At?one o'clock in the morning our circle of friends received an urgent email. Somewhere in Brooklyn Heights, there was a restaurant that serves BBQ rattlesnake salad!!
Once Shaun sounded the alarm I made reservations at Henry's End which has a Wild Game Festival menu on from now through February.
The restaurant itself, on the cusp of the Heights and Dumbo is an inviting, quaint place filled to the brim even on a Sunday. The intoxicating smells from the kitchen, the hum of happy conversations, and the old brick walls add to the ambiance.
As for the food, well, the rattlesnake was not on the menu (the site did warn that the menu changes due to availability) but we still found a lot to write home about.
We shared two game charcuteri plates, with game terrine and a rabbit and venison sausage. I had the turtle soup, an unexpected tomato based concoction with a soupy chili texture that pleased as well as it surprised me. Others opted for the best Caesar salad anyone at the table had ever had.
I followed my soup with the rabbit sausage pasta, a very spicy dish which is possibly one of the tastiest pasta dishes I have had at a restaurant in ages. Friends partook in the venison stew, a mole-ish rich and dark dish of epic flavors. Jim was the most daring when he ordered the kangaroo steak and was well rewarded for it. The meat tasted a bit like pork, but fuller, more tender, and sweeter.
Even though we were quite full we all managed a few bites of a 21 layer crepe cake (a former brix pick and one I can never resist). Make your reservations now while the wild game festival is still going on, but the regular menu is, I am sure, just as satisfying.
It was a superb dining experience, and there is little wonder that Henry's End has stayed popular in the neighborhood for almost thirty five years.
But what do you think?