Marlow & Sons - 81 Broadway, Williamsburg, Brooklyn 11211
718.384.1441
L Train to Bedford Street
www.marlowandsons.com
My brother Peter and I took today to explore Williamsburg. We visited a friend's gallery and uncovered various culinary treasures that piqued our interests for future visits.
One such treasure included Marlow & Sons, a rustic general store with a quaint dining room in the back. Since I've been there once before, I knew how wonderful and cozy it was--and I was eager to share it with Peter.
Atmosphere:
What I love most about Marlow is how real it is--the interior has been preserved, showcasing a dark wooden bar, paneled walls and old fashioned chandeliers. I like that the tables are imperfect and mismatched--some are communal and others are smaller yet positioned close to each other. The proximity is comfortable and encourages voyeurism--I wasn't afraid to look over and oooh and ahhh at my neighbor's beautiful oysters or at a huge kettle of stew that was placed on the table behind us.
Food:
We sat down to a nice glass of wine (whiskey in Peter's case) and a hearty slice of chocolate/caramel torte. Since Marlow's menu is dependent on local, good quality ingredients, I knew that our dessert would be nothing short of spectacular. And it was.
Chocolate/Caramel Torte - What sold me on this dessert was that it was sprinkled with coarse sea salt. Lately, I've been loving the sweet/salty combination and I look for it in a good dessert. The chocolate was lovely--it was dark, fudgy and thick--while the caramel was luxuriously smooth and almost buttery. Once your tongue hit the salty crystals, it created the most wonderful sensation on your tongue. Peter put it best when he said that it tasted like a pretzel cake. Fantastic!
Service and Cost:
Our waitress was friendly and accommodating. She gave us her recommendations and I think that we chose the chocolate/caramel torte mainly because she sold us on it. She was attentive and cared enough to see how we were enjoying everything--I know this sounds basic but after the dreadful lunch experience we had, we appreciated the attention.
Two drinks and a dessert set us back $23, which wasn't bad. The wine is especially reasonable at $6/glass for a house red. And might I add that it was very tasty.
I'll be back here in the summer for their famous panini and other seasonal dishes.
3 Mmmms
Just to add to the Foodista's ever-so-solid review, I think one other interesting thing to note is the places's warm aura. The restaurant was filled with a unique type of clientele. Everyone seemed at ease and no one was neither too pretentious nor too alternative. It is definitely a place to have a great conversation and enjoy a friend's company.
ReplyDeleteI agree Peter - and let's not forget the cool guy with the killer mustache!
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