Roberta's

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In a random, middle of nowhere location, and a small discrete door, you would never think that it would be a 2 hour wait for a table!  It's defined as a hipster spot, but I think that the Mission is more hipster than this place.

The spacious inside isn't the only misleading this when stepping up to the doorway, its the sweet outside bar area.  If you opt not to wait, you can get mini pizzas made with day old dough outside, as well as some bar snacks.

At two hours, I sort of expected more from this place.  The pizza is very chewy and doughy so great if that's your thing, but I like my pizza crust with a little crunch.  This one had none at all.  It did have nice charred marks on the dough, but the smokey flavor didn't transfer onto the slices.  Fresh basil, tomato sauce, and fresh mozzarella topped the pizza, but they didn't stand out. 

I attempted to make my own Purgatorio (from Pizzeria Delfina) using Roberta's Amatriciana and then adding an egg.  With the tomato, pecorino, guanciale, onion, and chili plus runny egg, I was hoping for something gooey with a little kick.  Purgatorio has easily become my favorite at Pizzeria Delfina, but this New York substitution didn't come close.  The egg was barely runny and each slice tasted like only of onions.

      

Address:                  Roberta's
                                 261 Moore St.
                                 East Williamsburg, NY 
 

Type:                        pizza

Popular chomps:     margherita
                                   
Chomp worthy:        nothing

Pies and Thighs

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Originally, I had hoped to bike to Pies and Thighs in Williamsburg, but this New York humidity is too much for a Bay Area girl like me.  I'd probably recommend biking here since the streets are quite flat and the bike ride would work off the heaviness of this Southern brunch.  As most brunch places go, Pies and Thighs does not take reservations, but since most of New York doesn't seem to do brunch until after 12, anytime before 12 you should be able to walk right in and sit down.

Most of the main plates come with a choice of one side:  mac and cheese, baked beans, cole slaw, biscuits, grits, etc.  The fried catfish was well seasoned with a good crispy crust.  Each of the macaroni pieces were nicely coated with gooey cheese.  Really good flavor on the mac and cheese with a nice splash of hot sauce on top.  The cornbread was just ok.  It wasn't as moist and flavorful as other I've had.

With a name like Pies and Thighs, the fried chicken is an obvious must order.  The chicken is lightly battered and rips apart to uncover steamy, tender chicken.  The chicken is absolutely delicious, but the waffles were strangely soft and somewhat soggy.  Also, the flavor was kinda strange to me.  I'd probably stick with the chicken box if I came back, which does not have the waffles.

It's hard to save room for dessert at dinner, much less at brunch!  Dessert here is a definite must.  The bourbon pecan pie is sweet and crumbly.  Surprisingly, not as heavy as I would have thought, but it was nice to end the meal with something sweet.

Address:                   Pies and Thighs
                                  166 S 4th St.
                                  Brooklyn, NY 
 

Type:                         brunch/Southern

Popular chomps:      fried chicken
                                 sugar donut
                                 pecan crunch donut
                                 fried catfish
                                 biscuits
                                 bourbon pecan pie

Chomp worthy:        fried chicken
                                 fried catfish
                                 bourbon pecan pie        

Talde

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Talde was my sole reason for my first trip into Park Slope.  Having watched Dale Talde on Top Chef, I was pretty excited to get to taste his food.  Talde's quirky twist on Asian Fusion was fun and whimsical.  I only wished I could have made it out for dinner to try more of his dishes.

Inside of Talde.

The pretzel pork and chive dumplings are one of the popular dishes here.  Its served with a sauce that reminds me of the Chinese spicy mustard sauce popular with dim sum.  The dumplings are made with wrappers that taste somewhat like the outside of a pretzel.  The bits of salt and dry texture of the outside does a good job of mimicking the outside of a pretzel.

Not your average bowl of ramen.  This butter toast ramen's broth is supposedly made with buttered toast.  Butter and ramen is actually quite common, but this buttery broth was not as rich as I thought.  Its buttery flavor was just the right amount of velvety richness and the large chunks of pork belly make this dish.

As most people say, bacon makes everything better.  This pad thai is mixed with large chunks of thick cut bacon and slapped with a runny egg on top.  I wished the runny egg would be a little more runny so I could mix the yolk around the noodles.  A good try at something funky and different with pad thai, but really its just a well made pad thai with bacon thrown in. 

Address:                   Talde
                                  369 7th Ave.
                                  Brooklyn, NY
 

Type:                         Asian

Popular chomps:       lemongrass chicken
                                  butter toast ramen
                                  pad thai with bacon
                                  pretzel dumplings
                                  roasted branzino
                                  captain crunch halo halo
                                  Korean chicken and waffles

Chomp worthy:         butter toast ramen

Di Fara Pizza

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I never thought that I would ever get the chance to go to Di Fara Pizza.  After many trips to New York, I've always found the excuses of being too lazy, its too far, or did I even want to wait that long?  Finally, I made the 40 minute train ride to Brooklyn and lucked out on a less than 40 minute wait since it was a holiday weekend.

Dom DeMarco makes every single pizza, from the loving pour of olive oil to the cutting of the basil.

Di Fara's menu.  Since the wait is so long, most people just order a whole pie.

Bunches of basil are hand cut over every pizza.  I love this technique.  You can definitely taste the freshness of the basil.

At about $1-$2 for each topping, this slice can get pretty pricey.  Unfortunately, today they didn't have porcini mushrooms so I had to get regular mushrooms instead.  Still good, but now I'm wondering how good the earthy porcini mushrooms would have made this slice.

The regular is the standard margherita.  Cheese, tomato sauce, and fresh snippings of basil.  The perfect combination of ingredients topped with the delicious olive oil.  Love the thinness as well as the crisp texture of the crust.  Overall, a good slice, but I wouldn't say the best.

This Sicilian slice alone was worth the wait.  I've never been one for a thick slice of pizza, but this square has made me a believer.  The freshness of the ingredients here is just amazing.  The quality of the olive oil can be tasted in every bite.  The cheese has just the right amount of gooeyness.  The best thing about this square is biting into it, you first notice the pillowy softness then the finishing move is the bottom crunch.  I admit I'm a little mad at myself for not making the journey here sooner.   

  

Address:                 Di Fara Pizza
                                1424 Ave J
                                New York NY

Type:                       pizza

Popular chomps:     square - Sicilian slice
                                 regular
                                 porcini mushrooms

Chomp worthy:        Sicilian slice