Jimmy's Diner

So yeah, we snuck in a visit to a Brooklyn favorite - Jimmy's Diner out in Williamsburg before we headed overseas.

I think they need to change their name to Best Milkshakes in Brooklyn because, well, we discuss that later. The black and white was thick but drinkably so. It took a while but it is rather small spacing. Make that pretty darn small space. So they actually had a list of waiting patrons - we put our name down and went for short walk. It's close to MacCarren Park.

The best Black and White so far.

They bill themselves as the best chicken and waffles this side of the border but... Look, I like a good sauce. I just don't like it drenched and drowning the waffle or chicken, which rendered the syrup that they even gave us useless... The gravy was rather bland and only served to make the waffle which was great *alone* -perhaps even better if it just had room to stand away from the gravy. You know...so we can put syrup like we're supposed to.

Drowning Chicken and Waffle.

The chicken was crispy but truly not outstanding. Other than the skin, the flavor didn't penetrate down through past the skin. It was rather disappointing. And it could have been avoided had I remembered to ask for the gravy on the side! Although nothing could make the meat more flavorful when it got into my mouth.

However, I sort of like its vibe and service but I would totally go back for different dishes or its brother restaurant.



Jimmy's Diner
577 Union Ave

Brooklyn, NY 11211

tel. 718.218.7174
Hours:
Daily 9 am - 10 pm
Delivery by bike from 11 am

Brunch at Pies n Thighs...not all thighs

After much debate, we decided to hit Pies n Thighs in Williamsburg for some fried chicken and waffles before heading over to the NY Coffee & Tea Festival in Manhattan.

I had been dying to try this place since reading about it on "The Girl Who Ate Everything" blog by Robyn Lee. (I'm still lurking but just not as much on her site since she always has good stuff and also Serious Eats rocks too).

Anyway, don't trust HopStop to give you the shortest route to this gem of a place - you could be lazy and ride all the way to the bus depot and then get off and walk back a bit. Same difference. :)

After Barb (note, not I) debated on the menu a bit, we got our drinks in - mimosa! and our orders of  fried chicken (white only) with their buckwheat waffles, cinnamon butter (already put on the waffles), and apples (also placed on the waffles). 

They also offer honey butter, which our waiter recommended. We sat in the midway between the front and the back. There was a "loud" group before us sitting at the end... Loudly obnoxious for they seemed to ignore that there were many other people there besides them and not everyone wants to listen to their conversation!

We waited no time at all for the mimosas, but waited a bit for the chicken and waffles...which were definitely made fresh unlike Traif, down the block. The chicken was crispy and well seasoned, with the moistness sealed into the chicken. Just absolutely delicious. Luckily I got the smaller pieces because I was able to eat the whole chicken breast while Barb had to wrap part of hers to go...hope she remembered it was in her bag :)

Exceptional Fried Chicken and Waffles

Barb did not enjoy the waffles as much as I did but then again, I like it when they jazz up or change out plain white flour with buckwheat flour which lends more oomph to an otherwise standard waffle. This was a very good waffle with a better flour than white for you. I don't think you can go wrong. It was slightly crispy and the honey butter + syrup made it simply divine. I was very peckish and ate a whole waffle in addition to my chicken. :)

This meal wound up to be about $21 per person including tax and tip. Not bad for a Saturday morning treat.

I do want to go back for other things - they had big fluffy looking biscuits and lots of yummy looking pies...like a S'more Pie!! Yes...a return is a must...

Pies n Thighs 

166 S.4th Street (@Driggs)

Brooklyn NY 11211

Delivery Tel. 347.529.6090

Hours:

CLOSED EVERY DAY 4PM - 5PM. 

Weekday Hours

• Breakfast 9am-4pm
• Lunch 11am-4pm
• Dinner 5pm-12am

Weekend Hours

• Brunch 10am-4pm
• Dinner 5pm-12am

Melba's for some Southern Comfort Food

After we opted out of the dumpling crawl that our fellow crawlers went for, we went up to Melba's in Harlem. Did I say I was happy to *finally* get there? The food smelled so good from just the aroma wafting around that I was just absolutely starving for it then. Service was wonderfully attentive and there were two birthdays in there that night; we joined in clapping and singing. Melba's gets a plus for their service.

Barb decided on the turkey meatloaf. I'm not a big meatloaf fan. That said; this was really some incredible meatloaf. Did I mention I have a NYSC coupon somewhere that I need to find? Well, I do. And the reason is all this eating I've been doing like I was a bear just before I go into hibernation. 

The meatloaf was tender, well seasoned. Can someone get the recipe please? Turkey is not always done right but Melba's did! I never really ate collard greens before but their collard greens was lip-smacking good. And if I had metabolism of a 5 year old, I would be eating this stuff every single day except for when I'm eating other stuff.

The incredible edible *turkey* meatloaf

I just had to have their southern fried chicken and waffles. And boy, did they serve it up! A large crispy breast and wing combo with three...yes three fluffy waffles and maple syrup on the side.

Chicken and waffles, Melba style

The chicken was crispy but moist - not dry. It was lightly seasoned and perfectly cooked. It is definitely a hands on food. I tried to be neat and use my knife and fork though. The mini waffles were very fluffy and the powdered sugar meant you only needed a bit of the maple syrup. It was just satisfying. I could not finish the whole thing - left about 1.5 waffles behind and just a bit of chicken. I was saving room for dessert...

A good test of a bakery is the red velvet cake which seems to be standard in every NYC bakery. C'mon, folks, you can't really mess that up...unless you were me. Although, I am not a fan of the red dye so many places like to use. Be natural - use something else. Like beets - which Carousel Bakery uses in their red velvet.

Barb got their red velvet cake and like all sweets, she left it to be wrapped home - consuming about 40% of it. Did I mention, we still had the red velvet from the Little Cupcake Bakeshop which is way better than overly sweet crumbs? Yeah, that's right. I hate Crumbs.

Moist, rich red velvet cake

This was a moist and rich cake. Very delicious. 40% is a record for Barb so that's really saying something.

I was waffling between either the Coconut layer cake and the sweet potato pie. I ended up with the sweet potato pie because Barb said it was very light - just what I wanted after a day of too much indulgence.

Melba's Sweet Potato Pie

She was right. The filling was like eating lightly sweetened, sweet potato flavored air. It really was that light - I ate almost the whole thing. The crust was so soft and it was served up warm with a bit of whipped cream. Truly a masterpiece - with some cinnamon and even a hint of cardamom. Quite delicious.

If you like southern food done right, you might want to hop that train into Harlem and indulge in some terrific food at Melba's. No, they didn't pay me to say that. It's just that good.

Melba's
300 West 114th Street
New York, NY 10026
Tel.212.864.7777
Hours:
Tues - Fri: 5 pm - 11 pm
Sat & Sun: 10 am - 3 pm and 5 pm - 10 pm
Mon: Closed