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Cafe on Clinton gets revamped under new management
Josh Guttman | July 31, 2007
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If you haven’t walked down Clinton Street in the past two weeks, you might not realize that some changes are a happenin’. I reported last week that the red deli had closed its doors abruptly. We still don’t know what will become of that space, but we do know that next-door, Cafe on Clinton is preparing to re-open under new management by Charlie Statelman, formerly of Patois fame. Charlie has been in the space sanding, staining and installing new light fixtures (doing much of it himself) for the past two weeks. After 18 years of running Cafe on Clinton, Barry Brockway decided to move on to pursue different projects. He will be missed as Cafe on Clinton is as neighborhoody a bar/restaurant as it gets. Personally, I’m going to miss the ahi tuna and mash potatoes, which was my favorite item on the menu. Though Charlie assured me that he will keep ingredients on hand to prepare several of the old standby dishes which locals have voiced concern over losing. The new menu, with a french flare, is posted in the window.
Cafe on Clinton is located on Clinton Street, between Warren and Verandah.
Saturday night at Harry’s (LIC)
Josh Guttman | July 30, 2007
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I ventured over to Harry’s at Water Taxi Beach in Long Island City on Saturday night. This place opened last summer and it’s been on my list to check out ever since. After dinner in the city, I zipped through the Midtown Tunnel on my Vespa and made it to the beach in 20 minutes. DJ Grand Master Flash was on the tables helping to further the resurgence of 80s hip hop that’s been piping through NYC, and the crowd was enthusiastic. The “beach” is a strip of sand-covered land directly opposite lower midtown on the East River, adorned with drink tents serving beer and liquor, a music tent sweltering with body heat and the now-infamous neon palm tree. The crowd is a real slice of NYC – drawing from Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and maybe even a little from the Bronx. While there was definitely an element of cheese, the diversity of the crowd kept me engaged and gave the experience an authentic feel. During the day, Harry’s is a full-on beach, with volleyball courts, bbq grills and I’m guessing you might even find some token kadima-players. At night, it transitions into a club/beach party vibe, though several paired up patrons were unabashedly still in “lay out” mode on the sand. Whoever this Harry fellow is, I give him a lot of credit. The concept of this place is pure genius and I imagine it will succeed for a long time. If you’re craving some beach sand with a view of the Manhattan skyline or something a little different on a Saturday night, this is a good bet.
Harry’s at Water Taxi Beach is located at 2-03 Borden Ave in LIC, Queens. Admission is $3 per person and its accessible by G/7/E/F-trains – additional directions.
Smith Street gets used to having a little Pó
Rachel Markowitz | July 27, 2007
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It’s tough being surrounded by fantastic restaurants when you’re broke and sugar daddy-less. But special occasions call for special meals. A friend was in town this past weekend from DC (I heard Bush has actually sneezed on most of the food there) so we had to show her how we do food in Brooklyn.
Luckily, Mario Batalli’s Pó, which has been my roommate’s favorite restaurant for years, recently opened up on Smith street. Po’s cuisine is “new Italian” and entrees won’t run you more than $25. If you want to eat at the original Pó in the West Village, you’ll have to make a reservation at least a month in advance. Not so for its brand new Brooklyn counterpart. At 4pm on a Saturday night we were able to make a 9:30pm reservation. Although the small dining room was packed with Saturday night diners, we were seated immediately.
Our waitress was friendly and validated all of our meal choices by saying, “you guys are doing everything just right.” After ordering a bottle of the house white wine, we were brought a plate of a delicious white bean bruschetta for the table. Unfortunately, I was too poor to order an appetizer, but my friends let me nibble on their cucumber escapeche (a refreshing summer salad) and cured tuna. I passed on the goat cheese and black olive tartufo because I think goat cheese tastes like evil, but they seemed to enjoy it.
Finally the meal arrived. I took my roommate’s advice and ordered the porcini crusted cod. Man was that good. I love the tender, tastes-like-what-you-cook-it-with quality of cod fish, and they did this just right. My roommate got the grouper ravioli special, and while it was good, she regretted not also ordering the cod.
Before we left the restaurant, I had to ask the waitress why they decided to open another Pó on Smith street. Her answer was simple and classy, like the food she’d served us. “We thought Brooklyn could use a little Pó,” she said. And of course, where better to open up a hot restaurant than on our very own Smith street.
Pó is located at 276 Smith Street near Sackett.
French deli next to Cobble Hill Park closes abruptly
Josh Guttman | July 26, 2007
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The deli on the corner of Verandah and Clinton, which has no official name aside from “Delicatessen”, but many unofficial ones – french deli, red deli, dirty deli – closed abruptly Monday. Rumors had circulated in the neighborhood for two weeks prior as the deli’s shelves began to empty. The owner of 12 years, Christophe, allegedly stopped paying rent a few months ago. The cafe he owned and operated on the corner of Warren and Court is also closing. Apparently that space will be leased to Margaret Palca Bakes of Columbia Street, though it’s not clear what the space on Verandah will become (I’m hoping it remains a coffee shop). I will certainly miss Christophe’s cheese selection, fresh croissants, ciabatta sandwiches and most of all, the rich yummy hot chocolate in the winter. When I walked by Monday morning and noticed a sign in the window reading “public auction”, I stepped inside and joined 4-5 people standing around. The next item auctioned was a marble French bistro table, which I grabbed for a whopping $40….timing is everything.
Bulldogs invade Carroll Gardens for meetup
Marie Carter | July 26, 2007
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Once a month in a garden on Columbia Street, owners of bulldogs gather for a meetup. This Sunday past, I joined the gathering. Running around the garden was a chorus of grunting bulldogs (some of whom were wearing tank tops and “Beach Boy” dog sweaters) followed by owners at the ready with drool wipes.
A four-month old called Beefy was learning to skateboard. Inspired by videos of Tyson, the skateboarding bulldog, Beefy’s owners yelled shouts of encouragement as Beefy mounted the skateboard. He pedaled the board a couple of times but then jumped on and the skateboard came to a complete halt. Also in attendance was Wally, a three-year-old who was imported from Hungary, apparently a common thing for bulldogs.
Sunday was a hot day with temperatures in the 80s. A lot of water was drunk and dogs in attendance were panting heavily. “Topper likes to sit outside in the heat even though he’s being beaten by the sun,” says owner, Nick. “My other dog, Boss, is the smart one and stays home with the AC.”
The drink du jour at the gathering was Bulldog Gin, a new import from London launched in January flavored with poppyseed and dragon eye, a cousin of the lychee family. The bottle neck is, of course, in the shape of a spiked bulldog collar. Cocktails with names such as Sweet Tail and Hair of the Dog were being mixed.
For more information, visit the meetup page or www.bulldoggin.com.
Local Hot Dog Cook-Off to benefit BARC Animal Shelter
Josh Guttman | July 25, 2007
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This Saturday in Fort Greene is the second annual Great Hot Dog Cook-Off. All proceeds go to the BARC Animal Shelter in Williamsburg. Whether you’re a dog-lover, a hot dog-lover or a master hot dog chef, there is something here for you. I cannot be in attendance, however, I’m expecting that my previously submitted Sweet and Sour Veggie Chili Wiener Schnauzer will represent…yo. Tickets can be purchased for $15 and chefs are asked to register in advance.
Lucali: A new neighborhood institution
Rachel Markowitz | July 25, 2007
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One could argue that truly great food is about minimalism. The same way the trendy spots rarely have signs, great food doesn’t need elaborate garnishes and over the top combinations to make it special. Henry Street’s Lucali is a perfect example.
Lucali has no menus. Once we were seated in the homey, one-room dining space, our waitress came over to ask if it was our first time at Lucali. My dining companion and I both admitted that it was. So our waitress, a tan, buxom blonde let us know that the restaurant serves pizza and calzones, and told us the evening’s toppings. Apparently Lucali’s pizza toppings change on a regular basis, which gives you the feeling that the ingredients will be fresh. But going along with the whole minimalism thing, we decide to go topping-less. We want to taste the pizza in its purest form before venturing into topping land. We were not asked if we wanted a small, medium, or large pie. Lucali’s pie is one size fits all.
It was a Thursday night, and luckily I had thought to call in advance. When I called around 4:30pm, the man who answered told me to call back around 7pm. While they usually only take reservations for parties of six or more, he said that an 8:30pm reservation for two should be fine. When I arrived at Lucali, my companion, unaware that I called in advance, sadly told me that we would have to wait 30-40 minutes to be seated. But after I told the hostess my name, we were seated in five minutes. Moral of the story: unless you dig waiting, call in advance.
Lucali is BYOB and has a $4 corking fee (not bad when you consider that many restaurants charge $25). Our waitress struggled to uncork our bottle of wine, and had to call for backup. While real red wine glasses were not provided, the little glass cups we drank from were just fine, and gave the meal a more European feel.
At last, the pizza arrived. The crust is so thin and delicate that I have heard it likened to naan bread. The cheese and tomato sauce packed that perfect New York-Italian flavor similar to the wildly popular pies at DUMBO’s Gramaldi’s and Coney Island’s Totonos. But what makes Lucali’s stand out is the lightness of their thin-crust. After my companion and I polished off the pie, I felt I could go for another.
Lucali is pizza stripped down to its most essential features. Eat a slice, listen to Philip Glass, read Raymond Carver, and be glad that food and art can so nicely intersect.
Lucali is located at 575 Henry St. Between Carroll and 1st. Cash only.
D’Amicos named best coffee in NYC – To be featured on WNBC Wednesday
Sobeit Union | July 24, 2007
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Just stopped into D’Amico’s for my morning jolt and saw a flyer taped to the cash register announcing that WNBC-4 will be coming by on Wednesday at 2:30 pm to tape a segment on our favorite cafe’s coffee being voted number #1 by Zagat for 2007.
Frank was busy making up some flyers to hand around the neighborhood, but he gladly assented to our request to also spread the word online.
So all you home workers who want to get on TV, the address is Court St. between Sackett and DeGraw — tell Frank we sent you, and enjoy meeting other bergencarrollers offline….
Carroll Gardens then and now + Ask Mario
Sobeit Union | July 24, 2007
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When the irrepressible Josh Guttman asked each of us to contribute one thing that we felt newcomers to the neighborhood should know, my mind quickly recalled my very first day in Carroll Gardens back in the antediluvian era of 1997. I parked my trusty Dodge Raider out in front of the dilapidated brownstone we had purchased on Union Street and was removing my tool belt from the back. I was suddenly surrounded and suffused by a kaleidoscope of sweat gear, gold chains, deep tans, toothy grins and pomade.
“Yo,” said the largest of the trio. “Does the owner know you’re coming to do work on his house?” “Ah…I am the owner,” I replied, wondering what other wisdom this Welcome Wagon was going to impart. Three sets of obsidian eyes narrowed. “I’m Mario,” said the largest. “This is Frank and Carmelo. Are you Italian, or one of these f—- yuppie liberal types? Actually, both, I thought one by birth and one by circumstance. But they how could I explain to these gentlemen their disjunctive taxonomy couldn’t account for factors like my voting Libertarian? So I decided not to stay defensive without hopefully giving too much offense: “Sono Italiano, sono nato qui in American ma ho vissuto e lavorato a lungo in Italia quando ero piu gioavane,” I replied.
“OK, that’s better,” said my large new neighbor. He bent his face closer to mine and his Tyrannosauric dentition glinted in the late afternoon light. “But there’s one thing I got to tell you: Don’t ever RAT on your neighbors!” My anglicized, yuppified self recalled the scene in “Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” when young Stephen Daedelus receiving a similar admonition on his first day of school: You must never “peach” he was told, on his schoolmates? Fortunately, my new neighbors proved less fearful and more helpful than Joyce’s Nasty Roche and Saurin. The rodentian reticence rule was just one of the many useful things the triumvirate imparted to me — it ran the gamut from using dishwashing soap in a spray bottle to check for a leaking gas line to spraying it full-strength under a car to get it to move enough so I could move it enough to make a viable parking spot. Since Carmelo is gone and Frank is soon to leave, I thought I’d ask my original mentor — a lifelong resident of Union Street — to expostulate on the anti-ratting rule. He was gracious enough to share his unique interpretation and has promised to reply to any such requests in the future. Episode 1 of Ask Mario is available here.
If you have a question for “Mr. Union Street” feel free to send it to askmario [at] bergencarroll [dot] com.
The Community Bookstore gets touched up; enters annual summer slumber
Josh Guttman | July 23, 2007
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The mysterious neighborhood relic that is The Community Bookstore at Court and Warren entered it’s annual summer slumber on July 16th, closing until September, but not before some much-needed renovations. …or at least a start to those renovations. Construction workers could be seen working after hours well into the night last week, stripping and rebuilding the wood awning that faces both Court and Warren. It took them a considerable amount of time to replace the handful of panels, though judging by how long it took for the owner to decide to fix the decrepit panels, I’m guessing he didn’t hire the most experienced crew. I saw them working three consecutive nights without much progress. Then, true to the hand-scribbled sign on the door, the store closed for the summer last Monday and the partially finished awning, replete with unfinished wood panels were left to sit. Rumor has it, the owner of the store actually owns the building. I spoke with him briefly while the workers were there and he mentioned he was traveling to France to visit his daughter for the summer. Bon voyage. See you in the fall.
