June Baby’s ube colada is just plain fun. Illustration: Igor Bastidas
If you’re like us, you’re currently thinking about what you want to do this weekend. To help, we’ve debuted our newest guide. Every Thursday, we offer you exactly what this column’s name promises: five things to eat this weekend. We’ve sifted through the newest restaurant openings, events, and limited-run menu items so you don’t have to. This week, we’re excited about Filipino bar snacks, lots of pies, zhuzh-y hash browns, a new pastry line (really), and some fall-friendly pizza.
An ube colada and Lumpiang Shanghai at June Baby (197 Second Avenue)
While June Baby’s ube colada turns the classic piña colada dark purple and slightly nuttier in flavor, the Lumpiang Shanghai stays true to what you’d expect of the classic Filipino spring roll stuffed with juicy ground pork. Order the jicama-and-lettuce salad and wrap the spring rolls in a jalapeño and crispy shallot-filled lettuce cup for an excellent texture clash.
A pie flight at Fillings (272 Bleeker Street)
Get a jump on Thanksgiving at Fillings’ new West Village pop-up, where you can pick up a gluten-free s’mores pie with a graham-cracker crust and toasted marshmallows, a flaky laminated PB&J pie filled with bright-red fruit jam and topped with creamy peanut-butter mousse, or a classic coconut and Key-lime number. The better bet is to get a flight of mini-pies.
The “Scattered, Smothered, Covered” at Ferguson’s Country (732 Lorimer Street, Williamsburg)
On the brunch menu at Ferguson’s Country, a lovely place to demolish a basket of biscuits and pimiento cheese, potatoes are a main dish, not a side. Crispy hash browns are decked out with andouille sausage, onions, American cheese, fried eggs, and hot sauce; chicory cold brew is an ideal accompaniment.
A twice-baked chocolate-banana-pecan croissant at Altbau (184 North 8th Street, Williamsburg)
If you’ve made it through what’s sure to be a very long line at Tartine founder Chad Robertson’s new bakery, Altbau, you’ll want to load up a to-go box. Be sure to include the twice-baked chocolate-banana-pecan croissant with streusel and a powdered-sugar topping. It’s somewhere between a pie and a pastry, with a gooey, custardy filling.
Honeynut squash pizza at Frenzie (129 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn)
Like so many great things in life, Frenzie’s seasonal pies are both fleeting and over the top. Roasted squash with not one but three kinds of cheese —mozzarella, Parmesan, and creamy stracciatella — is smothered in pepita salsa macha and fresh cilantro for a little heat and crunch, and each bite somehow has a nice balance of all of those things.
