Good News: Black Tree’s Back in Brooklyn!
photos courtesy of Black Tree
The last time we saw Black Tree, they were serving sustainably sourced sandwiches in Crown Heights, many with a veggie-focused bent. They decamped to the Lower East Side in 2013, nipping and tweaking their local/seasonal concept, and as of last week, they’re back in a big way in Williamsburg, with a menu that’s both farm-to-table and nose-to-tail.
Divided into “Small Things,” “Salad Things,” and “Animal Things,” offerings are largely informed by that week’s featured creature—from pig to rabbit to venison to water buffalo (obtained from spots like Goffle Farms, Oink & Gobble, Acorn Hill and Sweet Grass Meats) which they bring in whole, and break down onsite. Meaning strict vegetarians would be wise to stick with roughage—including striped spools of delicata squash, scattered with microgreens and edible flowers and layered with milky nobs of fresh mozzarella—as the majority of dishes at Black Tree Brooklyn are an unapologetic ode to animal flesh.
Debuting with goat and cow, and moving just as quickly on to duck, short rib sandwiches paved with blue cheese and pan-seared duck breast with mashed pumpkin and market greens are among the most commonplace creations. But if your palette’s up for the challenge, you’ll be duly rewarded by floppy offal tacos, bearing soft slips of braised tongue and mineral-y beef heart ceviche, as well as generous bowls of shoyu ramen, sporting stock leached from goat bones and thickened with marrow, or an exceptionally ducky bahn mi, layered with tender leg confit, gelatinous rillettes, and liver mousse (fork over an extra $2 for the duck egg).
Black Tree is also all-in when it comes to their drinks program, amassing a collection of house-made bitters in flavors like pear, plum and concord grape, which can be incorporated into soda or stirred into cocktails. They’ve barrel-aged their own whiskey and tequila as well, which can be enjoyed straight or mixed into manhattans, with Atsby vermouth and blueberry bitters, or lime-free margaritas, along with ginger bitters and P&H grapefruit syrup.
Just the thing for pairing with a plate of offal tacos.
261 Metropolitan Avenue, Williamsburg
