Brooklyn Food & Drink Round-Up

A Solid Review for Prime Meats & Carroll Gardens
New York Times restaurant critic Sam Sifton gives Prime Meats two stars and also offers a description of its neighborhood scene through the eyes of an outsider: “You can see these people standing on Court Street nightly, staring through the plate-glass windows at a dining room packed with brownstone bohemians, third novelists, people with Web sites, with good art at home. They look slightly pained, these visitors from afar wondering about the life choices they made that put them in Chelsea or Park Slope or Montclair, and not down here in Carroll Gardens, this little Italian village off New York Harbor where life is obviously perfect.” (Photo by urbanblitz)

New Brooklyn Openings
The Aviator Sports and Events Center at Floyd Bennett Field is getting a new food vendor, says Grub Street: “The Brooklyn Smoke House, as the set of outdoor tents outside of Hangar 5 will be dubbed, will start by serving pulled pork, Texas-style brisket, Memphis-style ribs, and beer-can chicken.” … Catskill Bagel is supposed to open on Cortelyou sometime in June, says Ditmas Park Blog… Free Williamsburg‘s favorite coffee shop, Second Stop, is opening a juice bar called Get Juiced next door to the cafe on Ainslie Street, and it “will feature organic juices and smoothies made from fresh greens from the rooftop of The Brooklyn Grange.” … And the New York Times notes that Choice Kitchens & Bakery is open at 198 Jay Street (at York Street) in Dumbo: “This sleek buffet-style place, with servers, has a Mediterranean-accented menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner.”

After the jump: New taco stand in Kensington, the word on Traif and Fornino Park Slope, Bay Ridge hookah hoopla, Marlow & Sons new cowhide menu, and Spike Lee’s Brooklyn vodka…

Chowhound Buzz
Kensington has a new taco stand in front of Walgreens on Church at McDonald. Chowhound noisejoke says, “They’re open Tuesday – Sunday, 2 – 9pm… Tortillas were nicely grilled, plenty of onion and cilantro, with lime and cucumber on the side. Tasty red and green salsa on hand. Brought home three good tamales too ($1.25 each).” … Fellow ‘Hound sir chowalot describes his dinner at Traif in Williamsburg as his “best meal in a long time.” … And Marion Morgenthal gives Fornino Park Slope a big thumbs up: “We started with the Pizza Vinny Scotto to share (bel paese, pecorino, fior di latte, cacciatorini al diavolo, roast pepper aioli, ricotta), and loved it… For main courses, winners were arancini, braised short rib ravioli, and chicken sausage.”

Quick Bites
Bay Ridge Community Board members are looking to shut down local hookah bars, says the Brooklyn Paper… The Cut shares a photo of “Marlow & Sons‘ first non-culinary products: plush leather bags and pouches made, in the use-everything spirit, from the skins of house-butchered cows and pigs.” … And, finally, Grub Street reports: “In what might be his weirdest marketing appearance since those Fresh Direct ads (and Absolut’s hippest campaign since they teamed up with Tim & Eric), Spike Lee is collaborating on Absolut Brooklyn, a $24.99 blend of ginger and red apple (after the Big Apple).”