While gastropubs may not be a growing industry in Pittsburgh, a quick trip to Brooklyn showed me that they are still alive and kicking. Take, for example, Black Swan, a semi-divey bar that serves a brunch that brought me in. With standard gastropub fare, I made a rare move to not go with the burger that seemed overloaded with vegetables and instead went with wings. And not swan wings like you may expect from a place with such a name.
No, these were Chicken Wings and of the sauce options I chose classic buffalo. Per usual, I made the mistake of not ordering without carrots or celery and was sad to find both on my plate. My bad, but also I probably always forget those because they don’t actually harm the meat. The wings came with blue cheese and unfortunately it was in a cup far too small for wing dipping. This was an issue that took some work, but ultimately I was able to eat my wings with blue cheese aplenty. The (not swan) wings were of a good meaty size and the buffalo sauce was quite delicious, with a healthy kick.
Black Swan was a mighty nice choice for a relaxing brunch and although it didn’t seem to push the culinary envelope, it didn’t hurt the envelope either.
