I pulled up on this Bushwick spot before hitting Electric Wednesday nearby at KCBC.
I went with their $11 special; three carnitas tacos.
These were really great. They’re served sort of gringo style, meaning they have lettuce, tomato and sour cream on them. I’m totally fine with that!
I think the tortillas could spend a bit more time getting toasted on the flat top, and the carnitas could have more variable chunks in the mix. The meat almost seemed more like pulled pork that had been crisped up a little bit on the plancha, but really no complaints about that at all.
I will definitely go back here and try more!
TORTILLERIA MEXICANA LOS HERMANOS
271 Starr St.
Brooklyn, NY 11237
My wife and I popped in here because we heard good things. We started with some nice cocktails, and a beautiful bread basket with focaccia and basil-infused olive oil.
Then moved on to the roasted octopus and crispy artichokes.
Both of these were great, and the octopus came with a few pieces of crispy artichoke as well. We were glad that we ordered the artichoke side dish for some extra though. They were delicious! Also the cauliflower puree underneath the octopus was so flavorful. I could eat that like a dip all day!
In the middle course, we had the dinner special of truffle pappardelle with chicken milanese, as well as the fusili with red pesto and straciatella.
Both of these were expertly seasoned and beautifully plated. We really enjoyed these. The red pesto was a unique mix of walnuts and red pepper that I had never had before. The Milanese was fried super crisp and pounded super thin. Perfect.
For the main course, we had their crispy pork shoulder with fennel and arugula salad. At $22 this is an absolute steal.
The skin was perfectly crisp, covering a layer of deliciously sticky fat and tender, juicy braised pork. Amazing.
For dessert, we had their tiramisu. This was really nice as well.
We love this place, and we can’t wait to go back! We also noticed that they have some excellent buy-one get-one free deals on Uber Eats. Needless to say, we will definitely be going back and also ordering delivery.
This place was pretty great. I didn’t take any photos, so you’ll just have to check out the video to see what we had. The best items were the shellfish, the fishballs, and the sliced meats like lamb, rib eye and pork belly.
Definitely give this place a shot! It was really a great deal at just about $100 for two people including drinks!
GANGNAM HOT POT
125 Division St Suite B
New York, NY 10002
I went to Sartiano’s with four of my law school buddies after a round or two of drinks at Zero Bond, so we were able to try a lot of stuff.
I apologize for the lack of quality images. I really just shot video here, so as to minimize my use of the light. All the pics below are screen grabs from my video.
The caviar cannoli were delicious bites of savory goodness. They’re pricey, but when you’re going big with a meal like Sartiano’s, you get these! As a matter of fact, these were on the house thanks to my friend being a regular here.
The steak tartare was one of the best I’ve had in a while. There were some crispy sunchokes on top that really made this dish pop!
The fried calamari was almost fried in like a tempura batter, and it came with fried slices of zucchini and squash. I really loved this. perfectly seasoned!
The baked clams are fantastic here. I highly recommend those as well. We grabbed two orders, that way everyone got a few. I actually forgot to mention these in the Ride & Review.
Even the Caesar salad was great. It’s served in layers; almost like a salad lasagna.
The tomahawk was pricey, but it was a solid 8/10 in terms of flavor. The aged flavor was mild, but they do dry-age meats on the premises. It was really nicely cooked (clearly grilled and not seared or broiled)), and adorned with delicious roasted garlic and herbs.
A real beauty.
The veal parm was excellent. This stole the show for us. It rivals Carbone, Ballato and all the other greats in the area. Perfectly crisp with some nice melty mozz and grated parm on tip.
We had some roasted carrots and smash-fried fingerling potatoes to go with the mains, but we also threw down on some pasta as well.
We even had some meatballs on the side, not realizing that we would be getting some more with the “Sunday Sauce.”
The “Sunday Sauce” has a serving of baked ziti (tubes arranged vertically in the dish for extra presentation points) along with a heaping bowl of tomato sauce with slow cooked short rib, sausage, and more meatballs within. Awesome.
We also tried the green cavatelli with Jonah crab, which was really nice and fresh. I wish I had the stomach space to eat more of this.
For dessert, we had some chocolate ice cream for my boring-ass friend Paul, and tiramisu. Both were great.
All in, this was a fantastic meal. I can definitely understand the hype for this place. If you can get a table, do it! Personally, I would love to go again if I could.
This new spot is located on 1st Street near 2nd Avenue. They offer a 14-course omakase for $88. We enjoyed the fatty tuna pieces, the shrimp, the king salmon appetizer, and especially the “New York” salmon piece (with tomato) and the tuna hand roll at the end.
I would definitely go back for seasonal menu changes and specials.
My wife and I stopped in this place for drinks a while back, and we made note to come back to try the food next time we were down by the seaport. Here’s what we had:
Fried Calamari with Banana Peppers
I wish the banana peppers were battered and fried too, but these were really nicely seasoned and fried.
Al Pastor Tacos
These were expensive at essentially $6/ea, but they were tasty and nicely made.
Fish & Chips
Great fries. Great fish quality, but the batter needs to rest on a cooling rack before being served on the plate. The spots that were touching the plate turned to mush or got soggy, most likely because they hit the plate when they were too hot and couldn’t properly “breathe” on those sides.
I would definitely go back to try the Old Bay flavored chicken tenders, and of course to enjoy their $10 shot and beer special.
DORLAN’S TAVERN & OYSTER BAR
213 Front St.
New York, NY 10038
My wife and I stopped in here for a quick meal and drinks at the bar. Here’s what we had:
Montauk Royal Red Prawns
These beauties are served raw over ice and dusted with umeboshi (dried pickled plum). I really liked these.
American Wagyu Tartare
This was probably one of the best tartare dishes I’ve ever had. It came with crispy fried artichoke, fried shallot and ramp oil.
Smoked Pacific Oyster “Tartare”
This was essentially a dressed up tin of high quality smoked oysters, minced up with red onion and aioli, which you then spread on toast points.
Stuffed Chicken Wings
These were stuffed with stilton, pork sausage and scallion. I think there may have been some hatch chili involved too. The flavor was excellent on these.
Potato Ice Cream Sundae
Totally unique. I could taste the potato knowing that it was made from that. but otherwise I might not have. It was not too sweet, which I really appreciated. This was also served with blueberries.
I can’t wait to go back for more drinks and food. Everything was so good!
