e a t e r y R O W

VINEGAR HILL HOUSE
72 Hudson Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(718) 522-1018

Operagirl, who normally resides in New Haven, decided to take up residency closer to Lincoln Center and decided to recruit my help finding a new pad. My reward? Dinner. I felt somewhat guilty when I first suggested Vinegar Hill House, since it's not cheap. But after three brokers, twenty apartments, and countless blocks it turned out to be a pretty good deal on her end.

Vinegar Hill is the easternmost part of Dumbo (or DUMBO, depending on how anal you are), brushing right up against the Brooklyn Navy Yard. It's home to a random peppering of old homes, brownstones, modern luxury low-rises and a few galleries. It's about a 10-15 walk from the F-train. Vinegar Hill House is one of the only eateries in the area and it takes on the role of casual local food joint, upscale restaurant, and cocktail bar. It oozes Brooklyn. The staff dresses exactly like its customers and its customers dress like wealthy hipsters. This should not come as unexpected given that we're in a trendy/wealthy section of Brooklyn and that the owner hails from none other than last week's Freemans, which I absolutely loved, but which was also somewhat hipstery. Hokey homey flourishes line the walls of Vinegar Hill House's dark interior and plaid shirts line the chests of its exclusively under-40-year-old patrons. You'll either love it or hate it.

Vinegar Hill does cocktails better than it does cuisine. In fact, the first thing I saw upon entering was a bartender fiercely shaking a drink. We started with two from the small list (they'll make whatever you want, but their signature drink menu has less than a half dozen) and were instantly impressed. Later on, we ordered two more and the impressing continued.

I wish I could say the same for the food, which was good but which didn't hit my tongue's g-spot in quite the same way. Operagirl's appetizer was the Caesar Salad. No gloppy salad dressing from a squeeze bottle here. They made the dressing the real way and it would have been a lot better if the croutons weren't "schmaltzed"... soaked in chicken fat. To be fair, Operagirl liked it. I can not say the same for myself. My appetizer was the Chicken Liver Mousse, served with a healthy topping of pistachios, some bread and some caramelized onions. This was okay, but not wonderful. It was cold, so was almost like eating liver ice cream. Smeared on the bread and topped with the onions it was more palatable, but I couldn't finish even this relatively small portion.

The entrees were better. Operagirl chose the Cast Iron Chicken, a half chicken roasted to a golden brown in a cast iron skillet, served with greens. It was a little dry, and while it was flavorful, it simply couldn't compare to a similar dish at Danny Brown in Queens, who serves the gold-standard of golden half chickens. I ordered the Striped Bass. This was very good, but the fish itself was extremely small and they used far too much salt. Vinegar Hill House gave this dish a Mediterranean slant by serving it on a bed of hummus and Greek salad (sans feta) and alongside a falafel patty.

I wanted a coffee, Operagirl wanted a dessert. She chose the Guinness Chocolate Cake topped with a sweet and delectably smooth cream cheese frosting. But as good as the frosting was, the cake could not stand on its own without it. It was far too dry and the Guinness, mixed with dark chocolate, made the cake an especially bitter one.

In conclusion, Vinegar Hill House is a good restaurant with a great vibe. The drinks are great but the food needs work, a surprise given the chef's resume. At the end Operagirl and I felt a little let down, especially when you consider the price of our pretty standard meal broke $80 per person after tax and tip. The service was fine, if distant, and the crowd, as I mentioned, is decidedly not-diverse in either age, ethnicity, or income. In other words, you'll either feel right at home or very far away from it.

Four drinks, two appetizers, two entrees, a coffee and one dessert totaled $133 before tax and tip.

FREEMANS
8 Rivington Street
New York, NY 10012
(212) 420-0012

If you're like me and think that the best restaurants that the city has to offer are the ones that can successfully combine being a cocktail club with a dining room, then you're bound to spend your time at Freemans smiling. There are a few (and growing) of these spread across our fair city such as, but far from limited to Rye, The Breslin, and Fort Defiance. Bossette and Shoulders, who I hadn't seen in quite some time, recommended Freemans. I arrived with Pike a little early for an aforementioned cocktail and to grab a table.

Freemans glitters at the back of Freemans Alley, past the graffiti and behind a canopy of lamps and ivy. Like so many of the new breed of restaurants that the city has to offer, Freeman's is low key without being lazy. Relaxed. Classy while maintaining being casual. Freemans isn't a seafood restaurant by any stretch, but (Pescatarian's rejoice) it has a fish-heavy menu. I won't dissect the cocktail menu the way I would with a place like Death & Co., but there is a great cocktail menu here and an impressive whiskey list. Expect to pay an average of $12 for a drink.

We went a little overboard on the appetizers, but it was all worth it. Clockwise from the top: The Steamed New England Clams served in a tomato and fennel broth with scallions and a toasted baguette. Tender and grit-free. The tomato broth was tangy and the fennel added that smokey bitterness you get from a light dusting of licorice. A Spring Greens Salad, an otherwise common salad but here tarted up with some herbs, goat cheese, shaved fennel and a rhubarb dressing. This was shared by Bossette and Shoulders and I didn't partake. What can I say? I'm not a salad guy. They thoroughly enjoyed it. The Fried Montauk Squid served with a tangy mayo was extremely good. Even people who aren't squid people will enjoy it without the fear that they'll be essentially chewing on a fish-flavored rubber band. The Grilled Cheddar Toast and Hot Artichoke Dip with Crisp Bread are exactly what they claim to be. These were the most simple appetizers and the most traditionally comfort-foodish. Maybe that's why they were my favorites. You can just relax with them... like eating a La-Z-Boy.

Shoulders had just turned down having a mac and cheese dish for lunch and, seeing the option here at Freemans, could not do so again. The creamy cheesiness called out to him so he ordered the Five Cheese Macaroni, a baked mac and cheese dish served in the pan it was cooked in. Very good it was. Bossette went for the Grilled Maine Sea Scallops, served with white beans, garlic and an almond-bean relish. She liked it and so did I. I always refrain from ordering scallops because I always remember them tasting terrible. And yet, lately, everywhere I go someone I'm with orders the scallops, I'll try one, and think that they're superb. Here, again, I really was impressed with something my brain tells me not to order. Pike ordered the Seared Filet Mignon with sweet and sour onions, mashed potatoes and a horseradish cream sauce. He inhaled the whole plate before anyone had a chance to ask for a taste so I assume it couldn't have tasted too terrible. My entree was the Cornmeal Crusted Fluke over English peas in a vegetable broth. Fantastic and light as a feather. This was the kind of fish dish I could eat every time I went out to dinner. The flavor was subtle, but not bland, all of the ingredients worked, and I put my fork down feeling neither full nor hungry. I also ordered a side of Garlic-Sauteed Rapini for the table since how can you go wrong with that?

Come dessert time, in addition to coffees, we ordered a Bananas Foster, a booze and butter and sugar drenched banana dessert topped with vanilla ice cream, and a Strawberry Rhubarb somethingorother. Sundae? Ice cream strawberry and rhubarb served in a mason jar with whipped cream and caramel. It weighed about five pounds and was deeeee-vine... God, I want one right now so bad... These desserts were seriously amazing.

THE RANDOLPH AT BROOME
349 Broome Street
New York, NY 10013
(212) 274-0667

Until just now, I never knew the pure joy that comes from double-fisting a bespoke coffee and a artisinal cocktail. And now I do. I wonder, will my life ever be the same? Indeed there are few real cocktail bars where you can arrive alone and not feel like a hobo drifting into town long enough for the next freight train to Saskatchewan to come through. Hell, there are few real cocktail bars that know, or even bother to find out, how to brew a halfway decent cup of joe. So filling that void is The Randolph at Broome.

The Randolph at Broome is both a coffee bar for serious coffee people and a cocktail bar for serious cocktail people. Some people sit on the sofa, some with laptops. I sat at one of their booths and did a little paperwork, alternating between a very heavy cup of coffee and a delightfully bitter rye-based concoction.

I've been to The Randolph a couple of times with a couple of people, so don't think that what I drank were all mine and all from just one visit. The Old Roman: rye whiskey, Aperol, blood orange bitters, sour cherries and a twist of rind. One of my favorites, but I also like whiskey and Aperol. Think of the Old Roman as a Manhattan with a twist. The Part & Parcel: St. Germaine, sugar, lime juice and grapefruit juice. Sadly, I forgot to note the main ingredient, which I think was vodka (a cocktail bar rarity). And alas, it's not on the menu anymore because it was simply and utterly fantastic. The World's Best Dad: a hot coffee cocktail with apple brandy and sweet vermouth. For anyone who thinks that this would be a weak drink, it's time for a correction. This drink is strong. Strong dark coffee, strong brandy. It'll wake you up and then put you to bed all in one go. It's a black russian with some balls. The Texas Porch Sipper: vodka, honey, muddled blackberries, mint and lemon. A tangy instead of sour mojito (basically a blackberry mojito) with a sweetness softened by using honey instead of sugar. The Old College Try: Rum, almond syrup, citrus and chocolate bitters. Creamy and pleasant, (like a creamsickle on coke) but too sweet for my taste and too heavy on the almond. Most cocktail menus don't have tequila drinks so I was pleased to find one here. El Pepino Fresco: Tequila, St. Germaine, cucumber and citrus bitters. It's sweet, but not numbingly so, thanks to the dose of the bitters.

Cocktails aside, The Randolph also does coffee, and if the woman from Seattle chatting up the bartender/barista is any indication, then they do it well. But it's strong. This isn't coffee for the faint of heart and if you think that Starbucks is dark, then you ain't seen nothing yet. If you ask for milk, they will measure out a jigger's worth and it will vanish into the black void of your mug, barely causing a dent in its color. And the coffees aren't cheap. They come either French pressed or pour-over. My French-pressed cup ran $4. Coffee service ends at 4:30pm.

The cocktails cost $14 after 8pm. From noon to 8pm it's happy hour and they only cost $7.

GREEN EGGS CAFE
719 North Second Street
Philadelphia, PA 19123
215-922-EGGS

Bro lives in the Philadelphia neighborhood of Northern Liberties. It's like a cross between the low-rise modern buildings and renovated warehouse lofts of Long Island City, the older town-homes of Cobble Hill, and the youthfully hipstery artsy scene of Williamsburg. It's basically where I'd want to live if I moved to Philadelphia. Green Eggs Cafe is down the block from his building and the first time I went there, it's where we went for brunch. And it's where Bro and I went for brunch on my final day in Philly.

Actually, since they're not open for dinner and who really has time during the week, brunch is their big thing. It's the reason you'd go. Sure they have sandwiches and stuff, but... come on. Anyway, get there early or get there late. They were packed to the brim this particular Sunday with waits of an hour for some. If you want, you can go to the back by the kitchen and grab a cup of coffee while you wait. They'll bill your table. But that area is very small and with wait staff coming and going along with patrons on line for the bathroom, you're more likely to spill your coffee than drink it. It was a nice day, so Bro and I put our names on the list and decided to walk around.

We finally got seated, ordered our coffees and juice and started re-acquainting ourselves with the menu.

The first time I came, I ordered The Kitchen Sink, a dish so-named because halfway through eating it, you're pretty sure you just ate an entire kitchen sink. Scrambled eggs, cheese, home fries, peppers onions, a biscuit and all covered in a sausage biscuit. It's served in a scalding hot cast iron skillet and weighs about forty pounds. It was delicious. But there's enough food there for a small village. I got through a third of it, then crawled under the table and took a nap. Bro ordered the Peanut Butter Crunchy French Toast, which might be the runner up for least healthy thing we could have eaten. French toast, stuffed with peanut butter and cream cheese and then coated in blackberry jam. Also phenomenal, but he has diabetes now.

The second trip was slightly healthier, though only by a thin margin. Bro, sticking with the French toast theme, ordered the Creme Brulee French Toast. Actually, this is just really plain ol' French toast but they drizzled a vanilla and brown sugar syrup reminiscent of creme brulee filling over it. It was good, but not decadent. My brunch was the Philly Style Eggs Benedict. A bagel with cream cheese, a poached egg and some grilled pork loin, all under Bearnaise sauce. Good, but I think I prefer the original. Still, it's a nice shift from the norm. And also quite heavy. I could only get through half. I also ordered a side of bacon though.

Green Eggs Cafe is cash only and the brunch options are about $8. But add in coffees and juice and so forth and it'll probably total about $20 per person with tax and tip.