The Smoke Joint

 

So so so very good. Get the baby back ribs and the side of greens. You will smile. Eat your dessert at home, though.

87 South Elliot Place, (718) 797-1011

Come to the Pier Show

Come see lots of cool art (including a couple of my paintings) at the BWAC Pier Show . Check out the image bank to get an idea of what to expect.

The fun starts May 13th, and the show closes on June 18th. I was helping hang the show this weekend and was really impressed by the quality of the work. (I even bought something already).

Daltron and I went to 360 on Van Brunt Street after my volunteer shift at the pier yesterday. He opted for the $25 prix fixe (beet and hazelnut salad/roast chicken with mashies and an asparagus-ramp medley/panna cotta) and I for two "small plates" (the same veggie medley as my appetizer and a spaetzle/chicken/leek combo for my entree. I stole half of Daltron's dessert). We got a carafe of white wine (I was too tired from a weekend of non-stop volunteering to notice the specs) which came served in a cute beeker the likes of which I haven't seen since the year-long traumatic event that was my high school chemistry class. I am pleased to report it caused no scary flashbacks.

The food was delicious. A bit too much so. Although my portions were reasonable, their richness felled me. And their deliciousness left me no choice but to eat every last morsel.

Last Night of Dine in Brooklyn…

… was a smash. We went to Royal's Downtown on Union Street near Henry. Our waiter was perfectly attentive, despite a full room. It was chilly enough for the gas fireplace to be on, which was a nice touch.

The food was great. It seems the chef used to cook at Craft (I've never eaten there, but I hear good things). The highlight came at the end of the meal – a fabulous bread pudding with a nutella sauce.

Sette Enoteca E Cucina

Dine in Brooklyn brought us to Sette Enoteca E Cucina tonight. In my opinion, it sits squarely in between Crave and Taku in terms of deliciousness. In addition to the yummy bucatini and marinara, there was a non-annoying (dare I say good) live music thing happenning. Also some tasty fruit tart with fresh whipped cream on the side. Quite good!

Tomorrow night, Royal's Downtown.

Taku

In observance of Brooklyn Restaurant week, we hit up Taku last night. Specializing in noodle soups and other non-sushi Japanese fare, it's an elegant little spot with perfect lighting, which can make or break a place as far as I'm concerned.

We got there a bit after seven wondering if we should have made a reservation, but that wasn't a problem as the place was empty at first. But before long the initially attentive servers disappeared, growing harried while trying to juggle the walk-ins, reservation-holders, and reservation-makers. At one point the chef cleared our dishes and I refilled our glasses with my ever-present bottle of water.

The food? We ordered from the $20.06 Dine in Brooklyn prix fixe: stellar appetizers (eggplant handrolls and longbeans in tofu dressing); uneven entrees (an underspiced pork ramen, an excellent crispy fish); and a phenomenal dessert (deliciously spicy ginger icecream with a sesame seed studded wafer.)

I think Taku merits a second visit, and when restaurant week ends I'd give it another try.

Terrible, and such small portions!

Here is the Times review that piqued my interest about Little Dishes, a new restaurant in the old home of The Cornbread Cafe. I was excited to finally go, and we got there super early (the place is tiny and doesn't take reservations). Immediately impressed with the flawless service, and pleasantly surprised to find an old favorite, Altos Las Hormigas Malbec, on the wine list, I looked forward to a delicious parade of tiny dishes. Sadly, things started to go south as soon as they trotted out precious single slices of that fancy wood-oven bread with a crust so sharp it hurts my mouth.

Daltron and I ordered an assortment of the small stuff: sardines (WAY too marinated and vinegary. Why are you trying to disguise the lovely sardine-iness, Little Dishes?), fried cod cakes (bland), baby octopus over fennel salad (overdressed), an unpleasantly buttery heap of swiss chard, and a pretty good wedge of iceberg with cheesy dressing and above-average black olive spaetzle. The best thing I ate were two oysters (one of each of the varieties offered last night).

Counterintuitively, our dining companions (the Galvinatrix and Matty A) thoroughly enjoyed their meals, and they ordered "Big Dishes": the lamb shank and the cod special. Perhaps the old rule of thumb – appetizers are always the tastiest part of a meal – gets flipped on its head when the restaurant specializes in the small stuff.

I think I can safely say we were all disappointed that Little Dishes really stands by its name when it comes to dessert. We demurely ordered two – the ginger cake and the lemon biscuit with fruit compote. When the itty-bitty portions arrived, I felt like my mommy had hinted at a "treat" in my lunchbox, and noontime revealed it to be nothing more than one of those boxes of raisins so small you can barely wrench it open with your little eight-year-old hands.

I hate when food disappoints.

A happy, unrealted coda: Big Nose Full Body was still open when we left the restaurant, and we scored two bottles of Cantina Zaccagnini and a $10 bottle of the Altos Malbec.