Summer Feasting -- Thai, Indian and some Italian for kicks

A visit to cousins in Brooklyn led to an afternoon of food, a picnic complete with wine and late night pizza. With thai food on the mind we walked down toward Graham Av and looked for a late lunch special. Cheers Thai has a refreshing outdoor back garden and a lunch hour until 5pm!! Yay late afternoon lunch

An appetizer of jewel-like vegetable dumplings packed with veggies were light and flavorful.

Crispy skinned duck rested atop cilantro, lettuce and snappy red onion, combined for Cheer's Thai Duck Salad that could even rival Pam Real Thai's. Each forkful was dripping with lime dressing and the juices of pineapple pieces. Bones were only a minor set back, beside the acidic sting on the roof of my mouth, but nonetheless delicious! McCarren park beckoned us for a picnic, and three hours later we were relaxing in the balmy summer heat. Of course that only made us hungrier :) By dinner time we traveled into Manhattan's Little India around 6th street. A person casually sitting in the front window of Calcutta playing a sitar throughout our dinner was a nice touch. They won't mention their $10 dinner special for a choice of appetizer, soup/salad, entree and dessert unless you ask. One dish on the menu is worth the amount of this great deal, so definitely go for the special.

By the time I got my camera out, we had already ate half of our order of Samosa's. Crispy on the corners, doughy in the middle with starchy vegetables inside. Complete with a spicy dipping sauce they were gone as soon as I clicked my camera.

Lemon added an extra tanginess to spicy cubes of lamb in a creamy Vindaloo sauce. Along with a 22 ounce King Fisher it made for a nice main course. After, a mango sorbet we headed out on the town. By 2am there was already a half hour line in front of Artichoke. Their lines are always long even in the early hours, but waiting on one just sucks.

Watching smiling eaters munching on a crunchy crust oozing with creamy sauce, a hint of wine, extra extra butter and so good. Eaters oggling their slice, heavy handed, stumbling from night drinks and butter overload just make the waiting worse....but so worth it in the end.

Cheers Thai

612 Metropolitan Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11211-3606

Calcutta Indian Restaurant

324 E 6th Street
New York, NY 1000

Artichoke Pizza

328 East 14th Street
New York, NY 10003