Dinner at Mazzat

I recently discovered a little treasure that's been around for a while and I've just overlooked it somehow. Mazzat (208 Columbia St., at Sackett St., 718-852-1652) serves really good, tasty Mediterranean food at reasonable prices. It's a little off the beaten path and under the radar so it's never super crowded either. My husband and I went recently on a mild night, sat in the front where the glass doors open all the way to let the breeze and night air in. We started with a favorite of ours, Grilled Dates wrapped in Bacon. The dates were stuffed with blue cheese and were just divine. A perfect mixture of salty and sweet with a creamy and chewy texture.



We also got a side of Foul Moudammus, Fava Bean Puree serves with lemon, garlic, olive oil & cumin. It was a substantial portion, excellent with warm, slightly crispy pita, hearty and flavorful even if it's not photogenic!



Then we split an order of the Seafood Tagine with shrimp, scallop, salmon, calamari & tilapia stewed in tomato & herbs and served with a side of rice and salad. This was excellent. The stew was nicely spiced, and the pieces of seafood were tender and plentiful. I would have liked more scallops and less tilapia, but it was so good that minor complaint was easily overlooked.



I really liked Mazzat, and plan on adding it to our repertoire of restaurants we go to regularly. It's cozy too so it will be a perfect place to head to once the weather turns colder.

Dinner at The Vanderbilt

We took my Mom to The Vanderbilt (570 Vanderbilt Ave., at the corner of Bergen St., 718-623-0570) for Mother's Day. Having only been there for their opening party, I was interested to see how they had settled into themselves. I'm happy to report that everything was pretty much excellent, save for some slow-to-get-to-our-table food. Made up of mostly small plates, the menu veers from meats, to seafood to veggie-heavy dishes. I started out with one of the cocktails from their menu, the Tupelo Julep made with rye whiskey, cognac and apricot mint syrup. It came like a slushie with tons of shaved iced which melted over time into the drink. It was interesting, but my favorite is still the Glyda Rose (named after the proprietor's mom).



I started out with some Serano Ham Croquettes, five little fried balls of yumminess. Akin to a Rice Ball, these little guys were flavorful, full of small pieces of ham and topped with a dollop of remoulade.



I also ordered the Brandade du Morue, served with Piquillo peppers, olives & parsley. It's similar to Bacala, salted & cured cod, mashed up with the peppers & spices. It's a do-it-yourself dish where you make your own costini with the toasted pieces of bread. It's perfect for sharing, as it's actually a lot of the one taste to finish by yourself.



I also got an order of the Pork Belly from the Specials menu, served with Spring peas. Fatty, meaty, salty & wonderful. The peas lent a fresh, green flavor that brightened it up.



My boyfriend ordered the Hangar Steak which came with a spring vegetable fricasse. This sometimes comes out too tough and chewy, but this was tender, cooked perfectly to order and very flavorful.



We also got a couple of desserts that we shared. They're known for their freshly-made Warm Spiced Doughnuts that come with pistachio ice cream, brandied cherries & apricot orange blossom coulis. Served hot and covered with cinnamon & sugar. Yum!



We also got an order of the Chocolate Semifreddo that's served with dried cherries & crisp phyllo. This was OK. The chocolate semifreddo was good, but the crisp phyllo was almost like an afterthought, it didn't make much sense paired with the frozen chocolate.



I really like The Vanderbilt. It's a nice place with comfortable, aesthetically-pleasing decor and delicious foods.

Dinner at Bocca Lupo #2

Bocca Lupo (391 Henry Street, at the corner or Warren St., 718-243-2522) is a sweet place. Low lighting, exposed brick and dark wood and big glass windows make it cozy & spacious at the same time. There's also such a variety of dishes to choose from, and small plates as well, that enables you to sample a number of items, and it's great for sharing too! I was there for dinner almost a year and a half ago, so I was glad to go back recently with my boyfriend and a friend of ours. We ended up bumping into old friends, so it's a meeting place of sorts as well!

We started with an assortment of Bruschetta. The Cannellini Bean Puree with Olive Tapenade was delicate and garlicky, the Prosciutto was broad and salty, the Sausage, Fennel and Carmelized Cipolle was juicy and delicious and the Grilled Gggplant was earthy & tender.



We also got an order of the Roasted Beet Salad with Ricotta and Pignoli. The ricotta was creamy and light, the plentiful pine nuts provided a nice crunch and the salt & pepper brought out the flavor of the earthy beets.



We also tried some of their specials - a spinach pasta with mushrooms in a light cream sauce covered with grated cheese,



and the lamb chops which were beautifully presented with rosemary and a balsamic glaze. They were soft, tender and delicious with very little fat.



The Panini are also really great, in interesting & decadent combinations like the Proscuitto, Porchetta, Pepperoncini & Piave. Phew, this was one incredible sandwich, full flavored & meaty with the earthy Piave almost melted and the pickled, spicy pepperoncini to cut through the richness of the meat.



Even though we were pretty full at this point, the three of us thought we could split one dessert, so we ordered the Panna Cotta with strawberry & mint. It wasn't as creamy as I like it, and the mint was a little odd. It was light, mild and soothing. (Excuse the shadows, I was trying to be subtle with the flash.)



Bocca Lupo is great and I highly recommend it - for romantic dinners for two, dinner with a group of friends, or for family outings.

Dinner at Brook-Vin

About a year ago, Brookvin (381 7th Avenue between 11th & 12th Streets, 718-768-9463) opened in Park Slope, boasting a long list of wines in addition to beer, a full bar and homemade infused alcohols used in specialty cocktails like The Glazed Ham made with Bacon Infused Bourbon, maple syrup & pork cracklin'. I wanted wine, so I asked the bartender for some suggestions. He helpfully steered me toward a wine I really enjoyed by offering me a taste of a few before I settled on the Renacer "Punto Final" Malbec from Argentina, a deep, full-bodied red. I also started with some Marinated Olives while I waited for my friend to join me for dinner.



They were fresh, not too strong and slightly lemony with marinated pieces of pepper in the mix.

Once my friend arrived, we ordered a few plates to share, starting with the housemade Bratwurst with warm bacon potato salad. This was a delicious sausage - juicy, flavorful and fresh, and the potato salad with chunks of bacon was a nice, homey addition.

We also got the roasted cauliflower salad with garlic confit, capers and anchovies. The anchovies were the best I've ever had. Fresh & tender with no noticeable bones; it wasn't gritty at all, nor was it overwhelmingly salty. This dish was a lovely mix of flavors and textures.



We rounded things out with an order of the Tartine with Goat Cheese, marinated mushrooms and fresh parsley. The mushrooms were meaty and deliciously strong - too vinegary for my friend, but delectable to me. The goat cheese was creamy and light and the fresh herbs on top cut the acid of the vinegar nicely.



I really liked everything about my evening here, from the uber-friendly bartender to the tasty food to the comfortable decor. They also have a backyard garden to enjoy in the warmer months.

The Vanderbilt

I got to go to the sneak peek of The Vanderbilt (Saul Bolton & Ben Daitz's new venture in Prospect Heights at 570 Vanderbilt Avenue at Bergen St., 718-623-0570) Wednesday night, and sample some of the food and drink that will be available TODAY, a corner spot on what is becoming the newest Restaurant Row in Brooklyn. The space is long and sleek, sort of that urban rustic that's very popular nowadays. Raw gray slabs of wood line the bar and the back dining room, banquet seating is along the left wall in the spacious bar area with tall bar chairs with backs. That leads you to the open kitchen, a giant space that's for spying on the cooks, then on to some stairs which take you to the cozy dining room. It's sharp yet comfy, sort of fancy-bar-in-the-Midwest yet in-the-know-hipster at the same time. I liked it AND the fabric used on that banquet seating.



There's a nice list of cocktails and two were being served the other night. The Black Cherry Rickey is made with vodka, black cherry syrup, lime & soda but I found it too sweet. The Glyda Rose was more my style, made with gin, campari, blood orange & champagne. It was tart, bitter and strong! There're also a couple of Sixpoint brews on tap (Oktoberfest & Sweet Action), as well as bottled beer and an assortment of wines by the glass.



The food was impressive - a mix of meaty classics and Asian flavors served in small plate arrangements. They started by passing a plate of Blistered Shishito Peppers with a pimenton salt. I was told only 1 in 10 are hot but the one I ate nearly blew my head open. It was pure fire. Tasty, I guess, but who can tell when your eyes are watering and you can't feel your tongue?



My favorites of the night were the Boudin Blanc Sausage with mustard and the Pork Meatballs with cuttlefish. The Boudin Blanc was almost creamy, excellently paired with a grainy mustard.



The meatballs were flavorful little morsels. I thought the accompanying bite was pineapple upon first glance, but the fish was chewy and I thought a little strange with the pork.



The Steamed Bouchot Mussels with coconut, basil & chili were strange as well. It was a little like mousse and a little confusing. I thought the stuff on the bottom was ice, but was actually a jelly-like substance. The coconut brought a nice flavor to the dish, but the many textures together were all wrong to me.



The Brussel Sprouts were great though - ever so slightly undercooked so they still had some bite, served with sirachia, lime and honey. Slightly spicy, slightly sweet and totally excellent.



I also liked the Puff Pastry filled with Chicken Liver. The pastry was light and airy, and the liver was earthy and strong. Delicious!



The rest of the menu has similar items - small plates that don't exceed $16 (and that's for Pork Chops and Hangar Steak). Most items fall between $4 and $10, plus there's a whole section of desserts that I didn't get to try like Homemade Doughnuts and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake. I'm excited to go here for real, especially in the middle of the winter, when the coziness of The Vanderbilt will totally come in handy!

Dinner at Vodka Gallery

So, some friends and I totally went off the beaten path on a recent Saturday night to Gravesend for some Russian food. We ate at the Vodka Gallery (2376 Coney Island Avenue, between Avenue T and Avenue U, 718-645-3400) and had a surprisingly delicious meal out of a number of their small plates. There's a bar in the front area and seating in the back, as well as a large garden which will be wonderful in the warmer months. A trio played music a la the Gypsy Kings which gave the place a festive air. Lining the walls are shelves containing more than 200 different bottles of vodka in every shape and size you can imagine, flavored and not. You can order flights of vodka to taste different kinds, or order a specialty vodka cocktail from the drinks menu.

We started off with the Borscht and a Russian Salad. The borscht was some of the best I've ever had. It was more of a stew with chunks of beef short rib, cabbage, potato, onion and topped with dill. It was delicious, flavorful and a very large portion.



The Russian Salad was made with cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and dill in a sour cream dressing. Not very light, but really good. Creamy and tangy, the veggies were fresh & crisp - also a very large portion!



The Potato Latkes with Lox and Cream Cheese were wonderful. Not greasy at all, potato-y with fresh smoky & salty lox. Perfect to split among four people.



The most surprisingly tasty dish was the Beef Tongue served with sauteed onions over slices of sourdough bread, and dill (which seems to be The Herb used at the Vodka Gallery). The meat was tender and savory and the onions were a perfect companion flavor. I don't think I've had ever had beef tongue but it wasn't like I imagined. It was a little like liver, with a slight metallic flavor.



Our waiter recommended the Herring and Potatoes which he said was a popular item. This too was very good with tender pieces of fish and sliced onions, although the potatoes were nothing special.



My other favorite dish was the Traditional Blini with sour cream and caviar. These were moist, slightly sweet crepes served with the creamiest sour cream (almost like creme fraiche) and salty, briny, large caviar. So yum!



We were pretty full after all this food, but we wanted to see what the desserts were like so we split an Apple Strudel served with strawberries on top. This was OK - the pastry was flaky but overall it was underwhelming and not memorable.



We're definitely planning another visit as it would be a perfect place to go with a big group to try the various vodkas, eat yummy traditional Russian & Ukranian food and relax in the backyard garden on a warm summer evening.

Dinner at General Greene

A friend and I made our way to General Greene (229 Dekalb Avenue at Clermont Avenue, 718-222-1510) the other night for dinner, and had a most interesting time. The menu is made up of a variety of small plates in categories such as "Bar Snacks", "Hot" and "Cold". The front room is a classic space, all white and robin's egg blue, pressed tin and tiled floor. The lighting is lovely, with a smattering of styles that all seem to go together. The kitchen sits in between the front room and the back dining area, which felt odd to us, like there were two separate restaurants sharing a prep area; kind of disconnected. The host and wait staff were all friendly though and most helpful when it came to figuring out how many dishes to order to make a full meal.

We started with a Bar Snack of Radishes with Sea Salt and Anchovies. We were both expecting whole radishes, rubbed in sea salt with anchovy fillets, but what we got was much more delicate. Large slices of shaved radish were HUGE and mixed with an anchovy paste, seasoned with sea salt and garnished with halved smaller radishes. It was delicious - crisp, strong flavors and textures mingled and got better as the dish sat in its juices. In an effort to prevent a washed out photo, the resulting picture is a bit dark, but shows the beauty of the dish nonetheless.



We ended up choosing mostly veggies, which made for a yummy if not cohesive dinner. The Quinoa was amazing, and I never eat quinoa after a bad experience with it on a camping trip in college! It was moist and crunchy and seasoned with salt and mint, and butter? Something made this so smooth. It gave me a whole new way to think about this most nutritious grain.



The Beets with Yoghurt and Mint were also really good. Roasted beets, just this side of soft, lightly covered with yoghurt were sweet and savory and tangy.



The Roasted Turnips were my least favorite dish. Some of the pieces were too hard, and overall it didn't have a very turnip-y flavor. The leeks and butter overpowered the earthy, root-ness of the vegetable. There were also pieces of bacon which made it a little better, but not enough for me to really enjoy this dish.



Another favorite was the Pork Meatballs, served in a bowl covered with sauce and melted cheese, somewhat like French Onion Soup. The sauce was great, hearty and tomato-y and not sweet, the meatballs were nicely flavored and slightly juicy, and the toasted slices of bread were perfect for sopping up the extra 'gravy' as my grandfather calls Marinara Sauce. Wonderful.



Unfortunately, we were too stuffed for dessert, which is a real shame since the owner of General Greene is a pastry chef and has become well known for his pastries. Next time I'll get one or two fewer small plates and save room for something sweet to finish my meal with.