Dumont, Brooklyn

Williamsburg -over-populated with so called hipsters and now yuppies. I lived here for quite sometime until I was fed up with the party scenes, drunken underage kids from Manhattan, loft living, over-priced housing, more recently dodging baby carriages, etc, etc. But I do miss having to walk outside my door and experiencing the ever expanding culinary scene. Not to mention they deliver! Serious local cooks and restaurateurs, non-nonsense meat and veggies, and ethnically diverse cuisines -too bad for those hipsters, if they actually eat, they wouldn't fit into those skinny jeans.

On one national holi-monday, my friend Kristi and I decided to meet for brunch at DuMont. It took me a while to get there despite all the fusses about their burgers and Mac and cheeses. Don't get me wrong, I was never skeptical of their food. The Executive Chef Polo Dobkin is a graduate of my culinary school, and also the Chef of Dressler. I couldn't wait to dig teeth into their infamous burger once it was set and stoned.
When I got there at noon, the restaurant was about half full. The hostess was gracious enough to give me a table while waiting for Kristi to arrive. I see Huevos Rancheros and Eggs Benedict at the next table. They looked and smelled delicious. And the people looked like they're into the food more than the company they're with. If you're on a date, and are not sure about the person, pick a place like DuMont. If it turns out you're not interested, at least you can fall in love with the food. In my head, I'm thinking all about burgers. Fuck eggs, I'm here for the burger! Kristi is here. She sees the special of the day, Pulled Pork Sandwich($11). She goes for it, comes with salad. I get a DuMont Burger($12.50), medium rare, with bacon($1.50 extra), comes on a brioche bun, with fries, Boston Bibb lettuce, tomato, and pickles. Then, to our surprise, a bowl of donut holes appear in front of hour eyes. Donut holes as amuse bouche?? You got me at sugar. Donut holes complete me. However... I choose my donuts carefully. Most of the times, the dough has that strange after taste, coats my tongue with weird texture = cardboard. Japanese and Koreans take fresh donuts very serious. (believe it or not. It's kind of like how one could wonder about the phenomenon of Korean fried chicken. Another story) They seem to have achieved the flaky yet doughy, more on the heavier side that what's we're used to. And it tastes clean and sugary. In this case, it was passable. Okay, it's free. But again, who says "no" to donuts?
Needless to say, the burger was cooked to perfect medium rare; brightly red in the middle but not steak tartar. Something unidentifiable was woozing out from the middle. I didn't care what it was. Probably something to enhance the flavor of the meat? It really tasted meaty, but more on the sweet side. What is it? Is it the brioche contributing to the flavor? Buttery Boston lettuce? In any case, in burger I trust, I have found the best burger in the city. As simple as that. The Pulled Pork on the other hand... was simply too sweet. There was a nice tartness in the sauce, pork was tender and well prepared, and read and butter pickle slices were nice accompaniment, but the sauce itself was just too sweet. Do I care? No! I've found the best burger in town!


Dumont 432 Union Ave. Brooklyn, NY