cheetah's Profile
Goya Ginger Beer
Does anyone know where I could find Goya Ginger Beer in Brooklyn or, better yet, Park Slope?
Palo Santo Brunch: Now Defunct
Anyone have any details as to why Palo Santo stopped serving brunch? While I had mixed feelings about the couple of dinners I had there, the brunch was superb, particularly for its un-brunchlike qualities: interesting dishes (such as pupusas, fish and grits, wild mushroom quesadillas) that weren't the standard eggs-and-bacon-I-could-make-myself fare and a beautiful and tranquil (back) room in which to eat them, with great service. Called to find out why but the person I spoke to didn't have details as to why it was stopped. Strange, also, because they usually had a decent crowd, so can't imagine they suspended brunch due to lack of customers. Will be sorely missed.
smoke joint: what the ?!?!?
I ate here a few weeks ago and was also unimpressed: pulled pork was dry and had absolutely no smoke flavor at all, making me wonder if it was really just steamed. Hacked beef was worse -- beef cubes would have been a more accurate description: not very tender cubes of slimey-ish meat in sauce. Again, no smoke and seemed like it could have very well just been cooked in sauce on a stovetop. I hate to be harsh, but it really was that bad.
And, though you're not s'posed to judge bbq by its sides, I had the worst cornbread of my life there. I can go either way when it comes to cornbread -- sweet or not -- but this was very sweet and had the odd crumbly but oily texture and taste of a packaged deli pastry.
Try Fette Sau instead -- their pork ribs are great.
Moim @ 206 Garfield Pl
I ate here last week and agree that it is a welcome addition to the neighborhood, but with some reservations -- mainly that their prices are a bit high and that some of their dishes are underseasoned. You are encouraged to order banchan, when the norm at Korean places– particularly for a restaurant at this price point – is to provide them gratis. After you place your order a very limited selection of "house" banchan is brought to you, at no cost, but it would be best to know this before you order (BTW, the house banchan was white kimchi, seaweed salad, and soybeans.) I heard our waiter giving a table near ours a hard sell about banchan, encouraging the customers to order some by saying that Korean food is "all about the banchan." This isn't necessarily misleading, just in the sense that he was implying that it was customary to buy banchan at Korean places. When you are paying $22 for kalbi, you should expect a "free" and varied amount of banchan.
And about that Kalbi: it was fine, but not great, bland with some less than tender pieces and it was served with a dipping sauce that was far too mild, almost like pure miso without any pepper kick (in contrast to pepper miso sauces usually served with kalbi). I had the black cod in red pepper sauce ($19)and it was beautiful and delicious, perfectly cooked, but the sauce was sorely underpeppered. I think they are aiming for a more upscale, "refined" take on Korean, but it is a bit too delicate. We started with a delicious seafood pancake (pajun) that was perfectly light and crisp and a bit creamy inside. We also tried a pork with tofu appetizer, which was good – bits of pork in kimchi with hunks of standard tofu. The restaurant space itself is attractive – sort of a Long-Tanish look to it and they have a great-looking bar for when they get their liquor license.
I have hopes for this place and will try it again, but they should get their banchan act together.
