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No Brooklyn Restaurants in Sifton’s Top 10
Sam Sifton, whose keen eye for social detail changed restaurant criticism forever in his two-year run as the New York Times chief restaurant critic that ended in October, has posted his Top 10 list of new restaurants for the year. And guess what? There’s not a Brooklyn restaurant on the Brooklyn resident’s (and native’s) list. (This despite a year that Sifton says was defined by an approach that more-or-less originated in Brooklyn: It was a “strong year for smart-casual cooking, the sort of food that takes a lot of work to prepare but is often served by people in untucked shirts and flash sneakers.”) No matter. Only one non-Manhattan spot–Hunan Kitchen of Grand Sechuan in Flushing–made the cut. So what of new Brooklyn restaurants? The Times Top Ten list of cheap restaurants includes both Bed Stuy’s Do or Dine and Williamsburg’s Best Pizza. Over on Eater, Williamsburg managed to attract all the attention, with the blog’s panel of experts giving shout-outs to Isa, Allswell and the made-over St. Anselm. Our favorite meal at a new restaurant in Brooklyn came at the end of the year at the newly opened Walter’s which, in addition to a crowd-pleasing menu, deserves credit for ending the curse of the corner location at Cumberland and Dekalb. Other new Brooklyn names that you think deserve special mention?
12/28/2011 10:56 AM
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Kids and Restaurants: A Healthy Mix?
It’s Friday and with lots of family dining likely to take place over the next 48 hours this photo from a Child Grows in Brooklyn today seemed timely. Personally, we think young kids should be welcome in restaurants before 8 or so and only if the parents can keep their kids under control. A table full of well-behaved children at an appropriate hour can enhance the atmosphere of a restaurant; badly-behaved kids running amok while self-absorbed parents blithely down their drinks doesn’t. Like most issues (ahem, bicycling) common sense and courtesy carry the day.
07/29/2011 12:13 PM
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Brooklyn-Themed Restaurant Killing Brooklyn?
The Daily News ran a scathing take on the Brooklyneer, the Brooklyn-themed restaurant that has just opened on West Houston Street, in Manhattan. The charge? That the bar is the death knell for Brooklyn. The writer laments that Brooklyn goods – clothing, beer, and culture – are being exported, making Brooklyn a place “about as undiscovered as Times Square.” As the article states, “With the opening of the Brooklyneer, all of the little things you loved about the borough, all those yuppie comforts that borough boosters endlessly trumpet, have been revealed for what they are – things one can buy, and quite easily at that. And now, you don’t even have to go to Brooklyn to buy them.” He’s outraged, although he manages to casually mention he may be part of a movement that pushed out some culture in Brooklyn that came before him. Of course, all the food and drink they’ve assembled from Brooklyn sounds pretty darn good!
Brooklyner Marks the End of Brooklyn Cool [NY Daily News]
Photo via Grub Street
11/19/2010 2:00 PM
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New Pizza Joint on Franklin Street
Franklin Pizza opened last week in Greenpoint at 109 Franklin St. Its strategic location provides a cheap, late-night pizza option for hungry bar-goers. For non-locals, it would make a nice pit-stop prior to the inevitable half-hour wait for the G train home. As its neon sign suggests, heroes and pasta options will be offered as well. Currently open until midnight, we were told that, depending upon the level of business, they may stay open later. Early reports indicate a middle-of-the-road slice. Yelper Matt G says the pizza has a “crispy crust, good sauce, and tasty cheese.” Eaglestreeter, via Newyorkshitty, says “the crust is crisp but not as thin as the perfect NYC slice…the sauce needs some kind of kick.” GMAP
10/19/2010 9:32 AM
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Seating for Gino’s in PLG
The “foodification” of Prospect-Lefferts Gardens continues. We caught up with Gino this weekend, who was putting the finishing touches on “Gino’s Trattoria Bar and Restaurant,” the expansion of his brick oven pizzeria next door (emphasis his). Gino said the restaurant, at 548 Flatbush Avenue, should be open within the next few days but the liquor license may take another month. The pizzeria, one of three in Brooklyn run by Gino, has been in the neighborhood for 25 years. “The neighborhood is ready for a nice Italian restaurant,” he said.
05/04/2010 2:01 PM
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Closing Bell: Best Chow in Brooklyn?
The Daily News tackles one of those impossible tasks–compiling a list of what they call the best food in Brooklyn. Winners include the Gyro Cart in Bay Ridge, Armando’s in Canarsie and Tom’s (above) in Prospect Heights.
Best of the boros: Food in Brooklyn [Brownstoner]
Photo by little fluffy dots
03/16/2010 4:00 PM
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Brooklyn Food & Drink Round-Up
Brooklyn Restaurant & Bar Openings
Lost City shares this photo of the old Shakespeare’s Sister space (270 Court Street between Butler and Douglass) and reports that the owners of Nectar are taking over: “Our information is that it will be an oyster/beer bar/gastropub. The Nectar people also run Bocca Lupo on Henry Street.” Lost City also has noticed some signs of life in the long-shuttered Bonafide Deli (corner of Henry and Baltic, Cobble Hill) and says, “Now, word comes that a sandwich joint will open there.” … Eater looks inside Roman’s, the “sweet little Italian neighborhood spot” now occupying the old Bonita space in Fort Greene, and also reports that “a new wine bar called Mauzac will be taking over a portion of the space currently occupied by Carol’s Daughter… at 136 DeKalb at Elliott Place.” … Metromix recommends the “Bloody Mary, served in a pint glass and made with Absolut Peppar, fresh-squeezed lime and house-made everything” at the newly opened South in Windsor Terrace… Plus, we’ve got the pre-reno shot of Lucali’s 2 in South Slope, and Eater posted a photo of the newly painted storefront on 6th Avenue and 20th Street.
Two New Brooklyn Beer Gardens
Eater reports that Loreley Williamsburg is in the works: “The uber-crowded LES beer hall and pretzel stop, will open a new Williamsburg beer garden in two to three weeks, just in time for the winter chill to creep in. A rep at the original location reveals that the beer and food menus will be pretty much identical at the new space but it will be a whole lot bigger.” Plus, Clinton Hill Blog has some beer garden gossip: “An anonymous source tells me that someone has been considering opening a beer garden in the building next to the Absolute on Myrtle Ave. Said proprietor is allegedly an experienced beer garden operator.” Anybody got details on this tidbit?
Call for Restaurants of the Day
Yesterday’s Closing Bell comment thread includes a bunch of suggestions for Bay Ridge restaurants to add to the Brownstoner Restaurant Guide, so it looks like we’ll be snacking (and snapping storefront photos) there soon. Got a suggestion for an ROTD we haven’t featured yet? Please leave a comment here!
After the jump: Umi Nom, the Halcyon Gourmet, killer figs in Bensonhurst, Em Thai, and more… (more…)
11/18/2009 11:34 AM
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Bed Stuy Restaurant Suggestions
A reader emailed us last night pointing out that the number of entries in the Restaurants Guide for Bed Stuy is pitifully low—and she’s right. Of course, the same could be said of some other nabes as well (Sunset Park, for example) and we’re working on that in general. In the meantime, we’d like readers to suggest the next five restaurants in Bed Stuy that we should cover. We’ll take Mrs. B out on a date to the two most popular and report back to you.
09/18/2009 9:54 AM
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Brooklyn Food & Drink Round-Up
The Best of Hot Plates Live
We checked out Metromix’s premiere Hot Plates Live event at the Bell House on Monday night, sampled beer and cheese, ate lots of great food from new Brooklyn restaurants, and wholeheartedly recommend that you check out the next Hot Plates tasting event. (We’ll keep you posted when Metromix plans another.) Our favorite bite of the evening was the Chinese sausage and sticky rice with chili-lime sauce (pictured above) from Umi Nom. We’ve been long-time fans of this dish at Kuma Inn on the LES, so we’re excited that chef King Phojanakong has brought it to Brooklyn. Sui Ren‘s quail egg wrapped in seaweed and maguro was another favorite. We’ll be adding both spots to our restaurant database shortly.
Opening This Week: Mercat Negre
65 Grand St between Kent and Wythe Aves, Williamsburg; no phone yet
“This sister location of the East Village’s Mercat features an open kitchen in which [Barcelona's chef Oriol Sala] Colomer will cook shareable dishes, such as grilled red mullet with eggplant puree and marinated endives,” says Time Out New York.
No Reservations: NYC Outer Boroughs
In case you missed Tony Bourdain’s recent romp around the boroughs, you can check out all the places he visited on the No Reservations website. We thought it was a pretty solid episode, featuring stops at Tortilleria Mexicana Los Hermanos in Bushwick, East Harbor Seafood Dim-Sum Palace in Sunset Park, and Diner and Marlow & Sons in Williamsburg.
After the jump: Hecho en Dumbo is leaving Dumbo, Chicago dogs, dumplings, Chickadee Chick’s menu, Spanish wines, and more… (more…)
09/16/2009 11:33 AM
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Restaurants Re-Launch
By the end of this week, we will have logged more than 300 review posts into the Restaurants blog since it launched in July 2008. (There are almost 4,000 user reviews so far.) Until this point, the section was not organized in a particularly user-friendly way—it was more of a bloggy list of reviews than anything particularly utilitarian. All that has changed (hopefully!) as of today. We’ve relaunched the Restaurants section (which you can access through the tab in the upper right-hand corner of the Brownstoner homepage) with a new design aimed at helping readers actually find a restaurant they want to eat at. It’s now much easier to browse and search around neighborhoods, cuisines, reader ratings, etc. So please take a look around and let us know if you have suggestions for ways to improve it in the future. And while you’re there, remember that you can always add a review to any of the restaurants in the database. Bon appétit!
09/09/2009 10:22 AM
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Brooklyn Food & Drink Round-Up
Photo by Kristen Goode
Return of the Carroll Gardens Empanada Lady
The Empanada Lady has been setting up shop on Sackett and Smith once again, but according to About.com: Brooklyn, “[her] schedule is a tricky one. She and her cart can go missing for weeks at a time. The only way to tell if she’s open for business? Look for her ‘specials of the day’ sign to appear on Smith Street — No sign, no empanada lady.” However, Chowhound pupburger makes her sound more high-tech than that: “According to her website, her hours vary according to her sales, check twitter for updates on her whereabouts.” We can’t find the URL — is this ‘Hound for real?
Catering to “Obsessions with Food and Real Estate”
Brooklyn Laundry is one of those dinner clubs (like the Whisk & Ladle or 4 Course Vegan) where patrons pay ahead to dine with strangers in a secret location. But this one has a twist for those interested in real estate: The dinner parties will be “housed in (among other places) various apartments on the market… Whether you’ll dine in a Madison penthouse or on an Orchard Street rooftop is anyone’s guess,” says Daily Candy. Dinner costs $60 per person (or $80 with wine).
Brooklyn Restaurant and Bar Openings
The Flying Cow, an “eclectic Argentine-style restaurant—part Latin steakhouse, part tapas bar,” is now open at 2 Hope Street (near Roebling Street) in Williamsburg, says Time Out New York… An Eater tipster says that the old Marco Polo Take Out space on Court Street (near Union Street) in Carroll Gardens will soon house a wine bar called Enoteca on Court: “From what we heard the opening date will be around the 3rd week of May… The wine will be international, the food small plates, panini, cheeses and salumi and pizza from the wood-burning oven.” …Clinton Hill Blog notices that Epoca has closed, but some commenters say that a new seafood restaurant is set to open in the space in June… And, finally, TONY reports on the new Bushwick bar, Tandem (236 Troutman St between Knickerbocker and Wilson Aves), where beers are served in ceramic cups that the owner turned on a potter’s wheel.
After the jump: Jacques Torres ice cream, Whiskey Sunday, Totonno’s, Beer Table, a Williamsburg sandwich tour, and Dressler on the big screen… (more…)
04/29/2009 11:34 AM
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TONY Prize for General Greene
General Greene only opened last June, and already it’s won a major award from the epicureans at Time Out NY. As part of the unfortunately-named Eat Out Awards, General Greene was given props for being the “Best new neighborhood joint in Brooklyn.” We won’t argue with that: We’ve had two great experiences there and one slightly disappointing one, though some blame lies with us on that last one for not ordering more indulgently. But it’s not like the restaurant even really needs TONY’s attention: When we passed by Saturday in the middle of the day, the brunch line was spilling out onto the street. Other nominees in the category included Char No. 4, Five Leaves, Walter Foods.
Best New Neighborhood Joint in Brooklyn [TONY] GMAP
04/23/2009 10:15 AM
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Brooklyn Food & Drink Round-Up
Spuyten Duyvil‘s Big Backyard
359 Metropolitan Avenue, Williamsburg; (718) 963-4140
“Beer nerds, rejoice! The Williamsburg beer Mecca known as Spuyten Duyvil recently unveiled a patio roughly double its original size. The bar took over the backyard of the adjacent building and revealed it as part of their own back garden Wednesday of last week,” reports The Feedbag.
New Carroll Gardens Spot Blames the SLA
387 Court Street (at 1st Place), Carroll Gardens
Calpurnia, the new restaurant set to open in the old Hole in the Wall Video space on Court, has posted a sign that reads, “As you can see, the delay in obtaining our liquor license was not our fault.” Beside this message is a newspaper article about corruption in the State Liquor Authority. (Eater has posted a photo of the signage.) While we don’t recommend dissing the SLA, we’re into Calpurnia’s spunk. Any idea what kind of restaurant this will be? Tomorrow is opening night, and they’ll pour a free glass of wine for anyone who stops by.
Plus: Motorino in Williamsburg just got its liquor license, says Grub Street.
Spring Opening Report
Eater spots a Craigslist posting about available jobs at Fort Defiance in Red Hook, which will “open in May, serving coffee and lunch. Later, we’ll open for cocktails and light food at night. Staff will be trained by Counter Culture Coffee to make great espresso and coffee, and by Fort Defiance owner/food-and-drink writer St. John Frizell to mix drinks.” Eater also reports that Calexico‘s Union Street storefront “should be up and running in three weeks.” And Ditmas Park Blog says that Vox Pop is preparing to reopen.
After the jump: A human petting zoo at Brouwerij Lane, a fall in sales for Brooklyn Oenology, and food news from Park Slope, Crown Heights, and Adan Richman… (more…)
04/22/2009 11:32 AM
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The Beginning of the Williamsburg Dining Scene
“This latest, most delicious chapter in Williamsburg’s history began in the early 1990s, as artists in search of large, cheap loft spaces near Manhattan continued to colonize the neighborhood’s abandoned industrial spaces. Two friends, Mark Firth and Andrew Tarlow, bought a rundown 1920s diner just down the street from Peter Luger and, in 1998, installed a neighborhood bistro. In a burst of imagination, they named it Diner. “I don’t think we had any grand vision of changing the neighborhood,” says Tarlow, who then lived in a 6,000-square-foot loft for which he paid less than $2,000 per month. (Just before the current recession hit, local real estate had been selling for $1,000 per square foot.) “You could stand outside the restaurant in those days and not see a single person walk by. But we fed the neighborhood—all these people like us who lived in lofts without kitchens.””
— “A Scene Grows in Brooklyn,” Bon Appetit, May 2009, Photo by roboppy
04/17/2009 11:15 AM
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Streetlevel: Watty & Meg Coming to Court Street
A new restaurant called Watty & Meg is scheduled to open at 248 Court Street at Kane later this month. Gothamist, which reports that the space (formerly occupied by Caffe Carciofo) will have 60 seats and feature an open kitchen, speculates that the food will be Scottish. Anyone heard anything more about it? GMAP
04/14/2009 2:00 PM
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Nominate Your Favorite Restaurants
We’ve been highlighting a Restaurant of the Day every weekday since last summer, and we’ve really appreciated all the reviews you’ve shared. Now, we’re nearing our 200th write-up, but we’ve still got a ton of places to cover. If you’ve got a favorite Brooklyn restaurant that we haven’t mentioned yet, please let us know in the comments. (Little neighborhood spots and holes-in-the-wall are welcome — we’d like to cover all of the borough’s quality mom-and-pop shops that citywide publications may have overlooked.)
Photo by sugarcoma
04/13/2009 11:15 AM
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Brooklyn Food & Drink Round-Up
Photo by Tejal Rao for Gothamist
Coming Soon: Umi Nom
We’re so excited that Kuma Inn, a great Filipino, Thai, and Southeast Asian small plates spot on the Lower East Side, is opening a sister restaurant at 433 DeKalb Avenue, on the border of Clinton Hill and Bed Stuy. Gothamist shares a first look at Umi Nom, which is scheduled to open on May 1, and reports that Chef/owner King Phojanakong “recently received some special sake pouring equipment to install at what will become a wood paneled bar where twenty sakes by the glass will be available.”
Return of the Red Hook Vendors!
Serious Eats says that the vendors will be returning to the Red Hook Ball Fields on Saturday, May 2. Cesar Fueuntes, executive director of the Red Hook food vendors committee, also told them that “We are close on signing up to be a part of an amazing festival in a very popular and historic Brooklyn location that will soon promise to be one of the most talked about events in NYC. Most of our vendors are planning to be a part of this festival and will be there weekends throughout the entire season. As soon as we secure our participation, we will make it official.” Any idea what he’s talking about?
Bahn Mi Bonanza
Today’s New York Times surveys the best bahn mi joints in the city, paying visits to Williamsburg’s Nha Toi and Silent H, as well as Sunset Park’s Thanh Da I and II and Ba Xuyen, a favorite in the Brownstoner restaurant files. Plus, Chow points out that you can also get your Vietnamese sandwich fix at Williamsburg’s “Mediterranean-accented” Simple Cafe (346 Bedford Avenue at S. Third Street), which “is temporarily rechristened Bep, or ‘kitchen’ in Vietnamese” every Monday — “when the café crew takes a break, a Vietnamese-Parisian cook settles in.”
After the jump: Brooklyn cleans up at TONY’s Eat Out Awards, the best Sichuan in the city, and a first look at Williamsburg’s Rye… (more…)
04/08/2009 11:31 AM
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Wednesday Food & Drink Round-Up
Now Open: Unauthorized Obama Eatery
“In an apparent bid to stand out in the crowded fast food market, a Brooklyn business has rechristened itself ‘Obama Fried Chicken.’ Previously known as Royal Fried Chicken, the eatery, located at Rockaway Parkway and Rutland Road in Brownsville, unveiled its revamped name last Thursday afternoon when the business’s new awning was installed,” says the Smoking Gun. We can only wonder if this fried chicken joint will meet the same fate as Sixpoint’s Hop Obama beer.
Ditmas Park: Home of the City’s Best Hummus
1209 Cortelyou Road (Westminster Road), Ditmas Park; (718) 284-4444
The New York Times reports on the Israeli hummus parlors popping up around the city and says, “The newest of these hummusiot also happens to be the best. Mimi’s Hummus opened in February on Cortelyou Road, the Restaurant Row of Ditmas Park.” At this 8-table spot, owner Mimi Kitani — an Israeli with Moroccan-Kurdish parents — draws culinary influences from each culture and serves 5 types of hummus priced from $8 to $9.
Pizza Pizza
Bloggers across Brooklyn are buzzing about two newcomer pizzerias set to open this week — Ignazio’s (4 Water Street, Dumbo; 718-522-2100) and Anselmo’s (354 Van Brunt Street, Red Hook; 718-775-5386). Time Out New York says that Ignazio’s “menu is mostly devoted to thin-crust and Sicilian pies. Special versions include toppings such as lobster or seasonal greens, like baby dandelion and chicory.” And Slice shares the story behind Anselmo’s: “[Jack] Stella, one of the joint’s three partners, runs a chemical business down the street. He and his colleagues in that business originally bought the building that would house Anselmo’s as a sort of clubhouse where they could take smoke breaks. While gutting it, he discovered the coal oven, and realizing he had the proverbial diamond in the rough, made plans to turn it into a pizzeria. Their loss of a smokers’ lounge is our gain as coal-oven aficionados.”
After the jump: 3 new grocery stores, a new restaurant from a Red Hook ball fields vendor, a secret new Williamsburg eatery, Buttermilk Channel hits the big screen, and more… (more…)
04/01/2009 11:32 AM
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Brooklyn Food & Drink Round-Up
Photo by Here is Park Slope
A Big Change for Bierkraft
191 Fifth Avenue, Park Slope
While shopping at Bierkraft, Here is Park Slope “noticed that a couple rustic-looking picnic tables now occupy the front section, formerly home to the checkout area… Bierkraft has applied for an on-premises liquor license.” If and when it goes through, they’ll be offering sample sips and possibly pints — plus you’ll be able to enjoy their sandwiches, piled charcuterie and cheeses, in-house.
This Week’s Openings
The Brooklyn Standard Deli, a “bodega with a conscience… with a focus on local and sustainable organic goods,” is coming to 188 Nassau Avenue in Greenpoint, and Nhà Tôi, a banh mi and Vietnamese summer roll shop that will serve dim sum on the weekends is coming to 160 Havemeyer Street in Williamsburg, says Time Out New York. And at Vutera, “Molly Del Monte, who was a sous-chef at Little Giant,” is serving up “a Mediterranean menu with dishes like wedding soup with meatballs, and scallops with farro risotto” at 345 Grand Street in Williamsburg, reports the New York Times. Plus, in case you missed yesterday’s Busy Chef thread, Brooklyn Heights Blog says that Melissa Murphy of Sweet Melissa is looking to take over this Brooklyn Heights storefront and the adjacent Blue Pig space.
The Top 5 Brooklyn Dishes
In a fun messageboard thread, Chowhounds are listing their favorite dishes in the borough. There’s wide range of recommendations, from “the slow-rendered duck breast at The Grocery” to “Chicken Soup with Heavily Buttered White Toast at 7th Avenue Donuts (followed by a Boston Creme and Coffee).” What are your top 5?
After the jump: A new-ish South Slope spot gets a rave review, Old Brooklyn meets New Brooklyn at Bar Matchless, breakfast at Prime Meats, Tini makes a move, and the Times visits Vinegar Hill House… (more…)
03/25/2009 11:30 AM
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DNBYOB (Do Not Bring Your Own Booze)
The State Liquor Authority will be coming down to Brooklyn next week to try to rein in a wide-spread problem that’s particularly out of control in our fair borough—unauthorized BYOB policies at restaurants (particularly ones that have just opened and are waiting for their liquor licenses). We would look negatively at that, said the SLA Commissioner. While complaints will come in through the SLA, it’s the local police precincts that end up having to do the enforcement.
03/16/2009 11:32 AM
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deancollins
May 21, 2012 | 02:16 PM