Posts from the ‘Brooklyn’ Category

Nov 16

Waterfalls

They changed the menu once again. I think it's been different ever time I've dined there, which is more times than I've actually documented here. Now "gourmet wraps" and hamburgers are prominently featured on the front. Clearly, they're trying to rope in customers who aren't in the mood for Middle Eastern fare, but why you'd go to Waterfalls for a burger is beyond me. And they changed the sandwiches, and not for the better. I swear you used to get hummus or baba ganooj, but that might've been a $1 supplement, which I don't see offered anymore. Now you choose your meat, I went for shish tawook, grilled chicken, and it comes cubed in a pita with a shitload of dressed lettuce and a drizzle of tahini. The meat to roughage ratio is about 40/60. It felt super healthy, but kind of blah. It needed some serious jazzing up. I would've liked to have crammed some of those fuchsia pickled turnips into the mix, but that's just because I apparently have a minor fixation with them. (11/12/05)

The menu has changed. The dishes aren't glaringly different, but they've revamped the categories into things like "mom's homemade specials," "healthy food diet & salad" and "gourmet wraps". If they start adding pannini I might balk. I had a combo dinner with shish tawook (chicken), kafta square and baba ganooj. It was all good, but I missed the pickled turnips. I guess they don't use the relishes anymore. (2/11/05)

Lately they've ended up serving as an unintentional brunch venue. At night it never occurs to me to visit, but early weekend afternoons while doing neighborhood errands it makes sense. I invariably get the chicken sandwich while James does the kebab version. The only difference this visit was a shared bowl of thick, rich lentil soup served with pita. Interestingly, there is always a white male/Asian female (duh, like it's ever the other way around) couple with a stroller inside. Not the same couple, mind you, just the Cobble Hill archetype, I suppose. (12/2/04)

It wasn't the brunch I had expected, but perhaps better. I don't know if it should be a source of concern, but in the month since James has moved into the new neighborhood, it seems that restaurants are closing shop right and left. Max Court shut and was reborn as Fragole, Harvest turned into Lobo, Latin Grill just plain closed, and the same is true for Red Rail, which we thought we'd try for brunch since it's so near. No such luck, but I'd been meaning to try Waterfalls for ages and this was a ripe opportunity.

I went for the simple and ordered the chicken shawarma with baba ghanooj. What I really go nuts for are those pink pickled turnips. At least I think they're turnips. Even though they are neon fuschia, I think they're just colored with beet juice, not actually beets. I've heard that Waterfalls isn't what it used to be, but compared to the mediocrity I've experienced in Carroll Gardens and environs so far, this meal was more than welcome. (11/16/03)

Waterfalls Restaurant * 144 Atlantic Ave., Brooklyn,NY

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Nov 7

Bar Tabac

I felt like we were ordering more food than the people around us, but that
was probably just because it was past prime dining time. James and I split a
reasonably priced bottle of wine, a plate of grilled sardines, and I had a
charcuterie and cheese plate with little olives, cornichons and onions. Not
a bad place, it'll be one to add to the open-when-I feel-like-dining
restaurants in the new neighborhood. After 10pm, you're pretty screwed.
(11/7/03)

Weeknight, after 10pm dining in the neighborhood has always been a bit
tricky. Even more so when a vegetarian tows along. After a cheap seat
showing of Sideways (which I'd already seen, but Life Aquatic was a mob
scene) we were ravenous for food and wine. By process of elimination we
ended up at Bar Tabac, me with a duck salad, Jessica and I sharing mussels,
fries and a bottle of something red that slips my mind but definitely wasn't
merlot. I always forget about Bar Tabac, not that its forgettable or
anything. (12/28/04)

There's nothing terribly compelling about Bar Tabac, and there's
something bizarre about their name post-smoking ban, but it is one of the
few late night dining options nearby. The food is what youd expect from a
bistro and reasonably priced—I cant complain about my $12.50 moules
frites. (10/8/05)

Bar Tabac * 128 Smith St., Brooklyn, NY

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Nov 6

Faan

1/2

I totally became sick to my stomach mere minutes after eating a Faan, but I
can't say for sure if it was their fault or not. The kung pao spaghetti
seemed enticing in a creepy way (I don't generally recommend Asian sauces
coupled with parmesan) but I opted for the oddball Hawaiian papaya beef
instead. I thought I liked papaya, maybe I was expecting green papaya, but
it was the sweet, ripe orange stuff and it tasted an awful lot like melon,
which threw me off. I can't eat melon. Rather, I just flat out refuse. It's
not a matter of allergy, it's a simple aversion. There's no medical reason
why my body would reject papaya/melon, but I almost instantly became queasy
after leaving the restaurant and wondered if it were a coincidence or if the
fruit was genuinely wreaking havoc on my gastrointestinal tract. With all
that said, I'd probably give Faan another go. If only because it's one of
the few late night dining spots in the new early-to-bed, family-friendly
neighborhood. (11/6/03)

Faan is Faan. There's totally nothing special about it. But it's not
expensive, it's open late, and vegetarian house guests don't complain when
you take them there. The kung pao spaghetti still fascinates me, but not
enough to order it yet.(4/27/04)

Faan* 209 Smith St., Brooklyn, NY

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Oct 31

Zaytoons

This was just a quick, light pre-Halloween dinner, so I only have a cursory
sense of the place. I had a chicken schwarma pitza, which was nice and
grilled just right, but I always wonder if it's OK to say "pitza" without
sounding silly. I almost don't want to order it, but it's nothing compared
to the inexplicable embarrassment I'd have as a teen ordering The Super Bird
(a glorified club sandwich) at Denny's. I'd always crack up while saying it,
though I never had a problem with Denny's Moons Over My Hammy (ham and
scrambled egg sandwich with Swiss and American cheese on grilled sourdough,
as per their website). Funny.

Zaytoons * 283 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 17

Khao Sarn

OK, so I professed the wonders of using green apple in
lieu of green papaya in a som tam, but that was a bad Brooklyn produce,
last minute desperate measure. I don't want to see actual restaurants
pulling this off, and especially not without warning you first.

I wouldn't expect mind-blowing Thai food in Williamsburg in the first
place, but being in the neighborhood on a hungry Friday night, I thought I'd
give Khao Sarn a shot. And it was all very adequate, which apparently is
fine for all the locals wielding chopsticks and downing their BYOB Corona
six-packs. But I would've liked a little more oomph. I'm swear not a snobby
fussbudget (well, sometimes), but Thai cuisine is one of those things where
I'm pretty particular. If I don't see lime leaves, if I do see chopsticks,
and particularly if I'm given green apple passed off as papaya, it's
curtains for a restaurant. Khao Sarn Rd. is totally the Bedford Ave. of
Bangkok so in some way it all makes senses really.

Khao Sarn * 311 Bedford Ave., 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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Aug 2

Nar

I'm always wary of those little restaurant write-ups in Time Out NY
or New York Magazine. Not of their validity–whatever–they're trend
fueled, but that they'll create artificially huge crowds the week they
appear. Such was my fear at Nar. Showing up prime-time on a Friday night
posed little problem, however. The place was empty. Absolutely patronless.
That makes me even more wary. No matter how much one hates crowds, facing an
empty restaurant is even more unnerving.

We only ordered a couple things, an eggplant puree not unlike baba
ganouj, fried calamari and a special of meat dumplings in a sour cream-esque
sauce. Nothing was hideous, nothing was amazing either. I like Allioli and
it's the same owners, so I thought I'd give it a try.

I was heartened by little touches like how they used a Turkish(?)
newspaper to serve the calamari in, fish and chips style. That's the sort of
tiny flourish I'd employ at a party, and no one would notice, and I'd come
away feeling like I'd really, really wasted my time. (8/2/03)

* Swiftly gone and probably already forgotten. Now it's Zipe Zape.
(8/23/04)

Nar * 152 Metropolitan Ave., Brooklyn, NY

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Jun 20

Cocotte

Duck confit, frisee and fries certainly don't feel like diet food, but then,
I don't really profess to be on one (I'm a very covert calorie
counter…duh, if I'm eating fat like it's going out of style). But
eating a little French food every now and then certainly won't kill you. I
haven't really patronized the seeming glut of new-ish bistros popping up in
Park Slope, so I can't compare (though I've heard disparaging things about a
few others). But the mood at Cocotte is relaxed, the food is good and the
prices were fair. I can't complain.

Cocotte * 337 Fifth Ave., Brooklyn, NY

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May 26

Truc Mai

*Truc Mai has become a Malayisan place, Blacan something-or-another.

I think I need to explore Truc Mai more. I only had basics like spring rolls (they had some crazy sounding version that involved "hash" and both soft and crispy skins) and grilled lemongrass pork on rice vermicelli. I'm fanatic about banh mi and Vietnamese snacks and desserts, but I'm not up to speed on entrees. I did enjoy the overheard conversation between the husky teenage waiter and a loud middle-aged woman with a heavy Brooklyn accent and a weed problem (I've got one too–weed problem that is, not a Brooklyn accent). He suggested she get a goat to eat all the crap in the yard and then when that's all done turn the goat into gyro (pronounced ji-ro, of course) meat. Why didn't I think of that?

Truc Mai * 6102 Seventh Ave., Brooklyn, NY

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