Just a friendly reminder that Mtskheta is still awesome. Probably top 5 if not 3 in Brooklyn for me these days. Good enough to trust them with a large group birthday party. Georgian food in south Brooklyn is still relatively affordable compared to the rest of the city. My friends thought I made a mistake when the bill was $60 per person after tax/tip and plenty of Georgian wine.
Speaking of Georgian wine, if you havent seen yet, I highly suggest watching the second season of Drops of God on Apple. During the meal, I called an old Georgian friend who recommended to me Mtskheta, and of course we had to talk to about Drops of God. While the Georgian reds at Mtskheta wont be life changing, they are cheap ($25!) and serviceable. Click the original post to see what to order. The only dish I would add to the list is Khinkali which I havent had since the first time. I still find these Georgian dumplings hard to eat, but the flavors are quite something.
After two years of trying to get the hottest table in Brooklyn, it finally happened. Snatched two Chef Counter spots the day prior. Did I try very hard? Not really. If you look at Theodora reservations at any given time, you wont see any. I cant even commit to what I’ll watch on Netflix tonight, not alone where I’ll eat with how many people a month from now. Not to mention its NYC. Plenty of exciting options, old and new, that require much less effort.
Chef Counter seats are always a gamble as you never quite know what you going to get. A relaxed environment with a chatty chef, or “The Bear” like chaos. Here its somewhere in the middle. Organized chaos, led by the screamer, a fellow, with opera experience no doubt, that yells the orders standing right next to me. After the initial shock to the system of “FIRE.. CABBAGE… ALL DAY!!!!”, we quickly got used to it. Though when you start yelling fire near an actual fire, other thoughts come to mind.
And since I’m ranting, is it time perhaps to retire the long awkward, “Have you been here before? Well, our dishes are meant for sharing. Its best to order 4-10 dishes because our margins are very thin and the opera singer didnt come cheap“. Oh! Good to know. I was about to order the cabbage dish all for myself. In this day and age its like asking if we have been out in the past 15 years. Its as useful as a hotel booking site listing a Flat Screen TV in the hotel room. When was the last time you saw a TV that wasnt flat.
Theodora is the latest from the team behind Mis Ada nearby. The focus is on fish, aged fish, but we were drooling inches away from the chicken dishes that they kept dishing out. It’s one of those menus that I want to try every single item, given the chance. Even though it wasnt exactly a slam dunk meal, and kinda pricy, I recommend trying at least once.
The food breakdown:
Hiramasa – The most hyped Crudo on the menu was surprisingly just ok for us. They age all or almost all their fish, but here the 4 delicate cuts get lost in the shuffle of sauces and avocado (hiding underneath). Good flavors but mostly not from the fish. Perhaps in other places, this would have been more of a highlight.
Wood-Fired Cabbage – Ugly delicious. Smoky, but could have used more. Elevate by the Calabrian Chili Butter. Happy I was allowed to share this with her since it was her favorite dish.
Sourdough – With Whipped Ricotta, Brown Butter, Honey, Sage. Another hyped dish but this time for good reason. Light and absolutely delicious. Seems easy to make, but would be hard to find quality Sourdough and Ricotta such as this. Though you can buy the bread two doors down at their bakery Thea.
Striped Sea Bass – Another great dish. Perfectly cooked bass in a superb broth with saffron, with mussels and charred sunchokes adding much needed texture.
Whole Butterflied Trout – Mexico City style, Harissa on one side, and Chermoula (The North African Chimichurri) on the other. The sauces were very mild which was a good thing. Much of the richness came from the Pil Pil sauce at the base. Very good overall, but a very large dish without any sides. Maybe some rice, or even pita bread would be nice. Or at least serve the cabbage dish with it if ordered.
Baklava Sundae – Regrettable choice. I should really start bringing my own Lebanese Halva and Silan to these outings. Should have gone with the cheesecake as originally planned.
The drinks were good. They use spices including pepper in many of them. I liked the smoky Mayahuel martini.
What do you do when you try a popular place and it’s not up to snuff? You try the sister, naturally. Cafe Spaghetti as the youngsters say these days, was “Mid” for us. Neither here nor there. But it was mostly service related if I recall. Swoony’s, the owner’s follow-up that opened two years ago, got on my radar way before I realized its the sister. Once I did I wasnt in a rush to go.
But the day finally arrived, and the verdict… its excellent. None of the service issues and better food. Swoony’s is the American version of Cafe Spaghetti. American classics with similar old school elements. The room, pickle Jewish deli plates, funky New Wave hits, contributed to an 80’s vibe. Back then however, we wouldnt even dream about going to Red Hook or Columbia Street nearby.
The food rundown:
Whipped Goat Cheese – With Chili crunch, cucumbers, and grilled sourdough. Terrific Stuff. You expect spicy but instead you get a nicely balanced spread with a good amount of crunch.
Potato Croquettes – I didnt try them but friends claim… Good.
Creamy Lobster Orzo – One of the signatures. Pretty much what you expect, in a good way. Rich, comforting, with plenty of lobster. Could have used a little less salt, but I’d order again.
Dorade – With Green beans, potatoes, olives, salsa verde, and lemon. Expertly cooked skin on Dorade with a perfect supporting cast. Definitely Get this.
Short Rib Au Poivre – Another signature, and probably best dish of the night. Just the kind of texture you expect from two beautiful slabs. The fries are good too, and as I learned many moons ago in Turks and Caicos, fries and Au Poivre is a match made in heaven. Which means, could have used more Au Poivre here.
French Toast – Skip!
Conclusion: Go! Nothing outrageous, but pretty decent elevated enough, American comfort food. The burger is another item getting much hype, though there are hundreds of solid burgers out there these days. Good service, decent drinks, and great vibe. The place is fairly popular, and one of the most mentioned on Reddit, so best to reserve
First, time to make another change to the blog. Its been about 13 incredible years, and food blogs are slowly becoming obsolete, replaced by other forms of social media. I do want to keep it going, but I just dont have the same amount of time and energy. From now on, my NYC blog posts will be short, sweet, and to the point, writing mostly about the food.
Saint Julivert is a seafood focused eatery in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. Opened in 2018 by Alex Raij and Eder Montero, the husband-and-wife team behind La Vara, next door, and Txikito which I included in the best of NYC list. The well respected duo essentially reinvented Spanish Tapas in NYC. Saint Julivert is on the Michelin Bib Gourmand list (good quality, good value cooking). The dishes are fairly small but the waitstaff recommends 4-5 dishes for two, like any other restaurant.
Sorullitos – Nicely spiced hushpuppies sitting on tangy mayo. Solid, well priced snack. No issues here.
Amberjack – Raw, high quality Amberjack (Kampachi). I appreciated the tomato water and Shiso oil as opposed to the usual acidic crudo, but an expensive 4 bites each when sharing with someone.
Polenta/Chickpeas fritters topped with Baba ghanoush and salmon – A special that sounded good, and it was. But essentially an expensive (over $20) amuse bouche. One weird theme here is that they advise sharing, but serve everything in odd numbers.
Squid a la Placha with Mushrooms – Just fine. Not as good as I hoped. The Mushroom flavors didnt really pop, and the whole dish was just a tad too sweet. Only when I mixed the sauces at the end, I got the right balance.
Venetian style Risotto – Nice smoky flavor, but midway it started to feel like an excellent, pricy side dish. I would have loved to pair with fish or another protein for some texture. For a “Fisherie”, they dont have any fish on the menu, other than an expensive special on this night.
5 dishes, one drink, $170 (includes tax/tips)
Conclusion: Plenty of creativity and top notch ingredients. Just not enough food. Sure I can order more dishes and push it well over $200, but at the end we simply didnt feel like we were getting good value. Not often I can go for a slice of pizza after a meal. If you order 4 dishes as the waitress suggested (“4-5”), you could even do a burger. It felt like an 8 course tasting menu that ended midway. A one and done for me.
A longish list of my favorites in Brooklyn, the borough I spend the most time eating. Its a huge Borough, fourth-largest city in the United States by population, if it was a city. Hence plenty of great dining that I miss in neighborhoods I dont frequent much, mainly due to where I live. Bushwick is one example. But there are plenty of juicy nuggets in there. The list includes some bakeries, and fast-casual places as well. Happy eating!
Berikoni Georgian Bakery – My go-to for Guruli, a type of khachapuri that’s shaped like a calzone, stuffed with egg and cheese. The cooked kebabs are quite good as well. 125 Brighton Beach Ave
German Doner Kebab – Excellent Doner kebab. Newish as of this writing, and not well know yet. 224 Brighton Beach Ave
Kashkar Cafe – The legend, the OG for Uyghur food. 1141 Brighton Beach Ave
Ocean View Cafe – A Brighton classic for Russian/Ukrainian. Best Pelmeni in the city. 290 Brighton Beach Ave.
Burchak Pide – Delicious Turkish Pizza by a friendly stuff. 1614 Sheepshead Bay Rd
Lucia Pizza Of Avenue X – My slice go-to in South Brooklyn. 2201 Avenue X
Mtskheta Cafe – My favorite Georgian restaurant these days. We are normally the only none-Georgian there. 2812 Ocean Ave
Falafel Tanami – A Celebrated Falafel joint, especially since the NYT discovered it and lines doubled. 1824 Avenue M
Werkstatt – A versatile Austrian/German like no other in the entire city. 509 Coney Island Ave
Taste of Akko – A newish Israeli hole in the wall dishing out a taste of one of the best food cities in the middle east. 1724 Coney Island Ave
Coszcal De Allende – One of the only authentic Mexicans in South Brooklyn. Or at least unlike the rest of the bunch. Great drinks as well. 7506 3rd Ave.
Xin Fa Bakery – Best egg tarts on the planet. Ok, in Brooklyn. 5617 8th Ave
Kai Feng Fu Dumpling House – Great pocket change dumplings. 4801 8th Ave
Hainan Chicken House – Fantastic Malaysian. 4807 8th Ave
Chuan Tian Xia – Our favorite all around Chinese in Brooklyn’s Chinatown. 5502 7th Ave
La Brasa Peruana – Peruvian Chicken fast food. Part of a monthly takeout routine. 4618 5th Ave.
Tacos El Bronco – Sensational food truck tacos. I prefer over their restaurant on 4th. 860 5th Ave
Red Hook Tavern – One of the best burgers in Brooklyn, if not the entire city. 329 Van Brunt St.
Hometown Bar-B-Que – NYC’s Texas style BBQ Mecca. 454 Van Brunt St
Hoek Pizza – Exceptional Roman style thin pies. 117 Ferris St
Cafe Kestrel – Small elevated New American. Best thing to open in Red Hook since Hometown BBQ. 293 Van Brunt St
Popina – Tiny Italian with a big heart by an experienced chef. 127 Columbia St
Swoony’s – Solid American comfort food. Prefer over popular sister Cafe Spaghetti. 215 Columbia St
Haenyeo – Superb Korean in Park Slope. 239 5th Ave
Bar Bête – French inspired fair by a very capable chef. 263 Smith St
F&F Pizzeria – My favorite slice in North Brooklyn. 459 Court St
Sometimes great discoveries come later in life. And I’m not talking about Labubu. In a city where Italian food is an embarrassment of riches, its easy to fall under the radar, especially when you are in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. The last time I dined in Ft Greene was at least 5 years ago at Miss Ada by the Israeli-born Tomer Blechman who since opened Theodora, one of the toughest tables in NYC these days. I’m still trying.
Larina, approaching its 10th year, is much easier to reserve than Theodora. But you wouldnt know it while walking around a very packed house on a Thursday evening, and seeing the slew of people waiting for a table outside, all speaking Italian. Its owned by 3-5 people depending on who you ask. At the helm is “Top Chef” contestant Silvia Barban.
Silvia’s Italian inspirations is hard to pinpoint. She grew up in the north, spent summers in the south, and cooked with some of the best of them, like Giancarlo Perbellini in his two Michelin star in Verona. She was roasting potatoes by age 6 with her grandma, and cooking entire meals by age 10. When I was 6, I was smoking cigarettes and getting into all kinds of trouble, and by the time I turned 10 I was sneaking into country clubs. Not only I cant cook but its a miracle I’m still alive.
Silvia described her signature Smoked Spaghetti as her life in a bowl. Elements from the north, south, and even NYC (the smokiness). But pretty much all of us came out of the meal with a life in a bowl dish. For my butcher friend it was the steak. For another it was the Lasagna. My friend had a Ratatouille moment when she tasted the Intingolo. And for me it was, what else, pasta perfection from Piedmont. The dish rundown…
Prosciutto di Parma with Mozzarella di Bufala – Your typical high end Prosciutto, though I personally prefer San Daniele over Parma. Mozzarella in this case a little less successful.
Octopus – Not sure it can be cooked any better than this. Spot on flavor and texture, nice complimentary sauce made with uncooked tomatoes among other goodies.
Intingolo – Like a chunky Hummus made with green chickpeas, with shishitos and pumpkin seeds. Goes well with their excellent bread basket (first one free). This was the Ratatouille moment for my friend, reminiscing about her grandma making this dish as a child. She dropped her makeup kit when she tasted it.
Rapa Gialla – Yellow beets and peaches covered with smoked stringy Stracchino. Good though got boring after a few bites. More of a side dish.
Smoked spaghetti – Simple ingredients, sensational flavors. She smokes the spaghetti before cooking, and that smokiness comes through very well. The only thing, maybe related to the process, is that it gets cold quickly. So… mangia mangia.
Lasagna – Looks very messy but tastes like an above average Lasagna. Made with spinach pasta sheets.
Agnolotti del Plin – This is it. the creme de la creme. Better than anything we had in NYC (including at high end places like Claud) and even some places in Piedmont. Braised beef and chicken filling, sage, and butter mixed with the meat jus. In Piedmont many places, even the notable, add only butter, some a lot of it. But the jus adds some oomph, as we learned in Turin. I thought I found a good version in San Carlo in West Village a few weeks ago, but this blew it away.
Steak – Expertly cooked base on the small piece I had.
Tried just about all the desserts and they were all great. Usually I can pick a winner but not in this case. Proper Tiramisu, excellent Panna Cotta with Strawberry compote and almonds, and more. Go!
Red Hook always felt like the type of place that got just the right amount of everything. Where a little more (subway, mall, etc) or a little less could be detrimental. From the top of my head, you got a chocolate factory, a lobster place, the city’s best BBQ (Hometown), solid Thai, one of the best burgers in town, breweries and bars galore, and pizza. Not to mention Ikea. It can use a good Italian though residents seem fairly happy with Bar Mario for some reason (one and done for us).
But Cafe Kestrel feels like the type of place no one knew Red Hook was missing. An intimate neighborhood joint offering… ok, if I cant call it by the default “New American”, its European, or South European to be as precise as I can, which really means… New American. While the menu seems all too familiar (Chicken, fish, salad, etc), the end result wont.
This was a rare double dessert situation. When you just had a very full meal, and decide to order two desserts instead of the usual one. Judging by how many people share desserts around us, I’m sure many of you can relate. During a meal that feels like nothing can go wrong, it feels criminal to stick to the usual game plan. Besides, who can pass on a Sundae and an Apricot tart.
Just about all the publications about Cafe Kestrel will tell you how tiny it is. It’s too tiny to have a host, and more than 6 tables. You quickly get to know the folks sitting next to you, with just a few inches of separation. All the women by the wall, and the men, apparently all with bladder issues facing them. It’s much easier to get to the bathroom from the aisle seat. It felt like eating with new friends, except that since its Red Hook, more like chaperoning new friend’s kids.
Eater
Cafe Kestrel is a good match for anyone that enjoys and appreciates good food. If you enjoy salads and fish especially, you may want to put them on top of the list. When it rains during the meal, you may hear “soup?” murmurs all around you as the chef/owner Dennis Spina also promises soup on rainy days. Judging by the kind of range we experienced, you may want to come here for soup as well.
From start to finish, it was a clever use of top notch ingredient. From the Hors D’Oeuvres section, the Baguette with seaweed butter was an indication of things to come. Save some bread for the salad. Fried Zucchini Flowers stuffed with Stracciatella is normally enough for most places. But here Spina tops them with a nice mix of spices including aromatic fennel pollen. Just a few but very explosive bites.
“Cafe Salad” looks fairly pedestrian, but quite brilliant once you dig in. Good use of Yellow Beets, Red Rock Cheddar that looked like Butternut Squash, surprising everyone around us as well, Walnut Praline & a nice lemony dressing. Lamb sausage is another dish that tasted much better than it looks, especially once you combined all the ingredients.
The mains were even better. The chicken, served crispy thin, with an addictive dates puree, capers, carrots & Herbs De Provence. A forkful of pure bliss. Ordering the Cod with Fava Beans over the Steelhead Trout was a tough but seemingly correct decision, even though I cook Cod very often at home. Delicate, and immensely flavorful.
Excellent Apricot tart, and a Sundae to finish. The Sundae could have been easier to manage and appreciate from a bowl if I can be picky. The drinks were not nearly as memorable, but fine. Efficient, all female service, on this night at least. No miss or even a near miss. In fact I would gladly order the same exact dishes again next time. Go!
Cafe Kestrel 293 Van Brunt St (Red Hook, Brooklyn) Recommended Dishes: Baguette, Zucchini Flowers, Cafe Salad, Chicken, Cod, Apricot Tart
In the small chance you got here while searching for medical advice, this post is not about pruritus. It’s about another itch. One that grows over time to revisit a favorite place. You are good for months, if not days after each visit, before the itch kicks in again. With Werkstatt its pretty much a perpetual itch lasting close to 9 years.
I vividly remember the first visit which was special for everyone involved including the hosts. This is what I wrote back then.. “This was also an especially fun evening for Thomas Ferlesch and family (wife and daughter). Not only visited by a world famous blogger, but also by Mimi Sheraton, a former influential NYT critic who handed the then young Ferlesch 4 stars in 1981 when he worked for Vienna ’79 (UES).”
Coincidentally, that was pretty much the last time I saw Mr Ferlesch. On every subsequent visit, it was the same young chef at the helm. But not only the quality hasnt budged, the place seems busier than ever. The only thing that changed is less nightly specials. But with a tried and true menu as such, it just makes decisions that much easier.
Besides, quality German/Austrian food in NYC is an endangered species. I see places slowly closing, and nothing new is opening, as far as I know at least. It’s also the perfect place to bring elderly parents, after getting tired of Turkish. On our last visit, we were hardly the only ones to do so. You dont even need to order Salmon!
Their only complaint of the night was “this is not how we make Matzo Ball soup”, which meant it was probably excellent. Other than that, we had a selection of the usual suspects, plus one new dish, a serviceable Bucatini with Short Rib and Mushroom Ragu. One thing is certain. It may not be evident to some diners, but the young chef at the helm got some crazy range.
Out of the regulars, Calamari & Kielbasa, Chicken liver Mousse, and the Pretzel called Best Pretzel in NYC (for good reason) have been on the menu I believe from day one. Three dishes that not only dazzle your taste buds, but even compliment each other.
Beef Goulash with Spatzle is another winner that we get occasionally. You may not find a more tender beef in the entire city. Got to add a side of Spatzle with cheese because the other one comes without. In parties more than 2, you cant get enough Spatzle. And I’m not sure anyone ever walked out without having one of the Schnitzels. When the owner’s car plate says Schnzl, you know what to do. Make it a Wiener.
Choc/Hazelnut Crepes and apple strudel for the finish of course. There’s not only a strong beer menu, but the cocktails are consistently excellent. This is the place that got us hooked on Palomas and its many variations. A fine Paloma is the perfect cure for summertime sadness, and maybe even Pruritus.
Eating With Ziggy 