Stinky Brooklyn Part Two

As I walked up Smith Street I spoted the new location of Jolie, a fairly upscale French restaurant that used to be located on Atlantic Avenue. It relocated some time ago and although I knew it was someplace on Smith Street I wasn't sure exactly where. It has evolved a bit. Well, actually, quite a bit. It is now Jolie Cantina and serves a mix of French bistro fare as well as Mexican food. An electic combination, I must say.

Jolie Cantina

I chatted with the owners, one of who was tending bar and the other who was tending the door. Very pleasant people and I wished them well. I also had a nice cold Six Point IPA while I escaped the heat and the crowds.

Nothing Refreshes Like A Cold Beer Now it might go against the grain, but with all of the street fare available I actually didn't partake of any. Well, I did and I didn't. The Mysterious Chinese Woman and I ate at a litlle Cuban restaurant that did have tables and chairs outside.

A Little Bit Of Havana Right Here In Brooklyn

Being the sophisticates that we are we opted for the indoor seating and I settled into a session of caipirinhas. Now this is kind of the national drink of Brazil, but I guess they must like it in Cuba as well. It is pretty simple, just cachaça, a sugar cane rum, lime juice and sugar. It wasn't that long ago that you wouldn't see these in the United States because the cachaca in Brazil is pretty much moonshine. In fact the lime juice and sugar are added just to make it drinkable. Kind of like grappa, though, higher quality stuff is now available and so they have become more popular here. When I was in Manaus you could get shots of the cachaca for 25 cents.

A Civilized Caipirnha

A Second Less Civilized Caipirnha

The bartender was really working hard muddling the limes and stripping of leave of mint. Most people, and there was quite a crowd outside, were going for the mojitos.

A Hard-Working Woman

The food was quite good as well. I had a nice Cuban sandwich and the Mysterious Chinese Woman had a stuffed poblano pepper. I didn't care too much for the cerviche appetizer, but that was more due to the style. It was good, but the squid and shrimp had been pre-cooked and it didn't have that same sharp acidic taste that you get when you just use lime juice for the cooking. There were plenty of bands performing and they were pretty good playing a variety of musical styles

Bands, There Were Plenty









Interestingly, it was a couple of DJs who really got the crowd dancing, though.

Dancin' In The Street

And although I thought this marionette was a bit on the creepy side, the kids seemed to be enthralled.

He Must Be Related To Chucky

Well we had a fun day and made one last stop for a couple of cans of cold sake.

First Time For Everything

The waitress said it was new and it was on special, two cans for $12 - and Bar Man loves a deal. It is Funaguchi Kikusui Ichiban Shibori, unfiltered, unpasteurized and very good. Easy to quaff, way too easy. I drank one in the sushi bar and brought one home, although it didn't last long after I got it there.

 All in all it was a great day and we finished it off by watching a couple of depressing movies followed up by Charlie Chaplin's 'The Circus'. I forgot the name of the first depressing movie, but it was baseed on a stage play and all the action pretty much took place on the stoop of a brownstone in 1930's New York. The second one was 'The Last Picture Show'.