March 21, 2009

Sometimes even Cafe Drake has a full day - and ours, for the purposes of this posting - began on March 20 when we dared to try a new Mexican restaurant (for takeout) on Manhattan Avenue. With a plethora of highly authentic and exceptional south-of-the-border eateries just blocks away in nearby Bushwick and Ridgewood, a Greenpoint example must be top-notch to draw us away from North Brooklyn's best. Not so with Tacos and More Antijitos Mexicanos ( 668 Manhattan Avenue, Greenpoint, Brooklyn 11222), where we waited 25 minutes (!!) for our to-go order of Enchiladas de Mole ($8). In that interminable time period, one customer double checked his take-away claiming they left out his guacamole on the last order, another returned his food saying he ordered roast goat and received chicken nachos and two kitchen workers set about repairing the CD jukebox as orders piled up in la cocina. The enchiladas were limpid, lukewarm and stingily dressed with only a modicum of mole sauce. Accompanying beans and rice were quite good, as were garnishes of pico de gallo and radish salad. We may yet give Tacos and More a second chance, but only in desperation to dine ultra-locally; as previously mentioned, Bushwick offers too many excellent and cheap Mexican restaurants in comparison.

Even Cafe Drake was sceptical about a 1pm tasting of 10 rare beers on tap at Greenpoint's new shrine to hops and suds, Brouwerij Lane (78 Greenpoint Avenue, Greenpoint, Brooklyn 11222), but the opening day was an early afternoon blast, just what we needed on an empty stomach and bored, chilly day. A wood-burning stove and a host of attractive locals made us feel welcome upon entry, and soon the warm and fuzzy feeling washed upon us, largely in part to the copious amounts of free brewskies. Our faves included a Belgian micro-brew and a Southwestern English stout. Best of all: small plates of vegetarian lasagna and a stunning Austrian goulash, full of melting chunks of beef in a caraway and marjoram-laced gravy. Made with beer, natch.

The main meal of the day occurred after food shopping with Jen Ruske in Jackson Heights at two of their largest Chinese and Indian supermarkets (an entire fresh rabbit for $6!). Hungry and cold and slightly tired, Ruske and Cafe Drake hit the mecca of North Indian/Himalayan cuisine, Deshi Biryani (75-18 37th Avenue, Jackson Heights, Queens, NY 11372). A $7 appetizer bought us 8 puff pastry shells (Indian style, thin as paper and salty with chickpea flour), each to be broken and filled with a mix of potatoes, split peas, chopped egg and cucumbers. Each little treasure chest is then drizzled with three separate sauces - an herbed yogurt and buttermilk gravy, thick tamarind paste and a dried red chile chutney. Calcutta street food at its most heavenly! Impressive grub continued to appear on the table, from toasted whole wheat naan and tossed salads to a Chicken Biryani ($10) cooked with butter, rosewater and doused in sweet cashew sauce. Jen and I marveled over a large kebab of yogurt and green chile-marinated beef ($9), rich and luscious and emboldened with sliced red onions and tomatoes. This is unique and extraordinary Indian cuisine at its best and most original - not a cliche dish on the exotic menu.

Replete to an extreme, uncomfortably full actually, we drove over to David Sellers' crib to catch a rare and always happy moment with his visiting daughter Audrey. David instinctively knew what our over-fed stomachs needed and poured out digestifs of sweet and caramely cognac to sip while we caught up with Miss A.

Not quite content to call it an evening, we ended up back at Cafe Drake for charred oak barrel-aged small batch rye whisky from Bardstown, KY; a few sips and we all headed out for drinks and dancing near McCarren Park. I guess that's just how we roll.