New Sputnik Menu

Now here's a place that's very close to me, yet I don't stop in all that often. Sputnik is a little bar and performance space on Taaffe which has apparently, unbeknownst to me, started serving food.

SPUTNIK is well known in brownstone brooklyn for being a bar/performance space, having hosted such acts as KRS ONE, Earl greyhound, DJ Premier and many, many other notable musicians and artists as well a plethora of local talent.

What may be of news though, is that for over a year now, SPUTNIK has been operating as a "burger joint" restaurant as well, with a focus on specialty meats. I'm confident, and our many local regulars can attest, that SPUTNIK very possibly has the best burgers in Brooklyn. Choose your burger (the Sputnik, The memphis, the Tijuana etc.) and choose the type of patty (elk, ostrich, bison, beef, turkey or veggie). add a side of fresh cut fries, onion rings or a side salad. We've also recently added pita wraps: The Veggie California, the Falafel pita wrap, the spicy turkey, etc.

Yes, we are still a bar and have summer drinks on our menu. the sangria has quickly become a house favorite.

I understand there are many, many dining options in Brownstone Brooklyn and I think SPUTNIK offers something a bit different and well...just original.

Anyone had a chance to stop by lately? How's the food? "Best burgers in Brooklyn" is quite a claim, but it sounds like it's worth a try.

Clinton Hill Hummus

About a month ago I ended up with a pretty random (for me) craving for hummus of all things. As I wrote back then, I'd picked up some chick peas and tahini with the grand plan to eventually make my own. Well tonight I finally got around to it, throwing together an impromptu hummus recipe that came out pretty good.

The inspiration for this particular recipe was a conversation with a friend about what kinds of hummus I could make with the ingredients I happened to have laying around, keeping in mind that I haven't been grocery shopping in a couple of weeks. I ended up settling a kind of "Italian" hummus, using a lot of the ingredients I'd typically use in a batch of tomato sauce or risotto. Now, I'm never one to shy away from excess heat in my recipes, so feel free to back off on the red pepper flakes if you think you'd prefer something a little bit more mild.

Clinton Hill Foodie Hummus

Ingredients:

1 can (14.5 oz) chickpeas, drained
2 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp pramigiano reggiano
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp ground red pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 leaf fresh sage
1/2 leaf fresh basil
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper

Directions:

Place the ingredients in a food processor. Turn on the food processor.

That's basically it. I had to add about 1/4 cup of water because the mixture was too dry and wasn't combining well.

Not content to just use the hummus as a dip, I decided to make a sandwich with some lightly-toasted oat bran bread and freshly sliced tomatoes.

What Next For Loulou?

Now that Loulou is no more, it looks like we can look forward to another new restaurant on Dekalb. Brownstoner is saying that it looks like it will be Italian.

While I like Anima, Il Torchio's been sorely missed. I'd love to see something else in that vein.

Saffron Risotto With Sea Scallops

It's rainy and gross here in Brooklyn. What else is new, eh? It's been raining and gross for a while now, it seems. Rain doesn't normally bother me, having grown up in Seattle, but this is getting a little ridiculous.

Still, it gives me an excuse to stay inside and do some cooking, which I haven't done much of lately. I never really felt inspired until I was actually at the grocery store yesterday afternoon and walked by the seafood section and saw some fresh scallops. I hadn't made risotto in a while, and I'd wanted to try a saffron risotto, and the scallops seemed to cry out as a perfect excuse.

This recipe was kind of thrown together without too much thought, so I bet there are some good ways to improve on it, and I'm open to suggestions. Even so, I really enjoyed it and since I'm only cooking for myself these days, I get to hoard all the leftovers. Such is the plight of a single guy who cooks.

Saffron Risotto With Sea Scallops

Ingredients:

1 - 1 1/2 cups abborio rice
32 oz chicken broth (I use the Pacific Foods organic broth and really enjoy it. Homemade is best, of course)
1 cup diced shallots
4 cloves of garlic, diced
6 tbsp butter
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 - 2 tbsp saffron threads
1 lb sea scallops
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup parmigianno reggiano
1 leaf fresh sage, cut into small pieces
kosher salt
pepper
fresh parsley to garnish

Directions:

Start the chicken broth in a small pot over low heat. Once hot, put the saffron threads in 1/2 cup of broth and set aside.

In a large pot, combine 2 tbsp butter and 2tbsp olive oil over medium heat. When the butter is melted and the oil is hot, add the shallots and the garlic and stir until evenly coated. Cook for 2-3 minutes and add the white wine and the sage. Continue to cook until the shallots are translucent.

Add the rice and stir until evenly coated. Add one ladle's-worth of the chick brother and stir it in. Add the saffron/broth mixture and stir.

Continue to add a ladle's-worth of broth every time the rice has soaked everything up. I used about 1 1/4 cups of rice, and this took all 32 oz of the broth, one ladle at a time. You'll keep adding broth until the rice is done, and sometimes you'll have some broth left over.

Once you've started adding brother to the risotto, it's time to cook the scallops. Lay them flat on a plate and season them with kosher salt and freshly-ground pepper. I had enough scallops that I had to cook them in two batches, but that will depend on how big the scallops are. If you can do it in one batch, great.

In a skillet, heat up 2 tbsp butter and 2tbsp oil. Toss in the scallops so that they're not touching (another reason you may need to do two batches). Turn as necessary so that they're evenly cooked, taking care that they don't stick to the pan. Cook for 5-10 minutes until they're nicely browned on all sides.

Once the scallops are done, remove them from the skillet and place in a bowl or plate on a paper town to drain.

Once the rice is cooked, add the remaining 2tbsp butter and the 1/2 cup for parmigianno reggiano and stir vigorously. I also added some of the scallop drippings here to give it some extra flavor.

Plate the risotto and place some scallops on top along with some ground pepper, parsley, and mo parmigianno reggiano.

Risotto isn't always the best choice for a hot summer day, I'm the first to admit. But the saffron, sage, and shallots combined with the scallops make this version something I think works really well. The saffron helps keep it tasting light, and the sage makes for a very floral, summer-y flavor that's perfect for summer.

Farewell to Loulou

This is some incredibly sad news, courtesy of The Local:

LouLou, the French restaurant at 222 DeKalb Avenue is, in fact, closing today. And the increasingly familiar combination of growing rent, shrinking revenue and new opportunities elsewhere are to blame, an owner says.

“We’re down 50 percent from last year,” said William Snell, LouLou’s chef and part owner along with his wife, Christine. “It’s gotten to the point where I could work for someone else and make more money.”

But rather than shuttering LouLou and taking a job at another restaurant, the Snells said they are moving to the Lake Champlain region of Vermont — their three kids in tow — and opening shop there. The new restaurant, Tourterelle, is slated to open in early September.

Longtime readers know that Loulou is one of my favorite local restaurants, and this is quite a shame. I wish them luck in their new endeavor, and hope they know they'll be sorely missed.

Andy also lets us know that they'll be serving free drinks from 6-10 tonight, so stop by and bid them farewell if you're in the area.

Here are some of my past posts about the joint:

Loopy for Loulou

Loulou Redux

First Loulou...

Fort Greene Beer Garden to Open Soon?

Seems so, according to Brownstoner.

According to a guy we spoke to in the doorway of Der Schwarze Kolner, the German-style beer garden should be open by the end of the month.

Short and sweet. I, for one, am very excited. I've spent more time at the Astoria beer garden(s) this summer than I have in years.

Garlic and Sage Penne with Salmon

I finally got a chance to do some cooking last night, and after a conversation with a friend about herbs, I decided I wanted to make something where I'd get to saute sage leaves in butter. Really, that was the entire impetus for this meal.

After some thought, I ended up planing to make a butter, garlic, and sage sauce and mix it up with penne. Very light and flavorful, and fresh sage gives it a floral, very summery taste and smell. This will really make your kitchen smell like summer.

I also threw in some salmon, because, why not?

Garlic and Sage Penne with Salmon

Ingredients:

6 tbsp butter
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 shallots, peeled and sliced
2 tbsp minced garlic
4 leaves fresh sage
Cut fresh parsley
(Optional) 6 oz cooked salmon, either good canned (Costco sells some good stuff) or a pan-fried or roasted filet
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lb penne, fresh or dried

Directions:

In a sillet, melt the butter over medium heat and add the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, toss in the garlic and shallots. Stir until everthing's coated evenly and let simmer, adding as much salt ant pepper as you like. Don't over-salt it, though, since the parmigianno reggiano you'll add later will be a bit salty as well.

Once the shallots are cooked a bit (4-5 minutes), reduce the heat to low and throw in the sage leaves. You can finely cut some sage up as well to have it infuse throughout the sauce.

In a post of salted, boiling water, cook the penne until al dente. Drain the pasta and place it back in the pot. Quick add in the sauce before the pasta has time to stick to the hot sides of the pot.

Stir until the pasta is coated evenly, and toss in the salmon.

Plate the penne and toss on some fresh parsley and grated parmigianno reggiano, along with some more freshly-grated pepper.


This is a really simple dish that doesn't take very long at all. Fresh sage is really key, as is good butter and (especially) oil. It's a very light dish, and the sauce would work well with almost any pasta.

We added some steamed asparagus for a veggie. for a light, easy summer dinner. Of course, it was so good that we ate almost all of it, so I guess it wasn't that light.