I finally made it over to Greenpoint to try out the papa restaurant to Carnitas Ramirez.
I ate two tacos here on a really quick pit stop while riding with some ebike nerd friends. I tried the tripe, which was buttery and almost tasted like foie gras, and the al pastor. The al pastor was probably the best of its kind that I’ve ever had. Nice grilled pineapple, really tasty and generous amount of flavorful and juicy meat, and a little bit of crisp skin.
This place is a winner, and there’s a reason why it draws a lot of long lines and hype. It’s worth it. Luckily for us, there were no lines and the food came out in about 12 seconds (not kidding).
TAQUERIA RAMIREZ
94 Franklin St.
Brooklyn, NY 11222
This joint used to be called ZZ’s Clam Bar. It’s a Major Food Group spot, like Carbone just a few doors down, The Grill, and The Lobster Club. It’s a fancy, small speakeasy spot that only serves raw bar type food. We basically tried almost everything (we skipped the caviar service and the scallop crudo).
The shellfish were really nice, served along with some really chef’d up sauces.
We tried both toasts. One was like a tuna tartate, and the other was trout roe with truffle honey. The trout roe was clearly the winner here, and it was easily one of the best bites of the night.
The first crudo we did was the hiramasa, which reminded me of kampachi or hamachi. Very mild fish flavor, really nicely treated. Fresh!
Our next crudo was the smoked salmon. This was incredible. Also one of the best bites of the night. The dijon and dill really hit on this, and it paired perfectly with the rye toast points that it came with.
The lobster salad was the only thing we didn’t love. It had too much mayo on it or something, but it was still perfectly cooked and nicely chilled. Also really beautiful.
Last, the beef carpaccio with uni, lobster and caviar.
This was definitely the star of the show for me. It was so delicious and decadent.
The portion size was generous too, which I guess is expected at $105.
As with other Major Food Group spots, the pricing is somewhat astronomical, but the quality is always top notch.
This place has great cocktails too, by the way. I was drinking Gibsons.
The Cake Dealer had a Paloma and a margarita. Easily the best Paloma we have ever had. Way better than the margarita.
If you haven’t already seen them, check out my Ride & Review shows on YouTube, in which I ride an ebike to and from restaurants and review what I just ate while riding.
I also have a show called Around the Hood in 8 Minutes. In that series, I explore the different neighborhoods of NYC, from sights to bites, in just 8 minutes!
Below is a trailer for the first season, but that link above will take you to the entire playlist of two full seasons, plus bonus material and “lost episodes!”
Funny Bar just opened up nearby. The Cake Dealer and I recently wandered in here and had a few drinks, and we knew we wanted to come back.
It’s a live jazz bar with no cover charge, and a really sleek, streamlined menu of STEAK!
Literally, there are like four items on the menu: steak for one, steak for two, french fries, and a wedge salad. Oh and they surprised us each with a free small chocolate brownie sundae at the end of the meal, but it wasn’t on the menu.
We started with the wedge salad, which is simple but delicious.
The steak for one is a petite filet, or shoulder tender/teres major. I love this cut.
It has all the flavor of the chuck, from where it hails, and all the tenderness of a filet mignon. At $29 for about an 8oz steak that comes with fries, this is a great deal. 9/10.
The steak for two is a larger cut. The server told me it was a flatiron, and the host told me it was a strip steak. I don’t think either is correct.
At first I thought maybe it was a tri-tip based on the shape, but the muscle striations seem to go the wrong direction for that. Based on the muscle fibers, I think this is in the sirloin family. Perhaps top butt/sirloin, or top sirloin. Either way it was perfectly cooked, had a great crust, and was artfully topped with a maitre’d butter and herbs. At $69 this is also a great deal for people to try the best of what can be on an otherwise under-utilized cut. 8/10.
Although it might be better to get two of the steaks for one instead of one of the steaks for two, satisfaction will be guaranteed. The fries are perfectly cooked as well. This is the large plate that comes with the steak for two:
They even brought us a free dessert on the house afterwards – miniature brownie sundaes!
This hot pot spot in Flushing took over where Baidu Shabu Shabu left off (same location), and upped the ante on quality and dining experience. Check out the video HERE.
What a beautiful interior! And this was easily one of the best hot pot meals I’ve had. We split the pot between medium spicy beef tallow broth and mushroom broth. Absolutely delicious. Go give it a shot!
LAO ZAO CHONGQING
37-04 Prince St.
Flushing, NY 11354
The folks behind Mister Paradise, one of my favorite burgers of all time, just opened up Highlife Burger a street or two up from Mister Paradise. The cake dealer and I went in to try it out, and we were very happy with the food!
The burgers are reminiscent of “In n Out,” a California staple. They’re much better, though.
The hot dog is pretty great too. It comes covered in melty cheese sauce and potato chips.
The fries are great too, though I didn’t get a photo. They’re sort of like a batter-fried McDonalds style.
I will definitely be back here for more. $7.50 for a single and $10.50 for a double are great prices!
My wife and I came here with another foodie and social media influencer couple to try out some of this new restaurant’s menu. Aqua has both Italian and Japanese menus, so you can have a full-on omakase here, or you can dine a la carte and dig into some pasta or veal Milanese.
We selected eight items from this menu, and then had two versions of their tiramisu (one classic Italian, and one Japanese):
First off, they make some really nice cocktails, which is clutch since they have a gigantic bar (the whole space is pretty massive, actually).
We started with the mushroom and truffle arancini. These were delicious bites.
The lobster bisque pizzette was really unique. I’ve never had something like that. It makes for great table bread to share as a snack.
This red prawn carpaccio was absolutely incredible. This is a must order when you go here.
These little nuggets of fried rock shrimp were really tasty. They don’t look like much, but I was hooked. I could not stop popping them.
The oxtail and truffle mafalde was perfectly cooked and seasoned, and the oxtail was super tender and savory.
Here’s a shot of their 12-piece sashimi omakase, which has all of your favorites, salmon belly being my favorite.
This eight-piece roll had salmon and scallop, which was nice.
And finally, the yuzu shiso marinated lamb chops. These were awesome. After the red prawn carpaccio, this was probably my favorite item.
For dessert, we tried the classic tiramisu and the matcha/green team tiramisu. I think we all agreed that the classic version was better. I didn’t snap any photos of that, so you’ll just have to watch the video to see them!
