Want to impress an insufferable foodie friend? Just head to Streets BK. Right next to Marlowe & Sons in South Williamsburg, this new global food emporium features authentic street dishes from 30 countries, and the décor is everything you’d expect in Brooklyn: dark wood benches and exposed concrete walls illuminated by Edison light bulbs.
The servers function as ambassadors guiding your culinary journey and suggesting beverage pairings, favoring specialty cocktails like the Applecart, a refreshing mix of tequila, house-brewed apple cider, lemon, agave and spiced rum ($13). If bartender Brian is there, ask for his mean Whiskey Sidecar ($13).
Start with a serving of the best Doubles (fried flatbread with curried chickpeas, mango chutney and shadon bennie) outside of Trinidad ($7). It goes well with the Bake N Shark sandwich ($14), a Trinidadian fish slider lifted from Richard’s of Maracas Beach. Follow it with the Thai Duck Salad—the spicy, crispy duck confit is balanced by sweet papaya-mango slaw with orange chilli glaze ($15).
Chef Ronald Stevinson brings his Italian mother’s Sicilian Arancini ($12) to the table: arborio rice balls studded with seafood, fresh peas and cheese. His consulting chef, Roblé Ali of Bravo fame, shakes things up with the Jerk Pork ($23), succulent braised pork butt with sweet plantains and a finely shredded tangy slaw, and spicy Peri Peri wings, which are so tender the meat falls off the bone ($14). The Singapore Chilli Lobster (MP) is a variation on a crab-based Asian dish, with chili-glazed crustacean, pea shoots and pão de queijo, dense tapioca/manchego biscuits that sop up the sauce.
There are also plenty of vegetarian options, a weekday $30 prix fixe, brunch and a tasting menu that lets you sample a half-dozen dishes. If you love the concept of Smorgasburg but hate the long lines, just go around the world at Streets BK.
BY: TIME OUT COMMUNITY REVIEWER WINNIE MCCROY