The First Warm Day

I made it all the way to Sunset Park and the Greenwood Cemetery.  Before I climbed the hill, rumored to be the highest point in Brooklyn, I stopped by the legendary banh mi joint, Ba Xuyen for a sandwich and a bubble tea.  My honeydew bubble tea might have been a tad on the sweet side (coconut is my favorite, but they didn't have it), but the sandwich outright ruled.  Ba Xuyen offers eight different types of banh mi, ranging from traditional to wacky (you couldn't pay me to eat the sardine version).  We ordered the meatball banh mi, basically a smart and cheese-less take on the meatball sub.  A baguette housed tender meatballs, pickled cucumber/carrot/daikon, fresh cilantro, fish sauce, and cilantro. It was spicy.  It was salty.  It was sweet.  It was crunchy.  It was over way too fast.  

Having had our fill of tombstones, we walked to Park Slope, back to the neighborhood I lived in as a very little girl.  Once there, we stopped at the legendary, 30-year-old Smiling Pizza on 7th Avenue for a slice.  Mine hadn't been reheated enough, but otherwise demonstrated what a perfect New York slice is: crispy but still pliable, thin-crusted, yummy.  

Eventually, I found myself back in Astoria, where I ordered delivery from the new 30th Avenue chicken joint, appropriately named Chicken Shack.  Chicken wings were crispy, though not slathered in hot sauce the way I like them (it came on the side).  Pork ribs were as perfect as they get for delivery.  They were also spicy.  And pretty darn cheap. 

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Ba Xuyen

4222 8th Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11232

718.633.6601

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Smiling Pizza Restaurant

323 7th Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11215

718.788.2137

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Chicken Shack

3502 30th Avenue

Astoria, NY 11103

718.721.3035