Food secrets among Brooklyn nabe’s row houses & piers
You might do a double take the first time you walk by Pier 53, a longstanding coffee and sandwich shop two blocks from Brooklyn Army Terminal pier. Though it’s a traditional American style lunch counter — regulars go for burgers and fries ($7) and homemade platters like baked chicken ($8.50) — a giant sign advertises
It’s the only nod to the Korean owner’s homeland, and available in spicy pork (thinly sliced pork in a spicy-sweet Korean red chili sauce, photo above) or beef (marinated and grilled with peppers, onions, and skinny rice noodles). Either is served as a plate BayRidge-95Street/ 4Avenue over rice ($6.50 for a small pork plate, a dollar more for beef) or as a sandwich served on a supersoft roll with a dill pickle. The spicy pork on a roll ($6.50) is so good, in fact, it’s a shame it’s not sold at corner delis everywhere. By day, the corner Salvadoran spot called is quiet and calm, a perfect place for a lazy lunch spent watching Latin soaps or the traffic outside under the BrooklynQueens Expressway. By night — it’s open till 2 a.m. — the disco ball gets turn ed on and $15 buckets of Coronas roll out. Any time of day you can settle in for Salvadoran comfort food, like the $2 corn cakes called pupusas stuffed with cheese and ayote, or shredded zucchini. (They come with fermented cabbage slaw and hot sauce, best mixed and added to every bite.) There are pretty platters meant to satisfy bigger appetites too, including fried pork chops ($11.99), which come with sides like rice, beans, fried plantains, sweet plantains, salad, crema or French fries. There’s also a short menu of Mexican street food, like tacos, tortas, burritos and tostadas.