Food and Drink: March 2008 Archives

After months of waiting, and untold journeys to Sweet Melissa Patisserie for sugar fixes, The Sweet Melissa Baking Book hit my kitchen the other week. I immediately cracked the spine at the index to search for my favorite  treat ... and there it was: "madeleines, chestnut honey, 62-63." If you have never had a Sweet Melissa madeleine, then you need to get up immediately, scrounge $1.25 in change, and proceed straight to the bakery. Forget Proust, from  henceforth when you think of madeleines, the name you'll murmur will be Melissa.

Madeleines are cookies that are also cake. This should be an adequate explanation for the necessity of their existence and of the dire urgency for eating one at the absolute earliest. Could pages 62-63 do justice to these sublime little shells of baked goodness? With my boyfriend's birthday just coming up, I decided to forego the cupcakes (so 2007) and try out her recipe.

After a $30 stop at A Cook's Companion for madeleine molds, a ten minute wait at Sahadi's for hazelnuts (also called filberts, FYI), a tense deconstruction of 6 eggs (ok, actually 8 but that is only because I am terrible at separating egg whites), and two hours of refrigeration, the madeleines were ready to bake. Fifteen minutes later 24 perfect chestnut honey madeleines lay cooling on the kitchen counter. Moist, sweet, and perfect for dusting with sugar. Though my version was not quite as good as the one Melissa makes in her bakery, I place the blame squarely on my shoulders. Her recipe was clear and easy, and the cookie/cakes were believably baked by a pro.

To get your own copy of the book (and maybe one or two madeleines) swing by her book party at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, 2 April at the Park Slope location.

I was going to take photos of each of our dishes at Lunetta (my first time there, incidentally) ... and then I forgot. Call it a testament to the food or perhaps a compliment to our engaging dinner party company. I did, at least, snag a shot of the menu.

I started with the baby arugula salad with hazelnuts and parmesan, which was tossed with a very zingy dressing. The generous presence of crunchy hazelnuts and the tart parmesan made this a worthy order. However, after tasting a companion's ricotta bruschetta, and learning sous-chef Betsy Devine whips the ricotta up fresh, I wanted to give up my leafy greens.

Next up,  I went with the "famed" Lunetta meatballs. The presence of what I think were currants definitely took these tender beauties over the top, as did the simple garlic-tomato sauce I enthusiastically sopped up with our table's extra bread. The other pasta option was a nice complement, but if I had to choose, meatballs would win every time.

Finally, like most of our table, I opted for the fiore de latte panna cotta with pinenut brittle. While the panna cotta itself was good enough, the pinenut brittle was what pulled the raves, with everyone surprised at how much it tasted of pine nuts and how much pine nuts improve on the concept of nut brittle.

We also had a great bottle of red, the Torrette Les Crete 05 from Valle D'Aosta. $58 at Lunetta, retails for $28 if you want to try it for your own Italian feast at home.

Check out all my rec's for Brooklyn Restaurant Week 2008.

Spring must be in the air because new spots are popping up in Carroll Gardens like tulips. All I got on this one at 316 Court Street at Degraw Street is what the sign says--fine Middleastern [sic] Food coming soon with the name of Olive Vine Cafe. Hey, if it means a secondary spot for falafel in the neighborhood, I'm all for it. A woman cannot live by Zaytoons alone.

If I'm not mistaken (and that rarely happens, right?), what you are looking at is some substantial work on the two storefronts that are set to become some version of Frankie's, part II, on Court at the corner of Luquer. The work to sure-up the walls of the corner space (formerly a dry cleaners) is now done, workers have started bricking the garage/driveway that leads from the current Frankie's backyard to Luquer Street (not visible in this photo), and now the facades on both of the Court Street fronts are being reworked. I saw the Franks poking their heads into the two buildings over the weekend.

Sweet Melissa is expanding into the space next door and, according to the person at the counter, is planning to open in April. The new space will serve beer and wine (always a good thing). Looking forward to warmer weather, the garden will be expanded to include both building's backyards.

Jake Walk is an odd name for a cute bar. At least that's my assessment from the street. Owned by the Smith & Vine/Stinky Brooklyn people, it's been open for a couple of weeks now, and on St. Patty's Day was serving a roomful of drinkers. Wine, cheese and little snacks are keeping the yuppies happy ... heh, I said it. Yuppie or not, I love a good wine bar and will probably quaff a cocktail or two once I get this whole pregnancy thing over with.

I can't say I'm sad to see Quench (the space's former occupant) go. Jake Walk is on the corner of Smith and Sackett streets. And if you're wondering about that weird name, it's a reference to the paralytic gait that many Southerners got from drinking bad moonshine during Prohibition. Drink up!

Brooklyn never does a stellar job of advertising its Restaurant Week, which is why I usually realize it's about to happen when the bus stop advertisement goes up on Court Street and 3rd Place.

The $23 three-course deals run from March 24 to 31. To see the complete list, check out the borough's site.

A few of my recommendations in the area:
Lunetta
Chestnut
Crave
Korhogo 126
Petite Crevette
Applewood
Blue Ribbon
Zenkichi (Williamsburg)