Bar Corvo vs. Al di La

After a gorgeous sunny day at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens on Saturday, a few of us hit an early dinner at the new Bar Corvo in Prospect Heights. The couple behind Al di La created a more neighborhood-style vibe at Bar Corvo, with the ambiance more like a modern Frankies 457 in Carroll Gardens than a little sister of the almost Victorian-chic style Al di La. The menu at Bar Corvo reads more like the New American, but its awfully similar to the trattoria. In fact, it was pretty hard not to compare every dish to the ones I've had at Al di La. I didn't write notes or take pictures the cold night I went to Al di La on Superbowl Sunday, so I'll use Saturday's experience to boost my memory and review both here.

The farro salad to start. Both grainy salads have dollops of tangy goat cheese, nutty hazelnuts and a light vinagrette; at Bar Corvo, brussel sprouts instead of Al di La's cauliflower. Both versions are more impressive than they sound.

They had a good concept with the oxtail, and brought something similar, but less complex, to Bar Corvo. It is slow simmered and rich, like a tender pot roast, poured on top of polenta. At Al di La, cuttlefish gives the dish a darker, saltier taste.

The malfatti, a dish I think Bar Corvo does better. The swiss chard and ricotta stuffed gnocchi at Al di La swims in sage brown butter; here, the same pasta is given lighter treatment with a creamy olive oil sauce and walnuts.

They know dessert at Al di La and Bar Corvo. Specifically, they know panna cotta -- light, creamy, a tiny bit tangy. Bar Corvo's creme fraiche panna cotta topped with a sticky blood orange caramel comes with two small cookies... just like at Al di La. I think I had the rhubarb panna cotta at Al di La, but I might have had a few too many glasses of high quality wine to properly remember. Maybe it was cherry? Anyway, we also tried some chocolate bread pudding with red wine cherries. 

While Bar Corvo doesn't have that worn in, comfortable and cozy yet consistently crowded feel of Al di La, you can still get a good idea as to what they're about at Bar Corvo. I recommend whichever you're closer to.


Bar Corvo
791 Washington Ave
Prospect Heights, Brooklyn


Al di La
248 Fifth Ave
Park Slope, Brooklyn

Recent Sushi Outings

I've been craving sushi lately. Big mouthfuls of rice-filled maki rolls, slippery raw scallops, melty wet uni. I think it's more a texture thing than a taste thing.

First on the list: Yama, near Union Square. This underground space is small but clean and comfortable, with a good a la carte menu and very decent prices. The sushi itself is not mind-blowing, but considering prices and location it's a good deal for solid fish.


A few of us went out for a pre-dinner dinner (a new dining concept in my life that begins with filling up on cheaper but good stuff so you can try more expensive stuff somewhere else later). We got one of their many combo platters. Maybe Sushi for Two? It was a well-diversified plate of roe, eel, sashimi (tuna, whitefish, salmon) and seaweed-wrapped rolls (crab, yellowtail, etc.). We also got a specialty roll (eel, avocado and flying fish roe rolled in cucumber) and a few of my favorite a la carte staples (toro, scallop, uni). Overall, a good pre-dinner dinner.

Yama
122 E. 17th St. (between Irving Pl & S Park Ave)
New York, NY (212) 475-0969

Next, a Brooklyn establishment I've been trying to visit for awhile -- Taro Sushi in Park Slope! It's an average looking spot from the outside, but their sushi is on par with some of the greater spots we've visited in the city. The rice is warm and risotto-y. I'm beginning to think you can judge the quality of a sushi place by its rice, kind of like how my mom always said you can judge an Italian restaurant by the croutons in their salad.
A lot of us squeezed into that tiny place one night and split more pieces of sushi that I can even count. The most noteworthy would have to be the uni on top of a scallop. We had a bunch of different types of toro. There was horse mackerel, there was amberjack, and there was even some royal-tasting spicy rolls. There was even sliced raw beef and ankimo.

This place is almost the exact opposite of Yama. The atmosphere isn't spotless or even much to look at (they have a messy desk pushed off to one side with a beer tap attached). It's not in the greatest location (you can almost see Target gleaming from across Flatbush Ave). The fish can get pricey if you come too hungry. On the plus side, they do have an amazing menu and everything is very fresh. Next time I'm up for some quality sushi, I'll probably head to the city for similarly priced but better quality of dining at Kanoyama.

Taro Sushi
446 Dean St. (between 5th Ave & Flatbush Ave)
Brooklyn, NY 11217
(718) 398-0872

Last week I stumbled across a pretty impressive place in upper midtown. We needed a quickish place to get a sushi fix before a spa week massage, and I saw that Suzu Sushi had a pretty good menu with nice prices to boot. We were the only ones there at around 6, and the service was really fast and super friendly.

We had the sashimi appetizer, the Sumo roll (an 8-piece square roll with tuna, salmon, yellowtail and spicy tuna with a yuzu miso sauce) and one of the special rolls (lobster, shrimp, avocado and mango). Everything was really fresh and the rolls were impressive. The special roll was easily my favorite, even though the mango was so ripe we couldn't taste any other flavors. I didn't mind though; the different textures in this roll was divine. I liked the yuzu sauce on the Sumo roll, although it was a little sweet. Rob wasn't as crazy about it. I guess yuzu is getting a bit overused these days.

I'll probably be back to Suzu next time I'm shopping up near Lexington & 59th. I'd love to try their a la carte menu, maybe even the $3 live scallop if I work up the courage.

Suzu Sushi
1075 1st Ave
New York, NY 10022
(212) 310-0155

Sweet Melissa's Truffle

The other day I had a fantastic chocolate pistachio truffle from Sweet Melissa Bakery in Park Slope.


That is all.

Sweet Melissa

175 Seventh Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11215

(718) 502-9153

Brunch, Snacks and Dinner in Park Slope/Prospect Heights

It's not too often that we go to the Prospect Heights area of Brooklyn, but when we do, it's usually pretty awesome. It always helps to have the right neighborhood-aware foodie friends take you to the right places.

We started the day yesterday at Flatbush Farm, which I guess is technically Park Slope. Great atmosphere with high ceilings and modern decor, though we got seated in an adjoining room that was practically empty and fairly cold. Luckily, their "local seasonal fare" was pretty spot on.

I had the Farmer's Breakfast. I usually don't go for the simple eggs any style/bacon/potato breakfast combos, but I figured it would be a good test of the restaurant's commitment to simple, fresh ingredients. The eggs were poached perfectly, and the bacon was a huge, meaty, fatty slab. The potatoes were really interesting too -- cut small and fried with jalepenos and plantains, topped with some kind of spicy aioli.

Rob got the crispy duck confit topped with warm lentils and two sunny side up eggs. The meat was tender and went really well with the substituted crunchy grains, whatever they were (they were out of the lentils).

I also got to try a few bites of the omelette (with talleggio, herbs and yogurt), and the burger (which everyone else in the restaurant seemed to be having). Both were excellent.

Flatbush Farm

76 St Marks Ave @ 6th Ave and Flatbush

Brooklyn, NY 11217

(718) 622-3276

We stopped at BKLYN Larder, a small cheese and organic grocery store owned by the Franny's folks (and no, I still haven't been to Franny's... yet). I tried a sample of their duck pate... fantasic. We took almond and pistachio gelato to go. It's never too cold for ice cream, even if it is seventeen degrees out.

BKLYN Larder

228 Flatbush Ave (between Dean St & Bergen St)

Brooklyn, NY 11217

(718) 783-1250

I was really excited to have dinner at The Vanderbilt. I was drooling over the menu when they first opened a few months ago. I've never been to Saul, but since its one of only three places in Brooklyn to earn a Michelin star, I (and probably many other Brooklynites) figured Saul Bolton's newest establishment was worth a visit. 8pm on a bonechillingly cold Saturday night and the 90 seats were packed to the brim.

The New American menu is all small plates, too big to be tapas but too small for individual portions. Six of us tried as many items as we possibly could and were really impressed with most of what we sampled:

Pickled eggs -- served over some kind of tomato chili sauce with a pleasant kick.

Brussel sprouts -- one of the standouts. Not sure how they got the combination of Sriracha, lime and honey so deep into these little guys. Each bite was crazy juicy with both a sweet and spicy flavor. I bet people who say they don't like brussel sprouts could be coverted by these.

Lamb sausage -- A standard greasy coil, served with chickpeas.

Mussels -- These gigantic and perfectly cooked little guys came in a very Thai currylike broth of coconut, basil and chili. Topped with a kaffir lime leaf (at least, that's what we thought it was).

Serrano ham and cheese croquettes -- Came out piping hot, that didn't stop Rob and I from gobbling them up. Topped with saffron aioli. Definitely comparable to Tia Pol's fantastic croquettes.

Artichokes -- with mushrooms and carrots. Wasn't my favorite -- tasted kind of like an incomplete stew to me. Was this my punishment for trying to add some healthiness to dinner?

Beef shortrib -- The meat fell apart as soon as your fork touched it. Reminded me of a pot roast with carrots, onions and some kind of gravylike sauce.

Chicken wings -- More sweet than spicy, topped with lots of sesame seeds. Cripsy on the outside, juicy on the inside, but was very hard to finish seeing as how full we were getting (and did I mention we had two orders of most everything?)

Hanger steak -- Charred on the outside, medium rare perfection on the inside. I love hanger steak, and these had a meatiness to them far deeper and richer than most other places I've had it. The side of romaine with a light white sauce and pepper was the perfect accompaniment.

I'm not sure why we ordered dessert, since we were literally putting food on each other's plates trying to get rid of everything. Luckily I think most people save room for dessert as a kind of instinct.

Chocolate cake -- with buttermilk ice cream, which had a surprisingly great flavor that went with the chocolate well. Concord grape gelee on the bottom and popcorn on top.

Panna cotta -- with elderflower gelee and fresh citrus. Way better than Alta's version. A great light, sweet end to a meal.

The Vanderbilt did not disappoint. I guess now I should move Saul (and Franny's?) to the top of my Brooklyn to-do list.

The Vanderbilt

570 Vanderbilt Ave (between Pacific St & Dean St)

Brooklyn, NY 11238

(718) 623-0570