East Williamsburg Gem: Gwynett St

MD and I have been finding ourselves in Brooklyn quite a bit.  As was the case during one of our last dinners of 2012.  It was the first real snow day this winter in the city. Fortunately, the snow didn’t stick so it meant that we weren’t stuck ordering in take-out.  So out to Williamsburg we go, East Williamsburg to be exact and found ourselves at Gwynnett St.  

Even though Gwynnett St. has already been part of the neighborhood for over a year now with its charming warm exposed brick dining room and inventive yet approachable cuisine, it recently gained quite a bit of attention from the food community.  Luckily despite all of this attention, we were able to find bar seats without reservations on a fully booked Saturday night thanks to the still snowing night and our relatively early dinner time.

The seasonal new American menu at Gwynnett St. is every changing but one of the must haves and thankfully mainstays is their whiskey bread with cultured butter.  This fresh house made loaf came to the table warm, with a crunchy crust.  The interior was tender and buttery, sweet with a hint of bitter from the alcohol.  This was most definitely worth its price tag and every rich bite.  It was so good that we had to consciously stop ourselves from finishing the entire loaf right away to make room for the rest of the meal.

MD and I shared two earthy Fall appetizers, the sunchoke and the blood dumpling.  The roasted sunchoke sections were served with toasted hazelnuts and showered in a rich alpine cheese broth that finished cleanly.  The flavors were remarkably earthy, perfect for this weather.  While we both thought the precious blood sausage medallions were well made and paired well with the sweet apples, neither of us warmed up to the thinly sliced parsnip that hid all the good things.

It really felt like a hearty red meat kind of night so for the entree, it was the duck for me and lamb for MD.  The lamb was served with curried quinoa with winter preserves two ways, the loins seared to a perfect medium rare and the legs tender and juicy.  The crunch of the toasted quinoa carried the curry flavor in a delicate way, pairing well with the lamb.  And my duck?  Well, according to MD, this is one of the best he has had in a while.  Again, Gwynnett St has perfected the medium rare, resulting in plump juicy slices that the knife cut through cleanly.  The prunes, braised cabbage and its cousin, the brussels sprouts brought a touch of winter to the dish.

Somewhere between the appetizers to the last bite of our entrees, we managed to devour the whiskey bread, leaving not a single crumb.  Too full to even consider desserts, we had to end our meal here that night late 2012.  There has to be something to be said about leaving something new to try for next year, right?  And we certainly will be back soon!

Gwynnett St. | 312 Graham Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211 | http://www.gwynnettst.com/