70 North 7th Street, Brooklyn

An ice cream sandwich is a delicious concept but I often find them disappointing. Usually either the cookie or the ice cream (or both) are sub par.

Not so with the Coolhaus truck that simply combines delicious Ovenly cookies with creamy, exotic flavored ice creams.

You pick and choose your sandwich combo, a feature that drew us in, but the fact that our rosemary butterscotch on chocolate chip was so overstuffed, sloppy, and scrumptious is what will have me coming back for more.

After all, wouldn’t you be curious about pistachio with black truffles and olive oil gelato?

If you live in LA or Austin you can indulge your curiosity at one of their trucks. Locally, it hangs out in front of the Artists and Fleas market on North 7th every other Saturday this Summer.

See more: Desserts Brooklyn Carts/Trucks Cookies Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt Williamsburg

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Posted on June 4, 2011

160 Havemeyer St.  store 6, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Banh mis are popping up everywhere these days (not that I am complaining in the least!) but Nha Toi‘s unique menu, offering classic and not so classic sandwiches (like fried duck egg and shrimp patty) caught my eye. It’s been in the neighborhood for a little while, but was new to me.

After discovering their website via yelp, I was excitied to find they were happy to deliver to Spritzenhaus because a Vietnamese sandwich accompanies an afternoon Sweet Action pretty darn well.

After Shaun and I had initial skepticism over the bread – which turned out to be perfect – just toothsome enough on the outside to not get soggy and stand up to the innards and just soft enough on the inside to be delicious, we found (almost) everything was superb.

To get the one mishap out of the way, we’ll admit that the original Banh mi Dac Biet was perhaps too authentic for all of us. Depends on your tolerance with spam/head cheese textures – ends up ours is pretty low. (Somehow I feel like other similar sandwiches have been less out loud and proud with this texture, with BBQ pork and other insides balancing it more?)

Anyways, not a favorite, but certainly not enough to dissuade you from trying them for the other menu options.

My unusual sounding but oh so perfect on the bun Pho Banh mi was excellent, with a rich, spiced broth/ hoisin sauce and tender cuts of beef brisket. Mike and Shaun devoured their Bi Heo (shredded pork and skin with roasted rice powder – which I plan to try next time) and Grilled Lemongrass Chicken with high praise.

With a really friendly staff and a menu that also includes an equally exciting array of spring rolls, pho and bun, I am glad it didn’t take me too long to find this place and add it to my list of local treats.

See more: Restaurants Sandwiches Vietnamese Williamsburg

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Posted on May 18, 2011

27 North 6th St., Williamsburg, Sunday 10-5

Brooklyn Flea Market week two and Jim’s plan to “eat everything” was not too far off from what happened. We skipped stuff we’d already had either at the market or elsewhere which still left plenty to get full on. Good thing we had at least some restraint and split everything…

Beginning with one amazing donut (you know, breakfast first!). It came from Dough, a Cobble Hill shop that features unique flavors like Hibiscus and Blood Orange. I decided to try a simple glazed yeast however, to get a general feel for their goods. I hate to say it, but it rivals Peter Pan. I can’t wait to have another next week.

But the deliciousness didn’t stop there, no! Next we were on to Mile End‘s smoked cured brisket sandwich. A marvelous and simple sandwich that is juicy, smokey, and meaty. Do not skip the mustard, it adds a great kick. One of the best savory dishes at the market.

Asia Dog offers a large menu of unique Asian inspired toppings, we had a temporary lapse in restraint and went for the pork belly cucumber. It was intense. Maybe too intense. Next time I’d opt for the bahn mi hot dog or another less fat pork topped choice.

After all this we still were hungry (the key is not to eat before hand) and I was on the fence about making our last sandwich the Red Hook Lobster Roll, just because of the comparatively high 15.00 price tag.. but with Shaun’s urging that it was totally worth it, we relented and ordered Maine style. It was incredible, over flowing with big lobster chunks that tasted fresh and with just a hint of mayonnaise – the key to a good roll. Too many are just loads of mayo with tiny bits of lobster hiding among the celery. Here they do it right. Another best bite contender, especially with the summer months coming.

To wash everything down we tried Brooklyn Soda Works Root Beer, a spicy, none too sweet beverage that will quench the thirst even if you dislike soda.

I couldn’t help but get another jar of marmalade (this time grapefruit hibiscus) since my lemon vanilla is almost used up and we bit the bullet on the insane price tag ($7) for some Ragged Butte Bison Jerky to take home. It’s pretty awesome, but I don’t think I can rationizle speniding that kind of money on dried meat again.

Thank goodness this thing is only once a week.

See more: Spend a Couple Hours Fairs/Markets Food Williamsburg

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Posted on April 11, 2011

66 S 2nd St, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

With Bozu and Zenkichi, I am happy to say that we have some of the very best Japanese restaurants in the city in our area. Well, now you can add 1 or 8 to the list. Each have their purposes and 1 or 8 fits in as a bright, modern spot that’s prefect for a date night.

You enter into a kind of impersonal, quiet bar area that belies the bubbly, inviting, brightly lit dining area around the corner.

Since we only go out for a date night every month of so, we decided to live it up a little and started with an oyster sampler special. My goodness do oysters go well with ponzu! The small, plump and briny ones from Washington State were outstanding.

Next we ordered the Omakase Sushi, a chef selection of the best they have to offer. The fatty tuna and yellowtail belly were buttery. The salmon tasted smoked but was naturally so. The tuna was marinated Tokyo style and was Jim’s very favorite. The catfish from Montauk, while on the chewy side offered the most amazing and surprising spicy after taste.

Next on the plate were my two favorites: a house mackerel chopped with spices and scallions and a bold sardine that glistened beautifully on the plate. The following shrimp – served raw with a creamy texture and a subtly sweetened eel rounded out an incredible sushi experience.

They offer cocktails, wine and beer but I couldn’t have such a meal without some great sake, which they offer quite an assortment of. Many are offered by the bottle, but a nice list is also offered by sample size, glass, and carafe. The sample size is great for finding the one that suits your taste the most. We were fond of the unfiltered Kamoizumi but I wasn’t totally in love with the Chikurin. To finish the meal off, we tried the White Sesame Tart with black sesame ice cream, a none too sweet dessert that grows on you with each bite.

The staff is very friendly and informative, seeming just as excited about serving the food as we were about eating it. Plus, while we spent more than we might usually this time, the menu is varied and you could easily go a la carte and spend more or less depending on your mood and budget and still walk away with a special dining experience.

Now just over a year old (though I’ve been so out of the loop, I only just read about it) it seems to have quite a following. The place was packed Friday night, so I recommend reservations which can be made easily on Opentable. If you’re a sushi lover and had your fill of the mediocre stuff you can find on any street in the country, you’ll want to make a date night out of it soon.

Click here for the rest of 1 or 8

See more: Restaurants Brooklyn Japanese Williamsburg

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Posted on February 19, 2011

44 Berry Street, Williamsburg

I have to preface that my experience of The Counting Room may be very different from yours, unless you too go to bars in the early afternoon when the neighborhood babies along with their booze starved parents take over. So don’t blame me if it’s full of techno and 19 year old jerks at midnight.

During this time, it’s a bright, lovely space with soaring ceilings, picnic tables, and chic barn light fixtures.

I was itching for a cocktail – but those don’t make their appearance until after 6pm, so I went for the Bloody Wilbur, a bacon infused (what isn’t bacon infused at this point) bloody mary that was pretty good, but not mind blowing and very weak as far as the vodka goes.

Much more impressive was the beer list which included the incredibly tasty and surprisingly American Domaine DuPage French Style Country Ale, a brew I will be keeping my out for from now on. It won over everyone at our table.

The food was also a pleasant surprise. Going far beyond expected bar food that can taste like an after thought, everything we tried was excellent: a well adorned sopressata sandwich on criso French bread, and yummy, slightly lemony deviled eggs.

See more: Drinks,Restaurants Bars Beer Cocktails Williamsburg

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Posted on January 30, 2011