I make lists of foods, spices, stews, and pleasures I want to try. For some time I had been hoping to sample the burger at OTB, a Brooklyn cocktail emporium which has received praise for its food. "Juicy," "flavorful," "funky" and "impish" are some of the adjectives which have been used to describe the OTB burger. And so after around a year of waiting, I set out on a sultry late-summer eve to at last get my hands on one of those provocative OTB burgers. I crossed the Williamsburg Bridge not knowing when, or if, I would return. Not far into my journey across the bridge, as I tried passing some slothful walkers, a biker whizzed right past me - never mind there was no reason for him to ride so close to me - and shook his head, seemingly for my gumption at daring to cross slightly into the bike lane. Well as regular readers of these chronicles know, I am an accomplished bike rider, and I know unnecessary biker attitude when I see it. I ran after the insolent biker, caught up to him, and threw him off his bike. I picked up the bike, used it to club the bastard a few times, and then tossed the bike over the bridge and down into the East River. I told that son-of-a-bitch if he had any complaints, I would toss him over just like his bicycle, and that seemed to quiet him. I finally made it into Brooklyn and entered OTB, a handsome, low-key space. I ordered some sort of fruity cocktail, and the waitress mentioned they were only serving a limited menu because it was Monday. There was no burger. I will repeat this for dramatic effect: there was no burger. Tears came to my eyes, and I was ready to find that stupid biker and toss him over the bridge just for the hell of it, but then I noticed, although there was no burger, there was indeed fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy. Well, I'll be! True, I had been waiting for the burger for ages, but a plate of good fried chicken could hold me over until next time. And the fried chicken was indeed good, a very, very respectable bird. The meat was flavorful and juicy, oh so juicy. There was a nice crispy crust. As good as Root and Bone? No, but this was an admirable fried poultry, and confirms my anticipation for the burger, for which I shall return. As always, I will update you on my discoveries and trespasses.
OTB
Just south of the Williamsburg Bridge pedestrian walkway, Brooklyn side.
