Restaurant Review: Traif

For my birthday this year, Jeremy and I decided to check out some unexplored territory (for us) in Brooklyn. We had heard about Traif in Williamsburg from a few people and thought it would be fun to try. For those that don't know, "traif" is the Hebrew word to describe food that is not kosher. So, as you might imagine, Traif celebrates pork and shellfish... mixed with cheese...among other goodies.

3 subways later, we arrived at a cute, hidden gem looking place that was already poppin'. They squeezed a lot of tables in there, and we ended up with one directly across from the open kitchen. While an open kitchen is a cool touch, it creates some heat and we were getting the brunt of it at our table. If you decide to go, definitely ask to be seated in the enclosed garden area in the back. It's at least 15 degrees cooler back there!

Dishes are meant to be shared and vary in size. They recommended we go with 5 dishes for the 2 of us, and that was plenty. After we ordered, they came around with little shots of pea soup, complimentary amuse bouche.

Pea soup

For the actual meal, we started with the burrata cheese that was served with yogurt, roasted beets, raspberries, pomegranate vinegar and mint garnish. Every ingredient was so fresh and the beets and raspberries were very complementary to the salty cheese. The yogurt made the whole thing creamier and the a pomegranate/balsamic glaze drizzle sweetened it up a bit. We really liked this and were off to a great start.

Burrata

Next we got the spicy bigeye tuna tartare which was served on top of tempura Japaense eggplant rounds and drizzled with recap manis soy sauce. This was probably our favorite dish of the night. The tuna tartare was very fresh and portioned nicely on top of each crispy eggplant round. The crispy, crunchy tempura was not greasy at all and really complemented the soft tartare texture while adding some salty flavor.

Tuna tartare

For the third dish, one of our "entree" plates came - milk braised Berkshire pork cheeks served on top of polenta with fava beans, snap peas, and asparagus. I have never really had pork this way before in that it was similar to the texture of short rib, very tender, falling apart with a shredded feel. The polenta was super creamy and rich and the greens were bright and crisp and added the needed crunch. We really liked this tasty, flavorful dish.

Pork cheeks

The fourth dish was the second "entree" plate, crispy buttermilk-crusted quail. When it arrived it was not what we expected. It looked like a giant piece of fried chicken, except it was fried quail. The batter was delicious, seasoned to perfection, and crispy without being greasy. Even the gravy was good, with the meyer lemon flavor giving the dish a bit of a fresh taste. However, the quail meat just didn't hold up. It's a tiny bird that's not especially meaty and I think it just got lost in the batter and should really never be fried like that. We weren't thrilled with this one, but the smoked gouda mac n cheese it came with helped the situation. It was crusted over on top and creamy and rich inside. Considering this "small plate" was $27 and the main part was disappointing, I would not order this one again.

Buttermilk-crusted quail

The last plate was the BBQ braised short rib sliders. I wished this came third, before the bigger plates, because it is more of a starter with only 1 slider each. The short rib had a sweeter tangy flavor and was pulled apart. The meat was good, but I was too full to eat it with the bun. I couldn't even finish the super crispy, super delicious sweet potato fries with smoked paprika aioli because I was so full (and that is shocking because I love all fries).

Short rib sliders

As full as we were, we had to make room to try the largely hyped bacon doughnuts. Four munchkin sized airy, fluffy doughnuts arrived alongside a scoop of coffee dulce de leche ice cream. The doughnuts were topped with crispy bacon crumbles that added an awesome salty contrast to the sweetness of the dish. Don't get me wrong, these were super indulgent and really good, however I don't think they were AS AWESOME as everyone had said. Would I get them again? Sure.

with a Bacon doughnuts

Once we got the check, they came around with a little palate cleanser type bite of pineapple which was cute.

Pineapple bites

Great overall impression here. We really enjoyed most of our meal and it's a cool atmosphere. Aside from the heat and some minor service related issues, I think this is a great little spot that was worth the trip. I would definitely come back with a group to try more stuff, especially since their menu changes somewhat each day.