Brooklyn Food & Drink Round-Up

Little Buddy Biscuit Company to Close
Some sad news for South Slope: Little Buddy Biscuit Company‘s chef/owner Pete Solomita writes, “After six plus years as a wholesaler of baked goods and just about a year and half as a retail location, we regret to announce that, barring a miracle, we will be closing Little Buddy Biscuit Company on December 31, 2010… Perhaps one day we will re-emerge in another format or another place, so keep posted!”

Two New Spots for the Slope
Here’s Park Slope spoke to a contractor at the old Miracle Grill space (at 222 Seventh Avenue and Third Street), and it looks like a Chinese restaurant is moving in. The neighborhood blogger also shares some photos of the new Nona Rosa signage at 140 Seventh between Garfield and Carroll: “Considering the amount of time that construction’s been going on here, I wouldn’t be surprised if they open soon.”

Recently Reviewed: Anella
222 Franklin Street (Green Street), Greenpoint; (718) 389-8100
From Sam Sifton’s very positive one-star review in the New York Times: “[Chef Joseph Ogrodnek’s] steak tartare is a robust and flavorful thing, served beside crisp-cooked artichokes and a soft mound of oil-slicked herbs. His golden leg of duck confit with a pool of smoky, bacon-studded lentils happily straddles the crisp-soft divide. He takes sweet Chatham cod and pairs it with zucchini, broccoli, basil and a hint of chili fire, cooking the fish to beautiful flakiness, so that it slides apart under the least pressure from a fork.”

After the jump: Bargain punch bowls at the Drink (plus recipes from Red Hook ex-pat LeNell Smothers), the kid-friendliness of Peter Luger, and Brooklyn Farmacy‘s new outpost…

Getting Punchdrunk at the Drink
228 Manhattan Avenue (near Grand Street), Williamsburg; (718) 782-8643
Tis the season for holiday punch at the Drink, says Grub Street: “The boozy bowls are made with fresh juices and ‘housemade tinctures,’ and are a bargain at $43 for approximately ten servings. As [co-owner Adam] Collison informs us, ‘most of them include some sort of tea syrup,’ like the Crusade, old monk Indian rum, rooibos Earl Grey tea, orange peel, clove, peppercorn, allspice, peppermint, and lemon.” Prefer to get punchy at home? LeNell Smothers, formerly of LeNell’s liquor shop in Red Hook and currently at Casa Coctel in La Paz, Mexico, shares five simple punch recipes at KitchenDaily.

Is Peter Luger Kid-Friendly?
Sam Sifton answers that question in this week’s Hey, Mr. Critic column: “Children shouldn’t be in there until they’re 10, at least.” That said, he also shares the opinions of some readers, who argue in favor of bringing along a well-behaved kid.

Brooklyn Farmacy Crosses the River
Grub Street reports that Carroll Gardens soda fountain Brooklyn Farmacy has opened a new outpost inside Kiehl’s at 109 Third Avenue (near 13th Street) in Manhattan. The beauty supply store’s apothecary-like look certainly jives with the Farmacy’s aesthetic, and the pairing brings to mind an off-topic conversation we overheard while Christmas shopping on Atlantic Avenue: A couple of women at Acorn wondered, “Why doesn’t Kiehl’s open a branch in Brooklyn?”