Every time I sneeze a new restaurant opens in Brooklyn. Every time Mrs Z sneezes, a dove commits suicide. Its the loudest sneeze on the planet, that comes without warning. Think a samurai shout or a mother giving birth to triplets. Some of the new restaurants generate hours long waits or impossible to reserve, but thankfully plenty of solid oldies around. Today you get three for the price one.
Xixa – I dont know what took me so long to get to this Mexican fusion. Maybe the inner Jewish guilt. Xixa after all, and its sister Traif (where we ate before), are situated just outside of Hasidic Williamsburg. Xixa, pronounced Shiksa, means gentile woman (not Jewish). Traif means not Kosher. Its like two bullies laughing while pointing fingers at a kid eating Gefilte Fish off a can. But Xixa has been around for a while now, and still packs young folks nightly. Its hard to pick favorites from the many small and large plates. But give the Elote (corn or carrots), beets, duck or short rib Carnitas a try. Playful menu, with playful drinks to match. 241 S 4th St (Williamsburg)
Olivier Bistro – Its beginning to sound like another cliche, but Olivier Bistro is the type of place every neighborhood needs. I’ve been frequenting Olivier for a few years now but for some reason never wrote about it. Talented French born Olivier Verdier is constantly on his toes, offering a mix of specials and a plethora of French classics for the steady regulars. Its the closest you’ll get to an authentic French Bistro in Brooklyn. The burger is always solid. As are the Shishito peppers, Cassoulet, Moules Frites, Hanger Steak, and make sure to ask about today’s poison! (fish). I’ve never had a bad dish here. 469 4th Ave (Gowanus)
Hometown BBQ Industry City – I havent written much about Industry City because, well, I can never find parking. And I havent had truly compelling reasons to keep going. Until now. The ultra flaky pastrami sandwich at this new Hometown branch may be as good as it gets in NYC today. It borders too salty on the first few bites, but settles in beautifully. Its a nice homage to the classic Jewish deli pastrami on rye. Industry City (Sunset Park)
And talking about pastrami, I inform you with heavy heart and slightly elevated cholesterol that EWZ fave Harry and Ida’s in the East Village is closing this weekend. I wish nothing but the best to Will and Julie. There will never be anything like Harry and Ida’s.
Remember that old commercial.. “Stay Fresh a little longer… say goodbye a little longer..”, The actual products dont stick, but the songs often do. If you dont remember this one its probably because, well, it doesnt exist. Its actually a Wrigley Big Red gum commercial that goes “So kiss a little longer…”, and the fresh part was only in my head. But the idea of the commercial is that the gum will keep you fresh longer than normal so you could kiss longer, for some reason. Why would anyone want to do it in public is beyond me. Kissing in public for more than 3 seconds is rare, awkward and should be banned frankly for the safety of the individuals and motorists. You practically asking for herpes. And at home you have Listerine for that.
Much of Santina’s originality is attributed to one item, Cecina. While Santina bills itself as coastal Italian, mainly Liguria and Tuscany, this chickpea pancake is different than anything we had between Genoa and Lucca. Its softer and spongier, but not in a bad way. On recent visits I enjoyed it with tuna infused with Calabrian chili, and avocado thats essentially the best Guacamole within a two mile radius. Once wrapped with the Cecina ‘slice’, you get four tasty snacks. Add the accompanied red sauce to the second or third Cecina for a change of pace and maximum oomphness. The Cecina is reason #365 why you should stop reading 
Nano 
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you may or may not have noticed a slow moving shift. A shift in the type of establishments I frequent, and write about. Gone are the days of the almost weekly expensive meals. Hooray fast-casual! There was a time when I would enthusiastically read the power rankings and 
Owners Riccardo and Elena live upstairs, and the only thing missing in their little place on Court Street is a bell. “Like eating in someones house” is a cliche these days, but there’s no better way to describe this one. Perhaps one day they’ll get busy enough to hire more staff and function more like a regular restaurant. But for the time being, its like walking into your neighbor’s house, grabbing a newspaper, pretending you can read Italian. And after chatting about politics, and 80’s Eurotrash with the owners, about an hour later, maybe eat something.
The Crescia is like a cross between a Piadina and Laffa flatbread where you can mix and match various meats and cheeses. The Mortadella and Gorgonzola settle nicely once the taste buds get over the initial Gorgonzola funkiness. One thing about the new Italian immigrants is they dont mess around with the raw materials. No need to bastardize much these days like the old Sicilian immigrants did. Another such example here is the excellent Tiramisu.
Its been 8 months since the last update. 5 in, 5 out this time. The Z-List is essentially my favorite 50 restaurants in NYC today. I try to conduct surprise inspections as frequently as I can. I show up wearing a hat and fake mustache. Even though they dont know what I look like, you can never be too careful these days. Rumors out there that I look like Tom Branson from Downton Abbey are unfounded. I know because I founded them. Anyway here are the changes…
EV Bites is a [whenever I feel like it] feature that showcases five places in or around East Village you should know about. I will occasionally extend the border to surrounding hoods and maybe even mention a name more than once. The neighborhood of East Village in case you are not aware is an incubator for top industry talent, and a goldmine of world cuisine.
886 – Sometimes new places “expire” in my head, and I forget all about them, before they resurface somehow out of their hiding. This Taiwanese was hiding in plain sight right on the busy, glitzy side of St Marks. 886 offers one of the better lunch specials in the area where you can choose dishes like the visually pleasing sweet Taiwanese Sausage and Fried Rice, and the absolute best Popcorn Chicken I’ve ever had.
Village Square Pizza – Pizza joints in all shapes and sizes come and go in that part of the island. The intense competition in the area created a survival of the fittest environment, except that its almost impossible to determine the fittest. Sometimes I try new pizza and can pretty much pinpoint the month they’ll close (Rolio Pizza), but then there’s the curious case of Martina. Village Square is run by former employees of the famed Prince Street pizza in Soho. This is where you can get the famous Pepperoni Sicilian (square) without the hoopla (meaning tourists), and their signature white (fresh ricotta, garlic, mozzarella, honey).
Foxface – I 
This is not a drill, nor a sales pitch. Just a friendly heads-up. Last year during the last few months of the year, I answered so many requests starting with the word “Unfortunately” that my smart phone started completing “Unfortunately” every time I started a sentence. This year its happening much earlier. I got plenty of availability between now and then, but the month of December is looking mighty busy already, especially with Brooklyn tours.
September 10th, 2019 Update
Social Media is a wonderful, powerful thing. Until its not. I dont recall how I first learned about Casa Vieja in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Perhaps I read about it on Chowhound or the excellent 
Eating With Ziggy 