Traif, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

What a find. My young, hip Williamsburg friends continued my birthday celebration with a trip to Traif — a word that means non-Kosher, or those foods forbidden by Jewish dietary laws. Funny as the Chef-owner Jason Marcus is Jewish. With his bio including stints at Le Bernardin and Eleven Madison Park — the latter under both Kerry Heffernan and Daniel Humm — I knew I was in for something good with lots of bacon, pork, shellfish and meats mingling with dairy.

I’m glad my young friends and I dined early that night, as by the time we left the dining room was packed and bustling, where I could hardly hear them speaking above the roar anymore. So if you’re a boomer, you may want to try this place on the early side, asking for a reservation in the garden room.

We started with a Red Pearl, one of the specialty cocktails with Thai chili-infused vodka, Thai basil and some kiwi with a flavor reminiscent of a not-too-sweet but spicy margie. I liked that. Our amuse bouche was a zucchini soup so rich and flavorful we were thrilled it came in a demitasse-sized cup.

I wasn’t impressed with the buffalo milk burrata cheese over an orange creme fraiche. The cheese wasn’t as runny as I like it — and it came with underripe white peaches and only a few sliced strawberries ($14). We did like the richness of the BBQ braised short rib in the slider roll, served with sweet potato fries even though the accompanying paprika mayo (aioli) was too bland for dipping the crisp fries ($17, with the added third slider).

Don’t miss the tempura battered and fried salt & pepper shrimp in a spicy Thai sauce with pineapple and watermelon cubes to cool the palate. I found the under-cooked yams redundant ($14).

Skip the tough gnocchi, which were squares of dense pasta dough — not light airy pillows — although the accompanying asparagus and mushroom in the sherry cream with that was good.

I took the top one off the pile of cinnamon glazed ribs before I realized how humongous (and meaty) it was. I cut off some of the meat, and passed it along to one of the others as that rib was meaty enough to share. Order these meaty ribs and you’ll be licking your fingers clean ($15)! And get the scallops, which were as they should be — crispy on the outside, tender and juicy inside. These sat atop a mixture of chewy wheat berries and crunchy local corn all in a brown butter with pistachios ($24).

But the night’s pièce de résistance is the spin on breakfast foie gras creation — with a runny fried egg topping sliced new gold potatoes with a slab of the unctuous liver sprinkled with diced bacon and some hot sauce ($19). Heaven on a plate.

And we like most everyone who orders dessert at Traif, had a platter of four of the chef’s famous donuts (beignets) and a scoop of coffee ice cream sitting in dulce de leche all sprinkled with … diced bacon.