Tout Va Bien

Well, this restaurant is not in my neighborhood, but went there to have dinner with The Mysterious Chinese Woman and two of her sisters. One was going to a play so it fell to me to pick a restaurant in the theater district. This one got good reviews and is on 51st between 8th and 9th.



Of course, before dinner, I had to have a cocktail at the bar and the bartender, and damned if I can remember her name, mixed me up an excellent Bombay Martini. I asked to have it in a smaller glass than the normal, much too large, in my opinion, ones you usually get and she accomodated me and put the extra in another glass on the side.



They had a very nice French bistro menu and a reasonably priced Prix Fixe menu for the before the theater crowd. We shared a couple of flank steaks, mussels, scallops, duck, chicken, pate, and, of course, snails. They had a plate of celery and radishes on the table and I got everyone to try the radishes with butter. When I visited Paris I noticed that people ate them this way. The general consensus was that this combination was very tasty indeed. Desserts were included but I opted for Pernod and espresso. The decor was somewhat simple in a rustic sort of way and the service was most friendly.



The service was great, the wine reasonably priced, and I would come back again at the drop of a hat. I am looking forward to having the rest of the steak that I took home for dinner tonight. The portions were most generous and the French fries that accompanied the steaks were delicious as well.

A Banquet of Banks

Just an addendum to my last post about how banks are springing up like mushrooms in my neighborhood. The following banks are all on a one block stretch of Montague Street between Court and Clinton. Many of them are right next door to each other. Well, they would have to be, there isn't room for much else. Keep in mind that all of these banks are with two or three blocks of where the new ones are beind installed.

















And yet, still they come.

Banking On It

Ahh, my neighborhood. So many things to like, and a few that I don't like quite so much. There is a lot of construction going on in Downtown Brooklyn and there will be much more to come. Mostly residential, but some commercial as well. I think a forty story office building is slated to go up just a couple blocks from where I live. I guess you can't stop progress.

One thing that does puzzle me is the number of Bank's that have decided to put up branch offices in the area. You would think that a saturation point would be reached, but that doesn't seem to be the case. There are two up and two more being built on Court Street within one block of each other not more that one or two blocks from where I live.

Brooklyn Federal Savings



Brooklyn Federal Savings, on the Corner of Court and Livingston Streets. This was the first one to move into the area many years ago. Sadly, it replaced a Blarney Rose, a mighty fine dive bar with a decent steam table. It is convenient and I do use the ATM a lot.

Washington Mutual



Not long ago this bank moved in and they were just plain obnoxious. They actually had someone outside with a bullhorn trying to lure in new customers. I think they replaced a 99 Cent store but appear to have taken over the whole building. They are also on the corner of Court and Livingston Streets, kitty corner from Brooklyn Federal Savings.

Chase



The impending appearance of Chase, on Court Street between Livingston and Schermerhorn, is a bit sad because they are taking over the space formerly occupied by Nick and Joe's Pizzeria, a neighborhood fixture since well-before I moved here. Luckily Nick, or is it Joe, own the building and said they got more from Chase to lease the space than could be made selllng pizzas. Still, they were mighty fine pizzas.

Citibank



I know there is a bank moving in here and I am pretty sure it is a Citibank. Where Chase goes Citibank follows. This is on the corner of Court and Schermerhorn Streets. There used to be a Pizza Shop and Bakery on the corner, a barber shop next door, and a car service next to that. They are all gone now so we can have another bank.

There is a bit of irony here because the pizza shop was open 24 hours a day. When it first moved in, just a few years ago, it was hailed by our Borough President, Marty Markowitz, as a wonderful thing because it was making Downtown Brooklyn more of a 24 hour neighborhood. He has been strangely silent about it being replaced by a bank that will certainly be dark at night.

Well, there you have it. Banks springing up like mushrooms with a lot of the amenities that once made the neighborhood a neighborhood slip slidding away.

A Pig Fest

Cafe d'Alsace has been having a bit of a Pig Fest all this week in honor a vist by the father of the chef. The chef is Philippe Roussel and his father is Remy. I do have to apologize for the pictures. I forgot my camera so these have been lifted from the internet. If I ever get back here again, and I might because the food was delicious, I will take my own pictures and post an update.

Cafe d'Alsace


The weather yesterday wasn't quite a pleasant as it looks here. In fact about two minutes after our arrival there was a torrential downpour complete with lightening and thunder. It was a good thing we made it in time or I would have been in deep trouble. The restaurant is located on the corner of 88th and 2nd Avenue. For some reason I though it was on 86th and and 8th Avenue, which would have put it in the middle of Central Park. We got off the subway at 86th, but on the west side so we ended up taking a cross-town bus. Kind of a nice ride throught Central Park. The threatening weather did add an element of tension though.

The restaurant was quite crowded and a bit darker than these pictures show. The bar is quite nice, but I didn't have a chance to have a drink at it because our table was waiting for us.



Coincidently, our table was the one in the corner in this picture.



The Pig Fest aspect of the evening consisted of a couple of pork specials on the menu, but no pig roasting on a spit in the middle of the dining room. The Mysterious Chinese Woman and I shared a delicious wild mushroom ravioli with shaved truffles on top.

I ordered the combination plate of pork belly and snout (hopefully not the snout of the pig that found the truffles). The pork belly was kind of like a combination of pork roast and bacon and was okay, but nothing special. The snout, however, was delicious. Kind of like a spicy sausage with a ring of fat around the outside. It came with cabbage and mashed potatoes and greens tossed with chunks of bacon.

The Mysterious Chinese Woman opted for duck and it was prepared with what looked and tasted like raspberries and a raspberry reduction. It was very good.

They had a very nice beer menu and the sommilier was quite knowledgeable. We started out with a bottle of Castelain Blond Biere de Garde. It was originally brewed for farm workers field hands. It is usually brewed in the fall and then stored for summer consumption. It was very good and I would certainly buy it again. I hope my local beer store has it. It has a nice golden color with a bit of a citrus flavor to it. It came in a large, 25 ounce bottle and cost about the same as a cheap wine (cheap for a restaurant anyway) $19 or $20.



Our second bottle, also recommended by the sommilier, was a Tripel Karmeliet that is a Trappist beer made with oats, barley, and wheat. It comes in a green bottle (same size and price as the other one) and is very carbonated. It is served in a large glass with a flared top and it is needed because there is a huge head. This had a distinctly fruity flavor. We both liked this one too but the Mysterious Chinese Woman got a bit tipsy after her having one glass of each of the beers. This one was 8% and the other one was 6.4%



All and all it was a very nice evening. I finished it off with a couple Stregas and espressos and we took the correct subway home.

Fish Festival Across The Pond

I headed over to The Heights in New Jersey today to visit with the Mysterious Chinese Woman's family and to attend a Fish Festival that was being held. I love these little festivals, they remind me of an earlier, more innocent time. When the local fairs actually had side shows with deformed people affectionately called "freaks" that you could gawk at for only a quarter. Ah yes, how I remember holding the Lobster Boy's claw-like hand and peeling a bit of skin off of the Alligator Woman.

Of course any trip of any distance must start with the obligatory subway ride.



We headed down to catch the ferry in the Financial District that is pretty deserted during the week-ends, except for the tourists taking pictures of, well, of what I don't really know.



Only a couple of blocks away from the subway is the means of escape.



We got there about an hour early so we had some time to kill.



It turned out it was a good thing we got there early because the lines quickly grew.





In fact, many people waiting in line weren't going to be able to get on the boat and the next one didn't leave for another two hours.

But, the boat did arrive and we were able to board.



It was close enough to noon for me to belly up to the bar and order a Bloody Mary with a beer chaser.



We soon arrived at our destination where people lined the shore awaiting our arrival.



We quickly scouted out the area, the rides and the various booths selling food.

















Before making any decisions as to where to eat I decided to head to a place where, I suspected, there would be people who would have the inside information.





I popped in for a beer and chatted up the lovely bartender, Cheryl.



After hearing that Certified Clam and the Fire Department had the best food available we headed out to purchase some and then return to the beer garden in back to eat in a nice little shaded area.

I had the garlic clams from Certified Clam, $11 for a large and delicious plate of them.



The Mysterious Chinese Woman, still working on her Hot Dog jones, opted to hit the Fire Department's booth.



We spotted a lovely little get-away home that would be really fun for a vacation. I would have liked to have taken a peek inside, but there wasn't anybody home.





After spending the next day doing major cooking for a family barbecue I headed home on Monday just like a commuter.



On the way back we passed by Red Hook where a cruise ship was moored, I think it was The Princess something or another.



Soon enough we were pulling back into downtown Manhattan.



And, the early reminder that the weekend was over, the subway ride back home.

The Monk

Rest assured, the Monk is safe and well protected by a pair of mighty mastiffs, or, more accurately, large dachshunds.



For those of you who might not be familiar with the story of the Monk, suffice it to say he was once kidnapped by an evil relative and held in less than comfortable accomodations. I was able to rescue him and he is now under constant guard, for his own protection. There may be more of the Monk in the future.