Immaculate Infatuation

Immaculate Infatuation’s tour of Brooklyn restaurants keeps on rolling. After successful stops at Vinegar Hill House and Marlow & Sons, Dressler was next on our list. Truth be told, our first trip here happened on the same night as our initial visit to Marlow & Sons. That’s right, double dinners! That’s what happens when hungry friends from the West Coast are in town. Bruno Ybarra and Kelley Brogan of iTunes are as serious about their consumption of music as they are about their food, so we needed to maximize every free moment with high quality eats and drinks.

Serving a straight forward menu of New American classics like short ribs, pork chops, striped bass, and Chatham cod, Dressler puts a nice spin on wholesome simplicity. Dressler’s secret lies in their presentation, and the fact that entrees come garnished with things like caramelized endive, confit of summer squash, chorizo, spring onion, and black mission figs. Want to get our attention? Serve something swimming in sweet corn chowder and the chances of us ordering it will triple. My mild complaints are that the portions are a bit skimpy, and that they tend to cook with a tad too much salt.

Dressler’s interior is sweet. Sculptors from the Brooklyn Navy Yard helped create an industrial-chic vibe which is spacious, decked with comfy booths and an inviting bar. For Brooklyn, the prices are a bit steep, with most entrees falling within the $26-32 price range. The $45 tasting menu is tempting, but the a la carte options appear more desirable. Dressler offers Williamsburg locals a legitimate downtown Manhattan-esque dining option without having to travel over the bridge. Plus, it’s the perfect restaurant to keep in mind when you can’t get into Peter Luger across the street. Added bonus, Dressler offers no corkage fees on Monday & Tuesday nights.

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Jimmy’s No. 43 was an unknown to us until a few weeks ago, even though we watch sports at the bar directly above it now and again. One of our informants recently tipped us off to it, and it turns out that just below the street on 7th you will find a dark and cozy joint that feels like it’s straight out of Eastern Europe. Welcome to Jimmy’s.

Jimmy’s is all about craft beers, both domestic and imported, and it’s apparently a well kept secret that they also serve amazing food. The interesting part is that there is much more to Jimmy’s than just that. A visit to their website sufficiently demonstrates their passion for not only beer and eating, but also for their community. You’ll see that they frequently host awesome things like tap dancing classes (“tappy hour”), beer tastings, home brewing demos, and a local oyster night every Thursday. This isn’t a bar, this is a community college for hedonists.

We’ve since stopped in for a few sessions of beer drinking and face stuffing, and the verdict is in, the food is indeed excellent. It’s the perfect cold weather night out – a handful of beers, a hearty meal, and an early bedtime. We’re glad we stumbled in … it’s going to be a long winter. Looking at the schedule of events at Jimmy’s, we should be tapping our way to a master brewer certification by spring.

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Greek food is great, but it’s just not something I usually find myself going out to eat. Thanks to a rabid following on Yelp and a high Zagat rating I figured it was time to bring my best Greek buddy here to see if this place was worthy of such high praise. It was a nice night, the front of the restaurant was open, and every table was filled with lively groups of friends and family. The decor matches the vibe well. Clay pots appropriately hang from the ceiling (Pylos means ‘made of clay’ in Greek) while Greek wines line the walls. It’s a very cozy, friendly environment inside as the entire restaurant is situated along shared pillow covered benches on either side and also features a communal table in the back. Are you striking out on Agape Online (Greek J-Date)? Maybe try your luck at the Pylos communal table one night. Pylos received the authentic Greek seal of approval and is now immediately going into my buddies Greek eats rotation.

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Little Owl, I want to love you. I really do. We’ve had a few nice evenings together and honestly, I think if things were different, it could work out between us. The problem is that none of my friends like you. Every time I bring my friends around, you make them mad. You sometimes serve a sub par piece of fish or kill your tuna lettuce wrap appetizer with salad dressing. Every once in a while you run out of an entree. You are always so friendly and they expect things to be great, but then something goes awry and I have to defend you. They tell me I should be spending my time somewhere else. They say there are better places in the West Village to spend my money. They say I am too good for you. I know I should just take their advice and walk away, but you have such a sweet, sweet pork chop. If you only served pork chops and meatball sliders, I would give you a 9.0 rating and we would move in together and have game night every Thursday. Think about it. We would be so happy. I made you a mix tape.

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Crispo is another restaurant that falls into the category of long-time Immaculate Infatuation favorite. The restaurant opened in the summer of 2002, and has since seen some strong competition open up in the neighborhood – Scarpetta, La Bottega, and the Standard Grill to name just a few. We hadn’t been back in a while and recently decided to check in and see how the place is holding up. Amazingly enough, Crispo is still hanging tough like Keith Richards’ internal organs. They’re drawing nice crowds most nights, and the food is exactly as we remembered – high quality Italian with great pastas, a nice selection of cured meats and antipasti, and a solid wine list. It seems that once again consistency is the key to success. For the warm weather months (both of them) Crispo has a huge back garden that’s a relatively well kept secret. Keep that one in your pocket and let everyone else flock to Pastis while you dine outside with people that don’t suck.

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