Featured Restaurant: Prime Meats

Maryse Chevrière — March 24, 2010

Clockwise from top: Housemade Pretzel with Bavarian Mustard, Smoked Trout Salad with Spelt Crepe, Roasted Beef Bone Marrow, 36-Day Dry Aged Bone In Ribeye for Three.

A strong protein game appears to be building among the crop of young Brooklyn restaurants. Pies ‘n’ Thighs has returned after a hiatus with better-than-ever fried chicken. Vinegar Hill House has an other-worldly Pork Chop, so too Roberta’s. And Prime Meats, has a steak worth talking about— among other things.

It is mandatory to start any meal at Prime Meats with the Housemade Pretzel. Fat and doughy at one end, thin and crunchy at the other— the perfect bag and street pretzel hybrid. For a meat-heavy, German-bent restaurant, there are more salads on the menu than you might expect. They are not to be overlooked. Specifically, the Smoked Trout Salad— a creamy, spreadable fish salad served over a crepe (a great bagel would work too) and topped with pickled red onions.

More from Prime Meats >>

Featured Restaurant: Chalet Alpina

GutterGourmet — March 12, 2010

Clockwise from top: Potato Pancake with Sour Cream and Apple Sauce, the Bavarian Platter, Pints of Spaten, and the Chalet Alpina coat of arms.

Metropolitan Avenue near Woodhaven Blvd and Forest Hills Gardens was once home to a large German immigrant population in the mid-50’s and 60’s. Chalet Alpina caters to the original, now elderly, residents, and those pining for a taste of Bavaria. As you walk in, an older German woman plays the accordion, flashing you back to those sixth grade auditions for “The Sound of Music.”

More Photographs of Food at Chalet Alpina >>

Featured Dish: Berliner Brat Burger

GutterGourmet — February 08, 2010

Clockwise from top: Berliner Brat Burger, Freakin Deal, and a Bratwurst.

Rolf Babiel has been missed since he passed last October, but thankfully, his brother Wolfgang carries on the Hallo Berlin cart tradition. I spent many a day on the corner of Fifth and 54th, waiting for my order to be ready— one of the great combination specials, often the ‘Dr. Atkins,’ or the ‘Churchill.’ Then there’s the ‘Freakin Deal,’ a wurst with onions, potato salad, and a warm crusty roll— a freakin’ deal indeed for $4.00. I loved to eat from an overflowing paper tray at one of the little folding counters on either side of the cart while watching Rolf slice the wursts and throw fresh ones on the grill.

But it’s a little cold for standing around outside, so lately I’ve taken to visiting Hallo Berlin Express on 9th Ave and 50th St. It has given me occasion to enjoy a sandwich that has not been given enough attention— the Triple B.

The Berliner Brat Burger is served on toasted bread with horseradish mustard and a pickle ($5.00). As the name suggests, it’s actually not so much a burger, as it is a salty, porky sausage in burger form. The one problem you encounter is that the bread doesn’t hold up to the juicy patty and its other toppings: rotwein, sauerkraut, and sautéed onions. But that won’t matter much when you down it while quaffing one of the German drafts they have on hand.

AlwaysInformed: Wechsler’s Leberkäse

GutterGourmet and Arthur Bovino — January 06, 2010

Wechsler’s Leberkäse.

Want exciting sausages in the East Village? Try Wechsler’s on 1st Ave and 7th. Their signature dish is the well-documented currywurst. Even if you don’t love the taste (what’s wrong with you?) currywurst deserves your respect. After all, how many dishes have museums? But there’s another cultural food landmark from Germany at Wechsler’s that hasn’t gotten much attention: Leberkäse.

Click Here for Beautiful Pictures of Wechsler's Currywurst >>

AlwaysInvestigating: Macaroni and Cheese EuroTrip

The Gluttoness — August 31, 2009

Mac and Cheese is a classic American comfort food. At its most elemental it requires two ingredients, the ones in the name. You can keep it simple and traditional with elbow macaroni and yellow cheddar, or guss it up with a multitude of cheeses, fancy-shaped pasta, milk or heavy cream to ease the melting process, and an innumerable amount of add-ins: bacon, mushrooms and lobster for starters. Even more luxurious renditions use the French mother sauce, béchamel, a heavenly roux-based white sauce into which cheese melts seamlessly. But other European cuisines have left their marks too.

Klee Brasserie’s Macaroni & Cheese with Spätzle Pasta and Four Cheeses, $15.00.

One of Klee Brasserie’s (restaurant page) self-proclaimed specialties is the Chef’s ‘Macaroni & Cheese,’ spätzel pasta with four cheeses ($15.00). While lacking onion, the dish is similar to Käsespätzle, a German preparation of spätzle (egg dumplings common to Eastern European cuisine) baked with grated cheese. Swiss Emmenthaler is combined with yellow cheddar, gruyère and parmesan. The salty punch of the semi-melted specks of sharp cheddar accentuated the prevalent taste of the Emmenthaler. The spätzle was soft and pillowy, each lusciously lacquered in the creamy, pepper-heavy sauce. As it cooled, this indulgent dish became more enjoyable because the skinny, gnocchi-like spätzle became firm for a more substantial chew. A similar dish, Kas Spatzle, can also be found at Radegast Hall & Biergarten with Hunter’s Bacon and Brown Cabbage.

Kefi’s Macaroni with Spinach and Béchamel, $9.95.

Kefi’s (restaurant page) Macaroni with Spinach and Béchamel ($9.95) puts a Mediterranean spin on Macaroni and Cheese. It may appear thick and creamy but the dish’s consistency was surprisingly loose (and could have spent a few more minutes in the salamander). While its soupiness was visually questionable, the subtle flavors made for a delightful departure from tradition. The toothsome, al dente elbows were awash in a creamy sea of wilted emerald greens. The béchamel was brightened by the trifecta of tangy, Greek cheese: manouri, feta and graviera. The mild manouri was enriched by the soft feta’s saltiness while the grated graviera added a nutty sweetness. The silken sauce was still light, allowing the dish to be rich in flavor but not heavy on the palate.

Featured Restaurant: Radegast Hall & Biergarten

Arthur Bovino — August 24, 2009

Kas Spatzle with Hunter’s Bacon and Brown Cabbage.

A beer garden in Williamsburg could easily be kitschy or precious, but Radegast Hall & Biergarten is neither. Instead, it’s a warm, welcoming space on North 3rd and Berry, that rapidly changing neighborhood between Main Street Williamsburg (Bedford Avenue) and the new waterfront condos.

Stepping inside the warehouse (a project by Slovakian-born partners, Ivan Kohut and Andy Ivanov) is like entering the idea of the beer garden you always had in your mind. The dimly-lit, open-beamed, high ceiling space is filled with wood, booths and a large bar. A second, brick-walled area is filled with picnic tables. You look around half-expecting to see people singing and smashing steins together.

There are twelve beers on draft, mostly German (two Belgian, one Czech) which you can order by pint ($7), liter ($13) or pitcher ($18), and more than 40 bottled beers (23 Belgian, 18 German, one Swedish, one Czech). You’ll find Kriek, Blonde, Pilsener and Lager, Cider, Lambec and gluten-free beer. The great thing about Radegast, besides its atmosphere, the beer, occasional live music and communal ambience is that the food here isn’t an afterthought— it’s quality pub fare prepared by Ivan’s wife, Joanna Kohut.

As at Astoria’s authentic Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden, there is rib-sticking Eastern European fare. Take for example, Goulash, Schnitzel and the crusty-delicious Halusky (known by its German name, Spatzle). Quality smaller plates include the Chicken and Rabbit Liver Pâté and the unmixed Steak Tartare. Also on the menu, is one of New York City’s better soft pretzels.

For those people who enjoy Bohemian Hall and Biergarden for the feeling it gives you of getting out of New York and entering another culture, Radegast is not a substitute. But with Williamsburg’s continued new construction and the increased inhabiting of completed projects, the scruffy, black-rimmed glasses wearing natives and the now-clichéd hipster-haters are going to find themselves in increasing interaction (especially on the L), Radegast Hall & Biergarten is a great setting for them to learn to live together. It’s the kind of place that makes you wonder how the neighborhood survived without it for so long.

See new pictures of food at Radegast Hall & Biergarten on its restaurant page here.

AlwaysLearning: Baeckeoffe

The Gluttoness — May 20, 2009

What it is:
Essentially, Baeckeoffe (or Backeoffe) is a stew with lamb, beef and pork marinated in Alsatian white wine, then slow-cooked with thinly sliced potatoes and sometimes vegetables (often, onions). The name is said to refer to the casserole the dish is cooked and then presented in: a ceramic, oval tureen. But it also means “baker’s oven,” a fact that reflects the dish’s supposed origins. Supposedly, it was the creation of busy housewives who tossed ingredients together to marinate and then, when going to town on other business (be it laundry or taking their children to school), dropped off their composed casseroles with the town baker to cook them in his cooling oven. When they returned to pick up their children or attend church, the dish would be cooked and they could pick up fresh bread with it.

Where it’s from:
Baeckeoffe’s origins are intertwined in European history and geography because Alsace, the region it’s from, repeatedly changed hands between France and Germany. Today, Alsace is a part of France, and the dish, which was once considered a poor man’s preparation of leftover meats, is now often found in high-end restaurants.

Where to get it in New York:
Fittingly, the dish can be found at Café d’Alsace, where it’s listed as, “Baeckeofe,” a “traditional Alsatian casserole of lamb, oxtail, bacon and potatoes.” Their interpretation maximizes the flavor of the traditional beef and pork components. It combines lamb and potatoes with oxtail and bacon, and braises them in Pinot Gris with onions and thyme. They serve it in its customary ceramic dish, the lid of which the waiter lifts to unleash fragrant wafts of steam. It’s a hearty, meaty broth with slow-cooked onions that add a delightful sweetness, and bites of tender meat, which take lighter turns depending on if your spoonful includes lamb, oxtail or bacon. The stew is served with salt so it can be seasoned to taste.