Wednesday Food & Drink Round Up

Photo by Hilary Frey

L'Epicerie's Saturday Night Scene
270 Vanderbilt Avenue, Fort Greene, 718-636-1200
"By day, the tiny Fort Greene gourmet shop L’Epicerie is like something out of the precious French film Amélie: produce in baskets, artisanal cheese, a few pieces of meat in a butcher case, some prepared foods and a chalkboard list of sandwiches, which are assembled in the miniscule kitchen behind the counter... On Saturday evenings, the shop turns into a $40 per head, BYOB, family-style restaurant offering a casually sophisticated take on the dinner party—with no dishes to clean up afterward!" [NY Observer]

Brooklyn Bar Bandits Nabbed
According to an Eater tipster, the thugs who robbed Bait and Tackle, Floyd and Moonshine at gunpoint two weeks ago have been caught: "In what can only be described as a scary display of stupidity, the guy that robbed the Bait and Tackle actually returned to the scene of the crime - where he was recognized (maybe the teardrop tattoo was a bit of a tipoff) and apprehended. Though not before he had a shot of tequila and left a two dollar tip. Moron."

Coming Soon: Southern Food in Downtown Brooklyn
372 Fulton Street
"Amy Ruth’s, the upper Manhattan restaurant that has become an institution status in just nine years, will open a second eatery in downtown Brooklyn. Its owners have signed a lease for the site formerly occupied by Gage & Tollner, a landmark Brooklyn restaurant that closed last year." [Crain's via Brooklyn Heights Blog]

After the jump: Beso closes, Park Slope gets yet another French bistro, Atlantic Ave. gets a new coffee shop, and SuperVegan criticizes Brooklyn's inaugural vegetarian restaurant week.

Closed: Beso in Park Slope
210 5th Avenue, Park Slope
"Walked by tonight, and saw they were auctioning off contents of restaurant. sign in the window said they were closing b/c it was simply time to move on, and took pains to note that it wasnt the landlord or the neighbors driving them out. Goodbye, mediocre but friendly neighborhood restaurant. I'll miss you." [Chowhound]

Now Open: Canaille
78 Fifth Avenue (St. Marks Place), Park Slope, (718) 789-8899
"With a look that does not announce its newly minted status and a bistro menu of French comfort food, this place, whose name means scoundrel, opened last week, cash only." [NY Times]

Now Open: Frank White
936 Atlantic Ave at St. James Place, Clinton Hill, (718) 622-0840
"Named for Christopher Walken's character in the cult film The King of New York, this coffeeshop-cum-gallery opens on Atlantic Avenue. A photograph of rapper Biggie Smalls, who used Frank White as an alias (popular name!), crowns the otherwise old-world interior." [Time Out New York]

Brooklyn's Inaugural Vegetarian Restaurant Week
This small-scale food event runs this Sunday, October 21 through next Saturday, October 27. You'd think that a blogger on SuperVegan singing the praises of this meat-free endeavor, but that ain't the case:

"I'm a cheap bastard careful with money, so I hoped that at the very least there'd be some good bargains happening. But all we've got are two prix-fix meals: $40 at 4 Course Vegan and $28 at the V-Spot. The "deals" for the other places haven't been announced yet... Brooklyn deserves better, right?"

A few more deals have been added since this was posted, including a $20 three-course meal at Jill's, the not-so-busy organic cafe on Court Street in Cobble Hill... has anybody tried this place?

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Comments

We went to Canaille just after it opened - very good French bistro food. The usual suspects (steak frites, moules, pot de creme), but very well done, fresh and tasty. The owner is very enthusiastic and a nice guy, so I hope it does well.

Posted by: guest at October 17, 2007 11:26 AM

Canaille looks nice and welcoming from the outside.

Walked by and thought it looked new but at the same time thought it could have been there for years.

Hope it does well.

Posted by: guest at October 17, 2007 11:32 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlK62rjQWLk

If you see Mr Creosote, Run for your life!!!!

The What

Someday this war is gonna end.......

Posted by: guest at October 17, 2007 11:51 AM

Beso started off good, but has been in steady decline for years now. I think Bogota pretty much kicked their a**.

Posted by: guest at October 17, 2007 12:59 PM

Every time I walk by Bogota, it's closed.

Posted by: guest at October 17, 2007 1:06 PM

Just great...the one thing Downtown Brooklyn does not need is another so Soul-Food spot with bad food. The Amy Ruths's in Harlem serves ok dishes at best!

A Clinton Hill Lady

Posted by: guest at October 17, 2007 1:10 PM

"Every time I walk by Bogota, it's closed"

Really? It's open every night for dinner and for brunch on Sunday. Oh wait, the website says it's closed on Tuesdays.

Actually, I shouldn't be encouraging anybody to go, as it's already next to impossible to get a table on Saturday nights.

Posted by: guest at October 17, 2007 1:17 PM

JB and Danielle are amazingly kind people and Ft Greene mainstays. I shop L'Epicerie loyally and this summer my fiance and I invited 24 friends to enjoy a dinner in their charming, yet funky space in celebration of our engagement. We had an AMAZING time. I HIGHLY recommend.

Posted by: guest at October 17, 2007 2:07 PM

I'm sorry 2:07, but I have to admit that l'Epicerie du Quartier can be a bit tiresome...and overpriced. I would love to support local businesses more. I have shopped there, used to go to A Table consistently for their inconsistent food...too salty normally, but it would be nice if they brought it down a level or two on the French thing at the shop. It's a bit over the edge (or in French: “Ovaire zhe tope!”)...and no longer charming but rather pathetic/obsessive…and boring. I’ve even wondered if their prices being cutesily displayed on those euro-based indicators is lawful…whatever on that score…

Listen, I'm a dual-lingual with French and being steeped in French culture, I find the extreme attempts at faking being in France (and the sometimes extreme prices...though not as high as "Plum Produce" in the South End in Boston) a little embarrassing.

Posted by: guest at October 17, 2007 2:58 PM

2:58--more power to you, though I still recommend you stop by for one of the prix fixe dinners one Saturday, you will not be dissapointed.

Posted by: guest at October 17, 2007 3:25 PM

L'Epicerie: Rude, Rude, Rude.

Posted by: guest at October 17, 2007 4:49 PM

Jills on court street is great i recommend you go there for a great natural food that will keep you healthy and able to keep reading brownstoner.

Posted by: guest at October 17, 2007 9:17 PM