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Restaurant Review: Traif
Traif‘s been a favorite of mine since it opened in 2010. Actually, I pretend I’m an early adopter, but I didn’t step foot inside until 2011. This much is true; I know I can rely on Traif for thoughtful cocktails and consistent forkfuls of what the hell was that!?! All the family and friends I’ve dragged here have stumbled out satisfactorily Traifed, I assure you.
“That’s what we call it,” Kim says, “even if we eat something delicious somewhere else.”
“Like, we got Traifed by the polenta at Home Plate in San Francisco.”
“Or when we got Traifed at Pig & Khao by that crispy sweet pork belly.”
Small plates and amazing drinks are one of my favorite combinations, and Traif always brings me to that happy place. This New Years, Kim and I are at the counter again, like last year, two food nerds who can’t wait to be entertained by expedition and execution.
I admit part of me wondered what might be happening a few doors down at sister spot Xixa. They also had a tasting menu tonight – and apparently Jason Marcus‘ attention during my seating at Traif. Can’t these two open a place in Park Slope already?
I’ve had nights at Traif where literally every plate made you gasp. Heat and flavor and texture and execution all lined up perfectly. Ending the whole shabang with bacon doughnuts and coffee ice-cream or their sumptuous chocolate pot de cremes.
This New Years experience was a little different. For one thing (not to complain) we were seated forty minutes after arriving on time. They were seemingly in recovery mode when we got there – mentioning the kitchen had fallen behind. Someone suggested that mixing Traif classics with new experiments messed with their timing. Who knows. It’s likely some reservations started and ran late which totally throws off the plan. Guests are reminded about start and end times on the phone, in email, in a phone call the day before, and in person. That’s how they manage the night. At some point it becomes herding cats because, in all fairness, why would anybody want to leave this place?
Regardless, I started having fun the moment I got there and especially while summoning a steady stream of Rude Little Pigs to do my bidding. Lapsang-infused tequila, Cointreau orange liqueur, pomegranate, bacon rim. Sounds like a novelty. It ain’t.
A shot-glass of creamy Vidalia onion soup to start was delectable, followed by strawberry-cinnamon ribs which seemed early considering Traif’s usual light-to-heavy pacing. Don’t get me wrong, I can eat those ribs until I flat-line. The blue cheese and persimmons in the salad that followed were tasty, just off schedule.
One thing my Italian family has never been able to instill in me is a love of mussels. Not my thing. But I was Traifed for sure, soaking up mussels and that buttery sauce with thick cuts of brioche. So unlike me. I wonder if I’ll like that anywhere else.
Now it’s midnight, my girl and I are a little buzzed when suddenly air horns and loud pops send confetti twinkling beautifully into the air and ultimately into all of our drinks. Mmmm, now we’re having some beef sliders. The peekytoe crab on top might be superfluous, but those sweet potato fries and smoked paprika aioli are a killer combo as usual.
So many different plates are coming out of this tiny kitchen. From our vantage point we saw a lot of unfamiliar dishes we are dying to try.
“That’s bone marrow,” I say to Kim, with the enthusiasm of someone that just saw Elvis at the deli.
“Just take it from that guy,” she suggests. “He doesn’t deserve it.”
“The one over-emoting to Always Something There to Remind Me?” I ask, sipping around the confetti in my Rude Little Pig.
“His eyes are closed and everything,” the Chef interjects. “He’s really feelin’ it.”
Whereas my eyes are peeled for the baked muenster, smoked chorizo, apples, and crostini dish I love so much. Alas, no dice. Oh, but very happy to see you again, foie with egg, maple, potatoes and hot sauce – come sit on my lap.
While the flavors were good, the pork belly suffered from lack of competing textures. And is that the same crab that topped the sliders? Not a particularly contrasting lead-in for the more purposefully soft final savory course of short ribs on polenta. Tasty, and one of the bigger small-plates for sure. Might be a bit heavy for some, but those people don’t know.
In the past, I’ve had desserts at Traif that blew my mind. Sometimes I fantasize about coming here alone just to have secret dessert. Our meal tonight ends simply with some zeppoles and poppy-seed vanilla ice-cream. Good, sure, but not a closer – especially once you’ve experienced the other tricks up their sleeve.
Traif remains one of the best things you can do with your clothes on. I know I’m not special for feeling that way, it’s the most Yelped restaurant in Brooklyn these days.
If pork and shellfish make it through your dietary force-field, make a reservation and get there on time.
Almost every year for the past 6 years and on the same day, I’ve posted the same pic of me in the hospital during my temporary and untimely demise in 2015. A few weeks after I was back to “normal”, I asked Eric “Why’d you take the pics?” And he said, “I knew you would want to write about it if you lived.” Eric was right. Eric was often right and Eric always had my best interest at heart. I am going to miss my friend.
You ever meet someone and become friends immediately?! Well this was not the case with Eric. Before he was my manager at Morgan Stanley, I would often see this 6’4″, giant white guy walk up to the only black woman at work, say something then walk away without any hint of human emotion. Naturally I thought he was a jerk until I asked her “Yo, is that dude bothering you?” She laughed and proceeded to tell me he was a great person, which I ultimately got to experience first hand. Little did I know this Italian from Staten Island was more Brooklyn than most Brooklynites.
Eric was not with the shits!! If there were ever someone who lived their life in direct, honest and no uncertain terms, that would be Eric. He would ask me questions at work like “Why are the other consultants making more money than you?” I knew the answer to that question and so did he. Eric then proceeded to increase my salary by 15K. After arguing with all our managers that “You need to hire Alfred!”, they eventually did 1 year prior to the 2015 incident. In the hospital, one of my friends asked me, “What if you didn’t have health insurance when this happened?” I would be in debt for the rest of my life is the obvious answer. I still am in debt for the rest of my life but at least, it is to those who made sure I had a more enjoyable life and for that, I will gladly repay.
My mom loved to tell me the story of how she met Eric. After they told her I was going to be in the ICU for some time, she told the doctor “Well I’m not going anywhere.” She then hears a voice from that back of the room that says “Well I’m not going anywhere either!” That was Eric and in true form, he was at that hospital every single day until I was discharged.
Eric passed away in December 2021 of stage 4 cancer. After feeling faint on his way to my bbq, he went to get checked out and was diagnosed. During the past 5 years, Eric lost his mom, twin brother and dad. I can’t even begin to imagine what that must have felt like but I’m glad that pain he was feeling is no more.
From being my manager to my business partner, writer, book editor, artistic director, and most importantly, my friend, I am going to miss you MC Krispy E a.k.a “Enrique Pollazo!” And although you told me Enrique means Henry in Spanish and not Eric, it was too late!
Sidebar. The day I was discharged, while everyone was deciding what was best for me, no one had remembered that I would need clothes in order to leave the hospital. Eric shows up (unasked) with all the clothes I had on the day I coded, laundered and ready to go. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve friends like this but i need to keep doing it! Sidebar complete.
Rest in Peace Eric. “Be Good.”
I had the distinct pleasure of participating in a panel discussion on writing your first book, presented by the Harlem chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. Alongside Jim St. Germain, Author – A Stone of Hope: A Memoir and Dr. Keneshia Nicole Grant, Author – The Great Migration and the Democratic Party: Black Voters and the Realignment of American Politics in the 20th Century. We opined on pain points, benefits and strategies regarding our inaugural voyages into authorship. Feel free to watch for your self and I hope this provides some insight to all those looking to make the same voyage. Enjoy!
