LENNYS PIZZERIA 8/28/14 Brooklyn, New York

Lenny's Pizzeria is a mainstay along the 86th street strip running between 18th avenue and Well past Bay Parkway and have been around since 1953 yet their name never comes up amongst enthusiasts of Brooklyn's remaining Great Pizza places and perhaps for a reason. I did in fact Very Much enjoy my Plain Slice from Lenny's but it was No Biggie, I did appreciate the Cheese which was a bit gummier than other joints and in a good way, However, Nothing special.

Almost a typical Slice as it goes these days, I have yet to try other goodies from Lenny's but the Simple Slice is the way to go when checking out the pedigree of a Pizza Place. Someone dropped the ball, Very Good but Not Excellent.

Lenny's reputation was transmogrified by the fact that in the opening scene of that John Travolta film "Saturday Night Fever" he was in the place and made his own Pizza Pie by Squishing two slices togeher Sauce side down and created the Stuffed Pizza in one fell swoop, amongst friends we all disagree but this is how Pop Culture saw it first.

LENNYS PIZZA ONLINE

"FREEZE YOU CHILI CHOKING PEPPER BELLIES" - TACO IN A BAG

As my tenure of seasonal employment at MCU Park drew to a close this Summer of 2014 I kept in mind the Edible riches that I was afforded as an employee and my employers were quite generous in their offerings, Eat what you shall (within reason of course) before or after the customers arrival and departure to the venue, after all who needs or wants to be paying a cashier who has a Hot Dog hanging out of their mouth.

I lied awake numerous nights pondering this and then one morning in my sleeping wake I had a "Eureka" moment and the light bulb 5 inches above my head went off.

OF COURSE !!!

CUCHIFRITOS.

Well, Turns out CuchiFritos is something else entirely (Spanish Pork Dishes of varying nature) but I knew what I was thinking name unseen, I wanted to make a Pepper Belly, after all we had Gehl's Cheese Sauce and Chili on tap which the leftovers could not be re-used and they went the way of the wastebasket at the end of the night. I did some research prior to my workday only to find that the "Taco In A Bag" was also known as a "Pepper Belly" and to add to that my oft used line from one of my Favorite films "Cheech and Chong's Up In Smoke" was where this line was derived from, the title of this entry "Freeze You Chili Choking Pepper Belly" is a Direct reference.

First you need a Bag of Frito Lays Corn chips, This is what all Recipes call for, Dipsy Doodles or some such Do Not come into play here so I searched 4 stores at which on the third one I did find Frito Lays Corn Chips, I saw Dipsy Doodles at store one and passed them by. 

The main idea is Chili and Cheese atop the Corn Chips IN THE BAG eaten with a fork. Many toppings are used in variation but the main idea is Chili and Cheese atop the Corn chips IN THE BAG. 

This as you can see I did accomplish. She may not be pretty but she was Delicious

PEPPER BELLIES ON WIKIPEDIA

INTERESTING SOFT DRINKS

The Soft Drink. People Worldwide indulge in them but sometimes there are unique Flavors and when there are I am always intrigued. I did perform these Taste tests with some forethought, out of the bottle Ice cold and a small serving in a cup at a less than icy temperature as the Flavor comes out a bit more much like a Cheese served at closer to room temperature.

Sidral Mundet Apple Soda tastes pretty much exactly like I thought it would,... like Apple Soda. A little on the sweeter side and not too much Fizz to distract from the Flavor like in a Ginger Ale as I perhaps expected. Better from the Bottle, quickly loses its carbonation in the cup.

12/14/15 - So far as I know a "Shirley Temple" os a non-alcoholic drink served in bars to minors and tea totallers so when I saw this bottled by the Boylan company of New York it did indeed pique my interest, this has also been sitting in my fridge for some time so time to give it a shot. I have no idea what to expect.

Almost a biting Ginger Ale flavor which I did not expect, this looks in color as a syrupy Sweet Drink. Quite unlike anything I've had, almost medicine but not in a bad way.

Very Different.

I was quite excited fro see this, Canada Dry makes my favorite Ginger Ale and this appears to be a Peach Soda, no mention of Ginger Ale on the bottle. 

Nice Scent and interesting Flavor but there is something here, hmmm ???

I think its the Peach Skin flavor, Different.

The Lipton's Green Citrus Tea is just plain Delicious and I would have told you the same years ago when I first had it and I will tell you again. Mild Green Tea Flavor with a Citrus overtone, I was also impressed that I could see little flakes of Tea floating around in the mix, either that or I was hallucinating. A True Winner.

10/3/14 - Not ten minutes before did I mention I was looking for Lipton Citrus Green Tea and there I was with Nestea Green Tea right in front of me, lets have a Taste.

Oh Boy, Not the same stuff at all like Lipton's. Overbearing Citrus and plastic Flavor, no way am I going to like this as much as Lipton's. OK now that I know what to expect let me try again. Nope, I tell you theres a plastic taste, the sad part is thats probably the Green Tea.

Its about an hour later and I had a few more sips of it, This is so not so good that I am wondering if it has gone bad ? I'm going to the fridge to check the date. The bottle did not appear tampered with as there was air pressure, well you know what I mean, going to check the date. I can't read it, the month is completely smudged off, it does say 2014 though, ugh.

21 HOURS LATER

OK, I found another bottle of Nestea Citricos Iced Green Tea, Lets see what happens,..... While this is still no match for Lipton's version this is quite good and whatever I purchased last night was indeed spoiled.

11/11/14 - Just a Really Good Lemonade, Heavier on the Raspberry side.

11/19/15 - Salvavidas Lime Soda sets out to achieve what it purports to be.

It's a Lime Soda.

And served in a particularly heavy glass bottle.

It is interesting to note that there a quite a few Mexican Lime Soda's but no American one that I know of. Sprite doesn't count, thats Lemon/Lime.

11/19/15 - Mountain Dew with a classy old timey look.

More of a 7-Up flavor and not nearly as Sweet as Mountain Dew, I can almost guarantee this is off the market already. Not Bad, Not Great.

11/26/15 - 

11/27/15 - 

11/22/15 - Crush Orange Soda made with Sugar. 

less Super Sweet than Sunkist and a welcome that is.

12/14/15 - My roommate is from Michigan and he spied this bottle in my fridge and was rather surprised but he did confirm my suspicion that it is a Grapefruit Citrus based Soft Drink and I have indeed been on a Grapefruit kick. Made with Sugar.

The lightness of a 7-Up or Sprite but with a bit of a Grapefruit zing, very tasty.

12/17/15 - Just a quality Strawberry Soda, not the most common Flavor yet not extremely common either. All Jarrito's Soda's are quite good in my opinion. Made with Sugar.

SOFT DRINKS ON WIKIPEDIA

LAYS POTATO CHIPS - DO US A FLAVOR

These are Quite Great, A bit on the Cheesey side of which I have no problem with and the Cheese powder has indeed been nearly perfected by the Snack companies but why is Bacon not a more popular Flavoring, I could taste it and worship it and Everyone Loves Bacon. 

I think this should stick around. It is also very smart of Lays to do "Limited Edition" Flavors, I was a lunatic last summer trying to find the Sriracha Chips but to no avail.

LAYS DO US A FLAVOR ONLINE

DIRCK THE NORSEMAN - Brooklyn, New York (The Williamsburg Island)

WOW, OK you usually go to a Biergarten for Beer and Dirck's has an in-house Brewery. More on their Delicious Brews after because this Food was just Outstanding and Im not kidding you. 

Nestled in Deep, Dark Williamsburg Brooklyn is a newish Biergarten and while the place was packed and doing booming business there were also many parking spots right on the block so looks to me like a spot in its infancy. Also when you enter a Biergarten its all about the Beer and their microest of micro breweries concluded the fact to me that there is magic abound however when the Beer takes a back seat to the Food on offer there are many questions to be answered.

The Brisket of Beef pictured above, I have to pause. next paragraph.

Lets start with the Pickles, Very Simple. its Pickles with just a garnish of Dill and Red Pepper Flakes, powdered atop, its Special Now and simplicity rears its formidable head.

The Brisket, OK Well. I went to slice a piece off and as with any Brisket of Beef worth its Salt, it fell apart, You can't even cut it. The Highest Quality and I am speaking from the taste point as well. I mean this was just unbelievable and ridiculously Great, I don't recall what the side sauce was but it did compliment greatly, however one does not concern themselves with the sauce so much when the Brisket is this good and I am a saucy kinda guy.

The Dircks Sausage, I have no words, this is the kind with Orange Peel which never truly yanked me towards it but it was so subtle, Absolutely Glorious. Halved Lengthwise and Grilled which is always Fabulous, the Lemon wedge drizzled atop only enhanced. In the background is a Plate of Wonderful Calamari.

Chicken Schnitzel. Where they get these Huge cuts of Meat pounded down before Breading or not is beyond my understanding. I suppose they are breeding 500 pound Chickens somewhere.

"Boneless Chicken ? How Did It Walk ?"

The Beers came in many varieties, I chose a smoky one (Grodzisk Wloko) but the Sour one was out of this world (Half Wit). I must reiterate here that while these were in house Beers of the highest quality that they took backseat to the Food which is quite unheard of indeed.

And an out of this world Beer menu.

ENTRY TWO

11/19/14 - The return visit and as we had some idea what we were in for it was a most exciting endeavor, we all agreed wisely to order some different items as well as the faithful dishes that wowed us the first time around. The Dirck Sausage and the Chicken Schnitzel were absolutely to be had again and on my first visit I was most impressed with the 11 Hour Smoked Brisket. Everything was up to par but the Brisket while Delicious was not quite befitting the standards from our previous visit.

Pictured above was a last minute newbie item we ordered just for the heck of it and it wound up being a Huge Winner, who knew that Mushrooms could be so Amazing. This is the Sauteed Mushrooms in Smoky Bacon Stock which were served with a few Slices of Texas Toast and we couldn't keep away nor could we stop Sopping up the Gravy with the Slabs of Toast and this was after a few Beers and some serious Entrees that we shared.

This is a little plate I made for myself after we could pontificate on the Food we just inhaled. On this plate is the Dirck Sausage of yore as well as a Goosefat Dill mini Potato, Chicken Schnitzel and a piece of Fish from the Fish & Chips Platter (my memory eludes me concerning what kind of Fish). A simple thing like Dill and Goosefat does indeed a difference make.

Fish & Chips with Malt Vinegar au natural lighting.

Psychedelic Fish & Chips with Malt Vinegar.

The Daily Menu, Daily Specialties are on a dry erase board by the kitchen.

DIRCK THE NORSEMAN ONLINE

MOMOFUKU MILK BAR - Brooklyn, New York (The Williamsburg Portion)

And quite the trendy place MILK is indeed, the interior sports a few benches to seat maybe fifteen persons and no tables but this is totally fine as it is a Cake and Caffe spot primarily, perhaps a table or maybe two for exterior Munching in this trendsetting neighborhood full of hipsters, wannabe hipsters and yet more hipsters however this should not underplay the Deliciousness of their pre-packaged and Refrigerated Pie Slices found therein as they are quite Scrumptious.

I just happened to catch a photo with my iPhone of a customer arguing with the counterman here as she demanded to be served a Coca-Cola, his reply was "we don't serve that dreck in here nor do we pander to peasants such as yourself !!!"

OK, I am joking.

I wanted an interior shot, this was quite the busy place as its hip and its hip to be hip.

There was nowhere to sit and I can hardly imagine anytime of day that there would be, you just have to "luck out" on that end (or be accompanied by the Piranha Brothers) so we out-hipped the hip and ate on the sidewalk, this was no regular sidewalk dining however as we were wowed by every last morsel of the three Pie slices which were purchased and we had space to Dine in style and grace. 

Pictured above is two panels of the four to six panel chalkboard Menu of the day and we got the Pies ($5.50 each), Stanley did spy somewhere a mention of a "Frankenpie" which is a combination (a melange) of the three of which we ordered but that was not available at the time, but he tried. OK here is the rundown of what we gotz.

CRACK PIE - Of course being the scallywags we are the Crack Pie was top of the list, If its as good as Crack there really is nowhere else to go. These Pies are pre packaged freshly then chilled gently, the Crack Pie had a Custard tendency but not Runny at all, not even Puddingish, as I said there was a nuance and tendency of Custard and a Billion other Flavors and was Outstanding, this is all that I recall.

GRASSHOPPER - Of This I have very little memory, It was pirouetted with Mint Cream atop and Quite Delicious but was at the bottom of the three Pies of which we Devoured, Still Completely Amazing.

CANDY BAR - OK, Now we are talking, Anything called Candy Bar piques my interest so we gave it a whirl. This we all agreed was the Favourite, A bit like a triangular wedge of a Chilled Reese's Peanut Butter Cup but with possibly some Caramel chucked in and god knows what else, Truly Mouth Watering and the winner. I am sure I could look up reviews on all of these But,.... Well, Im Not Going To.

MOMOFUKU MILK BAR

PACOS TACOS - Brooklyn, New York

The third sentence below was my first initial entry to this posting however I must add that Pacos Tacos is not unknown in my book, I Loved this place from nearly 20 years ago when they had a "hole in the wall" location across the street from the Kings Plaza mall so was hoping for the consistency in  quality of the Deliciousness from this "Santa Fe" style Mexican Eatery which is exactly what I got. One Paco Taco ($4.99) and my Beloved Salchipapas in this case "Chorizo Con Papas" ($3.99) was my order, to see basically Salchipapas (Hot Dogs and Potatoes) on the Menu was a Joy.

I had my Food delivered which I rarely do and this is what happened.

My first impression was the lightness of the package, not entirely surprising as I basically got 2 Appetizers, still most excited. OK Its Taco Time.

Well, The Apple Cart was almost upset here, I just called the restaurant as I panicked realizing I did not get part of my order, they did confirm to me that both orders were in the same container, we shall see. Certainly looks good though.

No, I think they Effed up the order, looks like I got 2 Paco Tacos.

This Is SO Delicious.

In Pacos Tacos fashion they did not screw my order up at all, they just threw me a curve ball as it were, looks can be deceiving and one must never assume.

What actually went down is that I Did get my Chorizo Con Papas but they wrapped a Flour Tortilla around it confusing my perception, it was Tacoed and was gingerly nestled next to my Paco Taco (Beef, Beans and BBQ Chicken). First the Paco Taco description of course it being the Restaurants namesake.

All I could taste through my tears of Deliciousness mostly was the BBQ Chicken which can only be likened to Pulled Pork but of the Chicken kind, the other Ingredients were there of course but it was a Taste fest all around, I had about two thirds then investigated Taco 2.

Taco 2 appeased my worries immediately as I was met with plenty of Chorizo and Potato.

Their Chef(s) must be some kind of Geniuses.

All of this on a small bed of Nacho Chips to the side, sure Nacho Chips are Great but they serve a Greater purpose herein, you have Crunchy goodness to sop up your Taco droppings which is inherent to the experience, and what an experience.

Godspeed Pacos Tacos.

11/13/14 - Grilled Chicken Chimichanga (with Bacon) ($14.48) - This was Delicious but I was somehow disappointed, also looking in detail it was two bucks extra to fry it and two forty nine for the Bacon. Maybe I stick with the Tacos.

How they Dont have a Website is beyond me But OK.

PACOS TACOS ON ALLMENUS

THE RICE BALL SPECIAL - Brooklyn, New York

I procured this Rice Ball Special ($5.75) from Aurora Pizza Caffe which is my local and very reputable place, I was kind of disappointed, maybe it was late in the day, maybe they did not like my Alice Cooper t-shirt, maybe they just didn't like me. 

Aurora does not serve their Rice Ball Special with Ricotta so I asked if they could add some, of course they did but I was charged Two extra Dollars ($7.75), this is fine but what I got was maybe (and I am being kind) 2 teaspoons of Ricotta. Nonetheless I will be back, this is one of the remaining strongholds.

On the plus side these are really good Rice Balls, not perfect but quite good and you get 2 Rice Balls as opposed to just one. On the minus side, they are not swimming in Sauce which is imperative to compensate for all the Rice, this is what I know of a Rice Ball Special, perhaps it has changed over the years, more news to come.

The Face of the Stronghold. Supposedly Excellent Bread can be found here as well.

While I was taking this photo very aware of traffic and considerate of pedestrians a passing car voyager said out the window "take a picture". I replied "Yeah, I'll take your picture Ya Jerk".

Quite funny to me afterwards as I noticed my own thick Brooklyn accent.

9/3/14 - PIZZA DEN - So I suppose the Brooklynese must always come out in some way or another when getting a Rice Ball Special or so the trend seems to be following. I called Pizza Den tonight via telephone to order ahead and go to pick up, they picked up and put me on a twenty second hold which is totally fine and I heard some ambient street sounds over the line. I order my Rice Ball Special and they hang up, OK totally fine, this is Brooklyn, they are on 86th street it is dinnertime, I go to pick up Rice Ball Special.

Me - Hi, Rice Ball Special, I called.

Him - I thought you hung up, maybe you wanted to order something else.

Me - No I thought you hung up or we got disconnected.

Him - No, I thought You hung up, You want a Rice Ball Special ?

Me - aaaaaaa (in an Italian stop breaking my balls and everything is forgiven just make my rice ball special and I don't care tone)

He did give me a twenty five cent discount at the end. Anyways, this was a Good Rice Ball Special and I don't really care for Pizza Den's Rice Balls, they are of the Grandma kind which is fine but its really Breaded White Rice with a few Peas and a wee bit of Chop Meat in the center. I did have to search around for the Ricotta too after thinking they had left it out which is the way it is going these days, the search continues.

DEEP RIVER SNACKS POTATO CHIPS

Beyond my expectations, These are quite good. Lots of Heat from the Horseradish side, The Aged Cheddar seems to be indistinguishable beyond this point. Quite the Spicy number and much more so than Deli Chips Jalapeño selection. I had joked that "These will probably suck" because Hot is never Hot in Crunchy Snacks but I was pretty happy with them.

Of course now that I am seeking more of the Deep River line of Chips they seem to have gone down the river at least at the moment of this writing, I shall continue to search.