Van Duzer Days

On the way back from an errand Saturday morning, we stopped at the Muddy Cup (or is just "The Cup" now?) on Saturday for some coffee and to read our New York Times. It had been a while since we'd wandered around Van Duzer St. and with the Spring, the street life was abounding. A bunch of kids were standing around giggling and laying hands on a mid 80s Honda Civic that had been driven up onto the curb. There was some kind of giant subwoofer in the trunk, and it was clearly overpowering every hinge, screw, and piece of plastic in the car. They were enjoying the vibrations, and so were we, even from fifteen feet away.

After a couple coffees, we walked back over to the big red brick house two doors south of The Cup (the place just to the other side of the yellow house with the columns that Cynthia had wanted to look at when we were looking) because there was a sign outside that said Estate Sale. As it turns out, there was a pretty decent selection of furniture -- don't get me wrong, some of it was terrible, but some was pretty nice looking, and as far as I'm concerned more serviceable than Everything Goes. Cynthia has been looking for a dresser since we moved in August (I got mine at the Park Slope flea market on moving day), and hadn't had much luck or inclination to look. We found two we liked, and in a very strange twist of fate, it turned out that they were far less expensive than I would have anticipated (Go Staten Island once again), take home either one for $100, plus $20 for local delivery. Pretty nice, I'll post a picture later.

Then we walked over to Hoppin' John's and were thrilled to find breakfast still being served (even though it was well into the afternoon). The place had a fairly convincing southern vibe to it, and reminded me of soul food places I've been to in Harlem and South Central Los Angeles, which is to say bustling, multi-racial, and extremely hospitable. I was feeling really good about finding the restaurant when the waitress (who was possibly the proprietor, such a proprietary air had she) brought me my cup of coffee. It was possibly the wateriest and least flavorful stuff I'd ever had, with an odd, malty sweet smell that Cynthia swore was the smell of instant coffee. The three breakfast choices that excited me the most were liver and grits, whiting and grits, or salmon croquet and grits. Then there were the requisite favorites: scrapple, collard greens, yams, catfish, etc. Although I was hankerin' for some liver and grits, I ordered two eggs sunny-side-up, grits, and scrapple. Cynthia had flapjacks. When the food came, it was storybook perfect, and delicious. The portions were not excessive, which was nice (I would have eaten whatever was put in front of me), the grits were creamy, ,and the scrapple came perfectly crisped in two small rectangular tiles. The pancakes were firm, thick, chewy, and flavorful, perhaps not everyone's preference, but just the way I like them. The service was helpful and attentive, the atmosphere was airy and cheery, and the meal was delicious and, significantly cheap, about $6.00 per person. We're always looking for breakfast places, so this was a win for us. Much, much better than the King's Arms diner on Forest, which we've visited many times when in need of some Saturday afternoon breakfast, and so we'll definitely be back.