A uniquely delicious day
Queue the music
Friday July 31st put us about 1/2 way through what has been a spectacular Summer. The forward momentum of Greg & Christy’s wedding in Umbria into the Knicks’ playoffs into the World Cup. Oh Baby!
This was not your average Friday. For the first time ever, I found myself at home without Tiffany and Cecilia for the weekend. The house was whisper quiet. It was absent the cheerful babbles of a 16 month old, Tiffany chatting with Cecilia’s caretaker Desi, and the background noise of intermittent Zoom calls. I missed it all, maybe not the zoom calls, but it was so rare and temporary that I had to seize the moment.
Following the gym, I walked to Welcome Home and picked up their City Loaf, a crusty sourdough shaped for sandos. Breakfast was 3 scrambled eggs with butter & fig jam on the end piece. I worked until about 230p and went downstairs where I cut 2 more pieces of bread, thickly sliced an heirloom tomato and sprinkled it with Maldon salt and Partanna olive oil. I then took some Kewpie mayo (Duke’s is my #1 but impossible to find) and mixed it with some homemade pesto I had made earlier with gorgeous basil from my friend Chris. The pesto-mayo was spread wall to wall (Yin Yang twins voice) on the bread and I had a tomato sandwich in front of me. In Summertime, this is the lunch I want. I read through my Noble Rot, thankful for the print subscription, a birthday gift from my friend Michael.
My brother Ruben and I coordinated meeting up at Zig Zag at 530pm, the new Prospect Heights oyster bar from the team behind Cervo’s, The Fly, and Hart’s. The bar: stunning. The wait: 90 minutes. It was a much anticipated opening, so we didn’t exactly expect to get in, but wanted to shoot our shot. We went down the street to The Barlow and hydrated with some ice cold Grimm lagers on Happy Hour.
At 630pm, we were about to head to Prospect Park bandshell for a free concert when Ruben urgently intercepted me on the way to the bathroom. The text came through. Our table was ready. Too good to pass up, we redirected back to Zig Zag.
Ice cold gin martinis, and fresh briny Wellfleets were quickly in front of us as we took in the stunning bar. I’m now team orange bitters in a martini. I know its not tradish, but it’s fully additive. Martinis and oysters were followed by phenomenal paprika dusted peel & eat shrimp and whitefish salad with sungold tomatoes and toast. The bright acid of the tomatoes paired with the whitefish salad was a brilliant combination. A glass of crisp & zesty Txakoli from the basque country washed it down. Wow!
I will definitely be coming back. Everything is priced fairly. In a town where a martini routinely blows past $22, a $17 martini feels revelatory, or at least not extractive. The menu is priced for exploration, lingering, conversation, expansiveness. All too often a menu (and the size of the dishes) makes me feel like I’m on the back foot before I even order.
We bopped over to Prospect Park for some funkiness. It was a free show from Carrtoons, a jazzy bassist who brought a lot of his friends on stage. The music connected with a warm summer night. It was mellow affair with folding chairs set out for people to take it in comfortably. The two hours at the concert provided a nice pause from food & drink, but we were feeling ready for a late dinner so headed back to Bed-Stuy.
I originally didn’t want to go to Captain Dan’s. No strong reason, I was just hungry to try something new so was thinking we’d head to Bar Birba (closed) or Disco Birdies (almost closed). Captain Dan’s was the move™️. We walked in and it felt like finding the embassy. On the right night, Captain Dan’s is maybe the perfect bar. And this was one of those nights. It was filled and welcoming. The waiter (who once asked everyone he was serving their astrological sign, with strong opinions on each), found us two spots at the bar. We ordered the fried chicken sandwich, salt & pepper french fries, and their plussed up “after pool” sandwich with hippy salad on the side.
We cooled off with bracing frozen piña coladas. Perhaps you need to order your frozens later in the night (around 11) because the machine really needs some time to do its thing. Good things come to those who wait.
These bites put us over the edge, but it capped off the evening beautifully. The waiter was belting out Alanis Morissette, including the rapping verses, and trying to get the bar to join in. Everybody!
Filled equally with sodium and good cheer we headed home into the night. What a day.
Love this glimpse into an epic night in my brothers' Brooklyn (night) life. Thank you for inviting us along for the ride. Love you!
Felt like I was there old chap. Miss you and see you soon!