Tourists in Brooklyn

There are those evenings when you go out without a reservation and think you might never eat. We went to a restaurant with friends, and a soon to expire gift certificate. But there was a 2 hour wait. So we went to another restaurant, then another.

Our mistake was to be in Williamsburg, a great place to eat, but maybe not so much if you don’t live there and don’t know the next best place to try. Also, it was Saturday, amateur night.

We thought our goose was cooked.

Finally, we wound up at The Fat Goose. It looked promising: exposed brick walls, chandeliers, tin ceiling, only half full.

But all those tables were spoken for.

The host was very gracious, and sat us at the bar. He said in 15 minutes, if a certain table didn’t show, we could eat there.

Fourteen minutes later, they walked in.

Meanwhile, we were contemplating drinks. Fat Goose has a very trendy cocktail menu, but the new winter menu was all rum and bourbon, neither of which I like.

There were 2 IPAs on tap, including my fave, Smuttynose. But both were out. We sampled the Ommegang wheat beer, which no one really liked.

So we drank wine.

Conversation was difficult with our group, since we were lined up at the bar, but then the people at the corner left, so we moved there and ordered appetizers.

Remember when appetizers were called apps & no one had a smartphone?

So Fat Goose, of course, puts goose fat in things where it doesn’t belong, like a lovely looking lentil, pear and Stilton salad, or kale salad. But both were tasty without the goose.

Then, we got a table so we could order main courses. A progressive dinner in one small restaurant.

Vegetarian options for main courses included a sweet potato strudel with oddly bitter carrots and scallops with roasted cauliflower.

We also had wild mushroom toasts with goat cheese – the best thing on the menu.
Next time, a reservation.