Atlantic Antics and New Amsterdam Market, Oh My

No, we didn't eat that.  But isn't she cute enough to eat?

Pinky didn't like the antics, Atlantic Antics that is.  It was crowded, loud, and full of drunk people.  But we, as a part of the crowd, being loud and drinking pints of Six Points, fit right in.  It was a gorgeous day in NYC so we said, hey! let's travel to that land mass across the water called Brooklyn and enjoy some sun and food!  But alas, we were not so original with our idea.

Atlantic Antics would have bee awesome with 85% less people.  Food was abound everywhere, but so were lines.  So we got very little to eat.  After spotting a quick moving line for some sort of grilled matter, we scored ourselves some braised pork with apple jicama slaw on pretzel bread from Building on Bond (BOB!).  It was... aight.  The pork was tender but the sauce was way too sweet.  Which would have been okay if they weren't so stingy with the slaw - the tartness and texture of the slaw would have balanced out the tender and sweet meat if there were more of it.  

pork sandwich

I was excited about the pretzel bread.  But they were a bit of a letdown too.  Kind of stale tasting, more like a street vendor pretzel then a nice chewy bakery pretzel.  So much potential, so little return.

wasted potential

We also got some random jerk chicken from a random stand.  I was surprised at how tender the chicken was.  But I thought the flavor could have more kick.  Jerk chicken should burn my taste buds off!

jerk chicken

Too bad we didn't get to try other stuff at the Antics.  Next year, perhaps.

Last weekend, on another beautiful Sunday, we went down to New Amsterdam Market at the South Street Seaport.  After being denied by Porchetta cuz our lazy asses got there after they sold out of sandwiches, we got in the massive line to procure ourselves some sea critters on rolls from Luke's Lobster Bar.  Mmmm... insects of the sea.  We got a lobster roll and a crab roll.  You guys know that I love my lobsters and crabs.  Luke's seafood quality was really fresh, but sadly, my favorite part of the rolls were the actual rolls themselves.

lobster roll

Both lobster and crab rolls were mayo-free, seasoned with a brush of butter, salt, and pepper.  The crab had some Old Bay.  The light seasoning would have been awesome if I were just eat them in a non-sandwich form, like as a part of a raw bar.  But the presence of carbs demands the creaminess that mayo provides.  Also, it could have used some tang too.  I don't like a lot of mayo in my lobster rolls, but I do want a teaspoon or something.  Lastly, without the binding powers of mayo, my fillings kept plopping out, which was super annoying.

crab roll

The rolls themselves were awesome though.  Buttered and then griddle toasted, they were fluffy, soft, and had a light crunch around the toasted parts.  Instead of the bread complementing the fillings, I felt that the bread was the star of the show and the fillings just provided a contrast in texture.  Sad.

tasty tasty carbs

After the rolls, we strolled around the market and sampled random stuff while picking up cheeses, wines, and bread (olive bread from Sullivan. SO GOOD.  I WANT MORE NOW) for our dinner that night.  While strolling, we stopped by Brooklyn Larder and got a bowl of their frank and beans, fancified.  How much do I love the name Larder!?  Yeah, I know it means food storage or something.  But it can also mean more lard,  yes?  YAY FOR MORE LARD!

Okay, back to the gussied up frank and beans.  We got a bowl of cannellini beans crowned with a grilled sausage.  This was tasty.  The beans were topped with some delicious extra virgin olive oil that gave it that tasty green flavor only good olive oil can impart.  I think cannellini beans are my second favorite beans, after green beans.  They are so light and tender, and don't make me feel like I just ate a bunch of boiled potatoes (I only like potatoes fried or mashed with lots of butter, yes, I'm weird.  I don't hate non-fried or mashed taters, just that they bore me to tears).  The sausage was lightly spicy and super flavorful.  I just wished that the beans had more meat flavor from the sausage. The dish tasted like two different dishes plopped on one bowl, not one unified dish.  If that made any more sense...

frank and beans and dog

New Amsterdam Market was really fun.  It was like a farmer market but with lots more free samples.  It was crowded but not unmanageable (like Atlantic Antics).  I'd be down to go again in November.