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May 27, 2009

Brooklyn Food & Drink Round-Up

3 Closings...
We noticed that Star of India at 232 5th Avenue (near President Street) in Park Slope has been completely cleared out and closed up for the past couple of weeks. There's no note in the window, so we're not sure if they're closed for renovations or just closed for good. Could it be that the competition from Baluchi's on 310 5th Avenue (between 2nd & 3rd Streets) drove them out? Meanwhile, The Brooklyn Paper mourns the loss of Black Betty in Williamsburg, and ClintonHillBlog notices that Fish and Crustaceans on Fulton has shut down.

...and 5 Openings
We're into the whimsical name of the new Prospect Heights coffee shop, Sit & Wonder, which is serving one-buck cups of Stumptown Coffee, says Time Out New York. TONY also reports on the ice cream flavors at the new Jacques Torres Ice Cream — "Wicked Chocolate ice cream uses the same Mexican spices as his Wicked Hot Chocolate" — and says that the Greene Ice Cream at General Greene will be serving flavors such as Salted Hazelnut Gianduja and Coffee Road. The New York Times reports that Enoteca on Court (on Court and Union in Carroll Gardens) is officially open, and so is Open Book Cafe by Mambo, an outdoor cafe at the central branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, serving lobster sliders and mango iced tea.

After the jump: Pickled pig's tongue (and other non-pizza goodies) at Roberta's, a Cuban supper club at Dressler, and a Williamsburg bar crawl...

Roberta's Pushes Beyond Pizza
261 Moore Street (Bogart Street), Bushwick; (718) 417-1118
Today's New York Times has good things to say about the new non-pizza menu at Roberta's: "Take the pickled pig’s tongue ($8)... The thin slices of tender and sweet tongue are served with whipped house-cured lardo and a mustard made with reduced orange juice... This is not pizzeria fare. And it’s not what you expect to find in a part of the Bushwick section of Brooklyn where street traffic seems to be evenly divided between concrete trucks and fixed-gear bikes. " Has anybody tried the new menu items yet? Share your thoughts in our restaurants section.

Dressler's Cuban Supper Club
149 Broadway, Williamsburg; (718) 384-6343
The Feed reports that Dressler is hosting an event this Friday night "featuring Cuban music, live cabaret dancing and a four-course dinner with dishes like heritage pork belly 'chicharones' with black beans and plantain. Tickets cost $75, and anyone who has a reservation for after 9pm gets to stay for the show. The full menu and additional details are available at this website."

Williamsburg Bar Crawl: The Slideshow
Experience the sights and sounds of late-night Grand Street without facing a hangover in the morning: Metromix shares 22 photos and diary-like entries, detailing a 5-hour outing. They manage to hit up Cafe Cornichon, Trash Bar, Snacky, Iona, Bruar Falls, Caracas Brooklyn, Larry Lawrence, Huckleberry Bar, and Bushwick Country Club without breaking their camera.

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Comments

That star of india place was so strange. The couple of times I ate there I was always the only one there. They had valentines decorations still up in May, Christmas in March.

I always assumed that they must have done a brisk take out order to last so long while their neighbors at Night and Day/Bisquit/Lookout Hill/Playa spun round like a revolving door.

Posted by: phripley at May 27, 2009 11:39 AM

There are just too many sub-par indian joints on prime avenues (5th/7th and Flatbush) that should just call it a day. Am not surprised that Star of India closed, now if a few more could go so we can get a really awesome place I would be happy.

Posted by: gemini10 at May 27, 2009 11:42 AM

Brooklyn Star also opened this weekend on Havemeyer and North 7th. Owner = Joaquin Baca (Momofuku/Rusty Knot)

Posted by: dirty_hipster at May 27, 2009 11:54 AM

^^^^ and no liquor license yet - so BYOB!!

Posted by: dirty_hipster at May 27, 2009 11:56 AM

I was sad to see Brawta on Atlantic and Hoyt closed. I thought it was well established.

Posted by: trudylou at May 27, 2009 11:59 AM

I was also sad to see Brawta closed. And I've been baffled about Star of India's ability to stay open for years -- I never saw anyone in there!

Posted by: infirm at May 27, 2009 12:07 PM

Star of India was pretty mediocre and no competition for the vastly superior Baluchis. Amazing how it lasted so long though given it was nearly always empty. Has anyone checked out the new mexican place on 12th & 5th. It's an upmarket version of Nuevo Tacco which was great food but low budget interior. I'm guessing it must be pretty good if it's the same kitchen.

Posted by: 10thStreetReno at May 27, 2009 12:18 PM

Agreed on Star of India. I walked past there every night and it was empty - always. Word is that their parent restaurant on 7th ave was keeping them afloat. Afloat, no longer.

Posted by: IronMaiden at May 27, 2009 12:44 PM

I thought Star of India was much better than Amin but that's not saying much.

Posted by: Arkady at May 27, 2009 12:47 PM

how is it possible that there aren't more good indian places in nyc? nothing in queens even comes close to what you can find in edison, nj.

Posted by: NsPx at May 27, 2009 1:12 PM

Perhaps Star of India did a booming delivery business - which allowed them to stay in business.

Posted by: dirty_hipster at May 27, 2009 1:31 PM

the psychic part of my brain thinks maybe star of india had a massage parlor in the back! ha. actually i always wanted to try that place out (love indian food) but never got around to it. and yeah it always looked empty but ive read on other places about it, maybe here too like someone else said, they musted did delivery.

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at May 27, 2009 1:37 PM

Delivery business, yes. Of what...the jury's still out on that one.

Posted by: 11217 at May 27, 2009 1:37 PM

delivery business fooey!! its called trafficing massive amounts of cocaine disguised as curry powder. Very effective. and cops hate ethnic food, except pizza of course.

Posted by: billyboomer at May 27, 2009 2:54 PM

haha wow - is that place really shady like that? if so that would be awesome!

Posted by: dirty_hipster at May 27, 2009 3:14 PM

Star of India was OK; no funny business going on there that I know of. Too bad about Brawta, which I'd always meant to try.

Posted by: btwprd at May 28, 2009 10:58 AM

Just noticed today that the Le Petit Marche outlet on Hoyt (btwn Atlantic and State) is gone, along with Brawta. Pretty much every business on that side of the block, except for Victory on State and Hoyt, is shuttered.

Posted by: btwprd at May 29, 2009 10:02 PM

« Slope Turf Field Getting Heavy Use But Controversy Brewing Co-op of the Day: 806 Carroll Street, #2 (Revisited) »

May 27, 2009

Brooklyn Food & Drink Round-Up

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