COURT STREET GROCERS
11/07/2014
485 Court Street
Brooklyn, NY 11231
(718) 722-7229
Situated in Carroll Gardens (and Hells Kitchen and Red Hook) is the Court Street Grocer. Part hipster bodega, part sandwich shoppe. I had never heard of the place until Mr. Dogz, the guy without the food blog but with the fortitude to watch Food Network cookoff shows, mentioned it to me. Side note, I really am a terrible food blogger. I'm basically just a guy with a stomach, a camera, and enough of an ego to think that you care about what I have to say. Yeah, well, here's what I have to say. The sandwiches here are outstanding. Worth every otherwisedly overpriced penny.
I don't know how Dogz and I got a table when we came. I returned a few days later for another round and ended up eating outside on someone's stoop. Anyway, the place runs on the honor system, basically. You walk inside past the cash register, the bottles of hot sauce, and the freshly baked treats, order from the counter, eat, and then pay when you leave. Conceivably, you could order three sandwiches and only tell them you ordered two (there's no receipt to present to anyone), but then you'd be a low class dick. The lines are short, but there will be one, and bring a book or a friend to talk to because this isn't fast food. You can wait upwards of twenty minutes for your sandwich to be ready.
The first sandwich to arrive was the Ultimate Warrior, a special of the day. I don't like ordering specials usually, but this time it was worth it. Pork shoulder, broccoli rabe, provolone and pecorino cheeses, and pickled red bell pepper. Soon thereafter came the Mother In Law, beef short rib, kimchi, roasted broccoli, and some mayonnaise. The mother in law was good, if a little messy to eat, but the ultimate warrior was awesome. Just the right blend of savory and bitter. These sandwiches disappeared instantaneously. More time was spent waiting and nursing a bottle of green tea than was spent actually eating. One bite and suddenly you look down and the plate's empty and you're breathing heavy. Dogz and I almost ordered a third sandwich, but we were right at that happy place where you're totally satisfied. You want more food, because it's delicious, but you don't feel like you need it.
When I returned, which was inevitable, I ordered the Macho Man or Woman. Think Asian barbecue meets the deep south. Pulled pork, cheddar cheese, duck sauce, coleslaw, and pickled jalapenos. Very good but it was my least favorite of three. Very sweet. Too sweet. Bad for the diet/competition I'm in, that's for sure. Pike's gonna win if I eat another sandwich like this. The pulled pork was so soft that I can only guess that it was slow roasted for a week. I think the sandwich could have used less of the duck sauce and more of the coleslaw. It's a sloppy sandwich, too. That doesn't affect the taste or anything, but I do recommend access to a table and napkins, instead of someone's front steps.
Expect to pay about $11 per sandwich.
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