Rating: 💋 💋 💋 😘
This one goes out to the lovely borough of Brooklyn.
Shannon loves Court Street Grocers and extols its virtues as a superior restaurant for a treat. Since we cannot celebrate special occasions normally due to the pandemic, her solution is to order take-out from here to make her day feel a bit more festive. With three locations in Brooklyn and one in Manhattan, hopefully this sandwich spot can bring a little to joy to all of you New Yorkers as well.
The menu looks incredible. It took me a minute there to decide what I wanted, because too many of the sandwiches sounded good. I guess I will just have to go back. Shannon's go-to sandwich is the Italian Combo, filled with all the joys of an Italian hoagie. My dad opted for the American Combo, and the "comeback" sauce on it is fire. I tasted a bit and next time I have to order a sandwich with that flavorful orange spread, which tasted like it belonged to the chipotle mayonnaise family. Based off the menu's use of the terms "hoagie" and "jawn," as well as the perfectly toasted sesame hoagie rolls they used, my family agreed we are picking up some Philly vibes from this place. Either somebody in management is from the Philadelphia area, or they are just doing a really good job catering to the Philly culture. No wonder we are such big fans. For our orders, my mom and I both decided to go the breakfast route. She got the B+B, adding ketchup to her egg-bacon-arugula sandwich since it does not come with a sauce, and she was so excited. The bacon was perfectly crispy and the arugula added a very satisfying freshness to the sandwich. I was thrilled with my B+C. I saw the chorizo item first and, though I looked around the menu before locking in my order, I just could not resist. If you cannot stop thinking about it, that is the dish you should order, lest you are doomed to pine after it forever. I loved how they chopped the sausage up into the soft scrambled egg, with the delicious cheddar melting into the mix and the arugula hitting a nice refresh button. My sandwich also came with salsa verde, giving me just a little kick that was perfect heat for the cold day. This was one of those lunches where the conversation paused when the food arrived, so we could all devote our full attention to the glory on our plates.
My dad proudly dropped off Shannon's dinner for later as well: a freshly baked Danboli. It was beautiful and Shannon was psyched for her birthday surprise.
Of course, we could not have a Magee birthday without Ugly Cake. I helped bake the cakes, but my mom did all the icing art. It tasted scrumptious, as per usual.
We really lucked out with such a beautiful day in the city. If you mask up and keep your distance, you can enjoy a lovely walk along the Brooklyn Piers, taking in the skyscrapers of the Financial District with the Brooklyn Bridge stretching out on your right and the Statue of Liberty saluting you on the left, all shimmering above the river. It was gorgeous. Everyone was happy. My dad was practically parkouring around the walkway he was so excited to have gotten to go out on an excursion. It absolutely thrilled us to have an event, even if it was just taking a walk.
My dad joked about how I had a whole new spring in my step, and he was probably not exaggerating. I appreciate nature as much as anyone, but I think I am a city person at my core. I need the energy and excitement. I like waking up knowing that the day can spin out into so many different directions because there are so many different people I can run into, places I can visit, and things that I can do. A city offers that. The wilderness? Not so much. The day reenergized me. Though I have been pretty motivated and have been devoting this whole time, even before COVID, to building my life into something I look forward to waking up to every day, this pushed me even more to take action. So I am weighing my options, evaluating my situation in light of what I want and what pandemic restrictions allow, and making a defined strategy.
I hope all of you have enjoyed some snow days and stayed cozy. Wishing you a great week ahead.
XX,
MK
Comments