traditional parmesan or romano. I though the sharp flavor would nicely balance the garlicky punch of the scapes.

Pesto in general is pretty simple to make. Just crush the chunky and leafy ingredients together, incorporate some olive oil, then stir in the cheese. Simple! Normally, you pour the “raw” pesto over piping hot pasta, give it a toss (maybe adding some pasta water), and you are done. In this case, after incorporating the oil, but before incorporating the cheese, I tasted the pesto and it was just a bit too piquant, too strong, and too, well, I don’t know how else to describe it, but, a little too green. The beauty of winging it is that you aren’t bound to follow tradition. So, I decided to try to mellow out the flavors by putting the pesto on the stove for a few minutes before incorporating the pasta and cheese (something that would ruin a basil pesto).

The pesto pasta turned out really well: incredibly creamy, garlicky, nutty, and uncommonly delicious. So, here’s my non-traditional-in-every-way pesto. I hope you enjoy it! (But enjoy it soon–garlic scapes have a brief summer season!)

Garlic Scape Pesto

2/3 cup pecans and/or walnuts
1 cup roughly chopped garlic scapes
at least 1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 pound pasta
1 cup asiago cheese

Start a big pot of salted water boiling for the pasta.

Put the nuts in large frying pan set on a medium flame. Stir the nuts often until the just begin to release a scent, a few minutes, then turn the flame off.

Put the chopped scapes and the nuts in a food processor (it i ok if the nuts are still hot) and pulse until the texture is uniform and the size of big breadcrumbs, stopping to scrape down the sides of the processor bowl as necessary.

Now, turn the processor on and pour in the olive oil in a slow, steady stream. Keep pouring, exceeding the 1/4 cup, if necessary, until the sauce loosens up and spins freely around the processor, but is not yet liquidy. Season with salt and pepper.

Start cooking the pasta now, setting the timer to a minute or two less than the pasta package directs.

Scrape the contents into the same frying pan you used to toast the nuts. Turn the heat on medium-low. Stir frequently. When the pasta is a few minutes to done, add it and a bit of the pasta water to the pesto and continue stirring.

Once the pasta is perfectly al dente and coated with the sauce, turn off the heat and stir in the cheese. (Lydia Bastianich taught me never to add cheese while the flame is on–it will get stringy and separate into a gloppy, oily mess). Now, enjoy!

Serves 4.

A note: the pasta I used here was organic elk pasta from IKEA of all places. The pesto clung to the shape really well, but I can’t recommend the pasta for its flavor. Any shape pasta would work well for this, but it seems the more complicated the shape, the better the sauce-cling!

Happy Fourth of July! If you are wondering what to bring that picnic you are going to today, check out Mark Bittman‘s 101 picnic food suggestions. (And that this is late notice is no excuse not to bring a tasty dish to that picnic: each dish promises to be made in 20 minutes!)

I might have to revise my proclamation of the best NY ices (Ralph’s, followed by Court Pastry Shop). NYCNosh reports that my beloved old Avenue B haunt, NYC ICY has reopened in Hell’s Kitchen. Is it worth the extra cost per ice and a trip to midtown? I’ll let you know.

Any cooking show that sites both Sesame Street and John Woo movies among its influences is a must see in my book. [Grub Street]

I love Missile Pops. Here is a way to make a healthier version of this red, white, and blue treat at home. [Serious Eats]

In case sangria is not your thing (oh, but it should be!), check out the Kitchn‘s ideas for Independence Day cocktails.

A Spanish drink to celebrate American Independence? Come on, loosen up! Being down on Spain is so 19th Century. Especially for wine lovers, sangria is the drink of summer, so why not celebrate the quintesential summer day, and while you’re at it, our American freedom of beverage choice, by making a sangia that looks like a glass of fireworks? Oh, okay, call it Stars and Stripes Fruit Punch if it makes you feel more patriotic.

This is a bit different than my last sangria recipe. First, staying with the American theme, I wanted the brandy stand-in (traditional red sangria is usually made with a touch of brandy) to be apple-based rather than orangey triple sec. And, I wanted to use white and red wine together in the same glass, but without making somehting that looks rosé. How is this possible you ask? It’s simple really: red wine ice cubes, some with a fruity twist!

When choosing a white wine, try to get something on the paler side to give the most contrast to the colorful fruit. Choose a lighter style red wine for the cubes–a big Zin will just be too heavy. Try to find a clear(ish) apple liquor like this one. If you can’t, then use another clear liquor of your choice. But, do not use apple flavored vodka or rum. These pack too much of an alcoholic punch and overpower the flavor of the wine. Stick to something with a higher sugar content. If you like your sangria on the dry side, use seltzer to top off the sangria, if you like it on the sweet side, then use a clear flavored soda (7-up or clear apple soda, if you can find it, would be best), or you can stir in some super fine sugar.

On the fruit: try to cut the apples so that there is some red skin on each piece. I just ate the middle part so that it wouldn’t go to waste. Oh, and I took a note from the Alton Brown school of shortcuts and used an egg slicer to cut my strawberries. Lazy? You betchya! But look how beautifully uniform the slices are!

Red, White, & Blue Sangria

about 2 cups of light-style red wine
1 bottle of pale white wine
1/2 to 1 cup of apple liquor (or schnapps)
2 cups of plain selter, 7-up, or clear apple soda
super fine sugar, to taste (optional)
2 bright red apples, cut into small cubes
2 cups blueberries
1 pint of strawberries, sliced
6 or so red cherries

At least 24 hours before drinking: Empty out an ice cube tray. Place cherries, stems kept on, in half of the compartments. Pour red wine into the tray (exact amount depends on size of the cubes). make sure cherries are submerged as possible in the wine. Freeze for at least 24 hours.

A few hours before drinking: Mix together the white wine and a half cup of liquor in a large pitcher. Taste and see if you want to add more liquor, up to a cup total. Stir in the seltzer or soda. Dump in all the fruit except the cherry cubes. Give it another stir, and let sit for a few hours.

Right before serving, taste again and if you want it sweeter some super fine sugar, a few teaspoons at a time (or if you happen to have some simple syrup on hand, please do use that).  Depending on the liquor you use, it may not need any sweetening.

To serve: Ladle the sangria into glasses. At the very last moment before handing it to your guest, pop a cherry cube and a plain wine cube or two into the top of the glass.

Now sit back and watch your guests ooh and ah at the fireworks you made!

Serves 4-6 Patriots.

The sign says the garlic scapes are $1.50 a bunch, but you may note that there is nary a “bunch” of these twisty tendrils to be seen—just a crate filled with loose ones. When I asked the proprietress of this booth at the Fort Greene Farmers’ Market last Saturday what constituted a bunch, she pursed her lips and dove both hands into the box. She pulled out two big handfuls of the scapes and offered them forward, shrugging “This much?” I was agreeable to the “bunch” size and held open my shopping bag so that she could unburden herself of scapes, as I unburdened by wallet of a buck-fifty.

Garlic scapes are the green stems that shoot up from the developing garlic bulb. They are cut off so that the garlic bulb itself can grow bigger. I imagine that as farmers figure out that they can extend their profits by selling these, garlic scapes will become more and more familiar to American markets (they have been eaten in parts of Europe for ages). And after my little culinary experiment, I certainly hope that is the case.

I had supposed the scapes would be relatively mild, in the vein spring garlic or ramps. But no, garlic scapes have an extremely pungent aroma, and an even stronger flavor. Cooking with them, I thought, might be a challenge. Having never used them before, I turned to the computer for more information and recipes, but to little avail. My search of the fantastic recipe website Epicurious came up with zero hits for scapes. A Google search brought up some references to garlic scape pesto, which sounded like a good option for dinner that night, but not much else that was useful.

But first that early afternoon, I needed to figure out what to do with the beautiful yellow and green pattypan squash I also bought at the market (and how to incorporate the scapes into whatever I decided to make with them). As it was incredibly hot out that day, I was already anticipating not wanting to stand in front of the stove cooking too much that evening, so a cold squash salad sounded like the perfect side dish to go with my planned garlic scape pesto.

My cold squash salad couldn’t be simpler to make, but does require some marinating time, so plan ahead if you are going to make it. I used scapes in this, but if you don’t have this pungent allium on hand, then substitute scallions, a couple cloves of crushed garlic, or some fresh herbs (dill would be good). Don’t overdo it with the add-ins, though; the point of this recipe is to celebrate in-season produce.

Summer Squash and Scape Salad

3 T apple cider vinegar
3 T extra virgin olive oil (a flavorless oil would also work)
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
a few grinds of pepper
2-3 garlic scapes
4-5 pattypan squash (or 3-4 of another type of summer squash)

Whisk together the oil, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Trim and slice the scapes crosswise. Use a mandolin or food processor to slice the squash as thinly as possible.

Give the dressing another good whisk and dump in the sliced squash and scapes. Give it a gentle stir, cover in plastic and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Stir again before serving. (A lot of liquid escapes from the squash during the marinating process, so you might want to serve using a slotted spoon.)

*A note: I plated this on top of mixed greens, which looks nice, but actually did the flavor of the dish a disservice. Next time I would serve the squash salad on its own.

Serves 4 (as a side).

Tune in later for my unusual and delicious garlic scape pesto recipe!

Now, I had dinner at Frankies 457 Spuntino once, a year or two ago I guess it was, and after waiting nearly an hour for a table, we were rewarded with indifferent service and a bit better than mediocre food. Honestly, I did not understand why there was so much buzz about this place. I had certainly had many a meal I had enjoyed much more at Bocca Lupo, which was closer to where I lived at the time anyway. So I dismissed Frankies 457, not expecting ever to grace their doorstep with my regretful palate’s presence again.

Perhaps because so much time had passed, I no longer felt the sting of stubborn disappointment when friends suggested that we go to Frankies 457 for brunch last Sunday; though I admit to feeling a tad wary, despite their assurances of the deliciousness to come. (I swear my relenting had nothing to do with the fact that Kate Hudson and Lance Armstrong brunched there.) I was surprised to have to wait only ten minutes for a table for four at peak brunch time. Especially as I happened to be starving, this was good news.

We ordered coffee, which was particularly good, and also bloody marys. I don’t usually indulge in alcohol at brunch time, but I tried one a friend ordered and it was so tasty I couldn’t resist. The service wasn’t the most attentive–we had to ask for the bread that other tables were getting as a matter of course, and it was difficult in general to get our waitresses attention–but it was friendly enough. And the food, well, it made up for any insufficiencies presented by the staff.

As a starter we had the beet and avocado salad—glistening gems of purple and green, in a creamy but light dressing, and wisely unencumbered by lettuce or other intrusions into the delicious flavors of the simple dish. The frittata with sweet sausage and broccoli rabe came with lightly dressed greens, making for a satisfying savory meal. Frankies 457 version of a BLT, made with super thick-cut bacon, juicy tomatoes, and iceberg, was a succulent success. The prosciutto frittata sandwich was the one dish that underwhelmed. Maybe this was because it was no more imaginative than it’s title suggested. It was simply a piece of their frittata sandwiched between thin piece of flat Sullivan Street Bakery bread. No mayonnaise or other condiment, not even a piece of lettuce. It was a bit dry, and the tasty bread served to mask any flavor that the frittata on its own had. With so little apparent thought put into this dish, we were left to wonder, “what’s the point?”

The most winning dish of the day, surprisingly, was the eggplant sandwich. A sloppy affair of eggplant in a thick tomato sauce, topped with fresh salted mozzarella, all on the super thin Sullivan Street Bakery bread. It was difficult to eat, and at one point we resorted to using forks and knives, rather than our hands, but such a beautiful mess I have rarely seen. It was perfectly seasoned, and all the flavors were well balanced. Even the gaping hole in the bread exposing the cheese beneath didn’t bother me. It was an amazing sandwich that I would go back for again and again.

I do want to go back–and soon–if not for the eggplant sandwich, then for the french toast. As we were settling our bill, I smelled the most enchanting aroma, like sweet caramel and vanilla cream. I perked up and searched the room to see what it was, and then I saw it: a waitress was carrying two plates, each with two enormous slabs of battered, fried bread. That was when I inquired to my friends, “Brunch? Next week? Whatdyasay?”

Frankies 457 Spuntino
457 Court Street
Brooklyn, NY 11231
718-403-0033