Greenpoint’s Three Decker Diner (695 Manhattan Ave.) was recently bought by restaurant industry veterans, Gavin Compton and Eduardo Sandoval, who own and operate local coffee chain Variety Coffee Roasters and local burger chain Blue Collar, respectively.
“When we took over the diner, I asked the staff and some of the regular customers which menu item needed to be adjusted,” Sandoval told Greenpointers. “They collectively mentioned the meatloaf, and I immediately got to working on it because something about a really good meatloaf seemed fitting for a diner.”
Sandoval explained that, through Blue Collar, he established a relationship with Los Paisanos, a meat purveyor in South Brooklyn from which he sources ground beef. “I knew by introducing a better ingredient to the meatloaf, we could resurrect a dish that is familiar to so many people. It’s just a simple recipe with better ingredients,” Sandoval said.
Three Decker Diner’s meatloaf uses 100% beef, as opposed to other recipes that include bacon or ground pork. “I wanted every item to be approachable for everyone, and we know pork is not for everyone,” Sandoval explained.
Three Decker Diner’s meatloaf comes with a traditional ketchup glaze, reminiscent of Sandoval’s childhood. The diner serves it with mashed potatoes, brown gravy and a side of steamed broccoli. Patrons can also find the meatloaf in the diner’s sandwich section, served with grilled onions and coleslaw on grilled rye.
Check out the recipe for Three Decker Diner’s Meatloaf below, and find last week’s Community Cookbook recipe here.
Three Decker Diner’s Meatloaf
Ingredients
2 pounds of (80% lean/20% fat) ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, minced
½ cup of beef stock
4 slices of toasted rye bread
½ cup of Heinz ketchup
3 tablespoons of A1 steak sauce
1 teaspoon of white pepper
½ cup of chopped parsley
2 teaspoons of kosher salt
2 tablespoons of butter
3 large eggs
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Heat butter in a medium skillet, over medium heat.
- Add onion, stirring occasionally, until softened, for about 8 minutes.
- Add minced garlic and chopped parsley until fragrant.
- Scrape mixture into a very large bowl and let cool.
- Crush and add toasted rye bread, eggs, beef stock, ketchup, A1, salt and pepper and stir to form a paste.
- Using your hands, work in ground meat.
- Line a large roasting pan with parchment paper.
- Firmly pat meat mixture into 2 loaves, about 10 inches long.
- Roast for about 1 hour, until lightly browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted in center of loaf reaches 150°F.
- Cut, serve, devour.