There's A Reason This Is An Old Standby

Spaghetti, broccoli, shrimp, garlic and oil.  There's a reason this dish is an old standby.  Because when done right, it rocks.  The key is getting a little heat in there and cooking the broccoli at the last minute so it stays crisp..  Dust the shrimp with a little ancho chili powder before sauteing them and add some red pepper flake to the olive oil.  Those little touches make all the difference.  I don't really need to say to make sure the pasta is al dente, right?  You already knew that.

Mmmmm...meaty!

     I've been trying for a week or so to find the motivation to walk down to 78^th Street to try this new meat place. Life has been doing it's best to make sure I just don't have the time to do it. After spending a Saturday morning cleaning my bathroom and vacuuming the rugs I decided that a good corned beef sandwich would make for an excellent reward.

David's Brisket House is supposedly a relatively well known place to get a samitch down on Nostrand Avenue in Bed Stuy. They've just opened up a location on 5^th Avenue between 77^th and 78^th Street. And if there's a new place to get meaty goodness in Bay Ridge you best believe I'm going to get over there right quick.

I got myself a corned beef sandwich and a brisket sandwich, both on rye. I got both in a medium size. And the medium size is plenty stuffed. The thought of one bigger than these is a little intimidating. The corned beef was excellent. Didn't even really need any mustard. The brisket wasn't quite as good as the corned beef but still plenty good. The mustard brought more to the party on this sandwich. Half of each sandwich was plenty. Actually, half of each sandwich was just a touch too much for me. Of course, I also had some cole slaw and potato salad. Both were really tasty. I don't know if it was homemade but it was damned good. And it certainly tasted fresh. The cabbage was crispy and the dressing slightly tart in the cole slaw. The potato salad just had a great taste. I could gladly eat a pound of that. I initially wanted fries but they don't have a Fryolater just yet. That was a happy thing though as I'm glad to have gotten the slaw and potato salad instead.

This was totally worth the 12 block walk. And now I'll have another half and half sandwich for lunch tomorrow while I'm watching football. I'll let you all know how the pastrami is when I get around to trying it sometime in the future. For now I'll just say it's about time there was a place in Bay Ridge where you can get some excellent slow-cooked sammies. I'm a happy fella and I'll be going back.

David's Brisket House

7721 5^th Avenue

718-333-5662

http://www.davidsbriskethouseinc.com/

I Wish I Could Put an A/C in the Kitchen

Spent the whole day cooking.  Juggling two separate dishes isn't easy.  Especially when it's this damn hot in there.  I think I may have worked harder in the kitchen today then I did all last week at work.  And I worked pretty hard last week.  I really need to remember to wear gloves when playing with jalapenos.  Fingers covered in capsaicin make any part of your sweaty body really really burn.

The menu for the week is going to be cider vinegar braised chicken thighs with black beans, sofrito, carrots and potatoes.  Roasted eggplant and potatoes with pickles and homemade hummus in warm pitas.  Both came out really good.  Got to eat somewhat healthy since I'll be going to a macaroni and cheese cook-off on Sunday.

International Bacon Day!!!

Go get yourself a tasty piece of sizzling pork goodness.  It's the only proper way to celebrate International Bacon Day.