Im creating this thread to cumulate food reports relating specifically to eating experiences in Brooklyn, please share here if you feel like it!
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Mitchell’s Restaurant, Vanderbilt Avenue [Prospect Heights] - this long running and wrongly neglected by me african american soul food restaurant really delivers! Among other things we have enjoyed their smothered chicken, pork chops fried chicken, cornbread and wonderful sides. Very good frying, the porgy I had last night was perfectly cooked and all the chicken on the tables looked great. The okra stewed with tomatoes and corn last night was super, firm and non-slimy. Notable for gentle prices and kind service. Open Thurs through Sunday 12-8.
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RECENTLY CLOSED IN PROSPECT HEIGHTS - Faun, an excellent upscale resto on Vanderbilt, in December 2024; Pecking House (still open in Chinatown), unclear if reopening at Flatbush Ave location
LINKS TO PRIOR BROOKLYN THREAD and posts will be added here.
Barbacoa Tio is excellent, particularly good thick tortillas
Barbaco Tio in [Park Slope] looks really appealing
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Leland.
Their charred lemon skillet mussels are out of this world. Really, every single plate we had was fab.
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we should try - the one time we looked in the mains looked too pricy, but it is very popular, probably for a good reason!
OTWAY [Clinton Hill]/[Fort Greene]. What a lovely surprise to be taken out for a birthday meal by friends at fine local place which was totally outside of my awareness. Women owned, a bit quirky but charming, friendly and very competent. https://www.otwaynyc.com/
We started with the cucumber appetizer - this is a complex assembly and the flavors blend - including whipped feta, roasted sesame, mint and other thing - were great plus it was an ample serving for the three of us. Their delicious bread and butter too, of course.
Next one friend had the stuffed cabbage (vegetarian) I did not taste but it was very beautiful. and she was very happy.
The other two of us both had the steelhead trout which was presented with the crisp skin separate, an ample saute of snowpeas with a bit of farro, and herbs laid on a base of labneh and seasoned with chermoula, a very interesting and enjoyable combo.
Friends ordered both of the offered desserts to share, which were wonderful, especially for me the griddled olive oil cake with a lemon curd based sauce and fruit, but also an airy and rich hazelnut tarte partnered with a fine chocolate gelato that took me right to Vienna. Maybe some whipped cream would have finished the job (unnecessary).
We are so lucky to have such great cooking going on in our town, a bit below the radar.
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Laghman Express in [Mapleton] - report on a HO eating excursion below - we have been back a couple of times since and the quality and deliciousness are consistent. HO Lunch at Laghman Express on Tues 4/30 - #20 by JenKalb
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It’s been awhile, but I have some good memories.
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RANA 15 Park Slope - great sophisticated Turkish - not your doner shop
WAYWARD FARE - [Prospect Heights] by is the newest and most ambitious effort yet in the nabe by Chef Akhtar Nawab following up on the adjacent and excellent Mexican spot, Alta Calidad. Very well made eclectic food riffing on flavors and styles from France to South Asia, tho centered in the mideast, and high quality friendly service.
We started with the mezze platter, with two excellent breads and three dishes chosen from a selection - we picked the haleem pate, brouillade (super well spiced creamy eggs) and a soupy eggplant item (menu said made with peppers, walnut and black garlic with an all-in flavor I could not quite place - the excellent rich twisted breads (i per person) were essential to the enjoyment of these dishes. Note, was surprised to see how many of the patrons ate little or none of this excellent bread. It was ironic that early reviews complained at the cost of the bread - now they are doling it out amply and it does not seem to be appreciated sufficiently! I think the low carb movement has really taken hold in my nabe.
For the next course we shared the tagliatelle with the shiitake ragu (fantastic, deep flavored) and the manti with a merguez seasoned lamb filling. The latter was very good, but I realized I liked the central asian seasoning for these dumplings better than moroccan.
We chose the roasted fish which was branzino for the main and this wood fire roasted fish with garlic,herbs and a touch of baharat in the marinade was really super. Ample portion, in easily manageable pieces (not totally off the bone) and perfectly cooked. We were sorry not to have any bread left to mop up the juices!
Our anniversary so I went for the dessert which was very good, a canele with rose syrup, cinnamon and cardamon ice cream The resemblance when cut to gulab jamun was amusing, and of course the flavors were there but the contrast between the sweetness and creaminess of syrup and ice cream with the rich and not particularly sweet pastry was totally different and interesting. Sorry for the bad picture, there was very little light in the very elegant room!
With a glass of wine and a beer our meal was $180, and adding in the specialness of the dinner and the service quality (well spaced out courses, and we were there for well over 2 hours) I would rate this a special occasion place for us, but it was being well patronized on a rainy weekday by our neighbors by 8 pm. Not a tough res at all at this point, I hope Chef Nawab and his staff enjoy the success they deserve here!
Note, it is interesting that the chef was born in America and came up through major US kitchens - we are enjoying the cooking of another chef with similar background and cooking in Columbus/Worthington Ohio now, Avishar Barua, who grew up locally and is operating two excellent spots where he fuses his eclectic experience with great south asian flavors earned at home. We have been to both his neighborhood spot Joyas where breakfast, snacks and some dinner items are served https://www.eatatjoyas.com/
and his ambitious dinner restaurant serving multicourse tasting meals , Agni
https://www.dineatagni.com/
Anyone hitting Columbus with a few bucks in their pocket should certainly consider a meal at Agni, it is a unique menu and a beautiful setting. I will try to post thoughts about these meals elsewhere on the site.
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FAUSTO [Park Slope][Prospect Heights] I am not going to write a lot about this meal that we shared in April at a resto I am ashamed I had not visited sooner. https://www.faustobrooklyn.com/
Fausto moved into the Franny’s space a couple years (at least) back and they are doing great work there. Erin Shambala and wine-guy Joe Campanile have built a mellow and competent place to have a delicious meal (and wine to match). Starting with adult comfortable chairs and a very professional service operation. We were able to get a spot at short notice and tried out their limited menu for the first time. The arancini, the cauliflower, anchovy caper vinaigrette, currant and pine nut salad, the orecchiette with tuscan kale and braised fennel pork and the tender lamb shank with cannelini and a serious pile of herb salad on top were all deeply flavored and cooked just right. Plenty of stuff on the menu for vegans, vegetarians etc too, it looks like as befits the picky neighborhood. And the wine I had was special , a Pelaverga from Diego Morra, a light piedmont red that reminded me off the delicious delicate but mouth filling burgundies that started me on a wine love Im hoping to taste it again in Piedmont in a few weeks. Jim liked his beer, a Baladin Ale, also from Piedmont. We will definitely be back to Fausto.
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Cafe Kestrel (Red Hook) - One of those unexpected flawless, highly enjoyable meals. Tiny place, around 6 tables, opened about a year ago. From the Hors D’Oeuvres shared the Baguette with excellent seaweed butter, and Zucchini Flowers stuffed with Stracciatella, topped with a nice mix of spices including aromatic fennel pollen. Just a few but very explosive bites. Cafe Salad was brilliant. Good use of Yellow Beats, Red Rock Cheddar that looked like Butternut Squash surprising everyone around us as well, Walnut Praline & a nice lemony dressing. Lamb sausage tasted much better than it looks.
The chicken was another winner. Expertly cooked, with an addictive dates puree, capers, carrots & Herbs De Provence. Same for the Cod with fava beans, delicate, immensely flavorful. Excellent Apricot tart, and a Sundae to finish. The Sundae would have been easier to manage from a bowl.
No miss or even near miss. I would gladly order all the same things again.
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Given your track record, overall as well as recent, shouldn’t you adjust your expectations to “highly enjoyable” being the new norm?
We could all do with enjoyable being normal, as opposed to frightening becoming the norm (or has that already happened?).
You are correct. I just wasnt expecting such level of cooking from a hole in the wall in Red Hook.
Maybe the less than stellar Vegas trip we just had also had something to do with it
" The Rise, Fall and Rise Again of Brooklyn’s Most Beautiful Restaurant" (Gage & Tollner). Great photos.
I love it there.
It’s interesting to compare the menu in my link with the current menu. Similar format, similar dishes.
