the first snow of the season came this weekend and it was extremely fast and very furious. saturday night was a surreal montage of heavy flakes and angry winds. christmas decorations were smothered by blankets of snow, leaving weird alien scenes of barely visible blinking lights under white mushroomy formations (formerly knows as bushes). the next morning recovery ensued and the shivering exoskeletons of santa's reindeer were again seen protecting the stoops of brooklyn's brownstones and delighting the neighborhood with their twinkling silhouettes.
sunday we were all relieved that our ritual of going for bagels and coffee would not be the hardship we had anticipated. siberia had given way to cobble hill and we could happily stroll and brunch as we always had.
so, bloody mary time.
my friend, katia, and i decided to take refuge from the cold at new brooklyn local, henry public (no website yet). i was instantly charmed by the dark wood and black & white photos on the wall. the 1930's parlor aesthetic is nothing new in the bars of this neighborhood, but i guess i'm a sucker for it anyhow. it felt like a cross between a library and a saloon, which combines the pleasures of reading and drinking! i guess you could describe it as the thinking man's (or woman's) bar...perfect. there certainly does seem to be a lot of thought put behind the elaborate cocktails and simple but hearty menu. katia and i had missed brunch but we managed to score bloody mary's served in mason jars. we were pleased as punch. we snacked on smoked almonds (neither of us opted for the marrow bones or burger on the menu) and defrosted until hunger motivated us to venture outside again for dinner.
we met up with friends at chip shop on atlantic ave., which is probably the closest you'll get to london while still in new york. i couldn't resist trying their famous fish & chips special which i happily loaded with vinegar (i'm convinced that my birth in canada is responsible for my inexplicable affinity for vinegar) and sampled a double ipa that the waitress recommended. this place will fry anything! their menu includes fried mac & cheese, fried pizza, and twice-fried cherry pie (which was temporarily removed for violating the trans-fats health code). we skipped the cherry pie but could not resist trying their fried twinkie and fried reeses peanut butter cup. (click here to see someone else's photo of the fried reeses cups.) the twinkie was not improved by the batter (a twinkie is perfection on its own) but i have to admit the reeses made peanut butter taste like a whole new creation; warm, sweet, creamy, and heavenly. i can't say it made me feel very good this morning, but you only live once, right? oh yeah, i also learned that welsh rarebit was not a product made from rabbit as i had envisioned, but is actually a kind of cheese and when served on toast with tomato, it's really good. i don't think i ever need to find out what kidney pie or fried sausage tastes like, but i can a check a few things off the list of previously unexplored territory...and i never need to try them again. i swear i am eating nothing but salad for the rest of the week!
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