A New Red Hook Ritual

Once or twice a month Jesse and I delight in taking a shopping trip to Fairway in Red Hook, where we can stock up on bulk goods for cheap, like organic coffee, beans, rice, and so on.


Now we may have found a new ritual to tack onto our Red Hook trips: A stop at Rocky Sullivan's for beer and a snack outside. We'd been to this bar on an assuming corner before and hadn't thought much of it, just a normal working class neighborhood bar. Then I found out about its roof deck, but we weren't able to take advantage of it until the first nice weather hit this weekend. Now we have truly seen the light.


The bar neighbors Sixpoint Brewery, so we were able to get two of our favorite Sixpoint beers, Bengali IPA and Righteous Rye. And Jesse was able to ogle all the Sixpoint kegs lying around. Rocky Sullivan's has a bar menu, but I'm guessing their best food is their brick oven pizza, made fresh to order. We had the margarita pizza, complete with homemade pesto sauce, and it was delish. The crust had a slight buttery flakiness to it, a little like pastry crust, but not too much.


We enjoyed our afternoon snack on their roof deck. We were the only ones up there, and I can't imagine it ever gets too full, so it certainly lives up to its reputation as "serene" I highly recommend checking it out if you're in the hood, although don't tell all your friends because hidden gems are always better when they remain that way!

An Indulgent Weekend

I wanted to have a nice romantic dinner on Saturday, so I went to the Union Square Greenmarket to get the goods, and here's what I cooked up with Jesse's help. A flat-iron grass-fed bison steak from Elk Trails, seasoned with salt and pepper, and cooked in butter in a cast iron pan on medium heat for about 8 minutes on each side. At least I think that's how long it was - it seemed to take a long time. The bison farmer recommended cooking it slowly over relatively low heat, as searing it too hot can overcook the bison quickly. It turned out well, but slightly tough. I usually marinate these cheaper cuts like flat-iron and flank steak, but wanted to see if it could stand on its own. Next time I'll go back to marinating.


On the side we enjoyed brussel sprouts steamed with garlic (nice, but I think roasting would give it more oomph) and our usual fries: potatoes sliced, tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper and roasted in the oven until crispy and tender, dipped into green garlic and vinegar spiked mayonnaise. As well as a bottle of nonlocal Malbec from Argentina via Trader Joe's because I was feeling cheap. And the cocoa applesauce muffins before and after dinner.

On Sunday I planned to make chili in the crockpot and let it cook all day while we hung out. Jesse implored "I want to go out for dinner." I responded, "That would put me over my food budget for this month, but we can go get drinks before dinner instead." Which made a nice compromise for both of us, or so we thought.


So we hopped on the G and went to Cherry Tree, which has an excellent draft beer selection, which turned into more beers across the street at Fourth Avenue Pub in Park Slope. By late afternoon, we started to get hungry but knew the chili wouldn't be done yet. So instead of heading straight home, we extended our outing even further with a stop at Flatbush Farm for appetizers.


Their oysters are amazing every time; never bland/hit or miss like at other restaurants. We also shared the Ploughman's Plate of cheddar cheese, salami, and bresaola (I think that's what it all was), but at $12 I felt it was a bit lacking in the meat for the price. Then finally went on home and ate chili and cornbread (baked in the cast iron skillet, again lacking in other baking apparatus). Total money spent in eating and drinking that day: more than if we had just gone out to dinner. Whoops!

The Best News Ever

via Robert Wright for the New York Times

Sixpoint is going to start making bottled beer! It says so in this fascinating article in the New York Times today about a resurgence in beer brewing in Brooklyn, which once produced one fifth of the nation's beer and is now home to only three breweries. Most importantly it announces that Sixpoint Craft Ales is going to open a new facility in Williamsburg that will allow them to produce bottled beer!

Jesse and I are so excited. We looove Sixpoint, and have been eagerly awaiting the day we could enjoy bottles of it in our home, instead of having to trek to a bar or all the way to Bierkraft in Park Slope for a pricey growler. Their beers, which are all characterized by the same fast-acting yeast that lends a distinctive hoppy flavor, have been growing ever more popular over the past couple years, and it's about time. I'll be sure to let you know when the bottles hit stores so y'all can go out and try it too. In the meantime, you can use Beer Menus to find the bar nearest you with Sixpoint on tap.

The Richardson

via yelp

Now that we're both feeling well enough to do more than just plop into bed after work, Jesse suggested last night that we go get a drink at Pete's Candy Store, the bar next door to our apartment. But I had a better idea. I wanted to go somewhere different, so we went to check out a new bar in the hood, The Richardson. It's known for being a classy speakeasy joint with excellent specialty cocktails, but we didn't know if they much of a beer selection. Well, we were pleasantly surprised that they have several great beers on tap, all from Northeast microwbreweries (except for Guinness and Old Speckled Hen from across the pond). Jesse enjoyed Southern Tier's excellent IPA, which I'd never seen on draft before, and I had Sixpoint's Righteous Rye for a hearty winter beer. Beer prices aren't bad either, mostly $5 a beer, with a few $6 glasses. I'm so glad I convinced Jesse we should go, since we ended up having better beer than we would have at Pete's.

The Richardson's cocktails looked good, especially the Old Fashioned, which intrigued me with its mix of bitters, sugar cube, and bourbon, but at $9 a pop and a month of spending that's left me feeling poor, I decided to try it another time. Oh and they also serve small plates - olives, nuts, toasts, and sandwiches - but sadly, nothing looked particularly appealing to me.

Since The Richardson is only three blocks from my apartment, this might be another new standby for a nice romantic drink. I think I might even have my birthday there, since the interior is spacious, with a few nooks. They did a great job with the simple and sophisticated decor, which features beautiful wallpaper, a long bar, and smooth dark wood tables, chairs, and stools.

The Richardson
451 Graham Ave at Richardson Street
Williamsburg, Brooklyn - Graham Ave stop

Maine Part V: Drinking in Bar Harbor

Here are some places in Bar Harbor (the main town on Mount Desert Island) that we enjoyed for outdoor drinks in the afternoon during our vacation:

[And by the way - how awesome was it that we only had two (!) meals inside the whole week - thanks to the beautiful weather and our choice of restaurants, we were mostly able to feast and drink en plein air with our doggy by our side.]

Bar Harbor Blueberry beer with lunch at Rupununi, a sustainably-minded restaurant along Main Street in Bar Harbor.

Amazing crab roll and fries at Rupununi - all crab meat, and local too! Jesse's burger at Rupununi, all-natural ground beef from from Northeast family farms An afternoon drink at Lompoc Cafe & BrewPub, which serves several locally brewed ales from Atlantic Brewing Company on tap.

Lompoc has a bocce court and hosts concerts on weekend nights that seem to run in indie rein, so I'm guessing this is where the young indie crowd hangs out at night. We didn't get a chance to experience Bar Harbor's nightlife while camping, but we were just lucky enough to enjoy a relaxing afternoon drink in Lompoc's quiet garden.

Another day, another afternoon drink, this time at Jack Russell's Steakhouse & Brewery just north of Bar Harbor on Route 3. We tried a sampler of their house-brewed beers, and liked their "Gold" beer best for its mild flavor. Jesse was hungry, so he ordered the salad, composed entirely of the lettuces and herbs growing around us.

And so, after all that relaxing in the beauty of nature and savoring the bounty of Maine seas and breweries, the return to reality - sticky sweaty New York City with its workweeks - was harsh but now complete. What I've been eating since I returned is forthcoming.

Other posts in the Maine vacation saga:

IV. Lobster Pounds on Mount Desert Island

III. Cooking Locally at the Campsite

II. Camping in Acadia National Park

I. A Night on the Town in Portland

Maine Part I: A Night on the Town in Portland

Our weeklong camping vacation in Maine began with a stopover in Portland on the way to Acadia National Park, not wanting to drive the full nine hours from New York City in one day. So we shelled out for a hotel in Portland - amazingly just one night in a "cheap" hotel like Days Inn costs more than the fee for six nights of camping! What a rip off. Just so you can have hotel amenities we never even use, like a pool and a disgusting complimentary breakfast and dressers and an ironing board, etc. I don't get hotels. Anyway...back to Portland...


After reading Blake's gushing accounts of meals at Fore Street in Portland, I had my heart set on dinner there - not only are they committed to cooking up the freshest food produced locally in Maine but they have a reputation as one of the finest restaurants in the country. But when I called to make a reservation more than two weeks before the trip, the earliest they had left for the night was 9:30! I couldn't believe it. I decided instead to aim to get there early and wait a bit, since they hold several tables for walk-ins.

However, life had other plans. Because of Jesse's exhausting workweek that didn't really end until 1am the night before we were due to leave, we ended up jetting out of Brooklyn later than expected. And by the time we got to Portland, I didn't feel in the mood to wait around for a multicourse fancy dinner. We just wanted to relax. So instead we decided to casually explore Portland.

We started off with a relaxing drink in the backyard of The Great Lost Bear, one of the top beer bars of the country. They have sixty beers on tap, featuring beer from fifteen Maine microbreweries along with other Northeast craft beers. The great thing about Maine is that it is a haven for local beer enthusiasts. Every restaurant and bar we went on our trip served Maine-brewed beers on tap, making it easy (and delicious) to drink locally in Maine. During our trip, we sampled beers such as Geary's Special Hampshire Ale (Jesse's favorite), Allagash White, Atlantic Bar Harbor Real Ale, Bar Harbor Thunder Hole Ale, and so on. Great Lost Bear was a great place to kick off our trip. They also serve food, but their focus is on burgers and burritos and bar food, so we headed elsewhere for dinner because we wanted LOBSTER!

On the recommendation of our nice server at Great Lost Bear, we headed to downtown Portland along the water to Gilbert's Chowder House. Chowder may be in the name, but I had the best lobster of my life there. We were able to get two lobsters and corn for just $30, something unheard of in New York City. This Maine-caught lobster was new shell, also known as soft-shell - apparently at this time in the season, you can either get hard-shell lobsters, which are meatier, or soft-shell creatures, which are sweeter and more succulent, and easier to eat because you can break the shells with your hands, but they contain less meat. The lobster meat was so fresh, moist and rich that I hardly touched the accompanying melted butter. Sweet corn was the perfect side dish. Coincidentally, we got to sit on Gilbert's deck and watch the sun go down over the water while overhearing a Moe concert at a nearby venue.

Afterward, we wanted to keep exploring, so we headed to a joint also on the water that we'd passed earlier, J's Oyster Bar. It's a dark old-fashioned looking place with small tables arranged around a large central bar, with oysters on ice waiting in the middle for lucky patrons. They also have outdoor seating, but that was full, so we were inside. We simply ordered beers and a dozen oysters. Jesse and I both agreed that while the oysters were good, they weren't as good as oysters we've had in the past. I assume because these oysters were caught somewhere nearby in Maine. Whereas restaurants like Marlow & Sons in Brooklyn choose their oysters more selectively for the best taste they can find. That's my guess.

We also went to Gritty McDuff's , another brewpub that was hopping on this Saturday night. Hanging over the bar are numbered mugs for regulars to drink out of, which I think is a fun idea (and a green one if those regulars use that mug all night) that I would definitely steal if I ever own a bar. We each tried their house cask beers. But at that point in the night, I don't remember much, except how confusing it was to find our way back to the hotel.

Other posts in the Maine vacation saga:

V. Drinking in Bar Harbor
IV. Lobster Pounds on Mount Desert Island

III. Cooking Locally at the Campsite

II. Camping in Acadia National Park

Kitchen Disasters

That was a beautiful and delicious pizza I made last week with local flour, turkey sausage and radish greens, and nonlocal tomato sauce and parmesan. Yes, you can eat the greens that come with a bunch of radishes. I wash them thoroughly, sautee them, and they wilt down a lot. They're a little bitter, but add a nice complexity to pizza.

I loved the pizza so much that I tried to make it again this week, but with the sick humidity crushing us this week, I decided to try my hand at making grilled pizza. I'm not sure exactly what went wrong, but I tried twice with two pizzas, and both times the edges of the dough grew colored and crispy, almost burnt, while the gummy inner dough refused to cook through, no matter how long I let them linger on the hot grill or in the toaster oven afterward. They looked tasty like they wanted me to eat them, but I couldn't. I salvaged the sausage and radish greens by scraping them off and throwing together with quick-cooking orzo for a meal, while the pizza remains above sadly went into the garbage.

I have three theories - I should have used a dough that reliably produces a thin crust since my recipe usually puffs up a bunch; I shouldn't have topped it with so much sauce and sausage; I should have let the first side cook longer before I flipped it over. We'll see. For now, it's back to my tried and true method for making pizza in the oven, despite the heat.

This meal that we made for dinner last night looks great, but it wasn't actually, because it was pervaded by bitterness. I was so excited about being able to eat radish leaves, that I decided to give carrot tops a try. The bunch that came with my carrots from the Greenmarket looked so pretty and frilly that it seemed a shame to just throw them away.

I made a salad of lolo rosso lettuce, grated carrots, and a garnish of chopped carrot tops, with a roasted garlic dressing. The dressing was a gift from Jesse's mom and was pleasant. But the lettuce was overwhelmingly bitter, and the carrot greens didn't help, being chewy and bitter and not fun to eat. I couldn't even finish my salad. I guess there's a reason why people always throw out carrot tops.

Knowing how much Jesse loves Sixpoint beer, which is brewed in nearby Red Hook Brooklyn, Jesse's mom also surprised us with this terrific growler of Sixpoint Gorilla Warfare, a rich stout. I decided we should use it to cook the mussels. We sauteed garlic scapes and another handful of carrot greens in olive oil, then added mussels and half a pint of beer, and let it cook, covered, until the mussels opened.

I had been craving mussels all week, but it was a bit disappointing. The garlic scapes weren't potent enough to lend the dish a garlicky aroma like I hoped, the wilted carrot greens weren't much to taste, and the stout gave the mussels a slightly bitter taste. I should have known that a mild lager or white wine works better for mussels. It wasn't a total disaster, like the failed grilled pizza, but it wasn't the rich warm broth of mussels that I had hoped for.

But that's how it goes with cooking. You experiment, and you learn from your mistakes. And post them on the Internet for others to learn from as well.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

I meant to post this months ago after I went to a Mets game but forgot...since this was the last season at Shea Stadium I might as well post now to commemorate my experiences with it:

Did you know that beers at Shea Stadium are $8? For a Bud or a Bud Light, with no other choice?


Did you know that the size of the sponsor logos outshadow the tiny sign for the Mets?


Did you know that it's hard to watch the game from the bleachers because the diamond is too small an area for my eyes to focus on for very long? I kept missing things because my eyes wandered.


Did you know that the Mets and the Yankees are both building new stadiums right alongside the old ones, for no other reason I can understand than hubris?

I didn't know these things before, but I do now. I'm not a big baseball fan, or a fan of any sports in general really, but I was excited when I get free tickets to a Mets game because I wanted to see what it was all about. And that's what I did, just took it all in - the big stadium, the big lights, the big ads, the view of Queens beyond, the big prices, the big speakers, and the guy shouting Yankee Cookie behind me (not sure what that was all about, but I guess he doesn't like the Yankees).

It wouldn't be a baseball game without the beer, so I made an exception and drank Bud, which I almost never do (being a beer snob who sticks to microbrews). But having spent all our money on beer, we headed home after the fifth inning when we got hungry for dinner, instead of shelling out for those peanuts and cracker jack. So no food review here. Sorry. and Good night.

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the Perfect Spring Dinner

Now that it's spring, what better way to celebrate than to head to Brooklyn Botanic Garden to see the cherry trees in bloom. Admission is free on Saturdays if you can manage to get there before noon. So last weekend after our hearty breakfast of eggs and ramps, we biked down to the BBG. Well I thought it would be mostly downhill. I'm not sure why, except that going south always seems like it should correspond with going downhill. Little did I know that it would actually be uphill most of the way on Washington Ave to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. I guess that would be why they call it Prospect Heights. I was huffing and puffing, and the hill seemed to have no end, with just ten minutes to go before noon. But we managed to make it with minutes to spare. And it was worth it to see tons of pink cherry trees in full bloom.


I particularly liked the culinary beds, to indulge in fantasies of my own vegetable garden. I think swiss chard is such a pretty plant, with its bright colors and shiny leaves.


I also liked the garden paths winding around a pond with Japanese sculptures, lined with elegant weeping cherry trees, willows, and Japanese maples, complete with cute turtles sunbathing on rocks!



There weren't a lot of flowers out this early in the spring, but there were pretty tulips.


I'd like to go back later in the summer to see how the garden changes with the seasons, to enjoy more colorful flowers, and to see how the vegetables and herbs in the culinary beds have grown.


Later that night we enjoyed a great dinner that felt so wonderfully springy because I was lucky enough to find the first asparagus of the season at the Greenmarket the day before. I snapped the tough ends off the asparagus, rolled them in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and then roasted them for 10 minutes at 400. Meanwhile, I let some quinoa simmer away while Jesse pan-fried thin flounder filets in olive oil and seasoned them with salt pepper.


To top it off, I mixed up an herb mayonnaise using garlic, lemon juice, and some parsley from my urban garfunkel garden. I'm not a big fan of quinoa. Although Jesse loves it for its high protein content, and we often substitute it for pasta or rice for that reason, I think it has a dull soft taste that can sometimes ruin a dish. But with a dollop of lemony fresh mayonnaise, the quinoa was transformed into something I could enjoy. And that is something to cheer about.


We enjoyed dinner with cold mugs of Wiesen Edel-weisse beer. It cloudy wheaty bright taste, great for warm spring or summer days, was the perfect complement to our meal.

Northampton Take Two: The Dirty Truth

Following the aforementioned ruin of last weekend, I was hoping for a little more relaxation and enjoyment this weekend. We returned to the Northampton area in Massachussetts to pick up Jesse's car, now fixed, and I figured this time around we would know what we were doing and have a better time.

Well I was wrong. I chose a cheaper motel for this trip, the Amherst Motel, and I do not recommend staying there. The heating was inconsistent, making it hard to sleep, and there was no hot water in the morning. While the owner who greeted us was plenty nice, and I would rather support a family-owned business than a chain hotel, just say no. There are plenty of other hotels in the area that will fill your needs better, such as Howard Johnson, where we stayed the previous weekend.

Then I didn't think to make a dinner reservation, so we wandered around Northampton hearing the same response of a 45 minute wait at every place, until we finally ended up at a sushi restaurant called Osaka. Which was fine, just not what we were in the mood for. I rarely have to make reservations in Brooklyn, so I forget that you might need them in a place that's not gasp!a big city.


Salvation came the next morning at brunch. Once again, we were thwarted by a 45 minute wait at what I had read was one of Northampton's most popular brunch spots, Sylvester's. So we decided to amble around and see if we could find a way to eat sooner. Luck came upon us when I saw the sign above - brunch! kegs and eggs! outside an unassuming place that ended up being The Dirty Truth Beer Hall. As we walked in the door we noticed a small Beer Advocate poster that ranked the place as one of the best beer bars in the country. It was then we knew we were at the right place. They had more taps than we'd ever seen behind a bar - 42 to be exact - and a huge blackboard listing great beers such as Allegash, Victory, and Bear Republic.


We really regretted not knowing about The Dirty Truth, or its sister bar, the Moan and Dove in Amherst, the night before when we had a few lackluster beers before dinner at both the Amherst Brewing Company and the Northampton Brewery.

I believe they have served dinner for a while, but this was The Dirty Truth's first day open for brunch! Jesse enjoyed a simple omelet, while I had what was called "Caitlin's Sandwich", featuring a firm fried egg, tomato tapanade, chevre, and spinach, on crisp whole grain toast. It was delicious, filling, and the kind of breakfast sandwich I would love to make at home. I didn't get a chance to have a beer, as it was too early in the morning for me to be in the mood, but I thoroughly recommend checking out this beer bar and gastropub if you are in the area. (To my sister Michelle who goes to college nearby - I am very sorry you have to wait three more years before you can enjoy this bar).

The moral of the story is, when going on a trip, make sure to a. check out Beer Advocate for good bars in the area, b.make a dinner reservation once you've found a good restaurant, and c. don't skimp on the lodgings.

Diner: More Than Meets the Eye

I had always thought that Diner, at 85 Broadway near the Williamsburg Bridge, was just that, a diner, albeit with some grandiose tendencies. After all, it is set in a restored 1927 diner car. I've stopped in there occasionally for late night drinks and snacks and scoffed at the menu - Risotto, I have often wondered, why would you ever want to order risotto or other fancy stuff at a diner?

The guys who own Diner also run the fabulous shop/restaurant next door, Marlow & Sons, which I love for its oysters, cheese plates, and brick-pressed chicken. However, for some reason, I never really made the connection that Diner would be likewise high foodie-minded. Recently, though, I've discovered that the owners are committed to sustainability, and have even expanded their Diner Journal into a blog that explores "food sources, our food politics, our culture and our ideas on sustainability. This week, I also learned from an interesting article on Brooklyn Based that both restaurants serve only local, grass-fed meats, even going so far as to have their own in-house butcher. Well, why the heck are they not advertising this on their websites - if I had known, I would have been patronizing both Marlow & Sons and Diner more frequently.

So I took a second look at the Diner menu, and realized it's not a diner at all, but a restaurant serving a delicious menu of local, seasonal offerings. (I would recommend changing their name to get more customers, but they are already plenty busy on weekend nights.) Jesse and I went there for dinner on Friday night, and enjoyed a hearty roasted potato and garlic soup,as well as blackened fish, but the star of the meal was the kale salad - warm chiffonades of kale eaten in mouthfuls with the flavorful crunch of bacon and breadcrumbs, and even a poached egg to top it off. As a side note, I was surprised to find that bacon is the only part of a pig that Jesse is willing to eat (pork is so fatty, he often whines), while I was trained by my parents to avoid bacon at all costs.

The one thing that I find disappointing about Diner is the cost of the alcohol. The cheapest drink on the menu is Stella at $5, while all other glasses are $7 or more and wine bottles start at $32. Cheers to them for serving Brooklyn-made Sixpoint beer, which Jesse and I cherish everytime we can find it, but I'm not sure why it's so much more expensive here than at other bars.

Beer and Deer BBQ

Flatbush Farm continues to not disappoint. A few weeks ago, we had an awesome romantic dinner in their bar. This afternoon we biked down there to meet some friends for their monthly barbecue. There was venison, Six Point beer, and a bluegrass band, three of Jesse's favorite things, so we basically had to go. The bar was surprisingly not crowded, considering what a good deal the food is at $2-5 per item on the menu above. But that left plenty of room for cute kids to play and dance.

The cooks grilled up our food in the backyard garden. Jesse enjoyed a skewer with grilled lean venison, apple, and celery root, along with tender braised cabbage. Meanwhile, I dug into the vegetarian chili, with multiple kinds of beans, carrots, and kale, I think. The cornbread was wonderfully sweet with a nice grilled crust. We also tried oysters grilled in their shell - they were good, similar to raw oysters but with a less wet texture. Still, I prefer slippery raw oysters sliding down my tongue over chewing into oysters.

Surprisingly, it was all served in paper plates and bowls with plastic cutlery. My green guilt told me I should have asked for real silverware, but I didn't want to be a bother. We also enjoyed a rare opportunity to drink local Sixpoint IPA and Amber on tap, brewed in Red Hook, Brooklyn. The two beers were similarly good, but the IPA was more bitter. As the bluegrass band played its last set and the kiddies headed home, so did we, feeling full and satisfied with our earlier dinner. I'm afraid that soon it will be too cold to go on these long bike rides. I hope not - they're a good way to exercise off all the food I just ate!

Brooklyn Bike Tour II: Destination Red Hook

This is my block in Williamsburg, where new condos are sprouting up everywhere. Notice how much taller the beige building in the top right corner is than all the other vinyl sided row houses?
Around the corner, there used to be an old factory in this lot, now vacant except for one obnoxious piece of machinery. I didn't have a chance to photograph them, but three of the four corners of this intersection are all empty boarded lots, warehouses that were, now condos to be.

We biked down to Park Slope for lunch at Bonnie's Grill. Jesse loves their burgers and I enjoy them as well, but let me just say that other items I've had from their menu were subpar.

Next, we rode down Union Street over the Gowanus canal. Someone created this pretty mini sunflower garden at the gate of the bridge.

The canal itself isn't so nice, but I actually liked the surrounding area. Just look at the golden leaves lining this brownstone street:

We continued our ride all the way to Red Hook. We're not Red Hook newbies, as we drive there frequently to shop at Fairway (best grocery store EVER), but this was our first time biking there. We rode to the waterfront on Van Dyke street and stumbled across this little park.

Those benches are a lovely place to sit, rest, and enjoy the calming feeling of the water. Afterward, we went in search of the Six Point brewery and the attached bar to taste their multitude of beers. Well it turns out that the Libery Heights Taproom I had read about online has been replaced with a new bar, Rocky Sullivan's, that only has two Six Points on tap. It looked empty, so we didn't bother with it. The other strange thing is that there is no signage to even tell you that you've found the Six Point. So we didn't find it, we thought maybe it had moved too along with Libery Heights, but a Red Hook local later confirmed we were at the right corner.

So instead we went to the Bait & Tackle Bar on Van Brunt Street for a drink. It's extremely quaint, decorated on almost every inch of the bar with taxidermy, fishing gear, knick knacks, and so on, and it's a cute place to kill some time.

We had dinner at the Good Fork, which I had been looking forward to all week because I wanted almost everything on their menu. Maybe because I was so highly anticipating the dinner, it fell a little flat. We started with two appetizers, cornmeal crusted oysters and beet salad. The oysters were meaty and well executed with a nice cornmeal coating and a Russian dressing-like sauce. But we decided we still prefer oysters in the raw because the greatest thing about oysters is the salty taste of the sea. The beet salad was skimpy on the beets and walnuts and didn't benefit from the one lettuce leaf it was plated on. Considering that beets are in season now, I was hoping for a richer, sweeter taste like I've experienced before.

For dinner, I chose the paperdelle with pork ragu. The homemade pasta was soft, tender, and delicious. But somehow the wow factor was missing. Jesse felt the same about his salmon over crunchy lentils. Conclusion: The Good Fork is a good restaurant, but we probably won't go to Red Hook again just to eat there.