Kinara II and Other Shenanigans

Things have been quiet in CHF land, with not much interesting eating or cooking going on as of late. We did quite a bit of grilling over Memorial Day weekend, but that was accompanied by quite a bit of drinking and not a lot of picture taking, so there's not much for me to really write about. I'm hoping to post some good grill recipes going into the summer, but I haven't had the chance to sit down and create a post about them yet.

We did get a chance to order from Kinara last night, and it was excellent as before. The deal they have for one appetizer and one entree along with nan for $11.95 is a pretty good value. Last night we had the chicken curry, chicken masala entrees with the chicken mali kebab and pekoras appetizers. Pekoras are described as "assorted fried fritters," but they all tasted pretty much the same and I was a little disappointed. They were great for making use of the various dipping sauces, though.

Neither the curry or tikka masala disappointed, however. I can now heartily recommend both along with the vindaloo I ordered last time.

I haven't tried Amin yet - does anyone have any opinions on how they compare? I'm really an Indian food novice and I'd love to learn more.

Information:

Kinara II Indian Restaurant
368 Myrtle Ave
Brooklyn, NY
718.237.4008

Google Map

Kif

I never actually got a chance to go into Liquors before it closed, so I'm not among the apparently large contingent of Clinton Hillers who mourned its passing. It's nice to have the space finally filled with someone interesting, though, an interesting Moroccan place called Kif. Feeling like something new, we gave it a try the other night.

It's a pretty small space, but there's a nice open area out back and since the weather was nice, that's where we decided to sit. The decor in the garden could use some work, really. More little plants and trees would help, and music that's appropriate to theme would be welcome. Listening to Top 40 Latin hits wasn't quite what I was looking for. It's a minor issue, though. There's a big hookah out there, although it wasn't in use while we were there.

Kif's got a sparse but interesting cocktail menu, and on weeknights they offer 2 for 1 drink from 5-7, and they don't restrict you to the bar, which is nice. Mick got one of the drinks, something with rum and juice and a cherry - I can't remember the name of it, for the life of me. SOmething to do with a harem, I think. It was pretty good.

To start, I had a very basic dish of pita bread with oil. It was very good, but I felt like this should be provided to every table as a matter of course. It was only a buck, but come on.

Mick got something much more interesting: spinach and goat cheese "cigars," deep fried and served with sour cream. These were outstanding and might have been the best thing we tasted all night. If you like goat cheese, don't pass these up.

For my entree, I had the seared salmon with peppers and chic peas. It's tough to screw up salmon, and thankfully they didn't. I would have liked the whole thing to be a bit spicier, but it was definitely good and I'd order it again.

Mick got the cous cous with seven vegetables, which as far as we could tell was a bit of a misnomer. We only counted six vegetables, but one of the condiments provided was a little bowl of sweet onions, so maybe that counts? I think thats like counting ketchup as a vegetable, frankly. In any event, the dish was good, although it's a big portion and she was a bit bored of cous cous by the end.

Kif's a fun little addition to the neighborhood, and it's definitely worth trying. The menu isn't particularly expansive, but we liked what we had. If anything, the fruity cocktails are worth it for happy hour during the week.

Information:

Kif
219 Dekalb Ave
718.852.7273

Google Map

Cafe Martino

Good morning and Happy April. I've been swamped with a variety of things lately, so the missus has been doing most of the cooking. Since she doesn't really like to write about it, I've had nothing to post. Tragic, I know. Hopefully things will settle down a bit in the coming weeks and I'll have a chance to either make something interesting or go eat somewhere worth writing about. I do want to try my father's pastiera and with a jar of good cooked wheat and a manifesto on how to make that he sent me, I should be all set.

We did finally get a chance to check out Cafe Martino, the swank little place on on Myrtle that a commenter suggested I try a little while back. It's one of those places that tends to blend into the background, so while I always knew it was there, I never went out of my way to go there. Requiring brunch on Saturday, we gave it a try.

The coffee was good (which is important), and Mick had a cappuccino that she liked. The food was good but not great. I had the steak and eggs, and the eggs weren't very easy for being over easy. That's one of my pet peeves with eggs - if I order them over easy, I want a lot of yoke running around for to be lathering up my other breakfast potables. These were a bit disappointing, but thankfully the steak made up for it. They came with home fries which were as standard as home fries get.

Mick had the spinach, portabello, and cheddar omelet, which was a bit more interesting. To say she inhaled it would be an understatement, so I can only assume it was good. The muffled superlative along with a curt nod seemed only to confirm that.

Aside from my slightly overdone eggs, everything else was great. I like that they give you a bottle of water for your table, which eliminates the tendency of some restaurants to either leave you parched, without drink, or to have a waiter constantly hovering near you refilling your glasses. Another great touch was the salt and pepper. No ordinary shakers here! They left us a pepper grinder along with a big container of sea salt. Nice touches.

Cafe Martino's got good coffee, decent food, and what looked like pretty good pastries and empanadas as well. They've recently started serving dinner, although I haven't had a chance to try it. If you're nearby, definitely give them a try for breakfast or brunch.

Rustik is Here!

We've been waiting anxiously for Rustik to finally open for real, and last night we got our first chance to stop in. The closet bar to us is Sputnik, and I've never really been a huge fan - it's all right, but I've been hoping for a while to have a nice watering hole nearby that would be fun to hang out after work or after going out on weekends. Rustik's perfect.

The space inside is open and inviting, and the decor is very classy - lots of wood and brick. There are shelves with old issues of National Geographic along with an old piano in the back. There's also a great outdoor garden space with a fire pit that will apparently be used for grilling in the warmer months.

Their beer selection is pretty good (Blue Moon on tap suits me just fine), and the bartender Ryan promised that they'd be rotating a few of the beers on tap from time to time. One interesting tidbit is that they don't have any Brooklyn Brewery beer, which is fine with me since while it's all right, you can get it at every grocery store and crappy bodega anywhere in Brooklyn. They've also got a decent wine selection for a bar.

I was surprised that they had a kitchen, and since we hasn't eaten, we ordered dinner. I had the Butcherboy Burgers - three ground turkey sliders stuffed with blue cheesed and topped with sauteed onions and served with greens. Mick had the Clinton Hill chili, also made with ground turkey (that seems to be a theme here). I would have liked it to be a bit spicier, but it was very good. Everything on the menu seems priced reasonably, and there's a lot of thigns I want to try - especially the nachos, which I'll have next time. Lots of the menu items are named for nearby streets which is a bit kitschy, but a fun way to make the place feel local.

We got a chance to talk at length with the owner, Frantz, whose goal with Rustik was to bring an old-fashioned tavern to the neighborhood. Their website boasts that Rustik is the best bar in Clinton Hill, and even if I didn't live literally around the corner I'd be inclined to agree. If you're anywhere nearby, do yourself a favor and stop in. My first impression of Rustik is that it's a really special place, and our neighborhood is much better for having it.

Information:

Rustik Tavern
471 DeKalb Ave
Brooklyn, NY
347.906.9700
http://www.rustiktavern.com/

Google Map

Also, dogs love snow.

Loopy For Loulou

Last night we felt like eating something good but not actually cooking anything. After reading this post on Couch Cubicle, I wanted to give Loulou a try. I've lived here for two and a half years now, and I didn't even know this place existed. It's tucked away right next to the much larger Black Iris, so it's easy to miss - I've walked that block dozens of times and never seemed to notice it. Turns out, that was a big mistake on my part.

Loulou's a charming little French place, with tables tucked inside a pretty small space. It's relatively dark, but very cozy - we were at the table in the front corner, and we didn't feel cramped at all. Mick liked the cute table settings and wall lanterns in particular. We got there a little early, around 7:30 or so, and the place was completely empty. By the time we left, it was packed, so it seems like everyone else already knows about it.

On to the food! On Couch Cubicle's recommendation, we ordered a bottle of Chateau Pontet-Barrail - a reasonably-priced Bordeaux from Medoc that we ended up really enjoying. I'm a big Bordeaux drinker, so I couldn't pass one up while eating French food. Sorry for the poor picture.

The menu had a lot that we were interested in, most notably the crepes. We wanted to order them all, but settled on only two. To start, I had the sea scallops and mushroom crepe, and Mick had the special soup - carrot with creme fraiche. The picture makes it look like the bowl was two feet wide - it was a healthy portion, but not that big. The soup was very good - not too rich and it had a hint of mint that was really good. The crepe was amazing - the scallops and mushrooms and cheese all combined really well.

Next, Mick had her crepe - blue cheese, lamb sausage, roasted peppers, and spinach. I personally find lamb sausage to be a little too rich for me, but Mick loves it and she loved this. If you like the Green Eggs and Lamb at Olea, you'll love this. I had the Tilapia, served on yet another crepe. The fish was cooked perfectly - seared but not over cooked and a little bit spicy. It's served on a crepe filled with ratatouille, a roasted red pepper sauce, and the ubiquitous greens that come with all of the crepes. I'd considered ordering the roasted half chicken, but our waitress talked me out of it, rightfully guessing I'd have trouble finishing even the fish. I'm getting the chicken next time, though.

While dinner was good, dessert was even better. We were stuffed, but when we saw the dessert menu, we couldn't resist. Mick stepped up to the plate with another crepe - this time banana and chocolate. It was even better than she'd hoped - warm and sweet and rich. The kind of dessert you want to keep going forever. I felt like something simple, so I ordered the Warm Chocolate Cake. I expected a nice, traditional slice of chocolate cake. What I got almost made me pass out with delight - a crispy, tender, warm, rich chocolate brownie-like cake server in a mug with a dollop of ice cream and a sliced strawberry. It was like the best thing ever. I beseech you: If you eat at Loulou, save room for dessert.

After one meal, Loulou's become one of my favorite spots in the neighborhood. I really can't wait to go back.

Information:

Loulou
222 Dekalb Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11205
718.246.0633
www.louloubrooklyn.com

Google map

The River Café

I've heard stories about The River Café, usually filled with superlatives. I wasn't sure it would live up to its reputation, but last Saturday we made the trek out to Dumbo to find out what all the fuss was about.

The first thing that strikes you about the joint is how much it seems like an oasis. The surrounding neighborhood isn't much to write home about, and it makes you wonder just where the hell you're trying to get to that's so important. Once you turn the corner in to the valet circle, though, it's like entering a completely different world, especially with all the lights they had up on the surrounding trees. The Brooklyn Bridge towers above you, making for a pretty striking experience as you enter the restaurant.

We had reservations for 6, and the main dining area was surprisingly empty when we showed up. I'm glad we got there when we did, since we ended up getting a table right next to the window. The dining room is actually built out over the East River - it's like actually eating on the water. The bridge rises above you and stretches over to Manhattan, the skyline basically filling your view. One great thing about how the room is designed: there are mirrors at eye-level all around you, so no matter where you look, you catch a glimpse of the river and skyline. Ok, enough about the dining area, let's talk about the food!

The River Café offers a price-fixed menu. After bringing you a small apéritif of a truffle chicken salad, you're given the menu and instructions to choose one appetizer and one entrée. They also offered appetizer and entrée specials, and afterwards you given given a choice of desserts.

We started out well, each ordering a different appetizer.

I had the yellowfin tuna, which was seared with a foie gras stuffing and served with a black truffle vinaigrette. There seemed to be an awful lot of foie gras on the appetizer menu (three different dishes by my count), but this one was the only one any of us had. The combination of flavors was really exceptional, and I highly recommend it.

The special appetizer was lobster ravioli and scallops with a cream sauce, and unfortunately I didn't get a great picture of it. It was as good as it sounds, though.

My father had the buffalo steak tartare, and his won our award for "Best Appetizer." it's quite a production, as you can see. The waiter will gleefully turn the dish in to an incredible mix of flavors, right at the table. It was very rich, so I'd recommend pairing it with a lighter entrée, which my father did.

For our main course, the four of us were less varied, splitting equally between the Branzino Fillet (Mediterranean sea bass, chorizo and shrimp "stuffing", smoked tomato petals, petit zucchini, and a charred lemon confit), and the special, which was a lobster tail served inside a hollowed-out pumpkin with sauteed cabbage and a kind of pumpkin mousse. I'm really not doing it justice with the description, so just check out the picture. While I somewhat regret the fact that we only had two different entrées between the four of us, I don't think any of us would have traded what we ordered for anything else - both dishes were that good.

For dessert we went back to a variety, since we knew everyone would be trying everyone else's. Everything was great, but I think my goat cheese cheesecake carried the day. The Chocolate Marquis Brooklyn Bridge certainly took home the award for "Most Striking Presentation," arriving with an actual chocolate bridge decorating the plate.

The River Cafe ended up being one of those dining experiences that I'll always remember. It really is something special, and while it's expensive, it's worth going to at least once.

Information:

The River Café
1 Water Street
Brooklyn, NY
718.522.5200

Google Map

To Il Torchio Once More!

I'm finally getting around to posting about all the eating out I did while I had family in town last weekend. I was unable to join them the first night they were here, but Mick took them to Tamboril and everyone agreed it was pretty great. No pictures, though, because apparently if I'm not there, there's no reason to document it. One nice thing about that night was what they brought home for me. I got a text from them at the restaurant asking if I'd like them to bring anything back, and if so, what. I said just bring me something spicy! The chef ended up making me a shrimp, spinach, and rice dish that was off the menu that turned out to be exactly what I needed. Spicy as hell and not too heavy. So that was Thursday.

On Friday we debated between Il Torchio and Graziella's. Actually, that's a lie, since we initially debated between Graziella's and the Stonehome Wine Bar. We decided on the latter, only to drive down there and discover a fourty-five minute to an hour wait for a table. That certainly wouldn't do, so we went with plan C: Il Torchio.

This was my third time there, and I've yet to have anything but a great meal. We went through three or four bottles of wine, a few different tapas, a cheese plate, and an entrée for each of us.

I had the Saffron Linguine, which has clams, calamari, and pepperoncini in a white wine sauce. Out of everything I've ever had here, this was the most disappointing. Not because it wasn't good - it was - but because there was so little of it. It seemed like there was only half a portion of pasta, especially when compared to the giant heaping bowls every other dish seems to consist of.

Among other things we ordered were the Penne "Il Torchio," penne pasta in a plum tomato sauce with bufala mozarella, the Taglioni, and the Risotto Del Giorno. Not a bad dish in the bunch, there.

One last quick note: our waitress accidentally spilled some water during the meal, and the staff was not only quick to clean everything up, but offered us free desserts for our trouble. Among other things, we tried the Cantuccini Con Vinsanto, a biscotti-like almond cookie (the cantuccini) served with Vinsanto, a sweet, muscat-like dessert wine. It came highly recommended, and with good reason.

Information:

Il Torchio
458 Myrtle Ave
Brooklyn, NY
718.422.1122

Google Map

67 Burger

After last night I didn't think I could handle any more red meat. It turns out I was wrong.

After not getting a chance to eat all day, I pulled myself away from work for a while to get out of the house and get some air. I originally thought I'd walk over to Quizno's on Myrtle, but when I passed by I decided I wasn't really in the mood for it. I walked pretty far down Myrtle, considering each restaurant I passed, but nothing really jumped out at me. I did seriously consider Maggie Brown, but I wasn't positive I really wanted a burger yet.

I did get to pop in Barking Brown for the first time, though. Cute little shop with some really nice hats. Hats kick ass.

Anyway, after walking almost all of the way to Fort Greene Park, I hung a left and walked down to Lafayette. Briefly considered Olea, but passed on that. By this point I had burger on the brain and I was heading for 67 Burger, a joint I'd never gotten a chance to go in.

I didn't have my phone or camera with me, so you'll have to forgive the lack of pictures.

Let's go over what I didn't like about 67 Burger first: this is an expensive burger joint. I got a burger - their signature "67 Burger" - fries, and a diet coke, and it ran me $15. That seems a bit steep for a burger and fries, personally. My only other complaint was that the fries didn't seem to have much, if any, salt on them, and there were no salt shakers on the table.

Ok, enough nitpicking, on to the good stuff: this is a fantastic burger. I got mine medium, and it was on the rare side of medium, which was fine with me. I usually order burgers medium unless I trust the place to do medium rare justice, and these guys have earned my trust. The 67 burger is a good size patty with bacon and blue cheese, and like all burgers comes with lettuce, tomato, and onion. It wasn't long for this world, as I pretty much inhaled it, pausing only to turn the pages of the copy of The Onion I was reading. It's a pretty messy eat, but the fries did a great job of picking up anything that dropped to the plate.

The fries were pretty great, minus my salt caveat. They weren't soggy or too greasy, and they came to the table hot enough to kill a man.

The diet coke was a diet coke.

67 Burger is awesome. Better than Five Guys? I'm not sure, but they're still really good, and much closer to me than 5 Guys, so I'm more likely to go.

Now, I really need to go run a mile or three before I kill myself with red meat. I really should've gotten a turkey burger, but whatever.

Information:

67 Burger
67 Lafayette Ave
Brooklyn, NY
718.797.7150
http://67burger.com

Google Map