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Seasonal American food from an ambitious kitchen is turning heads at the two-month-old James in Prospect Heights. “Clearly they are not content with being just another decent neighborhood joint,” observes cheeseball, who reports a short, thoughtful menu featuring high-quality ingredients skillfully prepared.
An appetizer of plump, fresh seared diver scallops may not have been the best scallop dish allydee has ever had, but the minty sauce added an interesting twist. However, the hamburger (grass-fed beef with Cotswold cheese on brioche) floored her dining companion, who “completely stopped relating to me, and raved about it all the way home.” cheeseball enjoyed the “perfectly crispy outsides and pillowy insides” of dishes such as crispy sweetbreads and a dessert of ricotta beignets.
A few blocks north in Fort Greene, the General Greene offers another seasonal American menu, but one that leans more toward small plates and comfort food. For sullafelix, winners include a lightly seasoned yet rich bean salad; pork meatballs in a tangy, complex tomato sauce; and crispy chicken with fennel, corn, and arugula salad.
While the flavors hit the mark, several hounds complain about the size of the servings. “Although we expected the portions to be small,” sullafelix writes, “the $9 crispy chicken was just a drumstick.” starfish finds the food “delicious and interesting” but says the burger was “petite” and a smoked trout tea sandwich “was inhaled in three bites.”
James [Prospect Heights]
605 Carlton Avenue (at St. Marks Avenue), Brooklyn
718-942-4255
The General Greene [Fort Greene]
229 DeKalb Avenue (at Clermont Avenue), Brooklyn
718-222-1510
Board Links: james restaurant in prospect heights
Fantastic new place in Fort Greene
So, let's give our best description. Tonight marks the second time we try to go to James...and, "luckily", tonight, we "lucked out". Last time, our request for 21h was greeted with, "No, sorry, only 17:30 or 18h"...OK, we'll try next time. Well, tonight was next time and we must say our verdict is mixed...with a slant towards the not-so-nice feelings, certainly, at the end. I called at 19:15 to...+READ
So, let's give our best description. Tonight marks the second time we try to go to James...and, "luckily", tonight, we "lucked out". Last time, our request for 21h was greeted with, "No, sorry, only 17:30 or 18h"...OK, we'll try next time. Well, tonight was next time and we must say our verdict is mixed...with a slant towards the not-so-nice feelings, certainly, at the end. I called at 19:15 to say that we were on our way and, with any luck, might they put us on the list...after responding that "technically" she could not put us on the list...she asked us for a couple of minutes...and, then. put us on the list. Why, Thank You! And, then, after it was too crowded at the bar, we went round to the nearby pub and waited for the phone call to say our table was ready. Once seated, the lovely culinary adventure began: dinner was delicious. Scallops, salads (Spinach and Frisee); followed by the shell (strip) steak, roasted chicken & the lamb. Nothing to complain about. Neither the service. Lovely. Then, came the check. When my husband provided his tax-free card for diplomats, we were subjected to a 10-minute discussion with Deborah. At the end, after imploring her to call the phone number on the card, she wisked it away in a huff. When she finally returned, she had deducted the tax (as she was legally obliged to do, btw) but threw our bill down on the table with such an attitude that we will be hard-pressed to return. The "last straw", as it were: her cash registers were already programmed to print "tax exempt"...she just didn't want to do it. What a pity. What a loss for them. After such wonderful reception up until then...all was erased.-COLLAPSE