february blues.

i hate winter. and now i hate winter even more because i live in new york. every single week it snows (or atleast it seems that way) and i'm just simply not prepared for this. it's my first winter in new york and we've reached record snow fall for january. my street is covered in trash bags and filthy snow. on saturday morning in front of eataly, i was surrounded by snow and puddles of melted ice when suddenly a car splashed my entire body with dirty city slush. i can't take this anymore...so today i'm taking us back to those warm june nights when you want nothing more than to walk a few blocks for an insanely delicious taco and an ice cold modelo.



Tortilleria Mexicana Tres Hermanos, or as i tend to call it, the tortilla factory. i first heard about this place when i was still living in virginia, watching every episode of "no reservations" and worshipping tony bourdain. not much has changed, but i do live in brooklyn now and only 10 blocks away from this amazing taqueria. this is no frills, authentic as fuck mexican food. you walk in, you grab an index card and you write down your order. being the gringa that i am, i write everything down in english because quite frankly my spanglish is embarrassing and i'd rather not offend them. the menu is fairly small, but that is completely fine with me...give me a taco, a tostada, a jarrito and i'm good to go. so after you've placed your order you sit down, enjoy the sights and smells and wait for your food. behind the windows you can see the tortilla factory in full swing. it's really comforting to know that your tortillas are being made on sight. the best part about the whole experience is that this place is DIRT cheap. $2.25 for a HUGE taco...you really can't beat that, especially in brooklyn. the vegetarian taco is my go to, filled with refried beans, lettuce, huge chunks of avocado, tomato and whatever the mexican equivalent to sour cream and cheese are (crema? chihuahua queso? don't quote me). the quesadilla is something i gravitate towards if i'm feeling frisky...it's a humungous warm, thick tortilla stuffed with the same fillings as the taco and melted cheese. i always make sure to squeeze fresh lime juice on everything and slather on the fresh red HOT salsa they provide you with. then waltzes in the jarrito, my drink of choice, to ease the pain the salsa is causing and supplies me with a refreshed feeling. mandarin or lime only, please.



the tortilla factory is my favorite place to eat in warm months (tacos in the winter don't really do it for me), i can't think of a better way to spend my evening than walking a few blocks where i'm teleported to mexico. the food is simply outstanding.







see you in may, dear friend.

Tortilleria Mexicana Tres Hermanos
271 Starr St
(between Wyckoff Ave & St Nicholas Ave)
Brooklyn, NY 11237
Neighborhood: Bushwick

(718) 456-3422

www.tortilleriataqueriatreshermanos.com

btw, this restaurant is cash only and BYOB.

2011 and i'm back!

well, i took a brief hiatus but i am back and ready to blog weekly. the holiday season was absolutely insane at my restaurant which left me no time to document or blog about my meals. no more excuses, now on to the good stuff.....

i'm not one for hyped places, or the newest craze, or NY times approved restaurants but i do find myself now and again looking to new york magazine for advice on where to spend my cash. my favorite issue every year is the "where to eat" edition that breaks down the very best places in this fine city to dine at. so i've compiled my list and my top 10 restaurants to try this year as as follows:

ABC kitchen
red rooster (i've never been to harlem so double whammy there)
porsena
seersucker
peels
noodle bar
lowcountry
le bernardin
buttermilk channel
roberta's


only 4 of those restaurants were listed in the annual issue and i had already been to a few of the ones they mentioned. hopefully i can try one of those restaurants every month for the next 10 months and i promise to blog about it!


it's true love.


now for a review...

sunday is my favorite day of the week. more often than not i'm off from work and able to go out for brunch, which is something i've always really enjoyed. lately we've been going out for brunch every weekend so today i wanted to try a different place. there is a new hana food (organic market) that just opened up less than 10 blocks from apartment, and when i went there yesterday i noticed a dark little restaurant on the corner. it was raining and i didn't have the patience to walk over and see what it was so i immediately checked yelp when i got home. after finding the name and the website i peeped the menu and was pleasantly surprised that it all sounded quite delicious. didn't take much convincing on my end, joe was happy to not trek to williamsburg for a meal. so tim picked us up and we headed to Northeast Kingdom.

first thing i noticed when we walked in was that they listed most of the farms where they obtained their food from. being a chef myself in a farm to table restaurant, i appreciate when restaurants supply that sort of information. i was also intrigued because i hadn't heard of most of those farms and was eager to chow down and see what they were all about.



after ordering a cup of coffee (which was from a coffee shop down the block called wyckoff star) i decided to go with the omelet with spinach and onions, which came with a choice of toast (wheat or white) and home fries. joe ordered the same and tim opted for the chilaquiles. bonus points for having diverse egg options.




this arrived and i knew i made the right decision. big chunks of onions and spinach, perfectly seasoned home fries and delicious wheat toast, a perfect breakfast. being on the line and knowing how to expedite and how timing works, i was pretty disappointed with how long it took for us to receive our food, but it's brunch so i do understand. the home fries were a bit cold and i don't understand why they don't offer some sort of jam to accompany the toast, but other than that everything was really delicious. prices are a bit high, but it is brooklyn so that is to be expected. overall, i enjoyed my experience there, the food was really delicious and i do believe i'll be back, especially since it's so close to my apartment.

but only if i get to dine with these hunks again....





Northeast Kingdom
18 Wyckoff Ave
(at Jefferson St)
Brooklyn, NY 11237
Neighborhood: Bushwick (!!)
(718) 386-3864

www.north-eastkingdom.com