speedy romeo (brooklyn)

i found out via facebook (my ultimate news source) that an old friend of mine was opening a restaurant. i actually met justin back in the good ol' days when i was young, carefree and single, and i spent most evenings at my local watering hole, Spring Lounge, a wonderful bar where you can spend endless hours with friends or alone, hanging w their very cool bartenders. at the time, justin was a student at the French Culinary Institute, and our mutual interest (devotion? obsession???) in food made for interesting conversation (and meals!).

justin made quite a name for himself post-graduation within the Jean Georges' empire (working at JG's eponymous restaurant, chef de cuisine at Perry St, etc.), and it was his time to break free to start his own venture.

when i read about the opening of Speedy Romeo, it was a given that i'd check it out, but when i google mapped it, i was like, "huh...the G train???" but now that i've opened my mind to public transportation AND brooklyn, i set a date w friends. i then facebook messaged justin to let him know that we'd be coming.

we took the C train to franklin ave (the G train that i'd heard so much about was down for the weekend); we had no idea which way to go, but the friendly NYPD officers milling about by the check cashing place on fulton directed us appropriately. after about 4 long blocks on classon (my friend bunnard told me that he wanted facebook cred for "protecting" me through the 'hood), we arrived at Speedy Romeo, a former auto parts shop, renovated into the cozy, warm space that it is now.

the girls - outside speedy romeo!

i saw justin immediately upon entering, and you can't miss his signature hair and dark framed glasses. he pointed out the wood-fired grill and oven and informed me that, other than a small prep station in the basement, this was it! very impressive. he also pointed out a framed picture of the restaurant's namesake, Speedy Romeo, a racehorse that had been in his business partner's family. it sorta made sense...speedy (former auto parts shop) + romeo (italian-leaning food).

when we sat down, we reviewed the menu, but there was no reason to pick/choose. we asked chef justin to send what best represented his cooking and the restaurant. we're not a picky bunch.

the food started to flow: a grilled beet salad w housemade ricotta (LOVE) and watercress; housemade mozzarella w a smoky eggplant puree on toast; and a really yummy caesar salad. then the most tender grilled octopus (everyone raved about the accompanying potatoes as well); a grilled soft-shell crab (i love soft-shell crab); and poached asparagus garnished with lamb belly (YUM) topped with a fried egg (runny yolk) in a citrusy vinaigrette. [for pictures of the apps, go to lindsay's post about our dinner!]

when the server dropped off a jar of pickled chili peppers, i knew good things were in store. which is when the pizzas rolled out.  the king salami w its thin crust, crispy salamis (some hot/some not); the speedy romeo (grilled crust, topped w homemade ricotta and large chunks of stewed tomato - also known as MY FAVE); the st louie, an homage to the midwest (not my thing - i wasn't into the provel, a very processed velveeta-esque cheese); and the kind brother, an interesting pizza with woodsy mushrooms, mozzarella and a runny egg. i pretty much added the pickled chili peppers to EVERYTHING, perhaps why we finished an entire jar. i wish i could've taken a jar home!

king salami

the speedy romeo (my favorite!)

you'd think this was enough food, but then the entrees came, and there was no stopping me. right at the beginning, justin came out to tell us about a special for the evening: a 26oz dry-aged ribeye...DONE. i am a sucker for large pieces of meat on the bone. this was a wonderfully marbled steak w so much flavor, accompanied by maldon sea salt, fresh cracked paper, garlic chips & a salsa verde. IN LOVE. (i gnawed the remaining meat on the bone once the steak was gone). i also dug the fennel-y pork chop (also on the bone!) w mops of roasted fennel and a pot of white beans. it was cooked exactly as i like - pink, super moist and so yummy! the final entree was grilled branzino which was perfectly prepared... very light, white and delicate, but compared to the hearty ribeye and pork chop... it was forgotten by me.

i love you ribeye special

i love the bone!

you can see the pork chop pinkness from here!

whole grilled branzino

so after all of this food, did we turn away desserts? no, of course not. we swooned over the lemon meringue tart - tangy, creamy, somehow light...i didnt eat the flaky tart crust on the bottom. the saturday night special - espresso semifreddo w sea salt and whipped cream - oh my yummy - another crowd favorite. an olive oil cake, so moist but so not what i wanted. and then the piece de resistance... chocolate cake: the speedy romeo take on the s'more... justin came to our table w a branding iron, and as i felt something hot over my left shoulder, he warned, "DONT MOVE" which made me cringe in the opposite direction, while he literally branded the homemade marshmallow fluff atop a dense chocolate cake surrounded by graham cracker crumbs. truth be told, i don't like s'mores (and i'm not a huge chocolate fan) so i didn't even try this dessert. but the presentation was magnificent!

olive oil cake 

lemon tart

branded(!) marshmallow fluff on chocolate cake

here's the thing - the food here is straightforward, not complicated and REALLY GOOD. you might say - i can get that here/there/wherever. i've found that it's rare where all of the food is well-prepared, well-presented and tastes wonderful. add an inexpensive but decent selection of wine and you've got yourself a perfect neighborhood restaurant. is it destination worthy? i think so (enough that i'm already planning my next trip back).

speedy romeo
376 classon ave at greene
brooklyn (clinton hill), ny 11238
718/230.0061

apologies for the crappy photos - i dropped my camera in a full drink the night before this dinner, so i had to suffice with my blackberry camera - enough said!

talde

oh, talde, i really wanted to like you... but unfortunately, you didn't live up to my expectations.  perhaps it was my own fault for having lofted expectations.  i've never watched top chef, so i have no idea who dale talde even is.  but the reviews, including some from people whose opinions i respect...i was underwhelmed.

many know that i've been a bit narrow-minded when it comes to traveling outside of manhattan in the past; however, i've changed my tune.  how?  i went to fette sau in williamsburg about a month ago with my pork-loving friends, and i thought, "DAMN, i am missing out on really yummy food by not traveling to brooklyn!"  ummm, yes, it's that good.

back to talde... very easy to get to from manhattan - F train to 7th ave (in brooklyn), 2 blocks, and voila...you're there.  and the restaurant has a great corner location with a fantastic bar.  we went early, like 630PM early, and there was no wait for a table of 3 (FYI: when we left around 830PM, they told a 2-top that the wait was an hour). if i hadn't been super hungover after a soju-filled korean dinner + karaoke the night before, i would've been all over cocktails at the bar pre-dinner.

talde menu

after our server gave us our menus and confirmed that this was our first time at talde, she came back about four seconds later and was like, "are you ready to order???"  ummm, no...i've barely had time to say hello to my friends - do you really think we've had time to seriously discuss the menu?   at that point, we figured we should spend some time with the menu... it was a no-brainer that we'd order the pretzel pork & chive dumpling, but the rest of the apps took some deciding... we settled on shrimp toast, octopus a la plancha, and hawaiian bread buns (filipino sausage, crispy long island fluke, market vegetable - which was shiitake mushroom).   and then we waited.  and waited.  and the server didn't come back.  when she finally did return about 15 minutes later, i was so hungry that i decided it was time for a cocktail (hair of the dog, right?).  i asked her if the 'king of siam' was sweet (i hate sweet drinks) and her response was "no, it's really well-balanced."  

she lied.  i took one sip of that king of siam and couldnt take another.  and i am not one to leave a cocktail unfinished.

judy's cocktail: the navy grog - less sweet than mine

onto the food...they tell you up front that everything is sorta family-style, and that things will just come out when they're ready... and i'm fine with that.  i'm korean - i'm a firm believer in family-style.  and i was super happy that the dumplings came out almost instantly.  the appetizers were strong - dumplings, tasty (love the mustard sauce with it)... octopus, decent... shrimp toast, weird with the poached egg and gravy, but still good.. hawaiian bread buns, all good (i even liked the fried fluke, even though it reminded judy & viv of mcdonald's filet-o-fish...is that a bad thing? i think not.)  the guy who served the food was really chatty, describing each dish in detail - but it was as though i was the only one at the table... he spoke only to me. odd.

pretzel pork & chive dumplings

meaty innards of the dumpling

shrimp toast

shrimp toast smothered in the gravy

hawaiian bread buns (shiitake, fluke, sausage)

it took us a while to sort out entrees, but we went with the whole market fish (i can't remember what kind of fish), which i think we mostly chose because it's served with mu shu pancakes - yum, fish tacos!, singapore chili soft shell crab banh mi, char siu smoked pork spare ribs, tai pan butter bread (which our server described as white bread meets texas toast meets the most delicious garlic bread ever), and 369 (market vegetables).

and this is where the food went downhill.  the singapore chili crab banh mi didn't evoke any memories of delicious chili crab in singapore.  the boneless spare ribs reminded me of chinese-american takeout.  the whole fish was probably the best entree, but it was a touch bland...even with fried chilis stuffed inside. the 369 veggies were sugar snap peas coated in green sambal - the most flavorless rendition of sugar snap peas and sambal ever. and the butter bread... i've had better garlic bread at my local pizzeria.  such a disappointing carb intake.

char siu smoke spare ribs

whole fish

369 - sugar snap peas w green sambal

butter bread

at some point during the meal, i couldn't help myself, and i ordered the crispy oyster & bacon pad thai to go (uhhh...for the husband!).  we had thought about getting it, but it didn't make the cut.  the husband and i shared this at home, and it was pretty good - very smoky bacon, yet somehow the dish was light.  and the fried oysters were delish (i ate them separately).  

i might go back for apps & cocktails at the bar if i was in the neighborhood (but really, why would be i be in the neighborhood, unless i already had eating plans?), but this is definitely not a destination-worthy restaurant.  one other thing of note - dale talde's already opening another restaurant called 'pork slope'.  now that's clever.

talde

369 7th avenue corner of 11th street

brooklyn, ny 11215

347/916.0031

reservations for parties of 6+

say yes... to the NoMad!

a few weeks ago, julie & i attended this really wonderful talk at the 92nd st Y tribeca with eleven madison park (EMP) chef daniel humm & general manager will guidara that was guided by frank bruni.  EMP is my favorite non-asian restaurant in NYC, so this event was very insightful as to the history of the restaurant under the guidance of chef humm & will guidara, and of course, frank bruni led the discussion in his very poignant and charismatic way.  chef humm & will also divulged info about their new venture - The NoMad Hotel - a hotel/restaurant with the opulence and grandeur of old world Europe where the hotel is the go-to for staying, eating and hanging.  

meeting chef humm & will guidara at 92nd st Y tribeca

with major EMP craving (and no free samples...not even granola), i hurried home post-talk and made a reservation for my next free night.  the next week, while perusing my usual news outlets (facebook, twitter, grub street), i realized the NoMad was opening the same week as our EMP ressie!  despite my general opposition to gambling on brand-new restaurants (see Neta review, sigh), i figured NoMad wouldn't experience that typical awkward period with the EMP men at the helm.

luckily, i secured a reservation at NoMad during their opening week (and promptly cancelled my EMP res - save for another time!).  [aside: the night before our dinner, chef jose andres (minibar, jaleo, etc.) tweeted about NoMad with a photo; i was so excited, i forwarded the pic and his tweet to my girlfriends.  but then chef andres TWEETED ME BACK something related to my twitter profile... he looked me up!! it was a glorious moment that i will not soon forget.]

we love pre-game, so we organized pre-drinks at NoMad's bar; when i arrived, julie & lindsay were at the bar, midway through their 2nd cocktail, and i had just missed chef wylie dufresne (WD-50).  our bartender, Will, was quick to oblige me with a "Bartender's Choice" cocktail after discussing my likes (gin) & dislikes (sweet).  while we sipped, the delicious aroma of fried chicken would intermittently waft by, and we knew this would be a must-have as a starter.

julie with will, the bartender

we spent some extra time at the bar to enjoy Will's company & cocktails; this was perfect timing, not only because our 4th friend, sylvia, arrived just as we were being seated but because we were all ready for a(nother) round of cocktails.   the menu definitely had an EMP familiarity (but a la carte), but the big disappointment was that the fried chicken that we smelled while at the bar is a BAR-ONLY dish!!

dinner menu

we started with two bites - the radishes & sweetbreads.  i was more curious about the butter-dipped radishes than excited, but when they arrived, my excitement manifested.  it was like butter-flavored magic shell, coating crunchy radishes, served with a side of salt (fine, fancy salt - fleur de sel).  amazing.  

butter-dipped radishes with fleur de sel

our server, eve, described the croustillants as similar to "spring rolls" (she seemed mortified uttering those words aloud and even wanted to take them back).  they were very light, even though fried and stuffed with diced sweetbreads.  the only similarity to a spring roll was in appearance - i tasted not a single veggie inside, and to be frank, the sweetbread flavor was muted by the "croustillant".

sweetbreads croustillant with parsley

just before our appetizer course arrived, we were brought NoMad's own focaccia bread.  holy jeez... the bread.  focaccia topped with thinly sliced fingerling potatoes and spring onions served on this mini butcher block with a giant steak-knife-like serrated knife... NoMad's answer to EMP's gougeres... and a major success.  i stopped counting after loaf #3.

   

house focaccia

our next course - appetizers... the first was tagliatelle with crab which was stunning and screamed SPRING.  golden pasta was the perfect nest for the white & pink king crab sprinkled with chives.  i loved this dish.

tagliatelle with king crab, meyer lemon & black pepper

a lusciously smooth & creamy foie gras surrounded tete de cochon and was prepared torchon-style topped with some form of persillade and decorated with radishes and edible flowers.  very rich but well balanced with the clean crisp radish slices, greens and herb topping.

foie gras torchon with tete de cochon, radishes & nasturtium

our final appetizer, the bone marrow, had croutons that were drenched in bone marrow, sitting atop more bone marrow in the bone, then broiled.  the anchovy gave it an extra depth, but indetectable if you weren't looking for it.  although i prefer minetta tavern's flinstone-sized bone marrow that i can scoop out with a spoon, this was a creative riff on a typical bone marrow appetizer.

bone marrow gratinee with parsley, shallots & anchovy

at this point, cocktails emptied, we needed wine.  (re-)enter peter, the sommelier.  the wine list is pretty massive, so i told him to go crazy (with a little guidance in terms of price point, food pairing), and he beelined to nebbiolo grapes and chose the 2005 rocche dei brovia barolo. a fantastic choice with deep red color, a touch fruity and floral on the nose, but balanced earthiness, fruit and volume without heaviness on the tongue... it was really fantastic.  i recommend this wine (and peter) to everyone!!

while we were sniffing and sipping the wine, eve brought around our trussed roast chicken for two with very well-browned skin and garnished with rosemary, decoratively sitting in a cast-iron mini-roasting pan before they carved it up.

we had to get the suckling pig - chef humm does wonders with a pig - and this one did not disappoint.  similar to the suckling pig he's had on the many different incarnations of the EMP menu, the pork meat was confited in duck fat and pressed into a square with a crispy top and served with jus, veggies & dried fruit.

  

suckling pig confit with dried apricots, onions & wild greens

the duck is another "must" - if you've ever had the whole duck at EMP, you know how extraordinary it is - and again, chef humm serves another winner with two thick slices of roasted duck, perfectly cooked to medium rare, skin glazed & crispy, garnished with dandelion greens, roasted apple and cipollini onions (we think), faintly spiced with an indian curry blend.

duck roasted with apples, dandelion & vadouvan

and finally, back to the chicken... this was a rare choice for me, as chicken is my least favorite meat, but since this was chef humm's chicken, we took the risk... which paid off.  stuffed with a brioche, foie gras & black truffle butter under the skin of the breast, these flavors melded with the breast, creating moist, bursting with flavor white meat under a crispy skin.  on the flip side, the dark meat was braised in a brown butter hollandaise served in a separate pot - almost like haute comfort food.  two completely different chicken dishes rendered from one bird... leave it to chef humm to surprise me even with chicken!

roasted chicken breast (served with white asparagus)

dark meat with brown butter hollandaise

let's just skim over the dessert & cheese portion of dinner.  eve seemed to be lost when asked what kind of cheese they had (her actual response: "i think they're swiss, but i'm drawing a blank.").  we had two desserts - the carrot cake and she surprised us with the "milk & honey" - but neither really brought any excitement to our table.  

what did get us excited was returning to the bar for more cocktails.  this time we sat in the "gin section" and met another bartender, jessica, who was awesome.  she made this wonderful cocktail, the martinez, for me, which she described as the "predecessor to the martini".  it was punchy but not overwhelmingly boozy for post-dinner.

the martinez!

we also had the good fortune of meeting Leo Robitschek, the bar manager, who was disconcerted after he heard the issues we had with eve.  and to make up for it, he brought us a double helping of the bar-only fried chicken, gratis!  this is what fried chicken should be like - super moist, well flavored with a little kick and crispy crunchy fried and a spiced yogurt dipper.  the best fried chicken i've ever had - it was leaps & bounds better than momofuku's fried chicken.  i was just sorry lindsay had to leave after dinner because she missed some damn good chicken!

chicken fried with chili, lime & yogurt (bar-only)

final note: the bar & lounge area are on a first-come, first-served basis, and while there are only a few barstools (10 or 12), there are some high tables in the bar area to imbibe.  there is also a large lounge area where they do bottle service.  pricing is typical NYC bottle service; however, the mixers served are typical of only this detail-oriented crew.  instead of orange and cranberry juice, you'll get mixers specially created that pair with the bottle you've chosen.  LOVE.

lounge

lounge wall lined with books - hi syl!

girls' nights out (GNO) are the best and enjoying it at the nomad made it that much more special.  i haven't been able to stop talking about the dinner since we went one week ago.  all i can say is GO. NOW.  and don't be surprised if you see us there!

love my girls - i should've photoshopped lindsay in

the NoMad hotel

1170 broadway between 27/28th sts

new york, ny 10001

347/472.5660 (dining reservations)

or on opentable