SKINFLINTS 2/24/13 BROOKLYN,NEW YORK

Bacon Cheeseburger Deluxe with just the right amount of French Fries and served on their trademark Toast. Skinflint's has a nice atmosphere with a Bay Ridge Bar up front and dining tables towards the rear.

FRANK AND SALS

This is The Place.
This is also on the corner from where I Live.
This is amongst the last vestiges of the Pork Store on 18th avenue.
This is Italian Food Shopping.
This could give you Agita if you dont pace yourself.

Unbelievable that it took this Long for Frank & Sal's Meat Market & Salumeria for a mention!!!!!!

also, we wanted to keep it secret.

The Lard Bread while containing no Lard is still Absolutely Delicious, more akin to a Prosciutto Bread.

I purchased a pound of Sirloin to make some Korean Bulgogi and watched in amazement as the Artisan Butcher trimmed Steaks and cut them to order, what once was a slab of meat became an artistic statement. I got my Sirloin as is and sliced it at home but the man at the butcher block knew exactly what he was doing.

I never feel right taking photo's inside of Frank & Sal's like they are going to take me out back for being rude but every now and then I have to sneak one with the iPhone. This is the far right of the Deli counter which was topped with Fresh Mozzarella both plain and smoked and some Fresh Italian cheese (Provolone ?) on this day.

An Easter Favorite, The Pizza Rustica.

7TH AVENUE DONUTS & DINER 2/20/13 BROOKLYN,NEW YORK

Do Not let 7th Avenue Donuts & Diner fool you with its simple and unassuming facade nor its red door restroom and movable (unbolted booths) seating facilities for these are the Freshest and Finest Donuts to be found this side of Jupiter replete with stooled counter and facilities for a Box O' Joe too (I saw the empty box last time I wuz there).

The Turkey Club - Carol has lived across the street from this diner for around 20 years and has been a proponent of their Turkey Club Sandwich since I have known her so after my usual rounds of Cheeseburger Deluxes and plates of Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes (only $8.50) I took a well weathered whirl with the Club and It IS Fabulous!!! 

Always Great Turkey (NOT cold cut) at the 7th Ave Diner, Decent Cole Slaw, Nice Fries, Pickles and  ask for Mayo on the side if you like.

Due to the layout of this Blog page I have stood the above and below photos on end to gain a larger (X-Large) photo view, future posts will be treated with this in mind (via camera angle).

Jamie spied a neighboring diner with quite the piled up plate of Poultry, Potatoes and "Veggie du Jour" and after we discussed what it might be and asked our waitress "What was he having ?" Jamie ordered the same, it was a Turkey Platter.

Disappointed compared to her favorite the Turkey Club Jamie had some of my Sandwich and French Fries. the Turkey went to her mom's.

PROGRESSO SOUPS

2/19/13 - Chicken Tortilla - Tender Chicken with Corn and Beans in a red broth with veggie overtones. the Tortilla in the title eludes me and would go fine with this recipe but this is so Good that there is no time to think of a side dish/compliment.

Perfect combination of Chicken Broth versus Bean Flavor versus Vegetable Flavor versus Herbs and Spices Flavor has made this my latest Favorite Progresso Soup (2013) after being wowed by my previous Favorite Progresso soup the Chicken Sausage Gumbo (2010/2011/2012).

2/19/13 - Manhattan Clam Chowder - Substantial Clam niblets with Carrots, Celery and Potatoes in a thinnish (but thick enough) Tomato based Broth with Fishy Overtones. I made the mistake of eating this after the prior entry (Chicken Tortilla) so my excitement was allayed.

2/26/13 - Chicken & Sausage Gumbo - This is the one that started whatever kind of soup rennaissance I had a few years back and is still very much a favorite. Andouille Sausage discs with Tender Chicken cubes in a spicy broth ( but not so spicy that adding a little Hot sauce is Not out of the question) with Celery, Okra, Peppers and Rice (of the canned kind) and a bunch of Spices. Slight oily aftertaste due to the Sausage inclusion and the spiciest of the Progresso Soup Line I have tried thus far, Outstanding for a canned Gumbo soup.

3/27/13 - Steak & Homestyle Noodles - I have been in a Noodly mood for sometime knowing that this was in my Soup collection and finally tonight gave it a sample. Technically Egg Noodles in Beef Broth with Celery, Carrots and Cubed Beef this is one of the heartier Soups due to the density of the Noodle.

8/28/13 - French Onion - A Brothy Soup and while this is based in Beef Broth there is enough Onion taste that if you told me it was Onion Broth I would believe you.

11/13/13 - Steak Burger (& Country Vegetables) -  Nice Veggie Selection comprising Potatoes, Carrots, Peas, String Beans in a Beef Broth with mini-Steak Burgers. Very Tasty and the Baby Burgers are good yet exactly what you would expect from a can.

1/4/14 - Hearty Chicken Pot Pie Style - First off the Broth is truly a Soup, could have been thicker to my liking but the can is marked Soup not Bisque, Stew or Chowder. The second thing I noticed was the winning addition of Corn into the mix giving it an edge. Not as appealing to me as the idea once was I am still glad I finally got to sample a can.

3/22/14 - Savory Chicken & Wild Rice (Heart Healthy line) - Aside from being a very pretty Soup in person this is also very Delicious and quite Hearty. Carrots, Tomato, Cubes of White Meat Chicken and plenty of Wild Rice make this one a real pleasure.

4/16/14 - Southwest Style Black Bean &Vegetable (Heart Healthy line) - This is going to be impossible not to have with some Tortilla Chips. I can Taste some Delicious Cilantro here, Corn, Tomatoes, Peppers and of course Black Beans make this a winner. as predicted, Excellent with Tortilla Chips.

PROGRESSO WEBSITE

JAMIE'S FOOD (WINTER)

2/17/13 - For Sean's birthday was had the most Delicious (just ask Sean) Chicken Cordon Bleu, Linguini Carbonara and Grilled Asparagus.

Stout, Spirits, Snickers and Style.

2/17/13 - Pastina with Butter and Grated Cheese.

TWO BOOTS 2/12/13

Jamie celebrates Carnival (pronounced Karnivale' or Karn Evil 9) every year and one of the best places (for atmosphere) to party up is Two Boots of Brooklyn. The first two (boots) locations I knew of were in Greenwich Village and were mainly Pizzerias with maybe a dozen "specialty" slices named after pop culture stars, I favored the Mr. Pink which was Marinated Chicken, Plum Tomatoes, Fresh Garlic and Mozzarella and there was a Cajun Seafood slice that I did not like as much but it was certainly unique. Two Boots also put Corn Meal on the underside of their Pizza which was also interesting and I also had my first Po' Boy Sammich there but enough of the Pizza Etymology and lets fast forward twenty years.

It's so good that Jamie and myself ordered the same thing, namely the Chicken Fried Steak with a choice of two sides, These two sides are also so good that we ordered the same thing, Mashed Potatoes and Greens (Collard Greens). While we ate every last bite it also occurred to us that this is not gourmet dining as we sent our Steaks back because they were a little "gamey" and even the second plates still had some game in them. The authentic recipe for Chicken Fried Steak is Cube or Minute Steak which can and most likely will be "gamey" so I cannot really complain and you will find me there next Carnival ordering you guessed it,... Chicken Fried Steak.

For Appetizer the Fried Okra with Dipping Sauce.

It's Not Carnival without a slice of King Cake, this one was on the dry side unfortunately but still Kingly in manner.

Jamie's sister Carol was out of town so we stayed at her place a few blocks away. Afraid I might not be able to sleep since Jamie keeps a normal sleeping Schedule and I probably awoke at 3 p.m. that day I picked up some cerveza at the Deli downstairs, a Beer drinker I have become less of over the years and it was difficult to imbibe Malt Liquor at 4 a.m. when i awoke while watching "Everybody Loves Raymond" and the famous Spanish Bumblebee sitcom "Channel Ocho" so when Jamie left for work at 10ish I left my leftovers by the corner mailbox and trashcan in hopes that a vagabond or transient might appreciate this gift. But this is Park Slope and transient vagabonds are in short supply.

PULLED PORK OF THE PACKAGED KIND -

Almost ALL sandwiches cry out for a side dish to compliment the flavor, I for one very rarely if ever have a Cheesburger without French Fries, even at Barbeques there is often Green Salad, Potato Salad, Guacamole, Salsa, Corn Salsa!!! or just plain Potato Chips that wind up on the plate but very few Sandwiches can stand alone without distraction and Pulled Pork is one of them.

To make matters risky and trickier I am sampling the Supermarket Packaged kind from their Meat Market.

2/5/13 - Jack Daniels - (pictured above) Pulled Chicken with Bread & Butter Chips on a Potato Roll. The Sauce was a little smokier than Tony Roma's "Sweet & Spicy" Flavor.

1/4/13 - Tony Romas - Sweet & Spicy Pork - This was the very first time I tried "Pulled Pork from the Package" and was only just surprised that it was Delicious and very close to what it is supposed to taste like!!!, In haste to get dinner done on this night I microwaved the "microwave safe" boil-in type bag for the recommended 5 minutes but some of the sauce became "candied" and stuck to the corners in the bag having been a bit attacked with heat, future endeavors have been pan fried with much better results).

This plate also features Homemade Potato saucers, Coleslaw (courtesy of Frank & Sals) and Princess Corn Casserole of the Dense. Still slowly getting rid of my first ever Casserole but it has been difficult it being such a dense dish and all.