Ho Brah

A sunny surfer-style Cal-Mex. in Bay Ridge Brooklyn. Fun eats, with beers on tap. A shrimp & corn chowder was ok- not overly creamy, but underseasoned. The taco- all served on a soft Cali style tortilla was better- Double Diego was a spicey shrimp with slaw. Rice and black beans with pico come with the taco and I added on some guacamole. This was super tasty and went well with the Southhampton white. A fun, spot to chow down on 3rd. Ave. Many dishes have appealing names and it is a good value. GO!

Reynards

Located on the ground floor of " The Wythe Hotel" in Williamsburg this Tarlow project(Diner, Marlow and Sons) has a big corner dining room with a wood burning oven and open kitchen. This oven is the center piece for the farm to table cooking done here. Bread from Hot Bread Kitchen and housechurned butter- yellow in color sprinkled with sea salt is a treat. Oven roasted olives($3) with herbs are tasty. The sunchoke soup($8) served with creme fraiche is a savory, flavorfull soup and eaten with the bread and butter is even better. My main was the lobster with potato and fava beans($23). Simply served with a champane creme sauce this dish had clean fresh flavor. For dessert, a rhubarb cobbler with housemade ice-cream($10) crowned a "foodgasmic" meal. GoGo!

The Great Googa Mooga

Imagine two stellar days with some of the most imaginative food around(40% from Brooklyn). Also, imagine the crowds who love these food and music festivals. Googa Mooga brought people from all over the country to Brooklyn in what looked like a carnival with some of the most cutting edge food around plus a beer and wine tent and so much more. Music by the Roots on Saturday and Hall and Oats on Sunday. The toughest part of the Googa Mooga experience was the marathon lines. Of course, if your ticket was free- not so bad, if it was $249 then there is a problem. Champagne tastings, chef talks with Tom Collicho, a book signing- Cooking with Coolio. Foodwise, there was a Pizza Experience, a Sweet Circus, a Burger Experience and Hamagedon. I ate a few things....Northern Fried Chicken from Blue Ribbon Bakery- salty, spicy with Mexican honey. The grilled lobster from Lobster Place was tasty. Meat Hook's housemade dog with sweet/spicy slaw also very tasty. Monica's crawfish over pasta was just ok. The Liddabit sweets from the marketlace- maple cotton candy and homemade maple chocolate caramel corn was clever and orgasmic. So much to try, but lines to long to invest the time. Next year go early, eat fast and leave before the crowds. Otherwise, an amazing event. Next year..... GO!

Giovanni's Brooklyn Eats

A winner of a corner spot where the best of old school Brooklyn Italian meets it's more updated cousin. The menu here is so varied it would be hard not to find something you like. I picked a new and old school choice. Bread is tasty with their own olive oil. I ordered an arugula salad ($6.95) to accompany my main, which sadly arrived first. Service here is a little on the confused side. Next up was the main, veal cutlet parmigiana with a side of spaghetti($14) The side was $3 extra which was still reasonable for the quality of food. The arugula salad with slight lemon undertones and generous parmesan was good not as good as Co. or other ones I have tried. The veal parm. on the other hand, so satisfied my longing for a favorite longtime dish. Perfectly crisped veal and cheese lovingly melted under the flatttop. The spaghetti, perfectly cooked aldente with a killer sauce. Will return for the veal parm. A lunch of $9.95 for two courses till 4PM is a quite a good value. GO!

Cafe Frida

With a view of the Museum of Natural History, Cafe Frieda has a prime location and some upscale eats. They have a wide variety of salsas to sample and I went with three for $3. The dissapointing part of the salsas is the non-housemade chips. This spot features upmarket Mexican street food and while the salsas were all good, they would have been made better with house fried chips. The main on the other hand, a salmon flavored with achiote and bitter orange for $22 hit the mark. The salmon was served in a banana leaf with chipotle mashed plantains. Here's the zing. Perfectly cooked salmon with mega flavor set off by the sweet/spicy plantain mash. After this early meal along came strollers and screaming children. Also, the service was inattentive and rushed at the end of the meal. SLOWGO!

Capizzi

Across from the bowels of Port Authority, Capizzi is an Italian owned and operated pizza restaurant with a wood burning oven. The owners are from Staten Island run La Bella there. The wood fired oven creates a searingly hot and delicious pie- period! The restaurant is decorated with vintage goodies like an old tv, working refrigerator and a picture of the I love Lucy crew in the bathroom. It is an adorably decorated place. The pizza is perfection! The margharita comes out of the oven dark not charred. Crust has a little chew, lovely mozzarella, sublime sauce and pieces of fresh basil. Love this pizza! MUST GO!

Forcella

The "Montonarra" or deep fried pizza is the draw here and it is delicious. Forcella has won accolades in a pizza saturated town. Starting with a wonderful eggplant(melanzane) appetizer you can see the love in the food. The sauce here is so fresh and simple yet so delicious. The accancino(rice and potato balls) are also good. The star is the deep fried pizza. Frying the dough adds a sweetness, much like a zeppole and with the five star sauce is soooo super tasty. Reasonably priced at $10 you could splurge a little at this Bowery joint. GO!

Sarabet's Tribecca

AMERICANA meets Tribecca at this Sarabeth outpost. The redone Bazzini space is a treat to eat in. Like a modern country inn Tribecca style. The breakfast/brunch here is pure American goodness. Hot chocolate was a suprise hit- rich and dark w/ some whipped creme. French toast was standard good fare. My buttermilk pancakes were not dark as ordered, but pretty on the plate with extra butter and warmed syrup. Fresh donuts with Sarabeth's jam of course, were not as good as the Bowery diner, but added some homespun goodness. The space here does trump the food. GO!

Pequena

This little, cute spot in Fort Greene beckoned on a beautiful day, with their front Florida like room. I was suprised with house made chips and pico de gallo. For lunch there is good selection of specials under $10. I went with a stuffed poblano with cheese and rice and beans. An order of guacamole at lunch is $1.50. The food was fresh, uber tasty and the spot was nice respite in Fort Greene. Definitely a place to return for some good grub.
GO!

Beso

Away from the brunch madness of Madhattan is Beso, close to the ferry in St. George. A recluse of stucco and decorative fireplace. There is a guitar player playing for the $19.95 brunch. Sangria, mimosa or bloody mary is included. Nice bread with garlicky oil and large, tasty Spanish olives. I went with the salad to start. Fresh greens nicely tossed with sherry vinaigrette. The main of salmon with avocado mousse and tequila with saffron rice was delicious. A tres leches cake with maccerated fruit topped off this sedate and seductive brunch.
GO!

Bowery Diner

Upmarket diners are a source of comfort to new fangled New Yorkers seeking better Americana chow. Like the Comfort Diner of yore and "The Diner" on 14th St. to the defunt MWells(Canadian American) upmarket diners offer retro and delicous comfort. Bowery Diner attempts this and accomplishes it somewhat. Retro decor, milkshake machine whirring away, lovely housemade donuts displayed all point to good food. I started with a clam chowder($7) which I later sent back. The expectation of a creamy chowder with potatoes and bacon was met with watery clam broth, overcooked carrots, not potatoes and no flavor. The fried chicken with apple pancake($19) redeemed itself as did the MAC'in mac & cheese($8) The fried chicken which was fried to order was splendid balanced by the sweet apple pancake(fritter) Mac and cheese with it's multi cheesed cheesy crust was delish. Donuts which are $2.50 each are spot on- orange blossom with a lime glaze and chocolate topped are tops. The toilet I used had no paper and one stall was closed- not cute.
SLOW GO!

WhiteHall

Modern British fare done splendidly in a long narrow Village space. We started with oysters Kilpatrick- oysters in bacon & Wostershire sauce. Also the Whitehall salad with minced onions, poached egg, and pear vinaigrette was a crowd pleaser. House baked Parker house rolls with butter are homey-goodness. My pork chop with minced apples in hard cider was perfectly cooked, salted to perfection. A butterscotch pudding shot at the end the meal so satisfied. Total for two with a gin drink- $108 and worth every nickel.
Must Go!