The Downtown Brooklyn Thread

i think this way sometimes too, but aren't they the same owners? the menus are almost identical, down to the font and layout

yah its the same people - they used to have bedouin express on s portland where pequena is too

Labana = labeneh? We're always looking for the real thing. It's hard to find the good stuff in stores except in the pickled ball form (maybe because it doesn't transport well?)

yeah, labeneh, labne. it's actually not that hard to make, you just need yogurt and a cheesecloth!

What kind of yogurt do you recommend using? We want the properly sour taste, not this sour-cream-like stuff you get in most places.

right... i'll ask my parents ;)

black iris is not great, but very reliable. i used to live right by fatoosh and think that it is better. but the labana at black iris is the best i've tasted.

Anyone ever try Hadramout on Atlantic? I kind of want to try it - menu looks very good.

OK, labne update (from my aunt):

it’s best to use plain supermarket full fat. I’ve used fat free and had to throw it out. But, I was able to make it with low fat. Or, you can mix one container low fat and one full.

All you have to do is empty the yogurt on a cheese cloth draped over a colander, that is sitting in a bowl. lightly stir in some salt, like a small spoon, don’t mix. leave it out for a few hours and then put in the fridge until the next day. It should be done.

sounds like u could just get some greek yogurt (pre drained!) and add salt - try sahadis

i'm pretty sure it's a very different taste though... greek yogurt is as creamy (if not creamier) but it doesn't have the same zesty thing.

i was shocked to look at the nutrition info on the back greek yogurt. that stuff is HEAAVY

greek yogurt is just strained yogurt - u can get it in non fat low fat etc - obv the particular preparation and zinginess varies by brand

actually i think greek yogurt is typically drained, not strained. like i don't think it requires being strained through a cheesecloth. this might account for the difference in taste/texture... all i know is the greek yogurt i've had tastes very different than any labne i've had.

but maybe i'm nuts!

im no expert but imo strained and drained mean the same thing in this context - greek is sometimes sheeps milk which would def taste dif but its usually cows at least the stuff we get here - heres what the wiki says http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strained_yoghurt

also the salting and airing def affects the thing so u cant really compare greek yogurt to yr finished dish

hmm... well, now i'm confused, cuz most of the recipes i looked at for "greek yogurt" involve boiling milk and letting it sit -- but not straining it through a cheesecloth.

in my mind, letting something sit and thicken, and then draining the juice is one thing. but letting it sit, thicken and strain through a cheesecloth seems very different.

I DUNNO JOE YOU WANNA TAKE IT OUTSIDE? :)

yahoo says you're right http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080805103253AAHE5bG

in terms of store brands, i think they sell the labne as a thicker strain, than the greek stuff.

I WILL MEET U ON S PORTLAND AND WE WILL FITE

at sahadis they hav some stuff thats like 10x as thick as yr standard fage total fair

lol @ us using wikipedia and yahoo answers to settle this - people just like us wrote those things

hehe i kno... yeah it might just be a thickness thing. i mean, it's all yogurt.

this is seriously lol, guys

also i'll do this eating-turkey-in-a-bar thing ian brought up 100 years ago, before the yogurt wars

lool :) it is slow at the office...

i could eat turkey at a bar!

this important yogurt debate is obv the culmination and pinnacle of all ilx discourse LOCK SITE

let me tell you something about this Black Iris -- they put OLIVES WITH PITS allll over their garden salad. i mean someone could choke on this! who does that??

So I want more relatively cheap eats to try in my neighborhood. Places I have been so far:

Robin Du Bois
Fatoosh
Reginella
Joya
Lantern
Waterfalls Cafe
Yemen Cafe
Some shitty thai place on Court
Ferdinando's
Teresa's
A terrible terrible vegetarian asian place on Montague
Hibino

5 GUYS

Have eaten.

that is all i know abt teh heights

heights/boerum/cobble/carroll all ok

that french place on smith st near atlantic has ok brunch, didnt blow me away

chinese food place also on smith across from boat v. mediocre

i have to say, regarding chinese -- the way to go: HOUNAN DELIGHT

i can't stress this enough

sorry it's HUNAN. and it's in the slope so it kind of doesn't count :/

chip shop is alright

Hanco's!

Ferdinando's

I really want to go here. Did you have the ground chick pea sandwich thing?

pannelle! hell yes

Em (great Thai. we get takeout all the time)
Eton (dumplings and hand-pulled noodles)
brunch at Chestnut (my overall favorite, but I wouldn't call it cheap aside from brunch)

tell me more about hanco's -- a friend of mine dismissed hanco's in favor of nicky's (in the face of reviews i had read) but i haven't bothered going to either, and there's been one "meh" vote against nicky's on this thread and one hanco's yay so YSI?

I think Hanco's and Nicky's are both good. I have yet to have a bahn mi that I didn't enjoy though. Hanco's also has a vermicelli noodle (bun) dish that is good.

Neither are as good as the Ba Xuyen or the jewelry store on Mott, though.

I don't know if there's other locations but I thought the brooklyn Nicky's on Atlantic Ave was pretty blah

their banh mi needed a ton of http://www.high-entropy.com/hunger/posted/sriracha.jpg

haven't been there in while, I usually go to Hanco's.

should i go to this place referenced in this tumblr entry tonight? http://alexbalk.tumblr.com/post/85865391/fuck-it-it-sounds-like-its-worth-a-trip-to-brooklyn

or should i go to franny's?

or...neither i guess, i mean i ate pizza last weekend.

ur allowed to eat pizza more than 1 wk in a row

max there are girl rules you do not know about

lol

well i mean i am saying my last dining experience was also a pizza -- perhaps i should broaden my horizons!!

the other food at frannys is real good too fyi