I'm always thrilled when a new place opens within walking distance from my apt, so when AWOL (All Walks of Life) opened less than 10 minutes from my place, I had to check it out, no matter what kind of food it was. I met up with Paige on a random Tuesday night and the place was pretty empty. On Tuesdays, they have half priced wine by the bottle but unfortunately I couldn't drink that night, but it's always good to know about things like this for future reference.
Their menu is a local farm to table, small plate concept. They want you to try a little bit of everything and their menu really spans quite a mix of food - it's appropriate for vegetarians and meat eaters alike. They did a great job of making everything sound really tasty on the menu. Paige and I wanted to order almost everything on the menu but ended up sharing: tempura beef tacos ($12), short rib mac and cheese ($7), roasted brussels sprouts ($7), kimchi fried rice ($8), steamed pork buns ($10), and the avocado fries ($4). Yes, we clearly ordered way way too much food but at those prices it was hard to say no to any of it. The waiter did his best to space out all the dishes but it still felt very overwhelming. We got the beef tempura tacos first which was pieces of filet mignon battered and fried in tempura, sriracha aioli, onion, pea tendrils, tomato and a sweet and sour sauce. While I liked all the ingredients in the taco, I did't really love the shell that it came with and the taco fell apart almost immediately upon first bite. For such a small taco, it created quite the mess. I liked that they tried something new with the tempura battering, but I would have preferred it without the tempura because it was really hard to taste the filet in it. Next came the mac and cheese and for $7 this thing is HUGE. It was practically an entire meal in itself. It was served with rice macaroni, a combination of smoked cheeses and pieces of short rib. It was a very homey and comforting dish but I could have used a bit more gooeyness to the cheese. The brussels sprouts were your classic roasted vegetable dish - it was made with brown butter, shallots and sage. It was small whole sprouts vs. shaved leaves (which I usually prefer) but it was a solid veggie dish none the less. Next I tried the steamed pork bun which was served with pork belly, chipotle cream, tomatillo salsa and pickled radish. So it's definitely no pork bun from Momofuku or Ippudo but for a place in East Williamsburg, it'll get the job done. I was so full at that point that I didn't really eat the white bao part, but the pork belly was nice and tender. Lastly I tried to at least sample the kimchi fried rice and avocado fries, but it was really pushing my limits of fullness. The fried rice came with a sunny side up egg and really looked beautiful. It had a definite kick of spiciness and heat to it in true kimchi style. Finally the avocado fries. They were delicious slices of avocado lightly batter like a mozzarella stick and served with a creama sauce. They were great and so innovative - a nice twist to fries or cheese sticks and I wish more places served something like this.
By the end, I was close to bursting at the seams. I would definitely recommend NOT ordering 6 dishes for 2 people, you'll be fine with 3, maybe 4 tops if you are really hungry. While I enjoyed my meal, I didn't walk out of there thinking I had a life changing meal. I like what they are trying to do here and love that it's extremely affordable. It's a good, solid neighborhood joint but with so much competition in Williamsburg, they could probably pare down the menu just a bit and really focus on 10 solid dishes vs. having almost 30 different items on the menu. I didn't even mention that they had an entire section on pizza and sliders on the menu! Don't forget that they have half priced bottles of wine on Tuesdays - that might be what drives me to come back again. Total bill: $31/pp with tax and tip
Photo Credit: Yelp
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