Brooklyn Food & Drink Round-Up

Photo by Jeff Gurwin for Time Out New York

Pork Nuggets at Char No. 4
196 Smith St between Baltic and Warren Sts, Cobble Hill; (718) 643-2106
“The Midas-like chef Matt Greco lovingly turns his restaurant’s pork scraps into gold. Along with feet and shoulder, Greco slow-cooks bits of house-smoked bacon and ham (delicious trimmings deemed too small for the restaurant’s fancy sandwiches), then recombines the meat with the reduced braising liquid, which has been transformed into a delicious jelly…. And at six nuggets for $4, this is a value meal we can get behind.” [Time Out New York]

Bati: Now Open and Already Getting Rave Reviews
747 Fulton Street near S. Portland Avenue, Fort Greene
Clinton Hill Blog asked owner Hibist Legesse to describe the cuisine at this brand new BYOB Ethiopian spot: “Traditional Ethiopian with a focus on nutrition and health. For example, by adding extra teff (type of flour) to the injera (spongy flatbread), we’re increasing the fiber and iron content of the bread… We also plan to expand our vegetarian options.” And Chowhound blueberry says it tastes good, too: “I am accustomed to really great Ethiopian food in Washington, DC (where there is a really large Ethiopian population) but I have not found anything in NYC that quite measures up until I ate here!”

The General Greene Expands Hours
229 Dekalb Ave. at Clermont Ave., Fort Greene; (718) 222-1510
This Fort Greene spot is now open on Mondays, and according to Grub Street, “In addition to brunch, it’s now offering weekday breakfast (including drip coffees from Counter Culture) from 7 a.m. till lunch, which starts at 11 a.m. There’s also a late-afternoon bar menu from 4 p.m. till 5 p.m. The menus are here.”

After the jump: More openings, the city’s best dim sum, another Buttermilk Channel review, and some love for the food offerings (like Rafael Soler’s pupusas!!) at the Flea…

Now Open: Cataldo’s, Qoo Robata Bar, and LA Burrito
TONY reports: “After working for 35 years at his brother Nino’s pizzeria in Carroll Gardens, Sal Cataldo has opened his own homey restaurant in Prospect Heights.” Cataldo’s is located at 554 Vanderbilt Ave between Bergen and Dean Sts; (718) 857-6700… TONY also says that a “robata restaurant (an establishment devoted to yaki, or grilled foods)” called Qoo Robata Bar has opened at 367 Metropolitan Ave at Havemeyer Street in Williamsburg; (718) 384-9493… And BushwickBK.com says, “We’re happy to report that as of this weekend, ‘California Style Mexican’ restaurant LA Burrito is open! …but it seems a bit pricey: tacos reach $3 by the time you can have any decent meat on them … And there’s no chorizo or carne enchilada (or pork of any kind, wtf) in sight.” LA Burrito is located at 67 Wilson Street; (718) 381-4740.

World Tong: The City’s Best Dim Sum
6202 18th Ave., Bensonhurst; (718) 236-8118
“World Tong is the best dim sum in New York City. And it’s not in Manhattan’s Chinatown, or Flushing or even in Sunset Park, Brooklyn’s under-appreciated Chinatown. It’s in Bensonhurst, and despite being an overly crowded, small-scale dim sum parlor, the quantity of food that flies out of their kitchen is more astounding then some places five times its size.” [Zack Brooks for Brooklyn Based]

Recently Reviewed: Buttermilk Channel
524 Court St., at Huntington St., Carroll Gardens; (718) 852-6872
“Buttermilk Channel’s all about Brooklyn: 15 Brooklyn beers, breads, bratwurst, ice cream, cider, mozzarella, and even a 2005 Merlot called Brooklyn Oenology. And Buttermilk Channel caters to everyone in the neighborhood – vegetarians, locavores, hipsters and hipsters with children… At Buttermilk Channel, comfort food means grilled bacon, a big burger, a Niman Ranch flap steak and meatloaf. It also means duck meatloaf on a lily pad of creamed spinach, topped with onion rings.” [Restaurant Girl for the NY Daily News]

The Flea’s New Food Offerings
TONY‘s The Feed, Eater, and Grub Street are all buzzing about the food offerings at the Flea this weekend, as the winter pop-up market expands to 81 Front Street in Dumbo. Look for Flea staples, like Kumquat Cupcakery, McClure’s Pickles, Hot Blondies Bakery, and Choice Market — plus, Red Hook and Brooklyn Flea Food Vendor Rafael Soler will be serving up his famous pupusas and the Kings County BBQ Truck will be parked outside.