Dinner at Prime Meats

I made it down to Prime Meats (465 Court St. at Nelson St., (718) 254-0327) the other night with a friend to check out one of the newest food & drink establishments in Carroll Gardens. It's a beautiful space, lovingly created by the men behind Frankie's 457 Spuntino just a few doors down, with natural dark wood, classic chandeliers & Edison bulbs, fresh flowers in the front window and votive candles everywhere, including the trays the wait staff walks around with. "Very elegant", as I heard one server explain. Indeed. Below is a photo of the bread and butter; two types of hearty, tasty, fresh and delicious bread, creamy butter and loganberry jam. (Pardon the shadows, I was trying to be courteous with my flash!)



The food was great too. We started out with cocktails, which are pricey for the area ($5-12), but unique, interesting and delicious. I had the The Aviator with gin, creme de violette, maraschino liqueur & lemon juice. This was a tasty little drink. It's was mostly tart with subtle notes of the violet and a real dark cherry resting at the bottom for me when I was done. It was light-colored, so I didn't snap a photo. My friend chose the Loganberry Scramble made with tequila, loganberry liqueur, lemon juice and agave. It tasted like a really nice, special margarita; with two loganberries on top.



We ordered a few things and shared, which is my favorite way to eat, and the best way to take advantage of the delicious items on the menu. For starters we got the Bibb Lettuce with radishes and pumpkin seeds in an incredible dressing of pumpkin seed oil and lemon juice. Refreshing and a nice twist with the pumpkin seeds.



We also got the Sakrut Garnie which is a plate with four meats in warm housemade sauerkraut and a few chunks of potatoes. The four meats consisted of pork belly, Thuringian bratwurst, kassler & knackwurst. The pork belly was quite meaty and tender, the bratwurst was spiced with coriander and was wonderful, as was the kassler, a smoky piece of pink meat and the knackwurst made me think of a fancy hot dog - thinner than the bratwurst, it was salty in a snappy casing.



We also got the Herb & Gruyere Spaetzle which was delicious. Creamy, comfort food at it's best. I especially liked it with a bite of the bread smeared with the loganberry jam.



I hear that they'll soon expand the menu to include steak tartare by the ounce and lamp by the chop. Whatever they do, I'm sure it will be done well, and I'm looking forward to heading back to try some of the other items on the menu.