Breakfast at Milk Bar

I had the good fortune to go to Milk Bar, (670 Vanderbilt Ave., at the corner of Prospect Pl., 718-230-0844) recently, a bustling little cafe that serves incredibly delicious things. Whether it's the coffee, the baked goods or the main meal, it's all beautiful and tasty.

I ordered a full order of the Full Eggs, which means that I got two slices of incredible bread, each topped with ham, melted cheese, tomato (I also got it with avocado, which is extra) and a poached egg. Fantastic. You can get a half order of this, which is just one slice of bread with all the toppings. They have a vegetarian version, a plain version and a version sans eggs. I recommend going all out though!



The hubby decided to get the Scrambled Eggs on Croissant, which also came with ham & tomato and cheese. The croissant was flaky, moist and yummy, and made for an excellent bed for the sandwich fillings.



I also couldn't resist getting an order of the Cinnamon Toast, thick cut sourdough bread, topped with butter, cinnamon & sugar. It was decadent - just sweet enough to satisfy the need for sweet, and buttery enough to make it a sort of hearty treat.



And like I mentioned earlier, the Latte I had was not only fabulously flavorful, it was also gorgeously presented. I love this place and it's friendly owner, with whom we chatted after our meal. He's also got Cafe Madeline in Ditmas Park. Anyone been?

Breaking News! Peter Pan Donuts available at Farmacy!!!

I think it's just a weekend thing, but at 10am today, Farmacy (513 Henry St., at Sackett St., 718-522-6260) had Peter Pan Donuts available for sale, fresh from Greenpoint's most awesomest bakery. How happy this made me! The husband lived mere blocks from Peter Pan when we were dating, so I was able to get them whenever I wanted, but now that we're a train ride away, indulging in the delicious treats is a rarer occurrence (perhaps for the best, but nevertheless, disappointing!). Today we had a glazed, red velvet Old Fashioned (eaten immediately and therefore no photographic evidence exists). It was perfect, especially with a glass of cold milk. Farmacy keeps on getting better and better. Make sure to check it out - it's worth the trip!

Food News!

I just got an email from the owners of a new business/cafe in Bushwick. It's called Next Door Shipping (78 Beaver St., between Park & Locust, 718-443-7447) and they are a family-run, full-service Post Office/Shipping Center AND Internet Cafe. They offer FedEx, UPS, mailbox rentals, printing & copying, office supplies and a "huge range of specialty packing & shipping services for artists, musicians & freelancers". Plus WiFi and a rotating collection of archival photographs of the history of the USPS. Where's the food you ask? Well, there's also coffee and fresh, home-baked pastries.

There's Babka, Rugelach, Danishes, sweet rolls and Biscotti! It sounds like an awesome place, and an excellent alternative to the sometimes hellish experiences we've all had at the USPS. I haven't been yet, but I'm looking forward to trying some of the Chocolate Babka! Let me know if you've been.

Then, on Septmeber 23rd, Greenpoint Open Studios is holding a Pie Bake-Off at The Diamond bar. It's free to enter and $10 to eat and enter their raffle, which has tons of awesome prizes donated by Paulie Gee's, EAT, Cafecito Bogota and Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, among others. The Grand Prize winner gets to attend a dinner hosted by Edible Brooklyn Social Club. Send an email to: joann@greenpointopenstudios.org for more information or to sign up!



Greenpoint Open Studios takes places during the first weekend of October and is a three-day celebration of local art-making.

Savory Treats at Little Buddy Biscuit Company

For the longest time I thought Little Buddy Biscuit Company (635 5th Avenue, between 17th & 18th Streets, 718-369-6355) was just a dessert place with amazing cookies & cupcakes, but no! I went there recently and discovered that they have all sorts of savory treats like Pot Pies, homemade Hot Pockets and even some vegan stuff! They make their Hot Pockets in cute shapes like crescents and triangles and stuff them with delicious cheeses and veggies. I ordered one with mushrooms and one with artichoke hearts.



The artichoke one was my favorite. It was tangy & zesty and had chunks of artichoke in it. It was seasoned nicely and worked well as a savory treat. The mushroom one was less interesting to me - it was slightly on the sweet side and was too mushy in consistency. It would have been nicer if there were some slices of mushrooms inside instead of a mushroom puree. The dough was on the thick side, and a bit chewy; I was expecting something a little lighter and flakier. I'd like to try their Pot Pies, as I've heard great things about them. For now, I'll stick with the cookies, which are fabulous!

Lunch at Iris Cafe

Everybody is talking about Iris Cafe (20 Columbia Place, between State St. & Joralemon St., 718-722-7255). Having only opened this past November, it's already won the honor of being New York Magazine's pick for Best Cafe! Located on the cutest, smallest, quietest block in a small corner of Brooklyn Heights, the space itself is also terrific. Big and airy and quaint, there's plenty of space to hang out to sit and eat or read the paper. Even the little bathroom is sweet, with wildflowers in glass bottles and a window looking out onto the ivy-covered wall supporting the BQE going past. I went by one late afternoon with a friend to grab lunch, and we were both happy with our experience. The staff were super friendly and happy to be there, and you can get market-type stuff like eggs, butter and milk!

I ordered the Avocado and Cheddar Sandwich on Whole Grain Bread, with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and a spicy Aioli mayonnaise. The bread was lightly toasted and the warmth enhanced all the flavors. Packed with quality ingredients and coming on a big sheet of brown paper, it was a most delicious and beautiful dish!



My friend went the Salad route and got one with Sliced Boiled Egg, Ham, Cucmber, Walnuts and Corn. Fresh, crispy and flavorful, she enjoyed every bite and polished it off within minutes.



I couldn't resist getting a little dessert for later, and chose the Black Bottom Cupcake. It was good, but I would've liked more of the cream cheese stuff that you can see on top. It was light and fluffy, but a bit too subtle tasting, whereas the cheese was sweet and tangy but was so concentrated on top not enough of it went around to the rest of the cake.



A MINOR blip in an otherwise terrific experience. Can't wait to go back in the morning for an Egg Sandwich and Coffee.

Breakfast at Tazza

I recently had the honor to join The Wandering Foodie for breakfast. He's in NY for his 93 Plates project, wherein he has three meals a day at different restaurants throughout the city, to make 93 meals in 31 days. We met at Tazza (311 Henry St., between Atlantic Ave. & State St., 718-243-0487), and enjoyed the good food and tasty coffee in the quiet atmosphere of the early morning. It's a great neighborhood joint, a coffee shop replete with pastries & sandwiches by day, wine bar by night. I had a latte, he ordered a cappuccino. Neither looked especially pretty, with no image made out of the foam so I didn't snap a photo, but the latte was creamy and strong.

I chose the Homemade Granola with Fruit & plain low-fat yoghurt. I love their Ricotta & Fig Panini, but I wanted to try something different. The granola was crispy & sweet, and was studded with tart, dried cherries & raisins and was topped with slices of strawberry & banana. The yoghurt was great too - thick & creamy and had a nice, strong flavor.



My dining companion chose the Steel Cut Oatmeal with milk, which came topped with slivered almonds, golden raisins and brown sugar. It was very milky, but nicely made. Good for a cold, winter morning. We also tried a plain marshmallow from Baked. We think it was a day old since it was a bit dried out and disappointing. I'm sure they're much better if you get them fresh. Overall I think Tazza is a nice place. The service was friendly, if a bit slow, and the space is serviceable for a casual get together. Just don't bring your computer expecting to hunker down for the day. There's a strict no-computer policy between the hours of 11am and 4pm.

Breakfast at Naidre's

I've written about the breakfast sandwich at Naidre's (502 Henry St., on the corner of Sackett St., 718-596-3400, and there's one in Park Slope) before, but there are other great breakfast treats to get there, available until 3pm everyday. I do have to mention the breakfast sandwich since it is a Classic. Here it's made on a bagel, roll or croissant, with eggs, cheese and either bacon, sausage or tofu bacon. If you eat it in house, it comes with a side of hash brown potatoes. The sandwich is good, best on a croissant, but the potatoes have always left me disappointed. Not salty enough, too greasy, and kinda boring.



The coffee is strong at Naidre's, but since there's a never-ending rotating cast of characters behind the counter, nobody seems to ever master that art of barista-ing. This latte was supposed to have a heart on it, but it ended up looking more like a butt than anything else. Maybe a butterfly?



On this occasion there was an order of the Vegan Scramble with tofu bacon and potatoes. The report was that they were fine, NOT as good as the Vegan Scramble at WaterCourse Foods, in Denver, where, while my friend was last eating them lasy year on Election Day AND saw two members of the Beastie Boys, perhaps adding to the scramble's yumminess. Naidre's version was a bit dry & bland, but OK.



My favorite breakfast item is the Yogurt, Granola and Fruit. This one was presented in a smiley face and was as tasty as it was happy. Tart, plain yogurt, crunchy granola and fresh blueberries & strawberries with dried cranberries and walnuts. Such a good combo, and totally hearty & filling. Depending on the season there can also be melon, banana & grapes.



It's a good neighborhood place, and usually there's a place to sit in the morning, although it does get pretty crowded with people and their small children. The work-at-home crowd comes in later and stay throughout the day. Great mac-n-cheese is on hand for dinner.

Cookies and Brownies

I feel so fortunate to live within mere blocks of four great Italian bakeries, each with it's own specialty. Today I'm highlighting the cookies from the sort-of recently renovated F. Monteleone & Cammareri Bros. Bakery (355 Court St., between Union & President Streets, 718-852-5600) in Carroll Gardens. When I'm coming home from work and am in need of a little sweet pick-me-up, I pop in here and get a little assortment of treats.

Looking at the photo below, starting in the middle with the big white cookie is the Almond Paste cookie. This is a soft cookie, made mostly with almond paste and covered with the finest powdered sugar, and is one of my favorites. It tastes fresh, with no bitter or fake aftertaste which taints too many of these kinds of cookies. Going clockwise we have the raspberry sandwich cookies with sprinkles. The cookie is slightly almond flavored vanilla cookie; smooth, crumbly and buttery but not overly sweet, with a layer of raspberry jelly and half-dunked in chocolate and then coated in multi-colored sprinkles. Not my favorite, but basic, tasty and fun.



At the top are the Seven Layer Cookies, again made with almond paste, with thin layers of apricot jelly between the cake and then coated in dark chocolate. These are more subtle than the straight-up Almond Paste cookie, they are moist little morsels of yumminess. The last cookie is the Apricot Butter cookie, a simple butter cookie with a dollop of sticky apricot jam in the center. These are some of my favorite kinds of cookies. They aren't overly buttery, and have a lovely little design around the outside. Perfect with coffee or tea at the end of a meal.

Then there are times when I want a more substantial desserty snack, something really chocolatey and satisfying. At those moments I head over to Naidre's (502 Henry St., at Sackett St., 718-5963400) (NOT an Italian Bakery but in the space formerly occupied by Cammareri Bros. Bakery, which was in the movie "Moonstruck") to pick up one of their massive Brownie's, which last me two days, so make sure you get it in a glassine envelope so it will keep. It's so chocolatey, with loads of chocolate chips throughout it's moist, cakey goodness. It's dense too, and a little on the sweet side (hence the time-out half-way through).



I like the corner piece, but they'll give you whatever piece you ask for!

Lunch at Building on Bond

Walking into Building on Bond (112 Bond Street at Pacific Street, 718-853-8687) during the weekday is a strange experience. The place is packed but it's really quiet, save for the soft sounds of jazz or bossa nova playing on the stereo. Everyone has a laptop and is working intently which makes it feel like an office or library. I met a friend for lunch, and we felt like at any moment we were going to get shushed since we were the only ones engaged in conversation. It put me a little on edge, but the space is so nice and the friendly waiter who used to work the counter at the Boerum Hill Food Company is so gregarious, I soon felt at ease. The sunlight comes in through the huge windows and floods the two big rooms BOB occupies. Being filled with remnants from old businesses (metal shelving, card catalog-looking pieces and even old time-card units) lends an old-timey feeling, as do the restored windows that extend out from the walls.

My friend got the Reuben Empanadas, filled with homemade sauerkraut, corned beef, gruyere cheese and thousand island dressing. The kraut was underwhelming, as was that size of the empanadas. For the price ($7) we both thought there should be at least three, or two bigger ones. The dressing was tasty though and the dough was light and flaky.



I ordered the Turkey Club with sage marinated turkey, lettuce, tomato, apple smoked bacon and apricot rhubarb spread on cranberry pecan bread. This was quite good, especially the spread. The turkey was moist and substantial (didn't taste the sage though) and the bacon lent a nice smoky flavor to the overall sweetness of the rest of the sandwich. I would definitely get this again.



My sandwich came with Homemade Fries (I had a choice between them and homemade potato chips) and they were also really good. Nice and well-done, crispy and herb-y, they tasted like real potatoes! Hallelujah!



Building on Bond also serves dinner, has a good cocktail list and shuts their Wifi off at 4pm.

Breakfast Sandwich at Naidre's

Sometimes I want something more hearty for breakfast, and when I don't feel like I can or want to make something for myself, I turn to Naidre's (502 Henry St., at Sackett St., 718-596-3400, there's also one in Park Slope). On the weekends it can get very crowded, as their breakfast sandwiches, coffee and pastries are top-notch, so there isn't always a table available, especially if you're a large group.

On this particular occasion I got their version of the Egg, Bacon & Cheese sandwich on a sesame seed bagel. You can choose different bread (the flaky croissants are great), but the result is the same. A tasty, full-flavored breakfast sandwich with quality ingredients. There's a good amount of egg, the cheese is melty and the bacon is thick, salty & smoky.



They also have a coffee card thing, so for every nine coffees you buy, the tenth one is free! I live really close by, but during slower times, if there's a table free, I'll sometimes stay to sit and enjoy the neighborhood hustle and bustle while I eat. There's free wi-fi too.

Breakfast Sandwiches at Fairway

Ah, the Fairway Cafe. I really do love it. The view most especially, but the food's pretty good, and is a good value as well.

On this visit I ordered an Egg & Cheese on a roll. This is a very basic and simple sandwich, but when done improperly is quite a disappointment. Not so at the Fairway Cafe. This breakfast treat came with a substantial amount of egg and a perfect amount of gooey, melty cheese. Yes, it's American cheese, but that's why this is a basic staple for breakfast. It's comfort food at it's best on a fluffy Kaiser Roll.



My boyfriend ordered the Ham & Cheese on a croissant. This comes a little bit more deluxe, with a side salad of abundant, fresh greens and a pile of perfectly salty potato chips. There's also the obligatory pickle spear, but it's needed, and it's good. It cuts the salt & grease with some tang. The sandwich was also nicely stuffed with it's components on a grilled, flaky croissant. Tasty.



And of course, I had to order a cranberry scone. If you read my former Fairway Cafe post, you know how much I love these scones. I mean, look at it! It's Gorgeous! Full of plump cranberries, causing the scone to burst apart, all crusty and sweet and excellent.



I got an iced coffee to go with this lovely breakfast and at Fairway, it's self-serve when it comes to pouring the coffee. On this day, they were offering Hazelnut and Mocha flavors, and so I decided to combine them into a one flavor. It turned out OK; a bit much after a while, but kinda nice for something different.

Scones from Fairway

The Fairway in Red Hook (480-500 Van Brunt Street, Brooklyn (718) 694-6868, Hours: 8AM-10PM Daily, Cafe 8AM-8PM Daily) has a little secret hidden at the back of the store. A "veranda" as I overheard someone call it yesterday, looking out at the harbor, Staten Island and a multitude of boats and aquatic life. There are a number of tables out there, some in the shade, others in the sun, where you can take food prepared at the "Cafe" and dine in the glory that is the waterfront.

It makes me happy to just be sitting out there, but what REALLY makes me happy are the Fairway scones. Delish. Perfectly buttery, light and crumbly, topped with sugar and loaded with the fruit of your choice. I tend to stick to the cranberry or raisin scones, although they have other fruits (currants, blueberries, peach) as well as plain.



Having just come from a swim at the Red Hook Pool, I had a yen for a salami sandwich - there's something about sun and chlorine that gives me very random yet specific cravings. The Cafe doesn't make food to order, so I had to go with the "Ba Da Bing" sandwich from the menu (I know, I know, I was so embarrassed just ordering it) which was salami, soppressata, AND capicola, with provolone AND mozarella. I had them wrap up half since it was made with like, a whole loaf of ciabatta bread. It certainly was satisfying, with real buffalo mozzarella and lovingly presented on a plate with a mixed greens salad and potato chips. I was so hungry, I forgot to take a picture before digging in!

There's a full range of meal options offered at the Fairway Cafe, including egg dishes for breakfast and even a lobster roll for nine bucks! The coffee's not bad either.

Fish Tacos and Grilled Corn

I finally made it down to the new segment of Brooklyn Bridge Park at Pier 1 this weekend (www.brooklynbridgepark.org). It's located just south of the Bargemusic barge and the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory. The entrance is at the end of Old Fulton St. where you walk through a little opening in a fence that leads onto a concrete walkway with little "hills" of grass. At the end is a fantastic view of the Harbor where you can see all four of Olafur Eliasson's Waterfalls. There's a great breeze, and a little cafe set up by Rice that sells Fish Tacos, Grilled Corn, and other such treats. You can sit at the bar or at tables under festive blue and yellow umbrellas.



The Fish Tacos were great, filled with a substantial amount of fish, cabbage and cliantro. There are a variety of sauces on hand to spice it up a bit and I found it to taste like a Thai version of Fish Taco. The corn was great too; crunchy and tasty with cotija cheese all over it, and the chips and guacamole were good too. The chips were an interesting V-shape, and while I initially felt the serving was paltry, paired with the other items I was glad it wasn't bigger. The watermelon juice was kind of bland, and I wished I had ordered the Ginger Lemonade.



Overall it's a really cute spot; perfect to take a break at while you're walking around the Heights, DUMBO and Downtown. And hopefully a little glimpse at what's going to be a truly awesome park, running the length of Furman St. and beyond. It will be open through Labor Day.