Quick bites: New smashburgers, aguachile and classic sammies in BK

By Scott Lynch

Quick Bites is a new column that wraps up the most recent restaurant and foodie news you can use from around Brooklyn. Here’s what you need to know as we barrel through the holidays. Bon appétite.

Cult favorite Gotham Burger Social Club begins its winter residency at Threes Brewing Greenpoint  

After six years of slinging his smashburgers at charity events and early-pandemic pop-ups, Mike Puma finally committed to being a full-time grilling pro this fall by opening the first-ever Gotham Burger Social Club brick-and-mortar shop on the Lower East Side. 

Well, that was the plan anyway. But since Con Edison still hasn’t turned on the gas over there on Rivington Street, Brooklyn gets a crack at these beauties first, with the glorious Gotham Burger winter residency at Threes Brewing in Greenpoint.    

This isn’t some limited-item toss-off either. The Gotham Burger at Threes is the real deal, open seven days a week through at least the end of February, with a full menu of Puma’s legendary Oklahoma-style smashburgers (available as a single, double, or triple), regular or loaded tots, fries, fried pickles, onion rings and chopped cheese tacos.  

There are several Brooklyn-only exclusives here, including a killer fish fillet sandwich, a kale salad that’s not even remotely boring and, sleeper hit alert, little boats filled with some exceptional Buffalo wings. Obviously it all goes down well with a beer or two or six of Threes’ finest.     

Puma, who’s lived in Battery Park City for some two decades and has conducted most of his burger business in Manhattan, is psyched to be in Greenpoint. “We’re honored to be part of this neighborhood,” he says. “We already feel, after just one week, a great sense of community here, and we’re hoping to just build upon that. Our goal with the LES shop was to create something scalable and eventually open more Gotham Burger locations, and Brooklyn is definitely on our radar for that.”   

Gotham Burger Social Club at Threes Brewing is located at 117 Franklin Street, between Greenpoint Avenue and Kent Street, and will be open on weekdays from 4 p.m. until the bar closes, and on weekends from noon until closing, through February. 

The sandwich geniuses at Regina’s are coming to Bed-Stuy 

Coming soon to Bed-Stuy: Regina’s (Scott Lynch)

More good news for people who like to eat things between bread: The great family-run Regina’s Grocery and Deli, which first opened on Orchard Street in 2017 and has since expanded into a mostly-Manhattan mini-chain, is bringing old-school classic Italian sandwiches to Bed-Stuy in early 2024. 

The Brooklyn Regina’s is moving into the former Valentine’s Pizza place on Bedford Avenue, taking over the space from Julian Cavin who, according to Eater, wants to focus his attention on his burgeoning Greenberg Bagel empire. Regina’s owner Roman Grandinetti didn’t respond to questions about whether there will be any new, homage-to-Brooklyn items on the menu here, but his mom, Regina, does tell us that this latest expansion feels extra special. “I actually grew up in Bed-Stuy,” she says. “It’s a great neighborhood. Always has been. And we’re very excited to be bringing Regina’s to the old neighborhood.”

The Bed-Stuy Regina’s will be located at 1063 Bedford Avenue, between Lexington and Greene Avenues. 

Bushwick’s mighty Taqueria al Pastor spins off an aguachile spot down the block 

From left: mixed ceviche, $10; aquachile negro, $19 (Scott Lynch)

I’m a big fan of the Taqueria al Pastor on Wyckoff Avenue, which maybe lacks the character of those back-of-the-bodega spots common to this part of Bushwick, but for almost four years now has been cranking out some of the best tacos (and gringas, and volcanes) in town. So when I saw that owner Gerardo Lopez and his team were opening up a new spot right nearby, with an emphasis on fish dishes like ceviche and aguachile, I was totally stoked. And then … well to be honest, and then I just spaced it. Until Grub Street reminded me a couple of weeks ago. So here we go. 

Antojitos Marineros actually opened last May with a totally different menu (there were burgers, spaghetti, and chicken fingers involved), but has been in its present form since late September, when one of Lopez’s friends moved up here from Mexican coastal state of Sinaloa and took over in the kitchen. There are some terrific fried-fish tacos and tostadas to be had — the rock shrimp and fish pate tostada is particularly good — but the stars of the show are the shrimp, fish, an octopus ceviche and aguachile, which are generously portioned and zingy as hell. 

Translated literally to English, Antojitos Marineros means “sailor snacks,” and there is a certain beach bar vibe to the place. If you felt like knocking back a couple of margaritas and nibbling on some ceviche while sunny Mexican pop tunes blasted in the background, this would be the place. 

Antojitos Marineros is located at 1625 DeKalb Avenue, just north of Wyckoff Avenue, and is currently open Tuesday through Sunday from 4 p.m. to midnight (347-997-3234)