61 7th Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
(718) 399-7100

I was doing a little shopping downtown Brooklyn on Court Street Yesterday and I got hungry. I was looking for a Falafel so dont ask me how I ended up in a Thai Restaurant. These days NYC is choc FULL of Thai Restaurants so I guess you cant avoid ending up in one eventually. The sad thing is, my fat ass was on my way to Trader Joe’s! WHO STOPS OFF TO GRAB A BITE TO EAT ON THEIR WAY TO THE SUPERMARKET!?!?!? Only my greedy azz!

I guess in retrospect that was a good thing because if you shop on an empty stomach, you end up buying one of everything in the store..and you dont wanna do that!

This was my first time at Lemongrass…I’ve passed it a lot of times but never went in because usually when Im in that area, I go straight to Chance when I get hungry. But I have to try new places if Im going to have fresh stories for you guys so I decided to check out Lemongrass. I didnt make a big production out of my meal. I was really looking for a quick bite so I just ordered the Veggie Pad Thai. The pad thai was pretty good! My only issue was that the waiter didnt know WHAT veggies were in the pad thai and it wasnt listed on the menu.

Waiters really need to know the foods on the menu! Customers usually have questions about these things! There are a lot of veggies that I find in Asian dishes that I dont like…like those little corn things that look like allegators, and those round white crunchy disks that have the texture of something you would stab fake flowers into to hold them in place..along with snow peas and bean sprouts. I also dont like mushrooms. Since the menu didnt specify that it had these things in them, I didnt know what to tell them to leave out…except for the bean sprouts. Most pad thai has bean sprouts.

So I had to do a bit of picking…plucking out all the things I dont like but once I got the dish safe for me to eat it was DELICIOUS! I love that they put a lot of scallions in it! Scallions make ANY dish taste better! The texture of the noodles was good, not too tough, not too mushy. I also liked the little bits of tofu. I would have ordered Tofu Pad Thai instead of veggie, but I notice that usually when you order Tofu Pad Thai, the entree tofu is different than the tofu thats mixed in with all of the pad thai. And its too hard for me to explain that I want the OTHER tofu.

Why do I have to be so particular about everything? Why cant I be normal like everybody else? I guess i feel like if Im going to pay for a plate of food, then I should enjoy eating it. Or maybe Im just NUTS! It was only 8 dollars..but still. The fact that I say ONLY when I say 8 dollars shows that Im a brainwashed New Yorker. Honestly 8 dollars is a lot of money for a plate of food that didnt even come with an appetizer..is it not?

I really liked the restaurant though. I will definitely go back to the Lemongrass Grill. Im proud of myself for going in there considering I dont even like lemongrass lol. I cant wait to try some of their other dishes, appetizers and interesting desserts. I would like to try their coconut sticky rice with mango, and also their mango mousse! I love mango so anything with mango in it is alright with me!

The restaurant was very clean and cute. Most Thai Restaurants in NYC are pretty cute! The service was decent. At some points the service was so good that it was a little annoying because they feel the need to clean up your mess as youre making it. Why do some places do that!? Can I eat in peace?! Every time I put down a used napkin, they run by and grab it! If I put down paper from my straw or the chopstick wrapper, they run by and grab it! At one point i only had about 3 bites left to my food and they came flying over! I grabbed my plate because I thought she was trying to take it! But she was only coming by to grab a my dirty napkin. *Embarassing*…I looked all hungry like I escaped from jail!

But thats annoying! Dear waiters, PEOPLE DONT LIKE WHEN YOU KEEP REACHING OVER THEM TAKING JUNK OFF THEIR TABLE WHILE THEYRE TRYING TO EAT! mmmkay?

Thankyew!

But you know, im picky and I guess easily annoyed so that may not bother other people and might be deemed excellent service. I prefer a waiter that only comes by when you call them..or that comes by occasionally and asks if youre ok…but dont be grabbing stuff off my table while Im trying to concentrate on my food. Is that just me?

Maaaan BBQs is like an old friend. We go WAY BACK! Ive spent plenty of fun evenings with family and friends at this place. Its not the fanciest place you can go to, but its decent and if you want some good grubbin on a budget, its a great place to go. My favorite location is the one in the East Village. It feels a little more trendy. Maybe because its in the village and because they have the outside seating area.

The west village location has always been a ghetto mess! And its even MORE of a ghetto mess since their original location closed down and turned into a bank, and they moved into an old shoe store! They didnt even TRY to make it look like a restaurant! It looks like people are eating their food in a shoe store window! Everytime I walk past that store I secretly laugh at the people inside.

Aside from that, the food is great! My favorite thing to get is the baked half of chicken with fries. They give you a choice of a quarter chicken (costs an extra dollar for white meat), or for 2 dollars more you can get half of chicken. I just get the half. If Im gonna pay extra for white meat, why not just get the white and the dark right? The meat is always seasoned well, cooked well and the barbecue sauce is great! I usually ask for a side of their warm barbecue sauce. For some reason that barbecue sauce in the bottles on the table just isnt the same. I dont know who they think theyre fooling but theyre not fooling me!

The quarter chicken meal is only about 7 dollars. If you go for the early bird special (before 6pm) you can get TWO quarter chicken meals for 10 bucks! If thats not a recession special I dont know what is! Imagine going out to dinner, and only spending 10 dollars for two people!

Their fries are fresh cut and tasty. Sometimes I get the rice. The rice is simple but they put scallions on it which makes it great! Anything with scallions in it is great to me! My mom loves their cornbread and I understand why! It tastes like somebody’s mama made it!

If you go with a group, make sure you get the onion loaf. Its a fried onion dish shaped sorta like a top hat! Its pretty good but its a bit overwhelming for one or even two people to eat. You need about 3 or maybe even 4 people to polish it off. Its not really something you take to go. Some things taste best when fresh out of the oil.

Their fried honey wings are pretty popular. Ive had them before and theyre good but theyre not a staple in my list of things to get. Theyre a little too messy and the wings are HUGE!! I like dainty little chicken wings. They say theyre chicken wings but they look more like turkey wings! I dont like to eat things that can put me in a headlock.

The baby back ribs are great! Dowsed in barbecue sauce and crisp around the edges. My stomach is getting an attitude with me for teasing it with all this barbecue talk when all its getting is a baked salmon and some white rice for dinner tonight. Thats good food but its no baby back ribs!

BBQs has a pretty decent menu with a little something for everybody! Everything from shrimp cocktail and popcorn shrimp to pulled pork and brisket. If youre in a warm and fuzzy mood try their chicken noodle soup. If youre in the mood for gas, try their chili! Its great! But tell them to hold the onions if youre on a date.

I love to go to BBQs with my mom and sister. Its a special place we go when we want to hang out or celebrate something but we dont want to go overboard. Its a great place to get a hearty meal and a few drinks while bonding with your friends and family without breaking your pockets.

Its also a great place to take a date, especially if youre cheap or broke. Just make sure you hide the drinks/daiquiris menu and tell the waiter to ZIP IT (Because theyre obligated to ask if youd like to purchase a frozen drink!) Drinks cost more than the food! A drink runs between 8 and 15 dollars.
I love the strawberry daquiries! Im a dork, I get the virgin. I really dont like the taste of alcohol and I think the alcohol taste takes away from the deliciousness of the drink. I know. Im weird.

Sidebar: Dear East Village BBQ, please get rid of that ugly green awning! It is HIDEOUS! Whos idea was that? THEYRE FIRED!Go back to the brown, it was much more classy and inviting.

Whoever says living in the hood is a bad thing has been misinformed. Sure there may be a shoot out here, or a robbery there. But if there has never been a shooting or a robbery in or near your New York City neighborhood, RAISE YOUR HAND! Yeah…thats what I thought. EVERYONE who lives in New York City, lives in the ghetto! lol Some neighborhoods are better than others. But I’ve learned the better the neighborhood, the worse the food and there is NO BETTER PLACE to grab a bite to eat than the good ole hood.

Not only is the food about half the price as foods in fancier areas, but the food is also more delicious because it has an authentic “home cooked” taste. Most of the ethnic restaurants in inner city neighborhoods are family owned and operated. Therefore when you walk into their store its like walking into their home (Minus the bad ass kids and drunk uncle. Oh who am I kidding sometimes theyre there too!).

One of my favorite spots to go to is Bed Stuy Fish Fry! Theres nothing better than a crispy piece of fried fish right out of the oil! You havent had a fish sandwich until youve had a whiting sandwich! And Im not talking about the fried whiting sandwiches that they make at the fish market. Thats not a REAL fish sandwich! The difference between these sandwiches is, the fish from the fish market is fried with boxed seasoning. The fish from an authentic soul food restaurant is seasoned with their own mixture of spices and seasoning salts! You can definitely taste the difference. In addition to the fried fish sandwiches they have a full menu that will test your willpower! When I go in there I have to fight myself not to order ONE OF EACH!

Luckily, they have a fish and shrimp combo. For only $6.50 you’ll 3 pieces of fried whiting and 6 shrimp and thats a MINI combo! In the full sized combos, they give you so much food its enough for 2 or even 3 meals! The picture above was taken of my food after I ate enough to fill me up. Their shrimp are fresh and crispy, and they add something extra to them that gives a tiny hint of sweetness that makes you grin every time you take a bite.

Their seasoned fries are magic! I say this because these are the only fries that Ive ever had that can be reheated and still taste good and have a good texture. HOW DO THEY DO THAT?! And dont let the name “Bed Stuy Fish Fry” fool you! That may be their specialty but thats not all they have. If you like Mac & Cheese, Collard Greens, Baked Chicken and Peach Cobbler, you’re in luck! Sometimes I order things I dont even want because I know that I will want it later (and by things I mean Peach Cobbler). If you EVER see peach cobbler, just get it! You want it, even if you dont know it at the time. *Chronicles of a fatty*

If you dont live in the hood, you wont have fish like this within walking distance! All you’ll have to go to A Salt and Battery. Thats not REAL fried fish! I went to A Salt and Battery and they didnt even know what Old Bay seasoning was! It tasted like fast food. How can you call yourself a seafood restaurant if you dont even know of Old Bay!? They ought to be ashamed of themselves!

The only disappointment I have with Bed Stuy Fish Fry are their chicken wings. I bought an order of fried hot wings from there and thats just what it was. HOT WINGS! Like the hot wings you get from the Arab Chicken place. I LOVE hot wings from the chicken place, but when I order chicken wings from a Soul Food restaurant, I want SOUL FOOD CHICKEN! WITH SOUL FOOD SEASONINGS! NOT NO DAMN MAMA’S FRIED CHICKEN HOTWINGS! GET IT TOGETHER! Thats like going to a mexican restaurant for tacos and they give you some Taco Bell! WTF!? But since all of their other food that i’ve had is great I will let them slide.

As far as the atmosphere. It’s cool. They keep it clean. It’s kinda cute inside and you can tell theyre trying to make it “to-stay friendly” but it’s a small place. You can sit in there and eat if you dont mind traffic. There are people going in and out all the time, and though they have a couple of nice tables, chairs and a counter with stools, to me its not really a sit down restaurant. Theres no wait staff. You order your own food and pick it up from the counter. One incentive to get your food to stay is that they have a nice flat screen tv that plays VH1 Soul! Thats a plus in my book! But you dont have to stay, you dont even have to GO because they deliver! Thats a rarity in Soul Food Restaurants! So lets give them a round of applause! And they actually show up within a reasonable amount of time!

So if youre a Bed Stuy resident, or frequent the area lets show our support and keep the business coming! We need places like this in our lives.

Wanna buy me a cookie?

THANK YOU

Brooklyn Heights
123 Court St.
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Phone: 718 797 2133
11am-11pm daily

I know its cold outside..but so? It wont be cold forever! And when it gets hot you’re going to want some ice cream…..DONT DO IT! There’s a less guilty way to go! Red Mango ! Mmmmmmm! It’s frozen yogurt! But dont think “Pinkberry”. Well..you can ALMOST think Pinkberry, because in New York, wherever you see a Pinkberry, you’ll most likely see a Red Mango across the street. I believe Red Mango is Pinkberry’s main competition. I don’t know why, because it’s really no contest! Red Mango is sooooooo much better! Red Mango has a much creamier texture. Pinkberry has this weird icy texture to it, and it tastes a little more sour and kinda watered down to me. I mean Pinkberry is okay..but Red Mango is gooooooood! The weird thing about it is, even though Red Mango has a creamier texture, the original flavor is 10 calories LESS than Pinkberry’s original flavor.

Both stores have pretty much the same toppings, but Red Mango has 3 new exciting flavors. Aside from original and green tea flavors they also have , Tangomonium, Pomegranate and Pumpkin Spice (seasonal). All of which will make you forget about ice cream for the moment. I bet youre salivating! Hahaha! Well guess what. THEY’RE OPEN RIGHT NOW! So don’t wait until its hot outside! Go get some NOW! (and get ME some too! lol)

They have SEVERAL locations around Manhattan and even locations in Brooklyn and Queens. The stores are pretty cute inside…so have yours to stay. I have provided you with two locations, you find the rest on their website. There are too many to list. I ain’t got time for that! lol

Wanna buy me a cookie?

THANK YOU

This is a hood chinese restaurant so dont expect to sit in there to eat. Theres a little bench you can sit on to wait for your food. But thats it. The cooks and cashier are behind a bulletproof plexiglass window right where they need to be!

I only tend to stick to particular dishes when I go to ghetto Chinese restaurants. Now dont get me wrong, I love these types of restaurants. They tend to have the best food! But theyre ghetto and if you go to one, youll see why. If you live in or have visited any residential ethnic (mostly ethnicities other than white) neighborhoods, you will know these types of restaurants. Though, in areas like Chelsea, The Lower East side, Fort Greene and Park Slope etc. they wont have bullet proof windows (mostly because these neighborhoods are gentrified..aka..white people live there so people feel safer lol)

Now keep in mind this is NOT traditional chinese food. Meaning, this isnt really chinese food. Chinese people just cook it.

Antyway…onto the dishes

Chicken Wings/Half of Chicken:
The chicken wings are good. Although most of these chinese restaurants LOOK the same. Their chicken wings vary, some are good..some, not so much. King food almost tastes like somebody black is cookin the chicken. Its nice and crispy (but you have to tell them “fry it hard”). Also, its best if you tell them to chop the chicken up first before they put it in the oil. That way all the greasy goodness can get into the center of the wing and cook the meat up nice and well. And they know me in that store so they know not to take my chicken out of the grease until I tell them to. Thats a plus in my book. Remembering how I like my stuff and sticking to it! If they were a sit down restaurant i’d give em a good tip for that. If you’re more of a meat lover, you might prefer the Half of Chicken.

Tip, if you’re in the mood for it, throw some hotsauce and ketchup on there and youll be singing chicken praises lol. Chinese restaurant chicken is the only chicken that tastes right with hot sauce and ketchup on it.

Fried Rice:
The fried rice is decent, not the best but damn sure not the worst. They dont put anything fancy in it. All they put are onions, bean sprouts (i hate bean sprouts) and whatever your choice of meat. (ie, pork fried rice, beef fried rice, etc). I personally just get my rice plain with onions. I dont like all that weird meat in my rice. Too much going on! And how do you REALLY Know thats pork, beef or chicken? The texture is usually a little off, and plus beef in these restaurants are always rubbery…so I’ll pass. It would be nice if they put carrots, peas and eggs in the rice but I guess this place isnt close enough to manhattan to get all fancy. The closer you get to manhattan, the more stuff you get in your rice. REMEMBER THAT!

French Fries:
Getting fries from this place is a gamble. Sometimes theyre stale, so good luck with that. They have the medium sized french fries. Not skinny like mcdonalds, but not fat like potato wedgies. And theyre not the kind with the ridges in them. Their french fries leave much to be desired. So, I usually stick with the fried rice.

BBQ Spare Ribs:
NOT FEELING THEM AT ALL! first of all, theyre too big. I like my ribs thin and petite. these seem like DINOSAUR ribs or something. And since theyre big and thick, they arent well done enough for me and I end up having to cook them again in the toaster oven when I get home. So Im gonna say PASS on the spare ribs.

BBQ Spare rib tips:
The rib tips are better than the ribs, but they love giving you GIANT ones. Whats with them and GIANT rib dishes? And if you ask them to chop the ribs up more, they get an attitude. Yeah the lady in that place has a bit of an attitude. But I guess I would too if I had to work in the chinese restaurant all day every day even on weekends. Sucks to be HER.

Broccoli with Garlic Sauce:
Im just gonna stop getting this dish because they NEVER get it right! Either they dont cook the broccoli enough, or they cook it TOO MUCH! I dont like my broccoli crunchy, I like it soft but still in the shape of broccoli! Today I got it and it was mushy and soupy! They need to get their act together and learn how to follow directions. Or maybe I need to learn how to give better directions…or just cook my own damn food! But I dont know how to make broccoli with garlic sauce, and If I did, I wouldnt WANT TO! thats what I have THEM for.

Egg Foo Young:
This is one of my FAVORITE dishes from there. Again, I dont get any meat in it because I dont know wtf that meat really is and honestly its just too much going on. I just get onions in there and its good as hayell! I usually get it with fried rice instead of white rice. Throw some hot sauce on there and you’re good to go.

Won Ton Soup:
Their wonton soup is pretty good..for MY preference. Sometimes they fuck it up though. I think sometimes they have a different cook in there and he doesnt know wtf he’s doing..but MOST of the time its right. I like my wontons kind of tough. Tough noodles are always good to me..but dont eat the meat in the middle cuz I dont know WTF that is! I usally eat the noodle around it and chuck the meat. But you do need that meat in the middle cuz it adds flavor. And the little strips of pork floating around in the soup are ok. I usually eat one, and throw away the rest. The people in there know me so they remember to put EXTRA SCALLIONS! I have them well trained haha..the broth is usually good. Nice and salty (but not too salty), unless the dude who effs it up is there.

Happy meals:
I like that they have specials called happy meals where there are a few dishes that you can mix and match. Like theyll give you chicken wings, rib tips and french fries…or fried shrimp, chicken wings and fried rice. Theres a whole combo side of the menu.

All of these dishes are pretty cheap in price range (but not cheap ENOUGH hahahahha) All of the aforementioned dishes are between 3 and 5 dollars. Its funny how I call them dishes, when they come in styrofoam trays, and paper containers. YAY GHETTO CHINESE FOOD!

Also, if you spend 8 dollars you get a free soda. Their chinese ice t is good, in a DIABETES sorta way! Theres more sugar than tea in that shyt!

If you get your food delivered, dont believe the dude who calls and says “yeah you can come downstairs and get your food now”..because when you get downstairs, HIS ASS is not gonna be there yet! He’s lazy and doesnt want to wait for you to come down, so he calls people before he leaves the chinese restaurant, so that YOU can be waiting for HIM once he gets there. HE GOT HIS NERVE!!!!

If you go in and order your food, expect to be annoyed cuz theres always some loud ass people in the chinese restaurant…but if its any consolation, if youre a weed head, you can probably get you some weed while you wait HAHAHA (im not a weed head..im just SAYIN! lol)

Update: I forgot to mention MAKE SURE YOU HAVE PAPER TOWELS AT HOME! Cuz the people in the Chinese restaurant are cheap as HELL! U ask them for napkins, they give you A NAPKIN! yes A! as in ONE! wtf am i gonna do with ONE napkin! And dont ask for more soy sauce! They act like you asked them for their first born child! You prolly got a better chance at getting their first born than you do getting extra napkins and soy sauce without attitude lmao
(yes I said “prolly”! we make up words over here! where the hell do you think words come from? people make em up! duh lol)

Lunch $6.50-$9.50
Dinner $8.00-$18.00

Chance is MY SHYT! Their food is sooooo good. The atmosphere is very cute. You know Thai restaurants are always decorated all JETSON STYLE! Its kind of a small place but not too crowded (unless you go on a Friday). They have a bar so all the Friday after work peeps crowd in for stress relief drinks.

Ive had a few different dishes from there.
1. Orange Crispy Beef:
Ive had it as the lunch special in the bento box..its about $7.50 as a lunch special. Its soooo good! the beef really is nice and crispy..its a little on the spicy side but its yummy! And they give you nice small pieces of beef that are easy to chew. I think thats their idea of being cheap with the beef since its a lunch special. Because I notice the beef pieces are bigger if you get it as dinner. I PREFER the small pieces. For dinner I try to get them to cut it small but they just dont get it! Its still good though! For dinner its around $15.

2. Sesame Salmon:
EFFING AMAZING!!!! Just make sure you get it well done! I cant stand salmon thats not well done. And if I were you, id get the sauce on the side. The sauce is good, but I like to control my sauce amounts. It comes with rice, but Thai restaurants seem to be cheap with the rice so I usually get an extra helping (my fat ass lol). It might be enough for YOU, but Im a big rice fan and I cant stand “rice cheapness”. DONT BE CHEAP WITH THE RICE!

3. Crispy Shrimp;
Again GOOOOOOOD AS HAYELL! But I’d say again get the sauce on the side! I love that it comes in this crispy bowl shaped thing that you can eat. The bowl thingy is sooo tasty and crunchy and fun to eat. If you bring a kid there (even though its really no restaurant for a child, ive seen kids there), this might be a good dish for them but again get the sauce on the side. This dish is about $16

4. Chicken Pad Thai:
The pad thai is good but it doesnt stand out. Maybe its better if you eat it IN the restaurant. I took mine to go. I have no complaints about it at all…but I dont have any acceptional rants and raves about it either. Id say make sure you tell them NO BEAN SPROUTS. But I say that EVERY time I eat pad thai or ANY asian food that I think would have bean sprouts in them. I cant STAND bean sprouts. They look like sperm cells (eew) lmao…did I just turn you off of bean sprouts? Sorry! but GOOD! you dont need to be eating them anyway cuz theyre nastay! lol I recall this dish being around $10

5. Spare Ribs (appetizer):
The ribs are deeelicious. Its a good appetizer to share and bond over. But the weird thing is they give you 5 ribs. WHY NOT 6? I hate odd numbered dishes, cuz then when the last one is left, it leaves the situation awkward. COME ON! lol. The sauce is kinda sweet! Make sure you get them well done though! And get extra wet naps! Its kinda messy, but aside from that the wet naps are nice and big, and strong! Theyre like wash rags! I like to get an extra one and slip one in my bag for later. (not to wash my ass! be quiet! i just like to have one just in case i want to wash my hands and not near a sink lol)

The wait staff is very friendly and attentive! Make sure you tip them well! One time I forgot to get the sauce on the side, and i was a little annoyed with myself..but since it wasnt the waiter’s fault, i sucked it up and dealt with it. It was good dont get me wrong, but better with sauce on the side. Anyway, the waiter felt bad about it and gave me free ice cream. I thought that was sweet. BUT DONT GO THERE PRETENDING TO BE UNHAPPY WITH YOUR ORDER TO GET FREE ICE CREAM! Im a regular customer there so they know me! DONT TRY IT!

I strongly recommend going to this restaurant. Its cute, clean, friendly, cozy, good background music (not too loud)..and its not in the hood so you wont get mugged. Well YOU MIGHT NOT. To me New York as a WHOLE is the hood, anything can happen ANYWHERE…but this place is in a decent neighborhood. And when you come out of the restaurant, there are some cute little boutiques and stores around there so you can get your shop on!

If you’re loud and ghetto, dont go over there..because this restaurant and this area is not FOR YOU! Its a peaceful area so dont go over there fuckin it up! Go to the chinese restaurant (see King Food)!

Thanks!

Directions:
Im a true New Yorker so dont ask me about car directions, but you can take the G train (i forgot which stop…maybe to Bergen street? or one of those stops in that area lol.)
You can also take the A, C, or F train to Jay Street Borough Hall and then walk straight up Smith St.