The Best Thing I Ate in Brooklyn

There we were...walking back from a fabulous brunch at Miriam in Park Slope, Brooklyn (and swinging the sensible shoes I had purchased at Beacon's Closet) on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.  Amidst the pet shops, bike shops, thrift stores, futuristic baby strollers (that is what Park Slope is made up of), I look up and see an unremarkable green awning.  "Christie's Jamaican Beef Patties" I say aloud.  Both Raskia and James Boice's eyes light up at my observation.

They insist I try one.  They are the best in Brooklyn.  I've made a cosmic connection.  Of all the stores to say aloud, I pick this one.  I had to eat one.  

I apologize for not having a picture.  I hate taking pictures of food I'm going to eat in public places.  Is that weird?  I just think it's tacky.  The truth is I was so preoccupied with this meat pocket, that I couldn't think about taking a picture.  So here's one I found on the internet:

from mightysweet.com

Anyway.  In case you don't know, a Jamaican beef patty is a spicy ground beef turnover with a flaky crust.  James and I couldn't even wait to get to the apartment (or Prospect Park even) to dig in.  We sat on a bench on the side of the sidewalk and devoured half of a pattie (this is after a full brunch mind you).  It was delicious...hints of cumin, scotch bonnet pepper, thyme...it was all there.  My mouth waters just thinking of it.

Honorable mention:  Steak and eggs at Vinegar Hill House.  The ambiance was perfect...small farmhouse out of an Anthropologie catalog.  Polite, slender, stylish, tattooed, beautiful wait staff.  French-pressed coffee, local ingredients, craft cocktails with special ice  blah blah, every foodie's dream.  Again, no pics of the food, you know how I roll.  But here's the garden patio where we sipped our coffee and waited for our table.

cross-processed for your viewing pleasure