Mile End

Mile End
97 Hoyt St
Brooklyn, NY 11217

Just as Canada did against the United States in South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut, recent Canadian entries Mile End and M. Wells have held their own against the rapaciousness of the NYC dining scene.

M. Wells was like the Lawrence Taylor of NYC Dining 2010: it slipped past the offensive line of dominant food critics and became a disruptive culinary force that blurred the lines of diner food and fine dining. Mile End was as celebrated, if not more, for its take on in-your-face Canadian Jewish dining. I've been to this location for both lunch and dinner, and despite my thankfulness for having a very good Jewish deli in my neighborhood, it ain't M. Wells, and its reputation is more vaunted than the actual food.

The smoked meat and the Ruth Willensky have been much reviewed. The smoked meat that I had on several occasions was smoky and dry, but lacked the necessary moisture to bind the spiciness and meatiness of the brisket together. The Ruth Willensky was my favorite, but I am a sucker for layering pungent meats like salami, and condiments like onions and mustard together.

On a rainy night, I snuck in as a one-top for dinner. Instead of ordering from the entree section, I decided to order a quartet of appetizers. The pickle platter might be the best appetizer for $6 in the entire city: it was like a Celine Dion tribute to acidity, with the medley of pickled new and sour pickles, mushrooms, fennel, red peppers making my heart go on about the miracles of brining.

Pea leaf kreplach was solid: fried dumplings filled with ricotta and pea leaves smothered with creamy onions, mint, and chili went well with a Sixpoint Harbinger Saison. The onions smothered the fried pastry nicely, but a larger contrast between the pea leaves, mint, and chili would have significantly brightened the dish.

The sweet and sour lamb's tongue was unforunately buried in field blend of chopped cabbage, sliced carrot, and a thin slick of sweet and sour sauce. The lamb's tongue tasted like funky salami chopped into small antipasti-like pieces, but the crop of offal was overgrown by the C&C combo. Chopped liver with onion relish and chopped egg white was really disappointing with its lack fo schmaltziness, although the stir-fried vegetables provided a garnish to the pletzel triangles served with the dish.