Henry's End II – The Search For More Food
I'd been to Henry's End in December
for my birthday and had a fantastic time. It was a great meal with
great company in a very comfortable setting. But sometimes I'm a
lazy ass and it wasn't until May or so that I finally got around to
writing about my experience there. I wasn't really thrilled with how
the review came out. I felt like I short-changed the place a little.
(I posted that older review yesterday for anyone interested.) When
an invitation to join my friend Blake and his lady Paula for dinner
there I jumped at the chance. I knew I'd be in great company, Blake
is one of those 3 favorite eating companions I've mentioned in an
earlier post and Paula is always fantastic to be out with. I knew
I'd have an excellent meal. And hopefully I'd turn out a better
review of this restaurant.
Let me start by saying there's nothing
pretentious at all here. There's just a very homey vibe. I could've
worn shorts to dinner with no problem, I think. But Paula overruled
me and we all listen to Paula. There should be a “Henry's End”
in every neighborhood. A place to have some excellent, soulful food
and drink. The staff are all friendly, happy and very helpful.
There's a pleasant buzz all around the dining room. Every set of
diners seems to be engaged in conversation but it's never so loud
that it distracts from your own. Something I noticed was that I
didn't see anyone messing with their phones rather than actually
being present with whomever they were with. I really liked that.
To start with we ordered the Corn Crab
Cakes which were pretty good with a nice bite from the cayenne.
Shrimp with Andouille sausage, the Creole mustard sauce was excellent
but the shrimp themselves were a touch bland. The West Indian BBQ
Shrimp were fantastic. The shrimp were cooked perfectly and seasoned
with cumin, curry and cayenne and the BBQ sauce was magnificent. I'd
have gladly licked it off the table, though Paula would likely have
had me executed if I did. We also had the Viennese Liver Pate, very
tasty, especially on the hearty bread they provided for the table and
dipped in the Creole mustard sauce.
For entrees Paula had Sole Citron.
Very fresh and light but I thought the fish was slightly eggy from
the breading. Blake went with Blackened Lamb Sirloin. I've never
seen that on a menu before and was quite curious. The piece I had
was excellent. Succulent and tender and a perfect medium rare.
Apparently at Henry's End they know how to rock out the BBQ sauces
because this one was fabulous too. Hints of cinnamon, cumin and
nutmeg gave it a great “island” flair. I'll be having that
sometime soon. I had the Southern Fried Chicken and was completely
blown away by how good it was. This is a completely unfamiliar
familiar dish. The breading was crunchy and immensely flavorful with
much the same flavors as the BBQ sauce from the lamb. The chicken
itself was moist and tender from thigh to breast. If I could bread
my hands in that mixture and smother them in the BBQ sauce I'd gladly
gnaw them off to the wrists. We also shared a couple of orders of
Sautéed Brussel Sprouts with Pancetta. Do I really need to tell you
this was good? It had pancetta, of course it was good. Diced shoe
leather would be good with pancetta and Brussel sprouts are better
than shoe leather so this was pretty damn tasty.
Despite our kingly feast we managed to
get to dessert. I'd had both desserts that Paula and Blake had the
last time I was here. The Persian Lime Pie is tart and fresh.
Chocolate Confusion is an evil brownie/bread pudding combination.
Rich and delicious and probably illegal in 7 states because it's just
that decadent. This time around I tried the Apple Strudel. It was
very good but it didn't make me jump up and say “wow”.
I'm really looking forward to making
another visit to Henry's End to see what else from that menu makes me
smile from mouth to stomach. I'm going to have a hard time ordering
anything but that amazing fried chicken. But I'll be strong for you
all and keep trying new things instead. Maybe I'll just get the
chicken to go next time. Yeah, that's the ticket.
Henry's End
44 Henry Street
Brooklyn, NY, 11201
718-834-1776
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