Getting Extra Fancy in Williamsburg

Summer Fridays… usually a term that relates to getting out of the city and on to the beach for an early start to the weekend, but for this sister, it means getting creative for Date Night.

I was actually excited that we declined a summer share house this year, and this was justified by a successful adventure last night. Although Williamsburg is closer by subway than the Upper East Side, it is still considered an adventure to me. Reading Time Out, you really feel as though Manhattan is the lesser borough, and therefore my list of restaurants to try in Brooklyn gets larger each time I pick the magazine up. Since most of the city clears out on Fridays, it made the trip across the River much less daunting since we were fighting fewer hipsters for tables at non-reservation-taking establishments like Extra Fancy, where we decided to take our chances. An easy walk from the L (and only TWO stops from Union Square), Extra Fancy had opened only a week or two ago, but was already getting praise for its casual in decor, but not in taste, seafood.

When we arrived, we were surprised to be seated right away, and although the drink menu had tons of tasty sounding options, a prior Happy Hour made us opt for wine. As expected, the menu was mainly seafood, with maybe one or two meat options. We decided to start with steamed littleneck clams, which arrived in a delicious white wine and saffron broth complete with toasted bread, and these oyster “crackers” – I am not exactly sure where the crackers were, maybe I was confused, but they ended up being fried oysters that were beyond tasty with great breading and some creme fraiche and vinegary shallots that mocked the classic mignonette normally served with oysters.

Mains were a fried clam belly roll, and mussels with fries, both of which were great for staples that you can’t go wrong with, and so fitting for a hot summer  night that I felt like we actually were by the beach instead of a quiet Williamsburg street. We skipped dessert although the options were tempting, and were pleased with the Williamsburg -friendly check, and  then easily got a taxi outside which whisked us back to city in about 12 minutes and $8.

We weren’t in New Jersey, but this was a definitely a Great Adventure!