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Posts from the ‘Carroll Gardens’ Category

Jun 25

Mezcal’s

I can't believe our first American meal after our Asian vacation was Mezcals. It just kind of happened. We were craving Mexican food and unfortunately, there arent any realer Mexican joints walking distance from our apartment. I'm still guessing that Mezcals is better than something like El Taco Loco in Hong Kong. You just know theyd put mayo in the guacamole. (9/10/05)

I guess Mezcal's is sort of cheesy (in both senses of the word) but sometimes that's just what you need. It was my suggested diversion from James's Friday night impulse for red sauce Italian. We're certainly in the right neighborhood for it, but I wasn't feeling the same urge. For some reason, mediocre Mexican food for white people doesn't bother me in the same way icky Italian-American food does. Nachos, chimichangas and pitchers of margaritas beat spaghetti and meatballs and Chianti any day.

So, chimichangas (filled with seafood and oozing cream sauce) and surprisingly fancy nachos, delicately placed around the plate with individual slices of medium-rare sirloin tucked on top, hors d' oeuvres style, totally hit the spot. I would never brag about eating at Mezcal's, but there's less shame involved than one might expect. And it's not like there are any authentic taco joints walking distance from our apartment anyway. No harm, no foul. My only suggestion is that they consolidate menus. I swear they hand you like five different documents, some laminated, some on paper, some handwritten, some using ten fonts and as many colors on one page. It's enough to induce a seizure. (6/25/04)

Mezcal's * 522 Court St., Brooklyn, NY

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Apr 23

Sonny’s


* It's now Union Smith Cafe, and I'm still steering clear. (10/05)

Hideous, hideous, hideous. I'm so not on the Alan Harding bashing bandwagon. But this place just bothered me with its faux old-timey look, run-of-the-mill food and its filled to the rafters with precocious children and the free-thinking parents who made them that way. It's dining experiences like this that strain a relationship. James had a conniption after being seated between two tables crammed with kids, I wasn't any happier, but didn't feel like making an issue. One must be very, very careful when dining in Carroll Gardens. Eat too early and you're subject to a daycare atmosphere, but wait till 10pm and nothing is open.

Sonny's Bar and Grill * 305 Smith St., Brooklyn, NY

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Oct 23

Schnack

1/2

I'm getting to know the new neighborhood, and trying my darndest to avoid
all the red sauce and meatballs. Being new to the whole Smith St. scene I
don't have major prejudices against Alan Harding ventures. I'm just happy to
live in a neighborhood with restaurants other than KFC and Taco Bell — and
where one might argue that Schnack is but a mere notch above fast food —
you won't hear me complaining.

I had a not terribly authentic, though still tasty cubano, and James had
the quint, which is five slider patties on one giant bun. We shared fries.
The menu is what I'd call "grubbin'" even though hate to use stoner lingo.
But you know the kind of food I'm talking about. I would go back and I would
eat the banana and chocolate bread pudding, no doubt about it. (10/23/03)

Schnack is a hit. We don't go there a lot, but we're always happy when
we do. It works for burger lover, visiting vegans, and me who always orders
the same damn cubano.

My sister's boyfriend was impressed when the day after we went to
Schnack, it was the focus of Cookin'
in Brooklyn on TV. But then, it doesn't always take much to wow
British folks. (4/30/04)


Schnack* 122 Union St.,
Brooklyn, NY

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Oct 3

Max

1/2

This was my way of easing into the new neighborhood. Not a huge fan of
Italian food, I figured I'd venture Max since I was familiar with the East
Village outpost, and it's pretty darn close to the apt. I'm mixing all my
tenses here. It's because we ate at Max before actually moving into the apt.
proper, it's been a month since and I haven't had time to write up mini
review capsules and now the restaurant has already gone out of business,
replaced by something called Fragole (which reminds me too much of Fraggle
as in Fraggle Rock. That's not appetizing). I hope this isn't a curse. Since
moving into the new apt. I also noticed that Red Rail up the street has gone
belly up.

So, now it seems pointless to talk about Max's food, as the menu now
belongs to Fragole, which is Italian but not quite the same. I would've
preferred the space to have turned into a good Vietnamese (for banh mi) or
Mexican (for tacos and tortas) place, but then that would be my neighborhood
and what would be the point of a new neighborhood environment?


MaxCourt * 394 Court
St., Brooklyn, NY

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Apr 6

House of Pizza and Calzone

Hmm, strange that I've never mentioned the re-birth of HOPAC. They closed last summer around this time and got me scared, so I ran over and bought a bunch of deep fried calzones (I live down the street now). But then they re-opened with new owners who seem to be doing things the same way where the food is concerned and unlike the old way where everything else is. And that's a good thing. They're actually open on weekends and after 5pm and have coupons and delivery menus and all that. (7/27/05) 

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