Food and Drink: October 2006 Archives

Had a chance to try Loucallie's for ourselves this weekend, and I give a big thumbs up to the margarita.  Sweet tomato sauce, lovely zing from the grana padano, subtle flavor from fresh-cut basil, it's not DiFara's (sorry Loucallie), but it is very good. We also had topped pizzas, with pepperoni and mushrooms. While these were good, I think thie pie stands best unadorned. Due to the size of our party, we did take-out, so I'm looking forward to tasting one of these pies piping hot and straight from the oven. Judging by the 45-minute wait for a take-out pie, I'd say the neighborhood has caught on pretty quick. We'll definitely be back!

Nothing says Halloween to me like a pickle party. Ok, maybe not so much, but it sounds fun anyway. Wheelhouse Pickles is hosting, and band Valley Lodge and the Flanks will be playing. The latter are a country jug band, and who doesn't love that? And, of course, pickles will be tasted. (I'm hoping for Irma's Pears). Tonight's free event kicks off at Freddy's in Park Slope at 9pm.

Leave it to the Slice guys to film Chip Shop's deep-fried pizza goodness. [via Brooklyn Record]

Thanks to BeatsMe for answering a question I've been wondering for almost a month now: "What is that cute little restaurant on Henry Street near 1st Place going to be? A soda fountain? A coffee shop? A sandwich place?" Turns out it's Loucallie's and it's a pizza shop. According to Slice, the owner Mark Iacono is crafting his pies in the Di Fara tradition and bought a lot of his equipment off Leonardo's Pizza, now a Dunkin Donuts. Of course Chowhound has plenty to say about it too. Anybody been? We might try to hit it up this weekend.

Slow Food, Sixpoint Ale and Flatbush Farm in Park Slope are getting together for a four-course dinner and beer tasting. Sounds like a great combo to me, and the four-course dinner is only $40--and that includes the beer! The dinner happens Nov. 6 at 7:30pm and reservations are suggested.

Two friends were dining at Po on Cornelia Street and saw a sign in the kitchen saying something about them opening up a Po at 276 Smith Street. (Don't you love the effort they go to pass on a Brooklyn tip?)

I never get tired of Taste of Chinatown. Cheap Chinese food ($1-$2), right on the street, no hassle, lots of choices--divine! This year we went a little too close to closing--many merchants had packed up by just after 5pm, but we still managed to score great fried dumplings, the fabled lemon-ginger-tea, several "Chinese tamales" (zongzi), and to continue the Asia-Latin theme some pockets resembling empanadas. Also nibbled were fish balls, black sesame ice cream from the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, and fake meats in all shapes and sizes.

While wandering around DUMBO this weekend, we spotted this crazy veggie: broccoli romanesco. I'm certainly not the first person to have noticed and photographed its mesmerizing shape that's reminiscent of spiral seashells.

I can't decide if Slate's Daniel Gross is serious about his disdain for apple picking or not ...

"Encourage yuppies and their progeny to come pick your fruit—they'll pay handsomely for the privilege, buy more than they'd ordinarily consume, and then shell out for all sorts of other value-added products. It's the best use of child labor since Manchester's early 19th-century textile mills."

I do think that he could use a lesson in apple pie baking and applesauce making (two extremely easy uses of multiple apples). He might also benefit from being forced to eat an entire bag of Key Foods apples without choking on their soft, tasteless flesh. Don't you wish Mr. Gross was your father snarling, "dammit kids, picking apples just reinforces everything that's wrong with America. Let's stay home and watch more TV!" Tee-hee. For my take on apple picking, go here.

Despite what dailyheights notes is their not-so-pretty outdoor signage, Flatbush Farm seems to be gaining some buzz in the neighborhood. According to the restaurant's press release, which was sent to ABL (along with that lovely photo), full dinners of duck confit, briased lamb and the like started September 21, courtesy of Chef Eric Lind who was formerly of Bayard. The restaurant appears to be taking the farm theme to the fullest effect with burning logs, roasting spits, and the word "feasting." From the release ...

"Wine you say? Feasting you say? It is in their nature, as it is yours. Please let the word go forth. Lo, now is come our joyfullest feast!"

Kinda makes me want to hop in a hot tub with a lover and some roasted meats. Flattbush Farm is at 76-78 St. Marks Avenue at Flatbush. It does brunch and has a happy hour from 5pm to 8pm. Phone (718) 622-3276. Check out the early buzz on Brooklynian.

If I had to name a new favorite restaurant in Brooklyn, it'd be Le Petite Crevette. Amazingly airy, full-of-meat crab cakes. Fabulously rich, but not too rich, crab chowder. Fried oysters (from Connecticut!) so plump I was looking for the filling. Trout that tastes just out of the water. A mushroom side salad that could have doubled as an entree at many places. Sides of shockingly buttery mashed potatoes and just-crisped greens. With seafood this fresh, the desserts seemed beyond the point. BYOB and cash only for now. At the west side of Hicks and Union streets in Carroll Gardens West. So good I am reduced to short Hemingway-like sentences. There are only 12 seats, so one at a time, please.

A Very Special User just alerted me that Fratelli Ravioli at 347 Court Street is closed. Their lobster ravioli was quite delish. Any word on why?