Sunken Hundred

Restaurants on Smith Street seem to either open and fizzle out into nothingness in under 5 minutes, or they open and are wildly popular and will be there for the forever future. Despite opening as the first 'Welsh' restaurant anyone in Brooklyn has ever heard of, Sunken Hundred has, since its first day of service earlier this year, managed to achieve the latter status. At 6.30 on a Friday it was already bustling, drinks were being poured, and food was whizzing out the kitchen.

And no, before you ask, the menu isn't just Welsh Rarebit, Glamorgan sausage, and Bara Brith (although they do make an appearance). It's filled with seafood, seaweed-tainted dishes, and warming (necessary both here and in the Welsh countryside), seasonal, vegetable-rich sides and salads. With a drinks order in (one huge glass of red wine, one beer, and one dark rye cocktail), we picked out all the non-shellfish foods on the menu (B is supposedly 'allergic'), and watched them all steadily appear on our table over the evening.

Croquettes were crisp and fishy and perfect dipped in a mustard sauce. Fish churros (described as the most 'Instagram-able' dish on the menu, so obviously we were sold) were genius: all the flavors and textures you want from classic fish and chips in one fried mouthful. A lamb pasty was how pasties should be, with crisp pastry and a flavorful interior — a far cry from the pasty scent which fills most British train stations. The squid was pretty and sweet, while the mushroom salad was earthy and autumnal, and the ffagodau (meatballs on minty peas) are what I'll be eating for the rest of winter

And obviously we ended with pan fried Bara Brith with rum and walnut ice cream. Twice. Because when a group of runners go out together, one dessert between three is simply not enough.

Sunken Hundred strikes the perfect balance between curated, carefully crafted food, comforting, homey dishes, a warm, welcoming atmosphere, and prices that mean this really can become a neighborhood local. 

Sunken Hundred, 276 Smith Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231

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Grand Army Bar

Grand Army Bar was one of the places on my New York summer bucket list that never got crossed off. So rather than going on a warm summer's night, where the windows are wide open, and cocktails are served in ceramic pineapples, we instead went on a cold November evening, where pineapples are swapped for elegant glasses filled with serious, smoky cocktails, and a roaring fire warms the room.

We sat at the oyster bar (despite skipping the oysters) and ordered one Smoking Gun for B (because he knows how to order a drink) and one Pineapple Primary for me (because I can't quite accept that it's winter yet). The Smoking Gun was as serious, smoky, and soothing as a drink made up of aged rum, pot still black rum, toasted cinnamon, whisky, and bitters should be. This is what I intend to sip by the fire all winter long. I just need to find a fire. And while the Pineapple Primary was initially disappointing due to the lack of pineapple serving vessel, it's fresh, slightly spiced, citrus-sour flavors more than made up for it. More fruity cocktails need to be topped with pepper tincture and pink peppercorns. We sipped our way to the bottom of the glasses, debated having another, and, it being the day after Thanksgiving, decided against it. A healthy, turkey-free dinner at home and early night beckoned.

Grand Army Bar, 366 State St, Brooklyn, NY 11217

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