Sometimes Snaxtime likes to get a lil fancy, and one of our favorite restaurants to do that at is Extra FANCY, located at 302 Metropolitan Ave. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Not that Extra FANCY is really all that fancy, it's more just really awesome, with hiply prepared food and drink. The menu's emphasis is strongly on seafood, although they often provide other fare as well. Extra FANCY offers a full raw/chilled seafood bar, an extensive hot menu with lots of appetizers and an impressive specials board that changes daily. They also have a well-crafted cocktail menu and a full selection of beer and wine.
On a recent visit we started with some king crab legs from the chilled bar. The crab was prepared for us so all we had to do was scoop out the sweet meat and dunk it in the accompanying cocktail sauce. The taste was fresh and classic and was the perfect way to get our appetite going.
Next we tried the house-made Pimento Cheese with beniseed crackers and micro celery. This may have been our favorite item of the meal! The cheese was wonderfully greasy and rich with a slight smoky sweetness from the pimentos that tasted wonderful on the crispy sesame crackers. In a way it reminded us of fancy Easy Cheese! Delicious.
Whenever we go to Extra FANCY we order the Deviled Eggs, which come topped with smoked trout roe, pickled mustard seeds, celery leaf salad and fingerling potato chips. All of the flavors and textures combine perfectly and the smoked trout roe really transforms these eggs into a special occasion.
The Fried Surf Clams w/ celery seed mayo were hot, crisp and sumptuous with a wonderful seawater flavor that was complimented beautifully by the earthy and tangy celery seed mayo. We loved this dish!
We ended the meal with an order of Fish & Chips w/ cole slaw, b&b pickles, fried lemon, tartar sauce and ketchup. The fried lemon was a brilliant addition that brightened the archetypal dish. The fries were perfectly thin and salty and the fish was flaky and moist beneath the brilliant batter.
We give this meal an A+! Next time you're in the mood for a special meal from the sea, set your sails for Extra FANCY!