Brunch at Traif: Bacon-Egg-Cheese Sliders and Bacon Doughnuts

I can't believe I almost forgot to post this meal.  Did I tell you before that I eat too much?  I really do.  I'm supposed to be on some weight loss challenge right now, to be honest, but I'm sure you can tell I am not quite doing that well.

It might have something to do with meals like this...

Traif is a cute spot in Williamsburg serving up American/Southern style tapas.  Traif means "not kosher" in Yiddish which is so cute, because it serves tonsa pork (noted by the pig in its logo).  This fact instantly woos my heart.  Love. Pork. <3

The interior space is brightly decorated with a long curved bar, lots of small tables and an adorable garden area in the back.

While my colleague has told me to visit Traif for a rowdy group meal at dinner, I decided to give it a quick visit for brunch because the brunch menu looks so intriguing.  There is a lot I would like to eat here for breakfast...uhm, baked strawberry pancake?  Why do those words sound just so good together?

I decided on something heartier though since I had swim class and needed my strength (ha! such excuses I kid myself with!) and ordered the bacon, egg and cheese sliders.

As I get older (and boy is that fast!), I have decided to take the plunge and try things that I normally would not eat (like ricotta cheese or goat cheese) and thus, despite the fact that these sliders would come topped with blue cheese, I took the plunge and got them.

Diana would know the great magnitude of this decision.

I had to keep chanting to myself:

I am an adult.

I am. I am.

I will eat this blue cheese.

And yes, okay. It wasn't that bad.  It was a little bad though, as in, I would've loved another type of cheese ten times over, but the slider was not terrible with it (thank goodness), and it helped that the cheese was melted all over the thick cut, crispy smoked pork belly chunks.  That helped a lot.  And although I enjoyed these little suckers, I just wish the pork was just a tad bit fattier to give this slider a bit of juice and oomph, as it was a bit on the dry side.  Healthmongers might appreciate this more lean cut though (but how boring).  The toasted bun and scrambled egg were squishy and good.

The bright orange sweet potato fries, sprinkled with lovely flakes of salt, were quite tasty - each piece as crispy as the last.  The accompanying cup of paprika/garlic aioli also added nice flavor.

Okay, okay, confession time: maybe I didn't get the beautiful sounding pancake because I was intending to get a dessert the whole time.

Which you kind of have to when you see bacon doughnuts and coffee ice cream on the menu.

Uhm, I know.

You have to.

Let's just take a moment of silence to ogle these suckers, shall we?

Breathtaking, aren't they?  And they were just as delicious as they looked: ultra-fresh yeasty dough balls drenched in decadent dulce de leche and sprinkled with crumbled bacon bits that added just the right amount of salt to the sweet.  I made sure to capture every ounce of the delectable dulce from the bottom of the dish with each doughnut.  So ridiculously good.  The small scoop of lightly flavored coffee ice cream also provided nice balance to the dish, cooling to the palate and brilliantly rounding out the perfect dessert dish.

I am so excited to come back with others in tow to sample more of Traif's fine wares!

Traif

229 South 4th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211, (347) 844-9578