Brooklyn Food & Drink Round-Up

Le Comptoir Opens for Dinner
251 Grand Street (Roebling Street), Williamsburg; (718) 486-3300
Le Comptoir has been serving a daily French bistro brunch since the summertime, and they just rolled out their dinner menu, which promises lots of comforting, fall-friendly fare. Think potato gnocchi with duck confit and butternut squash ($14) and a bacon-cheeseburger with sausage and lentils ($12). They’re also serving a 6-course tasting menu for $45, which is inspired by the freshest market ingredients of the day. Photo by Michael Tulipa.

Brooklyn Restaurant Openings
The old Thomas Beisl has reopened as another Germanic restaurant, Berlyn. The New York Times says, “The chef, Steven Linares, offers dishes like corned beef with root vegetables; choucroute; and maultaschen, a ravioli in mushroom broth. Rote grutze, with red berries, is one of the desserts.” … Bedford Hill, a new coffee shop, is now open in Bed-Stuy (343 Franklin Ave., at Greene Ave.; 718-636-7650), and Grub Street says that “the beans are shipped in from a Milwaukee roaster, Anodyne Coffee. Eventually, you can expect egg dishes, sandwiches, salads, beer, wine, and later hours (for now, the shop is open from 7 a.m. till 5 p.m.).”

After the jump: Chowhounds discuss whether Smith Street should be dubbed a “culinary wasteland” and TONY calls out the best potpies in Brooklyn…

Smith Street: “Culinary Wasteland”?
In a thread titled “Cafe luluc — fresh Smith Street horrors” Chowhound Elaine Snutteplutten rails against the long-lived French bistro, asking, “How does such a place possibly stay in business, and what’s more thrive — for years?” (For whatever it’s worth, we’re longtime fans of Cafe Luluc‘s inexpensive brunch, served as early as 8am on weekday mornings — when a sit-down meal in walking-distance can be hard to find.) Fellow ‘Hound twan55 replies, “Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens are among the worst restaurant nabes in NYC. I should know- I’ve lived here for over ten years. The food quality here is simply criminal- pretty much everything is mediocre-to-garbage… And Smith Street is Ground Zero of this culinary wasteland, the epicenter of shitty dining options.” Smith Street might not be the best dining destination in the city, but is it really so bad?

Best Potpies in Brooklyn
It’s officially potpie weather, and Time Out New York reports on the best savory pies in NYC. They love the $16 smoked kielbasa and turkey potpie at the Vanderbilt: “The key ingredients: funky Parmesan and duck fat in the dough, and onions, rosemary and root vegetables enriching the filling.” And the significantly cheaper $7 chicken potpie at Pies ‘n’ Thighs gets a bright recommendation, too: “The addition of vegetable shortening to the usual butter-laden crust (the one used for the sublime dessert pies) makes the pastry profoundly flaky; inside, find thyme-infused chicken gravy stewed with moist morsels of poultry, plus shelled peas, carrots and celery.”