Sam's Restaurant 08-15-2009

Location: 238 Court St. Cobble Hill, BK
Time: 5pm
People: RB and myself

Feelings: Sam's Restaurant came highly recommended by my trustworthy gastronome friends, JT and Rich. This traditional Italian/Pizza restaurant has been in the neighborhood since 1930s, and as new residents in the area, we had to stop by.

You know what to expect. You have to play by their rules at such an establishment. After all, they have been there much longer than you, so show some respect! The place is of course cash only, they don't serve by the slice, and they don't do delivery. The place seems like they never changed the decor since the 50s with their red checkered table cloth and the real retro atmosphere (sans irony). Everyone seemed to know each other, but the waiter was very friendly to newcomers like us with incredible Brooklyn sense of humor. Ah, this is why I moved to Brooklyn!

Since we were going to go to the Animal Collective show later that night, we did not want to risk our lactose intolerance issue with their famous pizza. Instead, RB ordered sausage and peppers with a half order of spaghetti. The sausage was tender, and the peppers were slow cooked and fell apart as he took a bite. The sauce was slightly sweet with big chunks of tomatoes. He's had sausage and peppers at nearly every family event his entirely life, and this was comparable to some of the better ones.

I ordered ziti siciliana (baked ziti with eggplant) and carefully avoided the cheese. I usually prefer more delicate and flavorful Northern Italian food to the bold flavor of American Italian or Sicilian style, but I thoroughly enjoyed their delicious eggplant. It had a crisp texture outside and soft and moist inside, and it somehow tasted like tofu! This is actually the first time I enjoyed American Italian cuisine.

As the waiter said, we need to try their pizza or gnocchi next time. I know their rules now, so maybe they will treat us like the real locals next time?