SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

THE BITE: There’s something wrong with my internal food calendar. I always seem to crave a food item when it’s not “in season.” I like pot roast in the heat of August. I often grill fish when it’s snowing outside. Maybe it’s my inner rebel gourmand; he likes to buck the system and today was no exception. Today, I was craving latkes.

For those of you who don’t know, a latke is a fried potato pancake. Traditionally, latkes are eaten during the feast of Hanukkah by the Jewish people. Me, I’m a goyim. So, I’m not tied to the tradition. Where I grew up we called these potato pancakes and weren’t taught about the holiday connection. I can eat potato pancakes without guilt any time of year and I suspect most of my Jewish friends do too. And so should you.

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THE BITE: The first time I took my now wife out to dinner, we ate in some swanky restaurant in Manhattan. I had steak au pouivre and I can’t remember what the future Mrs. Bites ordered. But I do remember that she only ate about half of her meal. I was a bit concerned. It was our first date, the conversation was going well, but, had she lost interest?

As I finished up my meal, I asked her if she wanted to finish her plate or take it home. She said no to both. Now, I thought, she just wants out. “Shoot, this didn’t go well,” I said to myself and asked the waiter for the check. Before the words were out of my mouth, she piped in with “Can I see the dessert menu please?”

You see, the wife is a dessert person. Desserts are the high point of any meal for her. Me, not so much. So today when my sweet tooth started to ache, I knew I had to satiate it. I remembered the Liege waffles that Arbuz (1705 Sheepshead Bay Road) offered up at A Taste of Sheepshead Bay and I knew they would do the trick. When I first tasted a plain waffle without any toppings at A Taste of Sheepshead Bay, I was struck with the sweetness of the exterior and the almost malty like flavor of the dough. I was hooked. This is my type of dessert.

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THE BITE: Last time we wrote about Jordan’s Lobster Dock, faithful reader Local Broker chastized us for highlighting Buffalo wings. “Why would anyone who wanted wings ever go to Jordan’s in the first place?” he decried. So, in our continued quest to please our readers, this time we take on the seafood by ordering a tuna steak sandwich.

The tuna steak sandwich from Jordan’s Lobster Dock (2771 Knapp Street) is one hefty affair, both in weight and in size. The steak itself measured approximately 1.5″ thick and  about 6″ long by about 5″ wide at its widest. It probably weighed in at a good 1/2 pound. The tuna steak sandwich is available a la carte for $11.99, with traditional French fries for $12.99 or accompanied by sweet potato fries for $13.99. (Hint for takeout: go a la carte  - Jordan’s fries don’t travel well.)

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Arbuz on Sheepshead Bay Road

The past week or so has seen a couple of major New York City papers snooping around Sheepshead Bay’s restaurants, including a pretty hefty score for a newly-opened Manhattan location of a Sheepshead Bay original.

That’d be the New York Times talking about Treat Petite, the Greenwich Village spinoff of Arbuz (1706 Sheepshead Bay Road). A while back we broke the story of Arbuz’s expansion. Treat Petite (61 Grove Street) is now open, specializing in frozen kefir, and appear to have impressed the Times.

“Their soft serve, called Treat Petite, is refreshing and not as sweet as many brands of frozen yogurt. The store offers six varieties: plain, and five others subtly flavored with fruit purées, including pomegranate and caramelized pineapple. There are also smoothies and concoctions with various toppings, as well as coffee, crepes, waffles and some pastries.”

It seems to me that the wider world is finally waking up to the wealth of tastes and flavors our corner of the city has to offer, and what’s even better is that those business pioneers that took risks to start here in Sheepshead are finding success and expanding outward.

In addition to the New York Times story, local restaurants are also getting a huge shoutout in the Daily News. The paper launched a series – which we’ll say is inspired by The Bite, since they’re all in our coverage area anyway – showing off great restaurants along the Q line. So far they’ve covered:

• Tatiana’s in Brighton Beach
• Varenichnaya in Brighton Beach
• Coney Island Taste Peruvian Restaurant in Sheepshead Bay
• Randazzo’s Clam Bar in Sheepshead Bay
• Totonno’s Pizzeria in Coney Island

THE BITE: Cannoli filled to order are a rare thing in Sheepshead Bay. As the demographics in the neighborhood have changed over the last decade, the number of shops offering cannoli declined. But fear not, V & S Italian Kitchen and Pizzeria (1723 Emmons Avenue) still makes old-school cannoli for only $3.00 per piece.

Leave the gun. Take the cannoli. Feed it to Robert.

THE BITE: This week the Bite breaks new ground and lets you take a peak into the sausage factory. Usually we spend the week sampling various foods for the Bite and try to only bring you the best the neighborhood has to offer. Today, we bring four of the neighborhood’s Cha siu bao offerings, better known as the pork bun, into the office for a showdown.

Let’s meet the four contenders..

1. Bing Bakery – 1415 Gravesend Neck Road – $0.80.
2. Bliss Bakery – 1412 Avenue U – $1.00.
3. Good Family Bakery – 1317 Avenue U – $0.90.
4. L & U Bakery – 1405 Avenue U – $0.70.

Before we get started, let’s set some ground rules here. One: this is not a definitive guide to Cha Siu Bao. Not every Chinese bakery in the neighborhood will be represented. There’e no bias here. These buns were purchased in the normal course of my day, while conducting other important business for Sheepshead Bites. If I passed a Chinese bakery, pork buns were purchased. Two: all of these pork buns were purchased on Tuesday afternoon around 3:00 p.m. A few of the bakeries were sold out of Cha Siu Bao by that time. Three: the Chinese Bakery owners and staff were not aware of this impending shoot out.

Once back at the office, all of the buns were weighed, sliced open, photographed and tasted. Now, here at the Bite, we’re not experts in Chinese food, but we know what we like. So here’s what we’re looking for: a light, chewy bun with a texture very similar to hallah. The pork filling should be tender, moist and bursting with flavor – after all, the diced pork is usually mixed into a syrupy mixture of oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, roasted sesame seed oil, rice vinegar, shaoxing wine or dry sherry, soy sauce, sugar and cornstarch. The bun should have a nice meat-to-bread ratio, with meat in every bite.

Read on to find out the results of the Buns Off Challenge!

THE BITE: I have to admit, I was not looking forward to this sandwich. It was a lousy day and I wasn’t craving anything. I just needed to put some food in my pie-hole. After cruising the streets of the ‘hood, I finally settled on Spiro’s Restaurant (2103 Avenue U). I looked over the menu for about 10 minutes before selecting a grilled chicken sandwich. What could go wrong with that?

Spiro’s Restaurant is one of Sheepshead Bay’s few remaining diners. Spiro’s seems a bit overlooked in the food industry of the Bay and that’s too bad.  While they don’t produce dazzling foods, the meals usually satisfy.

I got back to the Sheepshead Bites offices, opened the container and was presented with a very messy sandwich. Juices from the mushrooms and chicken had soaked through the bottom layer of the bun while the meat and toppings had also escaped its confines. Given my mood, I really didn’t expect much. Add the poor presentation and a high price tag of $10.70, this grilled chicken sandwich, topped with canned mushrooms and Swiss cheese served on a Kaiser roll, was doomed from the start.

The meal, however, turned out much better than I expected. Stuffed into the roll were five beautifully seasoned, perfectly grilled, tender and moist all white-meat chicken cutlets. These babies were marinated in typical Greek spices which included Greek oregano and possibly a little sage.

These seasonings turned what promised to be a very boring sandwich into a great lunch.

Spiro’s Restaurant, 2103 Avenue U,  (718) 891-9843

The Bite is Sheepshead Bites’ weekly column where we explore the foodstuffs of Sheepshead Bay. Each week we check out a different offering from one of the many restaurants, delis, food carts, bakeries, butchers, fish mongers, or grocers in our neighborhood. If it’s edible, we’ll take a bite.

Photo: Erica Sherman

THE BITE: Mexican food is sprouting, slowly but surely, in the neighborhood. And they’re  taking an interesting path into the food scene.

Don’t look for traditional “restaurants.” Look instead to the back of bodegas, like El Jarochito, or, strangely enough, in doughnut shops.

At Shaikh’s Place, though you may not know it, you can find some of the tastiest tacos in the neighborhood alongside their beloved doughnuts. Just up Avenue U, at El Mexicano Restaurant Y Panaderia Mexicana (1607 Avenue U) they find their toughest competitor. Located in back of Doughnut Connection, El Mexicano Restaurant Y Panaderia Mexicana kicks the game up a notch.

Unlike Shaikh’s Place, where the tacos are just part of the menu, El Mexicano Restaurant Y Panaderia Mexicana has dedicated a large portion of the floor space to a Mexican fast food counter. A true Mexican restaurant lurks here in this mini-food court of Avenue U.

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THE BITE: I have to admit that when I saw this restaurant being built, I wasn’t too pleased. Just what we need, I thought to myself, another kebab house. I watched as it came together and finally wandered in this week.

Ćevabdžinica Sarajevo II, 2556 Coney Island Avenue, has been open for about two weeks, and now I say, “Welcome to the neighborhood!”

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THE BITE: I can’t remember the last time I had a calzone. I’m struggling to remember the last time I had one and the only memory that comes back is a date with Dorothy in my senior year in high school. I remember making some fairly crude comments about the calzone. But, hey, they worked. Let’s just say that it was a memorable date.

Back to today. Calzones are and Italian version of stuffed bread. They are made from pizza dough, traditionally stuffed with ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, baked and served with marinara sauce on the side. Many pizza places in the area will add pepperoni or sausages as well. It’s really up to the chef as there are no fixed rules. At Pizza Cardo, 1730 Jerome Avenue, they offer up five different calzones from four cheese to sauteed vegetables. I chose a spinach and mushroom calzone, $8, for my dining experience.
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