way better than gifts of wood
the wife and celebrated our 5th anniversary this weekend and got to cross a couple places of the "to visit" list as a result. one was intentional, the other quite by accident.
last night, for the official celebration, we trekked back to Manhattan for dinner at the Bridge Cafe - "the oldest drinking establishment in New York." this place had been on my radar since soon after i moved here, and apparently it was a favorite of former mayor Ed Koch. i don't remember when i first came across it, but i used to see it quite often from the onramp to the Brooklyn Bridge and i liked the idea of eating in the shadow of the bridge in a place that would recall centuries gone by. the atmosphere didn't quite live up to my imagination, but the ambiance was nicely cozy, especially on such a chilly, breezy night after a 10-minute walk from the subway. and imagine my delight when they had an extensive menu of whiskeys available from the bar (the long wooden bar itself being one of the older touches in the place along with a few old signs advertising 45-cent goulash and some lithographs of the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge). we never even saw the wine list. i had a Manhattan made with Michter's single-barrel rye while the bar made up a variation on hot buttered rum for the wife. off to a good start.
for our appetizers, i got the crab-spinach-artichoke fondue while she got the breaded, fried oysters. the fondue was awesome- like a great artichoke dip. the oysters were pretty good, too, though they could have benefited from a crispier coating. the main course presented a dilemma. the wife fixated on the diver scallops right off the bat while i wavered (no shock to anyone who has ever gone out to eat with me). the pork chop seen in the online menu was not listed, and i had talked myself out of the ribeye already. but that left the "famous" buffalo steak and two specials: a blackened grouper, and wild game sausage. the game in question turned out to be venison, elk and wild boar, and the accompanying sauerkraut and potatoes sealed the deal for me. again, i was thrilled with my selection, though we weren't able to definitively determine which sausage was which. they were all delicious. the scallops, however, also fell in to the "just OK" category, though the accompanying sauce was pretty tasty. for dessert we got a bread pudding and a carrot cake. the pudding came with a bourbon caramel sauce that made the whole thing. the carrot cake would have been better at room temperature, but was a nice rendition nonetheless. i capped the evening with a single malt Connemara Irish Whiskey that "peaty" only begins to describe. it was delicious and steeled me for the blustery power walk back to the subway. the less said about the young couple who were sitting across from us and may or may not have had a white limo waiting outside for them, the better.
when we got home, i got a small present - celery bitters from LeNell's (naturally). i quickly dashed a bit into a glass of seltzer and the result was what i assume a Cel-ray tastes like, though i've never had one of those. the only disappointment came when i learned that LeNell herself had been disparaging of my enjoyment of Jameson. now i understand that there is a world of whiskey out there, and i love that LeNell's carries a wide variety and that much of that variety is reasonably priced. i love to explore and experiment as much as anyone, and i've always had pleasant interactions with the folks who work there, so i'm willing to overlook this particular incident. but i don't always want to have to ponder over every sip (you could make similar analogy with microbrews vs. Yuengling or other mass-produced swill) so i will remind her that the store's phone number is (877) NO-SNOBS and leave it at that.
even after a solid night of sleep, i woke up today feeling none too hungry. the wife and i planned to head out to purchase our very own seltzer maker, but our preferred location was closed today for the Sabbath. so we set out for the second store on the list, albeit without calling ahead. as could have been predicted, that place seemed to no longer exist, so we decided to hoof it to yet another place, about 20 blocks away. as we walked along, we realized that we were in a heavily Jewish area, and that our chances of completing our mission were dwindling. our disappointment grew when we passed the (closed) Pomegranate supermarket that looked like it would have merited a stop. the store carrying the seltzer maker still existed this time, but was indeed observing its day of rest rather than engaging us in some down-and-dirty commerce. the final kick in the pants came when we saw a new Pickle Guys location, also closed. apparently, it would displease god to allow to me buy a freaking pickle on a Saturday. i think i broke at least 3 commandments expressing my displeasure at this turn of events.
all was not lost however, for we realized we were in Midwood, home of DiFara Pizza - a scant 5 blocks from where we stood (also home to Oh Nuts, a mas favorite (and thanks to him for the address assistance), but another Saturday casualty). so off we went. it was about 2:45, it was crowded up front, and i was finally getting hungry. it took many minutes to get our order placed (regular pie with anchovies), but there was an available table, which we were all too happy to grab. we were prepared to wait, and it took about 45 minutes for our pie to appear. to this point, we have both been proponents of Totonno's in Coney Island, so we were anxious to see how this stacked up given all we had heard over the years. we definitely weren't disappointed. everything tasted great, from the tangy sauce to the creamy cheese to the salty, salty anchovies. the crust was a winner as well, and useful for mopping up oil and topping spills, though it might have benefitted from another minute or so in the oven - it was still very light colored with almost no char whatsoever. the fresh basil is always a welcome addition - one of the reason i love having Waldy's around the corner from my office. i packed three slices away and could have done a fourth, but was talked down by my better half. it's sitting in the refrigerator right now calling out to me. it probably won't be long now. that said, and knowing that char levels can vary from visit to visit, neither of us was prepared to knock Totonno's and its coal-fired glory from the perch at #1. something about the total package there just can't be touched. not that we've tried every possible contender. we'll need to make a pilgrimage to Staten Island some day. and another one to New Haven. maybe even to Trenton. but the best part is that there is no right answer, and we win just by playing. now if you will excuse me, i have a toaster over to preheat.