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…

Reviewed This Week
The New York Times digs Umi Nom (433 DeKalb Avenue at Classon Avenue, Bedford-Stuyvesant, uminom.com): “Dai bao sliders ($10) will be compared to Momofuku’s pork buns, but they’re closer to burgers, crammed with a sloppy mix of ground beef, pork sausage and tangy pickles. The best dishes stick close to Southeast Asia, like the nearly deliquescent pork-belly adobo ($12) and the dizzyingly hot green papaya salad beneath strips of charred skirt steak ($12).” And Greenpointers recommends catering and take-out joint The Halcyon Gourmet (77 Norman Avenue, between Manhattan and Lorimer, Greenpoint, thehalcyongourmet.com): “Now on top of taking on new [catering] clients, they are keeping their refrigerators stocked with tasty snacks like the much-raved about filet mignon sandwich with caramelized onions and Fontina.”

Chowhound Buzz
CHOW’s Outer Boroughs Digest has a hot tip for fig lovers: “Royal Crown Bakery hadn’t made any baked figs for a couple of years, but the much-loved fruits are back for 2009. jen kalb says they’re ‘stellar,’ stuffed with walnut, flavored with orange and a bit of spice, and lightly glazed.” The Digest is also keeping tabs on the new section of Em Thai menu, which allegedly brings authentic Thai spice to Smith Street: “This is for real, says a somewhat surprised Elaine Snutteplutten… Seafood Phuket, steamed fish with spicy lime, and Bangkok minced pork topped with fried egg were all ‘pleasingly spicy and lacked the insipid sweetness that characterizes too much NY Thai food … definitely a cut above anything I’ve had from neighborhood Thai to date.’

Quick Bites
Eater takes us inside the officially open Brooklyn Kitchen Labs and its in-house butcher shop, the Meat Hook… A classy, kosher soup kitchen is opening in Midwood… And, finally, the Greenpoint Food Market returns on Saturday. Get there at 2pm for a workshop on making chicken liver pate or at 2:30 for a tempeh-making workshop.