Six weeks ago restaurant owner Randy Narod and his brother in law executive chef, Joseph Anzalone brought their vision of introducing open faced flat bread bagel sandwiches to Brooklynites with the opening of Filthy Flats. Filthy Flats opened in Downtown Brooklyn at 32 Court Street.
Prior to opening Filthy Flats, the duo operated the Long Island based Long Island Bagel Café. In intertwining their Long Island Bagel Cafe with the Filthy Flats concept, hand rolled and boiled flat bagels are baked fresh daily at their bagel factory in Baldwin, New York and shipped to Filthy Flats in Brooklyn.
Once the bagels arrive at Filthy Flats, they are topped with various protein options including braised Korean beef short ribs, pastrami, ham, turkey, chicken, pepperoni, tuna, eggs and cheese to create their signature flat open faced bagel sandwiches for their breakfast, lunch and dinner menu. the restaurant which is set up like a corner store deli without seating also features desert bagel options such as cannoli and strawberry cheesecake and smores.
During a media tasting The Knockturnal got a chance to sample some of the shop’s signature sandwiches. After arriving the first sandwich sampled was the Korean BBQ Short Rib. The predominant flavor of the sandwich is the sweet soy based bbq sauce with a hint of fruity sweetness. The sandwich is stopped with cheese which give it a savoriness and crispy fried onions. The bagel tasted like a pizza topped with sweet savory barbecue sauce with oniony crunch. Also sampled was the Mike’s Hot Honey pepperoni pizza bagel sandwich, the cheese wasn’t too thick, and the hot honey mellowed the spiciness of the pepperoni and the savoriness of the cheese. The Filthy Pastrami Reuben sandwich which Filthy Flats takes on in mini form, while most sandwich places create a Reuben that is too big to finish, Filthy Flats gives just enough meat on the sandwich to be finished in just a few bites. The pastrami is neither dry nor overly peppery as some New York pastrami tends to be. Also the sauce on the Pastrami Reuben is far less pickle relish tasting than typical thousand island dressing style sauces used on Reuben sandwiches. Lastly for desert we sampled the cannoli bagel which had a contrast between vanilla and chocolate flavor.
The bagels themselves had a fresh softness to them and weren’t overly chewy or dense. The lightness of the bagels allowed for the meat and toppings to fully shine. In addition to open-faced sandwiches, Filthy Flats also offers Filthy Tots, tater tots available dressed in cheese sauce, cheese and bacon, or served plain. Their grab-n-go options include toasted Filthy Flat bagel chips paired with homemade Tuna Salad, Cranberry Chicken Salad, Hummus, and Avocado, perfect for quick and healthy snack option.
