Living on the boarder of Carroll Gardens and Red Hook (and being the avid eater I am), its almost sacrilegious that I hadn't managed to get to Frankies Spuntino 457, on lower Court Street. Matthew had been, but whenever we tried to go together something would get in the way. Well, last Wednesday, all was remedied.
It was a bit chilly, so we didn't partake in the lush backyard outdoor setting, but we did spy another dining space housed in something like an enclosed gazebo/solarium. Come summer, believe that I will have dinner in that space. Flat out, its beautiful inside. Brooklyn's essential brick walls and wood floors are well represented. The "kitchen" as it is, is a tiny slice in the middle of the space, with just a few burners and a well disguised storage area. Simple and homey in that "I live-in-a-forgotten-era" kind of way, but a little over crowded when it comes to table placement. That's worth overlooking when you're served and understandable for the management, who clearly wants to please as many as possible with their homemade pasta and small plates of cheese and cured meats.
We started with the Arugula, Pecorino Romano & Merlot Wine Vinaigrette - $8.00. This salad is a great split for an appetizer. Simple, crispy, peppery and wonderfully astringent, this paved the way for the excellent meal to come. Matthew chose the House-Made Gnocchi Marinara & Fresh Ricotta - $13.00. The gnocchi were fluffy, the marinara a little watery but perfectly seasoned and the ricotta added a counterpoint to the sharpness of the tomato in the marinara. A decent dish, but a little overpriced for what it had to offer. On the other hand, I was totally blown away by the House-Made Cavatelli with Faiccos Hot Sausage & Browned Sage Butter - $15.00. HOLY MOLY! This was the first time I had tried Cavatelli and I'm a complete convert. Dense and chewy (I like a lot of bite in my pasta), the cavatelli mingled with the earthy sweet sage and the sausage was like something from pure pork heaven. I could eat this dish weekly and not get tired of it, and trust that I'm trying to deduce the recipe for the sage butter.
We skipped dessert, but I want to take a minute to laud the bartender, who was one of the nicest I've ever met, particularly in New York. Matthew and I both stuck to the Vodka Limeade - $8.00, muddled with fresh mint and lots and lots of fresh lime. Wonderfully refreshing and not overly alcoholic, the limeade provided just enough ooommph to carry us through the meal without ended up face down on the artfully weathered floorboards on our way out.
Overall, Frankies gets an A+ in my book. With all the recent hullabaloo about the owners and their newest ventures in dining and coffee (they've got a sweet deal with Portland based Stumptown Coffee), its worth watching to see what they'll do next.
P.S. Never, ever forget that Frankies is CASH ONLY, be prepared kiddos.
a.
Showing posts with label carroll gardens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label carroll gardens. Show all posts
Monday, May 4, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Carrol Gardens Classic Diner
The Eater Schmeater team found themselves a little drunk and feelin' hungry after the Crooked Still and Sweetback Sisters show at The Bell House. This is an account of where their dinner craving led them.
We were actually searching for a place with food and drinks, but by thte time we got to the diner, no one ordered anything alcoholic...in fact, the whole party except for Matt went for water only.
Cole slaw and pickles were served before the meal as some kind of appetizer-- a strange move, but it produced no complaints and it was only moments before everything on all three plates was gone. The pickles were fresh and cucumber-y. The slaw bland but edible, Matt thought a little suagr would do it right and everyone thought it needed more salt.
Matt had a bacon cheesebuger with fries-- a great choice for anyone who's not looking for a life-changing burger. All the sandwhiches came with the assemble your-own option, allowing you to find your perfect combo of lettuce, tomatoes and onions. So even though a freakin' head of the lettuce was provided, no one had to indelicately rip apart their burger to fix it. Matt's chocolate shake was thick and delicious, but everyone else thought it tasted too heavily of chocolate syrup.
Alex got a chicken salad sandwich which was slightly bland, but not drenched in mayo which made it more pleasant than some. The bread was perfectly toasted and you can't ask for much more than that with a diner sandwhich.
Jess, a fellow New Englander-turned-Brooklynite chose a cheesburger with Swiss. Both Alex and Jess picked waffle fries and they loved them! On the con side, Jess asked for a medium rare prep on the burger, and she got medium-well and she wasn't the biggest fan of how they melt cheese on both sides of the burger. All in all, Jess was pleased with the meal.
Sarah chose a late-night breakfast option-- two eggs over easy with sausage. The eggs were great, but the sausage was downright delicious. Perhaps a little too pink in the middle (inciting a quickly abandonned conversation about how worms get into your body), but really delicious all the same. Moist and well seasoned, plump and perfect!
Sarah B., a visiting friend from our Northampton, MA days, choose corn beef hash with two eggs over easy. The corn beef, by all accounts, was delicious. Both Sarahs had dishes that came with home fries. Unfortunately, the "home fries" that were promised turned out to be a potato hash was undercooked and seasoned only with raw bell pepper (HUGE chunks) and onions. It pretty much ruined both the breakfast plates, but our Sarahs are troopers so they didn't complain too loudly. They simply draped their napkins on their plates to avoid staring at their unfinished meals.
As for the decor of this 24 hour diner, it's as classic as the name suggests. Bad art adorns the walls. A sporting event of one kind or another was playing on the large TV just over our heads. The lighting was violently flourescent, though, and as we sobered a bit, it became a little unbearable.
A quick note to our fellow diners: babies shouldn't be eating diner food at midnight. That is all.
You can check out the diner for yourself here.
We were actually searching for a place with food and drinks, but by thte time we got to the diner, no one ordered anything alcoholic...in fact, the whole party except for Matt went for water only.
Cole slaw and pickles were served before the meal as some kind of appetizer-- a strange move, but it produced no complaints and it was only moments before everything on all three plates was gone. The pickles were fresh and cucumber-y. The slaw bland but edible, Matt thought a little suagr would do it right and everyone thought it needed more salt.
Matt had a bacon cheesebuger with fries-- a great choice for anyone who's not looking for a life-changing burger. All the sandwhiches came with the assemble your-own option, allowing you to find your perfect combo of lettuce, tomatoes and onions. So even though a freakin' head of the lettuce was provided, no one had to indelicately rip apart their burger to fix it. Matt's chocolate shake was thick and delicious, but everyone else thought it tasted too heavily of chocolate syrup.
Alex got a chicken salad sandwich which was slightly bland, but not drenched in mayo which made it more pleasant than some. The bread was perfectly toasted and you can't ask for much more than that with a diner sandwhich.
Jess, a fellow New Englander-turned-Brooklynite chose a cheesburger with Swiss. Both Alex and Jess picked waffle fries and they loved them! On the con side, Jess asked for a medium rare prep on the burger, and she got medium-well and she wasn't the biggest fan of how they melt cheese on both sides of the burger. All in all, Jess was pleased with the meal.
Sarah chose a late-night breakfast option-- two eggs over easy with sausage. The eggs were great, but the sausage was downright delicious. Perhaps a little too pink in the middle (inciting a quickly abandonned conversation about how worms get into your body), but really delicious all the same. Moist and well seasoned, plump and perfect!
Sarah B., a visiting friend from our Northampton, MA days, choose corn beef hash with two eggs over easy. The corn beef, by all accounts, was delicious. Both Sarahs had dishes that came with home fries. Unfortunately, the "home fries" that were promised turned out to be a potato hash was undercooked and seasoned only with raw bell pepper (HUGE chunks) and onions. It pretty much ruined both the breakfast plates, but our Sarahs are troopers so they didn't complain too loudly. They simply draped their napkins on their plates to avoid staring at their unfinished meals.
As for the decor of this 24 hour diner, it's as classic as the name suggests. Bad art adorns the walls. A sporting event of one kind or another was playing on the large TV just over our heads. The lighting was violently flourescent, though, and as we sobered a bit, it became a little unbearable.
A quick note to our fellow diners: babies shouldn't be eating diner food at midnight. That is all.
You can check out the diner for yourself here.
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