Brunch in Greenpoint used to be easy…Greenpoint Coffee House or Brooklyn Label were the obvious choices.  Sometime in the past year Greenpoint Coffee House changed something, and it just isn’t the same…and Brooklyn Label has taken on a new chef (which I’m not so sure I’m into) and raised their prices.

This past Saturday morning seemed to be full of failure.  We were too late to go to brunch at Enid’s, it was totally packed, and we decided to catch the bus up to check out the Habitat.  From everything we had heard the Habitat’s $15 prefix brunch was supposed to be well worth it, and the internet said that they started serving it at 11am.  We got all the way there only to find out that the Habitat was closed.  As we walked up someone went inside and disappeared, and we were standing there confused.  The signs on in the window clearly said “Brunch 11am-3pm,” and by this point it was after 12.  There was a delivery guy standing outside who relayed a message from someone in the basement: “they start serving brunch next weekend.”  According to the internet they have been serving brunch since sometime in September.

At this point we knew that this was not true, and would have appreciated a real answer…we left discouraged (even a sign saying “sorry opening late today” would have been cool).  Papacitos was right across the street, but we really weren’t feeling Mexican for breakfast.

We decided to head home, but on our way down Manhattan Ave we ran into a friend who suggested 68.

We’ve been to CoCo 66 (the sister bar to the restaurant) a couple of times, and to 68 for dinner once, and figured that it was worth a try.  We got there an checked out the menu (dinner menu can be found here), and decided to go in.  If you haven’t been to 68 it is located on on Greenpoint Ave just west of Franklin St.  68 is a big place, and was more or less dead when while we were there.  We got a table in the window, and ordered.  After a morning of failures everything at 68 seemed to be going pretty ok.

klk got ricotta pancakes with fruit topping and honey butter.  It also came with a wonderful fruit salad (banana, fig, and pomegranate seeds) on the side.   By this point I was ready for lunch and decided to try the bourbon bbq pulled pork, with came with fries.   Our food came very quickly, and we were not only impressed by the presentation, but the quality of the food over all.  The bbq was southern style, but not Carolina and was done perfectly even down to the bun.  The ricotta pancakes were delicate, light, and perfectly complemented by the fruit.  If I could use only two words to describe the brunch at 68 they would be:  delicious and classy.

I think the reason we hadn’t really embraced 68 before was due to our previous commitment to vegetarianism, and while vegetarians can eat here comfortably , 68 really does have a little more to offer those that are omnivores.  The over all experience we had at 68 was exactly what we needed to redeem our day, and I definitely plan on going back. Price wise it might even be a little cheaper than Greenpoint Coffee House or Enid’s, and it is definitely a new favorite of mine.   I didn’t realize until after I was finished with my meal, but apparently they offer free bloody mary or mimosa with your brunch…and this by far makes it the best deal.

I plan on going back to try their $1 oyster special that they offer during happy hour…we were informed that the oysters come from Long Island, and you really can’t beat $1 local oysters.  68 has different specials throughout the week, and I highly recommend checking them out.  Good vibes.

68 is located at
68 Greenpoint Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11222-1527
(718) 389-6868

photo taken via Yelp!

Kombucha (käm-ˈbü-shə, -chə) is a fermented tea that is imbibed for medicinal purposes, although there is currently no specific scientific information supporting any purported benefits.^[1]. Kombucha is available commercially, but can be made at home by fermenting tea using a visible solid mass of microorganisms called a kombucha culture or mushroom. (via)

Kombucha Brooklyn and Brouwerij Lane are having a Kombucha Keg Launch this Saturday.  Kombucha Brooklyn will have their signature natural kombucha on tap for the first time, and they will also be premiering two new flavors (also on tap)!  Starting tomorrow October 24th Brouwerij Lane will have a keg of Kombucha from Kombucha Brooklyn on tap all the time! The kegger starts at 6pm!

Here are all the details:

If you haven’t tried kombucha… it’s good for you and it’s a great hang over cure!  I can’t wait to get 64 ounces of the stuff to bring home.

Links:

• more on Brouwerij Lane here.

Beer in cans. Some people think that cans are  just for big name light yellow American beers, but these days that isn’t the case. There are several breweries that have embraced beer in cans, and one of the best is Oskar Blues out of Lyons, Colorado.  Oskar Blues is best known for their supper hoppy pale ale (almost an IPA) known simply as Dale’s Pale Ale…but this wonderful Colorado brewery can do much more than a really awesome pale ale.  Last night I had two encounters with Oskar Blues Brewery one in Williamsburg (technically Greenpoint) and one in Bushwick.  It’s not too hard to find their beers in NYC, but just because they are in a can doesn’t mean that they are cheap.

My first beer encounter last night happened at Roberta’s Pizza.  klk and I have been meaning to try out Roberta’s for quite a while, and last night it finally happened.  Roberta’s was delightful, although a little hot due to the temperature outside and the pizza oven.

We tried a meat plate (three different Italian meats, and bread), watermelon salad (watermelon, basil, olive oil, and goat cheese), and a Green and White Pizza (mozzarella, arugula, parmigiano reggiano, and lemon olive oil dressing)…all delicious, and we left as full as could be.  This place is right up there with Fornino, and a little less greasy too (or at least my stomach thought so).

While their food and drinks were pretty standard priced for Williamsburg (even though the place is in Bushwick) they did have Oskar Blues Gordan…the 8.7% abv Double IPA that is super hoppy, and a little bit sweet for only $6 a can.  This is a beer that is typically $4-$6 in stores.  It was a nice accompaniment to our wonderful Italian fest.  I highly recommend Roberta’s!  I can’t wait to go back once it cools down a bit, and enjoy their patio.

The second beer stop was at Anthony & Son Italian Deli on Grand Street at Frost.  This is a deli that I typically go to for good pasta (to make at home), and occasionally for an Italian sandwich.  When I was there a week ago there was a big stack of Oskar Blues Old Chub, the 8% abv Scottish Ale.  Old Chub has a nice sweet caramel body with a little  hop bitterness,  hints of smokey malt, and a bit reminiscent of whiskey.  Typically a six pack of Old Chub runs in stores anywhere from $9-$12, but for some reason there is a big stack of it as soon as you walk in to Anthony & Son’s that has a sign on it: “Special: $5 a Six Pack.”

Some people might be skeptical of a beer sale in fear that the beer might be bad, but if you are in Williamsburg/Greenpoint and like a good Scottish Ale, or would even be interested in trying one I will assure you that this beer is good, and ready to drink.  At 8% abv this beer is strong enough to be aged, and since it is in a can you don’t have to worry about the sun/light messing up the taste of the hops like it would in a bottle.  I’m guessing that this was an ordering mistake…but the savings are passed on to us, the consumer, and I bought two cases last night.  They still have 7 or 8 cases left so go down and pick up a six pack or eight.  This is the best beer deal I have ever seen in NYC, and it is on a beer I love.  Take advantage of it…I already got my fair share.

I know that this post was about beer mainly, but I really do encourage you to try Roberta’s Pizza…I’m still thinking about it today, and wish I was eating their wonderful food for lunch right now.

Photo Credits:
Roberta’s Pizza photo by Noah Kalina via NYMAG.com
Oskar Blues photos via BrewForThought.com

Although I haven’t done a What Ales You in a while this could be considered one.

If I was the guy or gal that runs Scanwiches I would be posting my lunch today.  This was  a group effort between klk and myself (in a limited edition of two sandwiches).  Maybe this will be a new series on the blog…iphonewiches?

The sandwich includes: oatnut bread, fire escape grown tomato, farmers market roasted beets, lemon garlic miso baked tofu, veganaise, hummus, and feta cheese.

It is totally amazing:

And I might as well post this little guy too:

So good, and good for you too.

This morning I made the mistake of not eating breakfast before riding my bike to work.  Although I wasn’t hungry I should have known that a six mile bike ride in the 80 degree heat would make me ravenous.

All that I could do for the second half of my ride was dream of the Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen in Chapel Hill.

There is just something about southern biscuits, their buttery light airy fluffiness just can’t be matched. It is something that we just don’t get up north (although some do try), and when it comes to southern biscuits Sunrise does them the best.

Basically you can get anything you want on a biscuit…country ham, egg and cheese, fried pork chop (pictured to the right), bacon,  friend chicken, if it’s southern or a breakfast food…you can probably get it on a biscuit.

Oh and they have 32oz sweet teas for under $2!

klk and I got to eat here two mornings during our visit to the area for XX Merge, and it was one of the food highlights of the trip. I’m still dreaming of that heavenly egg and cheese sandwich, and slightly wishing I would have tried something a little bit more outside of comfort zone (besides the bacon one, I did try that).  klk got the country ham, and it was also amazing.

It is a little sad to be sitting in an office in New York City knowing that the biscuits that you crave are hundreds of miles away.  If you happen to be in the Chapel Hill area, or headed that way do yourself a favor and grab a biscuit from Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen…it might change the way you think about biscuits and the world.

Although XX Merge is over there will still be some of these related posts coming over the next couple weeks…this is part of my Going To XX Merge series, you can read the rest of the series here.

Photos by Steve Z via this forum.

As Leah reported last week, Peter Pan Donut and Pastry Shop is now serving Donut Ice cream Sandwiches! Last Friday in a surprise to Leah…klk and I picked up two of these bad boys and brought them over to share.

They are a decadent desert, and not meant to be eaten by just one person.

Sandwich one: Coconut Chocolate Cake Donut with Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

Sandwich two: Sour Cream Glazed Donut with Chocolate Ice Cream

The winner by far was sandwich number two, but that might have had something to do with the cookies and cream melting immediately.  No matter what, this is something that I plan on enjoying several more times this summer…I’m really glad I’m back to biking to work with this calorie intake right around the corner.

We are not the only one who as tried these…McG also has.  It seems like he enjoyed it as well.

more on Peter Pan here.

On the topic of beer…have you ever had a beer float before?  klk and I made our first after one of the nights at the Cradle for XX Merge last week.

We used a two year old bottle of Terrapin Wake & Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout:

With Ben and Jerry’s Creme Brulee Ice Cream:

I have to say that this was the best float I have ever had…far better than one made with root beer or coke.  Beer Floats might be a foreign idea to people, but I highly recommend trying it.  I would like to start seeing this on restaurant menus.  All it takes is a good beer, and a good ice cream to make something fabulous (in our case we used a great beer, and a great ice cream)…just use common sense with your pairings.

For the record… the Terrapin Wake-n-Bake was not purchased at Carrboro Beverage Co.  I was aging these in a dark cold closet in South Carolina for the past two years…it only gets better with age.

This is part of my Going To XX Merge series, you can read the rest of the series here.

All Weekend, until they are gone:

• Dark Matter on Cask @ The Brooklyn Brewery

• Brooklyn Brewery’s Shackmeister Pale Ale on Cask @ The Diamond

Tonight, Friday June 26th:

• Kurt Vile, Girls, Real Estate, and Beach Fossils @ Monster Island Basement

• Growing @ Death By Audio

• Anamanaguchi, and Pow Wow @ Bowery Electric Company

Saturday June 27th

• Caddyshack happy 1/4 hour.  Open bar from 2pm-2:15pm @ The Diamond
  

• Girls, Ty Segall, and Charlie and the Moon Hearts @ Cake Shop

• Ducktails @ Market Hotel

• Screen Vinyl Image @ Public Assembly

Sunday June 28th

• Cymbals Eat Guitar @ Cake Shop

• Ty Segall, Charlie and The Moon Hearts, Liquor Store, and The Beets @ Death By Audio

• Team Robespierre,  Boogie Boarder, Anamanaguchi, and many more @ Studio B ($5 starts 2pm)

• The Unfancy Food Show @ East River Bar

Monday June 29th

• Spent, Goddess, and Heather Duby @ CoCo 66