Carroll Gardens: July 2007 Archives

There is something very magical about visiting a neighborhood business when it first opens. The wait staff is not only friendly but downright lovable, each dish is prepared with care, each drink poured with love, and everyone (guests and staff) is relaxed, happy and full of optimism. I hope that Black Mountain Wine House continues to have all of these qualities because tonight it was truly charming.

Although it's possible that there's a wine bar somewhere in New York that feels like it belongs in the Adirondacks (and I'm not just saying that because of the chairs), I certainly haven't been. Yes, it's refreshing to see a different spin on the wine bar concept and, as the name implies, enjoy a bar that feels more like a house than a slicked-up bar.

There's a country store feel about the place, with its wooden and mismatched tables and inviting fireplace, and wines are unpretentiously pulled from the bookcase lining one wall. A small wine bar--five seats--is a great vantage point for talking shop. I, however, was mesmerized by the slow but careful oyster shucking and the selection of cheeses at the food station. We sampled a white bean crostini that for once felt worth its price (I always find crostini to be overpriced and undertasty, but I keep ordering it!). This one was layered with amazing heirloom tomatoes, a generous topping of white beans with an accompanying "gravy" and then served with a small crock of warm ricotta cheese. We asked for more bread so as not to miss the last of the ricotta.

According to Time Out, the place is run by Jim Mamary (hence all the Alan Hardy chatter--they often work together), although Shane Smith is the manager. I have a love/hate relationship with the Mamary restaurants. They all have such potential, but they often fall off once the opening buzz has died. Let's hope a caring manager can make sure that doesn't happen here.  Oh, and it's not just wine, there's a nice beer list, too.

Look at the really cute boy I picked up!

Sometimes we let Winston and Sebastian romp outside. They look so happy:

So, I have had several photo shoots in my back yard where I attempt to take flattering photos of it. Greenery, it seems, is not my photo forte. All my shots feel jumbled and messy, with no clear point of focus and all the green blurs together. Auto focus seems no better or worse than manual focus.  Anybody out there got tips on taking shots of plantings (backyard, parks, nature walks, etc.) with a Canon EOS Rebel? Mine only seem to come out well when I'm doing a sharp focus on one plant with a blurred background. The moment I try to take an all-backyard shot, I can't seem to get the camera to focus on everything at once. Exposure on sunny days is also a problem. Grass looks fine, but white flowers have no definition... help! (Click on the photos for bigger versions.)

This is probably the best non-closeup I got, but even here, plants on right side seem out of focus:

Non-greenery shot I like:

Honeysuckle with birdbath in the background:

Closeup of plant cluster:

Closeup of one of my favorite plants:

It's gotten itself in the New York Times over the proliferation of retail chains (Lucky Jeans, Starbucks, last year's American Apparel). So does this spell the end of chains on Smith due to overexposure? ;)

Went to the Siren Fest for the first time in years, mostly just to get one last dose of the un-Disneyfied Coney Island before it's torn down, packed away, or whatever it is they're planning on doing with it. The concert portion of the day was as unbearable as I'd anticipated. After about 10 minutes of packing into a corridor with drunk, shovey people, standing on tiptoes for a glance of M.I.A. and barely being able to hear her thanks to crappy sound--we split and just wandered the boardwalk. That Wonder Wheel makes me all warm and fuzzy every time I see it.

Then we returned to the neighborhood for a nice dinner at Po. Appetizers were unbelievably good, and set a ridiculously high bar that the rest of meal couldn't possibly follow. The highlight was marinated anchovies piled on a suprisingly light mound of barley, the whole thing drizzled with lemon and chili oil--it's my new favorite dish. Entrees were definitely a letdown after that, especially a bean ravioli with an oddly sweet balsamic sauce. I plan to return, but will definitely order a little more cautiously.

After dinner, we headed out into the street and noticed a crowd forming a few blocks down. We investigated, and found one of the coolest street art projects I've ever seen. The artists were projecting words and images onto the sides of building. One wall was being used as a giant canvas for people to paint on using a motion-sensitive pen that was picked up by a laptop and then projected on the wall. On the other two walls, people were sending text messages that almost instantaneously popped up in little speech bubbles or in a really beautiful graffiti font. Anyone know anything more about this project?