Bia

Under the Williamsburg bridge sits Bia, a Vietnamese grill and beer garden (with a loud, but fun, rooftop).  We wanted some small plates after having happy hour oysters at Maison Premiere and Bia was a perfect choice for some small dishes.

Summer spring roll with shrimp - A light and balanced spring roll with the right amount of cilantro, greens, pickled carrot and shrimp.  The best of the appetizers!

Vegetable dumplings - These were a little on the gummy side, but not detrimental to the greens that packed tons of flavor.

Steamed roast pork buns - Pork buns can be a hit or miss and these were a miss.  Although the pork was good, buns so rarely have a good pork:bun ratio.

Vermicelli noodles with quartered spring rolls and grilled pork - I adore vermicelli dishes, but could have done without both the pork and fried spring rolls.  They didn't provide any flavoring and the noodles with greens, cilantro, onions, peanuts, and rice vinegar/fish sauce was perfect on its own.

All this with 2 beers - $40

The Brooklyn Star

Rare is a word to describe my travels to other boroughs and what a shame it is.  I mean, Brooklyn is the new Manhattan of dining and beyond, right?   The moment I set foot in The Brooklyn Star, it's a love of the wooden tables, silver globe lighting, Mason Jar glasses.  Upscale country. 

And upscale drinks.  The Gordons Breakfast of gin, cucumber, hot sauce and lime is my quintessential summer cocktail...light, refreshing, and the hot sauce packing the slightest punch. 

Oh, the Bloody Bull.  Vodka, housemade beef broth (admittedly this is not difficult to make) and pickled beans.  Reading 'beef broth' makes it seem heavy, but it isn't and it does what it is intended to do.  Hair of the dog!

I was torn between the breakfast torta, masa cakes or the fried chicken and waffles which are the obvious choice.  Fortunately, I went against the grain and ordered the masa cakes with housemade chorizo, black beans and poached eggs.  Always one to shy away from poached eggs, I might again after this dish.  All elements jived so wonderfully with the masa starch, almost-refried-textured black beans, tender choizo and pico.  It was so good.

Perfectly sweet without syrup blueberry Johnny Cakes, eggs, thick has brown disc ala Potato Darphin and house bacon.  My only compliant was the bacon.  I love a piece of bacon fat, but not whole pieces of lardon as a breakfast side.

I can't wait to go back and definitely worth traveling short distances for!

David's Brisket

Getting off the E train in Crown Heights can be quite a culture shock, but it is also home to David's Brisket. This absolutely 'no frills' joint has four two-tops and could use a major cleaning, but the food compensates dining space and cleanliness.

Though breakfast is not the specialty here, it is worth the extra calories just to try. If you are seeking pancakes comparable to that of Pink Tea Cup (sigh), try these. The doughy pieces of fluff have enough sweetness in the mixture that you won't even need to use syrup. A family of four could feast on one plate of eggs, pancakes and turkey bacon and breakfast sandwich. It was easily one of the best breakfast rolls I've ever had! $2.95 buys you a three inch thick egg, cheese and turkey ham on a roll.

The guys brought us a complimentary plate of the brisket, corned beef and pastrami thinking the breakfast was our meal, yet they had no idea what we had in mind. We then proceeded to order brisket, corned beef, pastrami and corned beef/pastrami combo sandwiches on rye. Unfortunately, the namesake brisket, was super dry even when topped with gravy.

But, the corned beef/pastrami combo was the clear winner! The partly-dried pastrami and small amount of gelatin in the corned beef was a sinister combination! Wash it down Dr. Browns Cel-Ray and Root Beer and you got yourself a meal.

Take a pass on the side dishes of coleslaw and particularly, the potato salad. Both were chock-full of mayo AND relish. Last I checked, relish was not an ingredient included in potato salad.

All this food for $56 with enough to take home (I actually used the CB & pastrami for omelettes). Now isn't that worth the $2.25 subway ride?

David's Brisket House 533 Nostrand Avenue
http://davidsbriskethouse.com/

There's a bizarre, yet interesting art project to check out as you walk to the subway: http://brooklyntheborough.com/?p=3898