Recently in Carroll Gardens Category

Calexico opens its storefront on Union tomorrow. We'll probably skip the first-day madness but will have a report back soon. Grub Street has a nice preview (note: there will be grits at this taqueria).

In other food news, the storefront that used to be Chicory looks to be opening soon (at least by the peek through the window). Although the appearance of warming trays has us a bit confused as to what kind of food will be served.

So the signage is up at 455 Court Street (next to Frankie’s 457). It’s slated to be a vet, Carroll Gardens Veterinary Group, in fact. The only other info I have is the phone number of (718) 875-7007, per Google. I’ve always used Animal Healing Arts on Henry Street with good results, but the prospect of a vet that’s just yards from my house is appealing.

The economy has been hitting Smith Street businesses kind of hard--in fact, I'd posit that Court Street, seemingly in an upswing (Watty & Meg, Snack Shack, Enoteca to name a few), is poised to become the new Smith Street--but the effect of the economic hard times, locally, really hit "home" to me when Hasker closed. When I first moved to this neighborhood, Hasker was Zipper, and Hassan and Kerry were store employees and not owners.

I moved to Carroll Gardens without any knowledge of its potential fabulousness as a neighborhood. I took the apartment (overlooking the BQE) because it was cheap, and there was a laundry, coffeeshop and train station within a short walking distance--the three things my New York friends said were essential in a place.

Hasker was one of the first home boutique stores I think I visited in the city, and to me it represented all of the cool things that my New York apartment could be if only I had a better paying job and a better grasp on color coordination. In my frequent return visits to the store, which I treated much like trips to a museum--going in to look, not buy--I became friendly with Hassan and Kerry. I don't remember how it happened, exactly. But next thing I knew, we were friends. Not best friends, but friendly enough to smile, wave and share little parts of our lives whenever our paths crossed.

Then the two employees became owners, named the store an amalgam of their own monikers, and helmed a thriving business. Along the way, I had a baby, Hassan welcomed his baby, Kerry got a Swedish boyfriend (OK a lot more happened), but through it all, I always felt welcome walking through the door to shoot the breeze and occasionally left with a present for a birthday, a card for an anniversary, or, as my purchasing power increased, a new couch.

Today, as the rain poured down, I was sad to think I couldn't hop over to Smith Street and see what the Haskers were up to. It was time, they said, to move on. I'm sure it was, but I'll miss them.

See my post from their opening in 2006.

I know I'm not the only one in the neighborhood salivating over the near-imminent opening of Calexico on Union Street in Carroll Gardens. A sign went up about a month ago for hiring and the street cart was parked outside on Tuesday. Might the paper be coming off soon?

That's Bloomberg filming something (a commercial?) on Court Street. I heard someone behind me say "Wow, he is short."

I've already to been to Buttermilk Channel more times than I can count for dinner, so it's with a great sigh of happiness that I report the charming Carroll Gardens restaurant is now open for brunch. Sadly for me, this has not gone without notice from the rest of the neighborhood, and my party of two had a 25 minutes wait at 12:30 p.m. My order of pecan pie french toast (appropriately slice like two pieces of pie, above) was heavenly: the bourbon, molasses and toasted pecans certainly didn't hurt ... nor did the whipped cream on the side. Despite all the trappings, it wasn't too sweet, and an excellent foil to the huge side of bacon we ordered, swore we wouldn't finish and then fought over for the last piece. My dining companion had the Eggs Huntington, the restaurant's version of eggs Benedict, which was refreshingly light for not being a very light dish. And, the biscuits on which it was served definitely hold their own--but no harm in dousing with some hollandaise. Oh, and brunch includes coffee or tea and a bloody mary (excellent with lots of cayenne), mimosa or bellini. Yum. And it opens at 10 a.m. for those early risers.

Other reports?

I've always wondered at the waste of beautiful window space at this Henry Street home (ground floor). At least the cat is getting something out of it.

Frankie's 457 and I have a colorful history. When the restaurant opened, I fell in love with the solid new-old Italian joint just blocks from my place. And then it got crowded (routine two and a half hour waits on the weekends, one and a half on weekdays). And then the service became inexplicably snobby. And then, it turned nice again, really nice, I-want-to-be-your-friend nice. And so, I booked a group of nine for the weekend, and everything was wonderful: the food (ah, the cavatelli), the service, the inexpensive but good wine. Things really took an interesting turn, however, when our party was gently encouraged to vacate the prime communal table for a sneak peak at Prime Meats.

As I've been drooling over the progress of Prime Meats from the outside for months, it didn't take long to convince me to skip through the shared backyard, through the still much-under-construction, chef's dream of a kitchen and into the beautiful cocktail sanctum that is the first floor of the space. The loving restoration/recreation of the space shows--flawless pressed tin ceiling, stunning molding, stalwart wooden bar--and it all comes together, down to the ubiquitous but appropriate filament bulbs. But here's where things get interesting: the cocktail menu.

Of course the Franks are doing a throwback, Prohibition-era inspired cocktail menu, but minus the Prime Daquiri and the Old-Fashioned, these are not the expected crowd pleasers. Words that come to mind are "herbaceous," "forest-y," and "medicinal." That may have something to do with my choice of The Waterfront, a mix of Fernet-Branca, Branca Menta and ginger ale, which is best described as what a Halls mentho-lyptus drop would taste like if bottled and bubbled. Drink it next to the Holmes Cooler (try saying that fast ...), a combo of Junipero gin, Nardini Amaro Bassano, punt e mes and seltzer, and it's like taking nibbles of licorice and then licking a cough drop. Talk about a mouth experience! My favorite was the above Strawberry Mash (photo above), rye, whiskey barrel aged bitters, muddled strawberries and mint--it's a bracing drink that won't win over strawberry lovers but truly makes the whiskey shine.

I waver here slightly because I love the craft that's gone into the cocktail menu and the fun of trying something that's just not available anywhere else. (I was too far gone to sample the Whitelodge Cooler and properly appreciate its rhubarb bitters, but I will be back ... ). But I also wonder if Carroll Gardens has the constitution for such creative cocktailing. What say ye, CGardeners, can you stomach a cocktail menu with bitters in most of the drinks and absinthe in a handful more?

All photos by the lovely Marsha.

Two notes of interest in the Carroll Gardens pizza world.

1. South Brooklyn Pizza on Court Street now has a gay dance party night, according to Metromix. It's Mondays for those of you who are interested.

2. Lucali now charges $24 for a straight up pie. It's been a while since we've been (little Devin doesn't have patience for that line!), and it's still worth it, but damn you gotta make dough to eat it.

The headline really says it all. Bar Great Harry (280 Smith Street) is expanding into a back room and rumor is it will also host a pool table. May I remind all the people who've lost their jobs recently (or those for whom drinking in the afternoon is a socially acceptable part of their life), Bar Great Harry opens at 2pm on the weekdays. It also has a lovely selection of beers.