Brooklyn Food Tour

Recently we were inspired by a food guide to Brooklyn's South Slope written by Gothamist.  See
http://gothamist.com/2012/01/31/a_food_wine_tour_of_south_park_slop.php#photo-1

We (Chris, myself, my sister Tami, and our good friend Craig) decided to take the tour and add a couple of other spots.  The mission was simple, how many wonderful treats can be eaten in one day in the amazing food borough of Brooklyn. The result was a gut busting day of delicious eats.

We started the day off at Miles End, well known for their smoked meats, but more importantly, their poutine. The purists in all of us said we had to order a smoked meat sandwich on Rye bread as well; so we went with the Pastrami with extra mustard. The meat was spectacularly tender, flavorful, and overly salted, in a good way. To accompany our appetizer, we ordered the poutine with smoked meat. For those of you who have not had this delicious, greasy, and purely glutenous treat, it's a kaleidoscope of flavors in your mouth. It consists of salted double fried french fries, topped with homemade gravy, melted cheese curds, and the same delicious pastrami I mentioned earlier. THANKFULLY, there were four of us, because, three or four bites in, I had to stop, knowing, we had a number of other places to explore. A tip for those that want to eat at this extremely popular destination, the wait to eat in at Miles End can be long, however, if you order take out from the window out front, you will only wait 10-15 minutes and there are plenty of spots in the neighborhood to enjoy your meal outdoors.

                                       

Miles End Restaurant

       
Pastrami Sandwich

Poutine with smoked meats

Our next stop was Luigi's Pizza.  At this point, I must admit,  I am always surprised when we find new pizza spots that have legendary followings.  Having lived in NYC for almost a decade and researching pizza spots more than any other kind of food, it's always such a special treat to find a hidden gem. 

When we drove up to this pizza shop, it has a very old school facade. Faded sign, doors and windows wide open, the inside showing years of ware and tear, locals filling the teeny tiny inside, and the two pizza makers working in perfect sync with one another behind their small counter.  Fun fact, this pizza place was featured in the movie Big Daddy - a tiny amount of memorabilia on the wall pays tribute to this. 

On to the important information...we tried the grandma pie and the margarita. I will give props to the second runner up, the margarita for their amazing fresh mozzarella and the drizzled pesto garlic olive oil. There is nothing I hate more than a fresh made pie, with fresh made mozzarella that hasn't been dried out properly. It ruins the pie because the water from the cheese dilutes the sauce and makes the crust soppy. They definitely know what they are doing when it comes to their thin crust regular pie. However, the winner at Luigi's is their grandma pie. The crust is perfectly salted, crispy, buttery, and thin. The garlic, pesto, basil, and fresh olive oil resonates with each bite you take, but most, most, importantly, the mozzarella tastes so fresh, is salted and seasoned just right. 

This is definitely a spot worth putting on your must have pizza list. Sadly no booze, but they have a  fountain soda machine with all the classics.

                                                                  

Grandma Pie

Der Kommissar was an unexpected favorite of mine. I have not eaten at many Austrian places. However, the minute you walk into Der Kommissar you are greeted by a warm ambiance and incredibly delicious smell. The restaurant probably seats less than 30 people in a narrow hallway like bar.   The open grill greets you when you first walk. This small flattop is where all the magic happens. 

We ordered a sampler platter variety of sausages and sides. This consisted of frankfurters, bratwurst, andouille, with sides of sauerkraut, pickles/peppers, cucumber salad, and pretzels. Our favorites across the board were the frankfurters and the andouille. They both tasted exactly how you wish each and every hot dog/sausage you order tastes; fresh, crunchy skin, no chemical flavoring. And the andouille had some really nice heat that worked well with the spicy mustard. The sauerkraut was fresh and a perfect accoutrement, and their homemade pretzel bread were the best I have ever tasted. They didn't have that overly doughy and dense flavor most pretzels have.  One neat menu option is the family style meal which consists of one of everything on the menu.  Although this option was tempting, this wasn't the right day for it. 

They also have a great beer selection and an awesome bartender who in addition, played host and chef. I had a couple fantastic bio-dynamic Edelweiss from Georg Schneider (highly recommend checking out if you like wheat beers) followed by a group shot of Jameson. 

  

         


The Commodore was our last and final savory stop. As you enter this restaurant you feel as if you are stepping back in time, sort of. It's a diner, meets a pub, meets an underground dinner club. I know that's probably confusing, well that's exactly how I felt about this location. You can play 1980's arcade games for free, while at the same time feeling like you are sitting in McSorley's having a beer.

We ordered a few Six Point beers and the fried chicken platter. This is the second time I have had an all dark meat platter, which, I am not totally sure how I feel about. There is something very satisfying about biting into a fried chicken breast, the solid consistency and heartiness, that I don't necessarily get from eating dark meat. However, I will say, the batter on this meat was delicious. It was crispy, light, not overly greasy, and stayed on the meat even while cutting through the pieces. Also, I really enjoyed how they seasoned the meat before putting the batter on. All in all, one of the better fried chicken dishes I have had. Oh and I almost forgot to mention, it comes with the most amazingly, buttery, soft, crumbly, biscuit. I could have eaten ten of these on their own!

Our final stop was to cure our sweet craving. Sadly, this part did not even make it long enough to photograph. So this is more of a shout out to Momofuko Milkbar in Brooklyn. We ordered the compost cookie and the b'day cake truffles. All I can really say about this place, besides how much I love it, is that if you love desserts, this place will satisfy almost any cravings you have. Their tiny cult-favorite desserts pack a big punch.

Definitely a caloric filled day, but a success nonetheless.




Mile End
mileendbrooklyn.com
718-852-7510

Location:
97a Hoyt Street
Brooklyn, NY

Hours:
Breakfast: Mon - Fri: 8 am - noon
Lunch: Mon - Fri: noon - 4:00 pm
Dinner: Mon - Thu, Sun: 5:30 pm - 10 pm; Fri, Sat: 5:30 pm - 11 pm
Brunch: Sat - Sun: 10 am - 4 pm


Luigi's Pizza
718-499-3857

Location:
686 5th Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11215


Der Kommissar
derkommissar.net
718-788-0789

Location:
559 5th Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11215

Hours:
Daily Noon to Late


The Commodore
718-218-7632

Location:
366 Metropolitain Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11211

Hours:
Daily 4:00 p.m. - 4:00 a.m.


Milk Bar Brooklyn (not pictured)
www.milkbarbrooklyn.com
718-230-0844

Location:
620 Vanderbilt Ave.

Brooklyn, New York 11238

Hours:
Monday to Friday 7:30am - 6pm
Saturday Sunday 9am - 6pm