Westlight sits on the 22nd floor of the William Vale hotel in North Williamsburg. When you enter the lobby of the hotel, there is a line to the right that directs you to board the elevator. Upon arrival, the host will seat you on 1 of 2 floors. The 1st floor might be for reservations and has a waiter, whereas the 2nd floor might be for walk-ins. The 2nd floor has a fake grassy area with some patio tables/chairs, and you don’t get waiter service.

It’s been difficult to restart eating out again. Usually we just resort to delivery or takeout from various places nearby. However, it seems that many restaurants that are trying to outlast the pandemic by coming up with ideas to do the outdoor dining experience. Some restaurants don’t have a real patio, and you’re seated outside on the sidewalk within reach of people. And some restaurants like this one have a legit patio experience away from bystanders without worry.

As usual, the North Williamsburg area is a pretty hot spot for restaurants to eat at. I had lived in this area for about 2 years, but I still come back time to time to get a haircut. Usually after the haircut, I’ll check out something. I’ve been looking for a decent pho place that is close enough to me such that I don’t have to travel to Flushing.

What’s nice about Thai food is they are rarely bad, and they are very consistent even at different restaurants. We were in Cobble Hill after an errand, and this place was relatively close by and open for a late afternoon dinner. We got 2 different Thai teas. The first was the regular Thai tea and the other is Lychee Thai tea. Both were pretty good. The lychee might be sweet for some, but it tastes literally like the fruit.

Pho vietnamese restaurants are generally pretty scarce in the city compared to Los Angeles. If you do find one, they usually don’t give you all the fixins and are timid about their offerings. In Los Angeles, I used to go to a restaurant called Phorage pretty frequently where their broth was very rich, and their meats were rare but tender. So how would this compare? We started off with thai tea and matcha thai.

This restaurant has been on my list for a while. Before I moved out of North Williamsburg, I wanted to eat something with pork. Unfortunately at the time, they were closed on a Tuesday for whatever reason, so I did not have the opportunity to try this place until today. The ambiance is a dimly lit romantic setting right near the corner of Havenmayer. There were a lot of candles all over, and the tables were pretty close to each other reminding me of my time in Paris.

This is Paulie Gee’s sliced pizza. You can order a whole pie if you want. All in all though, I think Vinnie’s in Brooklyn is better. The pepperoni pizza was good but not great for slice. If you come here expecting a similar crust to what the original Paulie Gee’s serves, prepare to be disappointed. The crust is not that great compared to a lot of NYC sliced pizza places.

I heard good raves about Dino BBQ from other people. The pickling of the salad is pretty good in general. In the trio of meat, you will find pork belly, chicken, and brisket. The brisket to me was just ok. I think Hometown was much better. The pork belly was also ok. Surprisingly, I liked the chicken the best. It was tender and full of flavor and not overcooked. The collard greens were not memorable and neither was the cornbread.

Came here around 5:30 PM on a Saturday, and the wait was quoted 60 minutes. In reality, it was just 45 minutes, so it wasn’t too bad. The pizza itself is similar to Roberta’s. The pizza dough is pretty fluffy, and it tastes pretty good. The Benny Gee had much better taste than Ricotta Be Kiddin Me. The ricotta pizza was more salty, but the Benny Gee definitely had a better well rounded profile.

This apparently received a coveted 1 Michelin Star at this time of writing. Went here for brunch, and I’d love to go back to try the dinner. Just like Casa Enrique, I find it pretty good but pricey for what you get. The horchata was tasty, but does not beat those horchata machines back in LA. Also, it was loaded with ice, so the amount of liquid you get is pretty small for $6.