Karczma

Random Saturday, random place, random dinner. It was a last minute pick for J and he wanted to try this Polish restaurant in Brooklyn. I had to take the train there after work, the only train that was in the area was the G train, literally less than half a block away. But J had picked me up with his car somewhere around the area of Williamsburg, right off the bridge (yes, I'm spoiled).

It was a full house, so we ordered some drinks to let the time go by faster.

J had a Czech Lager, pretty smooth and not a bad beer at all. I would have no idea how beer is suppose to taste cause I don't exactly like beer much, correction - I don't drink beer much.

I like something more like a Mark and Ginger, easy but you taste the liquor. The price for this drink here was quite the band for you buck, and there were a lot of Mark in there, I saw her pour it. J and I already like the place.

We finally were seated in the corner of the restaurant, nestled in the side with wooden seats and table. The dimness of the restaurant really sets the mood.

Started off with some bread and butter along with some olive oil and...soy sauce. It definitely was soy sauce, I assume it was suppose to be balsamic but it wasn't! We stuck to the butter.

This was interesting, I wasn't surprise that J wanted the Peasant Style Lard. It was so oily and fatty but yet so good at the same time. Fat people galore here!

I wanted the Steak Tartare and at this moment, I realized we ordered too much food again even though J denies it. The tartare came out very unappetizing, like something I just bought in the meat section at a supermarket. It did look fresh but I was full of skepticism. But, we ordered it and we might as well eat it.

Mixing up everything; there were capers, diced onions, pickles and that thing on the upper left hand corner which I have no idea what it was. Altogether, it was interesting and tasty. Needed a bit of salt and that's what we did. It tasted really healthy, even with the small egg yolk. We actually paired it with the lard which balances everything out. The tartare acted as a palette cleanser for us...haha.

The entree was crazy, it was a Grilled Platter for 2, it might as well be a platter for 3 or 4...just not 2. There was an insane amount of meat; bacon, chicken, salmon, kielbasa, white sausage, blood sausage and I'm probably missing something but it was massive!

As if the entree wasn't enough, it came with potatoes and mushroom cabbage. Oh lord, I felt the food coma creeping up on me. It was obvious we couldn't finish everything, so we bagged up the meats.

I wanted to order dessert but I didn't think our stomach allowed it so I stuck with coffee.

The Karczma House Press Coffee was strong and intense, this yield 2 cups of coffee which was well worth the price. It was delicious and I love how I can just pour it into my cup, actually J poured it for me but you know what I mean.

I really think we'll be back because we really enjoyed the atmosphere and food, oh and of course - the drinks.

Karczma
136 Greenpoint Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11222
(718) 349-1744

Lokal Mediterranean Bistro - a beautiful day calls for eating outside literally

Another spontaneous decision on Memorial Day weekend. J and I were suppose to go to a diner but ended up on the other side of the park and was too lazy to turn around and walk back. We were also hungry, so when we saw this bright awning in front of us, we decided to just brunch there.

The weather was great, I was definitely overdressed. We sat outside and enjoyed the sun which thankfully wasn't hitting us dead on. I've been wanting to sit along the sidewalk and have a nice meal, it's usually either or - I have nice meal but no sun or I get sun and the meal sucks. I can actually say otherwise about Lokal.

My coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice came first. I had the brunch prixe fix ($14.50) which I thought was a pretty good deal. The coffee was perfect, at least for me, didn't need too much milk and the temperature was just right. Being it was quite hot that day, having coffee that was steaming wasn't the brightest idea but after adding the milk, it was just a bit more than lukewarm and stayed that way throughout my meal. Oh, and the orange juice is also perfect. Tis the season for oranges which makes the little cup extra sweet.

I usually don't order Eggs Benedict but for some reason I did this time around. I did want a burger but then I didn't exactly want to use my hands - girl problems. Alright, so I popped the first pouched egg and water squirted out (weird) then the yolk started oozing out. Love when that happens. Runny egg yolks are the best thing ever. Salad needed more dressing and the potatoes were ok, a bit oily tho...

I was surprised when J ordered the Bacon Bloody Mary ($8). First off, we don't usually get bloody marys and second, I didn't know they even had that on their menu. But the surprising factor was, it actually tasted good. I would totally order that for myself next time. I never really liked bloody marys but then again maybe I just haven't had one that was made to my liking.

Tuna Burger ($13) was just ok. We definitely had better before so it wasn't anything to really "talk about." One thing though, that's a shitload of fries.

I mean, I liked the meal. I liked that we were able to sit outdoors and soak up the good weather. I also liked how it was spontaneous.

Lokal Mediterranean Bistro
905 Lorimer St
Brooklyn, NY 11222
(718) 384-6777