#wilmajean

Fried Chicken Scallion Pancake 

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A couple of weeks ago, my friend Lynn came over to my apartment on a gorgeous fall Sunday to go with me to the first new restaurant I was going to write about for this blog.  We wanted a place that was in walking distance and preferably in Brooklyn. Wilma Jean (345 Smith Street Carroll Gardens) was the “winner winner chicken dinner” so to speak. Lynn and I walked up Smith Street that sunny Sunday not knowing the treat we were in for. Smith Street in Brooklyn is somewhere you have to go if you have not… it's an eclectic place. You can really find everything on Smith Street; restaurants, bars, tattoo parlors, boutique shops… even a yacht club.  We eventually made our way to the Wilma Jean entrance and were greeted with a soundtrack of folk music as we opened the door. The atmosphere is family friendly, but it’s a small place; only room for about 40 people at a time. Lynn and I looked at the menu and ordered a breast, thigh, and the fried okra chips to split. (Sidenote- I went back today to make sure my notes were correct from the first time because I wanted to.) Wilma Jean’s chicken is first soaked in salt brine and then fried in peanut oil. The chicken is JUICY from the first bite to the last. From what I can tell, the coating is a simple recipe of flour, salt and pepper. They serve the chicken with a side of buttermilk dressing and all I can say is YUM. It is a dressing of buttermilk, sour cream and maybe a little bit of cayenne pepper? All I know for sure is that dipping the chicken into the dressing creates a salty and sour taste that makes it seem like Fred and Ginger are swing dancing in your mouth!  Yes, I know that sounds very strange. Yes, I still very much wanted to share that thought with you.  

Stepping away from the fried chicken only for a moment… the okra chips. Even though I grew up in Maryland, I did not grow up eating okra. The fried okra chips at Wilma Jean make me wish I had. They are lightly fried, which gives them a great consistency. Their crispy texture and salty taste makes you think you are eating a not-so-great for you snack rather than a vegetable.  (I wish this was a magic trick I could recreate with all of my veggie dishes…) On my original notes from a couple of weeks ago I described this dish as “surprising deliciousness.” I literally don’t know what that means, so I am glad I went back today so that I could give a little bit more of a detailed description.

Now back to the chicken. Lynn and I went we both agreed that the pieces we had were a bit oilier than we would like. This was a little surprising since I knew they were fried in peanut oil. So like the chicken sleuth I want to be, I slyly awkwardly poked my head into the kitchen while waiting for the bathroom. I saw the cooks take a newly made piece of chicken right out of the fryer and put it on top of the pile already cooked chicken without placing it down first to get some of the excess oil off. Maybe this is why Lynn and I felt this way? It’s my only guess. The second time that I ate it (today) one of my thighs was just a bit underdone in the middle.  That being said, the atmosphere is comfortable, the chicken juicy and the dressing delectable. As you can see, we definitely enjoyed ourselves:

For all of these reasons, I give Wilma Jean a solid 3.5 clucks. The Chef/ Owner Rob Newton named the restaurant after his grandmother… She should be very proud.

Now that I officially live in Williamsburg, I need to start checking Brooklyn restaurants off my list. There are just so many to try, from Wilma Jean and Grindhaus to Meadowsweet, Pasar Malam and Bar Chuko. First up, however, was Red Gravy in Cobble Hill. The trattoria comes courtesy of Chef Saul Bolton, who earned one of Brooklyn's first Michelin stars more than a decade ago for his namesake restaurant. At his newest venture, he's focused on sourcing the best ingredients possible, working local produce, cheese and meat into seasonal dishes like Berkshire pork chops with gooseberry peperonata, grilled corn polenta and basil. Chef de cuisine Ayesha Nurdjaja, formerly of A Voce, adds to the offerings with creative, handmade pastas like my personal favorite, orecchiette with lamb sausage, baby kale and smoked ricotta salata. Go on Sunday night and you can even enjoy Bolton's special prix-fixe dinner, complete with fresh pasta and signature meats like short rib braciole, lamb ribs, spicy sausage and meatballs. Even though it's not in Williamsburg, Red Gravy might just be my new favorite neighborhood spot. 

Try it for yourself with dinner for two.