I was wandering around hungry last night and poked my head in at the Bounty in Greenpoint. I’m glad I did.
I had the Lamb Ribs (slow roasted with black garlic. cauliflower, radicchio, arugula, pickled raisins, polenta $26). So good. I was warned that it was heavy/fatty. But very moist and flavorful.
Good choice. “Job well done,” I said to myself.
The Bounty – 131 Greenpoint Ave (b/t Franklin St & Manhattan Ave) Brooklyn, NY 11222
I checked out the indoor Brooklyn Flea and Smorgasburg Winter Market. I walked around and it looked like a lot of good food. I felt bad for the Royal Cuisine booth though. The guy working it looked so lonely. I decided to get three BBQ Jerk Ribs for $5. You can get one for $2.
The guy told me about the hot sauces they had in squirt bottles. One was sweet and the other spicy. I think they were made from scotch bonnet peppers. They were really good. The spicy one was awesome, but really frickin spicy.
The ribs were a little tough, but good flavor. I probably should have gotten one rib, so I had more room to try other stuff.
Diana and Abel took me out to dinner so we can talk about plans for their wedding next month. I’m going officiate. Apparently, Diana asked me a long time ago, but I had too many sushi boats that night and forgot. Cool, but I thought it was weird they asked me unless they wanted me to do magic tricks in front of a fog machine …which I guess that’s what I will do.
We got the sampler ribs and I like how there are different sauces to try. I remember liking the sides too, but that photo I took of the coleslaw looks really sad.
It’s interesting that I post this now. Because I just read about Abel all over the Internet getting abruptly fired by AOL’s CEO over a conference call to over 1,000 employees. It’s viral. On the upside, the FOX News segment about it is kind of funny.
Blue Smoke – 116 E 27th St (between Park Ave & Lexington) New York, NY 10016
Dang, I loved my time at Medieval Times. It was seriously awesome. I don’t ever remember having so much fun within a dining experience.
Chris got us tickets to Medieval Times. It was reduced admission with some proceeds going to Sandy victims. It was only around $30 per person. It looks like it’s usually $60, but there’s always coupons knocking it down to around $40. You just have to browse around their website for the promotions.
It was a pretty quick ride from Manhattan into New Jersey. We got there right when it all started. The place was huge. I thought they were lip syncing to a CD. But it was really the M.C. talking in his mic. His voice was so strong and bold. I was impressed.
There were pitchers on the table and was about to pour myself a glass of water. Good thing I didn’t. The waiter came around and poured it into our bowls. It was Tomato Bisque Soup. That would have been a surprise if I thought I was sipping on water. Soup was surprisingly tasty.
Then they came around with nice big slice of Garlic Bread. That was so good. Probably the best thing …and I don’t mean that to diss the other food. It was just good Garlic Bread.
Then we got a big half Roast Chicken –tender and seasoned. Herb Basted Potato – uh, alright. BBQ Spare Rib – tendy and sweet barbecue sauce. All surprisingly pretty decent food. Much better than I was expecting …and a lot of it.
Dessert was a like a Apple Turnover pastry. It was okay. But I was stuffed by that point.
They also gave me two big mugs of soda, which I mixed with airplane bottles of liquor I snuck in. I didn’t mean to be a cheat. I just didn’t realize they sold beer and alcohol. I bought a beer to make it up. Pretty good price. I think around $5-6 that comes in a decent size 3D lenticular souvenir cup. I was expecting it to be $8-12 honestly, so that was a great deal.
Free coffee even after I said didn’t want it, but then did ask for it later.
All this while this awesome show was going on, with knight and horses and a flying falcon. It was pretty insane. But in the end, it turned out we were rooting for the wrong guys. It was like a surprise twist ending, where we realize that the King is a dick and the Princess is a bitch. Seriously, they were whipping the evil bad guy at the end while they were locking him away. Wok the heck?
At the end of the show, everyone was hanging out in the lobby, buying stuff at the many gift shop counters, and getting more drunk with their kids. I was in the restroom and I swore I thought I heard some kid say, “Dad, we’re out of beer!” And then when I walked out of the restroom, I saw the cutest thing. Two tiny boys sword fighting and next to them, two tiny girls in princess outfits sword fighting with their roses.
Seriously, I really think Medieval Times is the best restaurant I’ve ever been to. Maybe the food isn’t so amazing, but it’s not bad for what is it. It’s the total package though. I’m just thinking of all the fancy restaurants I’ve been to and really, fuck those places. It just doesn’t appeal to me. You eat fancy food in a dim room and then you forget about it. You know what is awesome is yelling at the top of your lungs, getting drunk and watching knights hit each other and a falcon flying around the arena above your head while you eat chicken with your fingers. That’s just the most fun I’ve ever had dining. …if only they did all that at Gordon Ramsey’s restaurants.
Medieval Times - 149 Polito Ave. Lyndhurst, NJ 07071
Todd and I were hungry and started to talk about getting brunch around 1pm. Then it turned into 2 because I was bloggin, then I had to take a shower, then he had to take a dump. Then it was after 3:30pm when I left the apartment and we waited for a bus to take us to Greenpoint. We got on close to 4pm. Then got a few blocks down the road and realized maybe we should go to OAK Wine Bar that was right at the initial bus stop. We had a 50% off Scoutmob coupon. So we got off the bus and walked back to OAK, but dinner service didn’t start until 5pm. So we dranked at Mother’s until then. Beer fills you up on an empty stomach, but also gets you drunk.
The 50% off Scoutmob deal is pretty cool. You don’t have to buy it beforehand like Groupon. You just show them your coupon on your phone. But since it was during Happy Hour, we had the choice of either getting cheaper drinks or using the 50% off dinner with pricier drinks. We went with the Scoutmob deal which got us $20 off. That’s a pretty good deal.
We started off with the Bratwurst sausages and Pretzel. That was really good. We were kind of full by then. But we also ordered the Chicken Schnitzel, which was big but a little dry, and the Drunken Baby Ribs over Mashed Potatoes. People have told me how much they like these. Todd thought it was the best ribs he’s ever had when he had them delivered to his home. This time Todd didn’t think they were as good, not as tender and juicy. They were pretty decent I thought. Very large meaty ribs. Looked good.
After dinner or breakfast or brunch or whatever it was called, we ordered a Latte and Cappuccino each. They were good, but they looked exactly the same. I’m not sure what the difference is.
The Scoutmob deal still works for OAK if you use the phone app (until 1/28/2013). Plus, they have a bunch of other 50% off deals.
OAK Restaurant & Wine Bar – 361 Graham Ave (btwn Conselyea & Metropolitan Ave) Brooklyn, NY 11211
I started off today at the Fishbone early afternoon concert at Brooklyn Bowl. I’ve never seen so many kids at a show before. There was a toddler mosh pit up in the front. At one point it almost looked like parents were throwing up their babies in the air in Muppet-like fashion. It was cool.
Then I met up with Todd and Elissa around the block at Mable’s Smokehouse for BBQ. We split this big DeLuxe platter of three meats and three sides ($27.95) –Pulled Pork, Brisket, Ribs, Collard Greens, Baked Beans and Mac & Cheese. The Ribs were the best. Todd and I really liked it. –I accidentally typed we “…really liked tit.” I guess that works too.
Prices are relatively cheap for NYC BBQ and it’s quiet there. Got the food quickly. So those are pluses.
Then we walked around Williamsburg shoe stores, thrift stores, rooftop bars and Giglio Fest …wondering how anyone is able to afford living in this area anymore.
Mable’s Smokehouse - 44 Berry St (btwn N 12th & 11th St) Brooklyn, NY 11211
I had taken a long nice nap after the Chicago Food Film Festival award ceremony. So hungover from the previous night’s oyster party, but I recovered. I think I kinda forgot that I won such a prestigious award that very day …only because of I’m so used to the fast pace fleeting statuses on Facebook and Twitter. Now that I think about it, I’m very grateful and it was fitting that I went out to celebrate with Rusty and Ronnie Z that night.
I was looking on the Yelp app and decided on Chicago q, which happened to be right below Ronnie Z’s apartment …although I secretly wanted to try the Cheesecake Factory. Chicago q was so unassuming on the outside. I didn’t realize it was a restaurant or opened. Inside there were people and it looked kinda like a Dixie Steamboat.
Chicago BBQ …not too bad. The highlights were definitely the complimentary homemade pickles and potato chips. Also the food came out super fast. My platter of Pork Ribs, Pulled Pork and Cole Slaw came out literally two minutes after I ordered. The meat was okay. I do like the variety of sauces. A ton of food. The pulled pork sandwich I saw on another table looked monstrous.
Chicago q – 1160 N Dearborn St (btwn Elm St & Division) Chicago, IL 60610
I’ve posted snippets from the road, but now I’m ready to share our full-on adventures and photos from our Shonali Bhowmik 100 Oak’s Revival tour down South…
Day 4: Shonali’s good old friend Jeff (and coincidentally Jill’s cousin) hosted us in Charleston at his big house. I slept on the window ledge …that’s how big it was. The next morning he pulled out some simple ingredients (bread, turkey slices, cheese and a bean salad) so we can make sandwiches. I really forgot how good a simple sandwich could be.
Later we walked around in downtown Charleston. It’s beautiful there. I’m glad the hurricane didn’t hit. A lot of cute Carolina girls. Shonali told me I should talk to the gelato cart girl. I think Shonali was trying to get me arrested because she was probably 15.
We then hit up Sticky Fingers BBQ (which Jeff used to own). I’ve always heard about this place. I got two shots of Firefly Sweet Tea Bourbon and one of the Blue Plate Specials (under $10 all day) …that’s a good deal. As recommended by our waiter, I went with the dry rub on my ribs. Probably for the best since all the sauces are on the table.
I love the idea of the Habanero and Tennessee Whiskey sauces, but I think my favorite was the Carolina Classic mustard.
Sticky Fingers – 235 Meeting Street. Charleston, SC 29401
They had this painting of Stephen Colbert.
