My Reviews

• East of Eighth
  
  
  254 west 23 street
  Brooklyn, NY 10011
  (212) 352-0075
  
  One of the problems about blogging is that other people hear about some of your favorite places, East of Eighth is one of these places.
  
  This American bistro makes the difficult seem easy and the easy elegant. This renovated brownstone is tastefully appointed and has some interesting art for sale. But it is the food and service that make it a standout.
  
  A simple pate plate comes out with homemade potato salad and green beans done just so, the rack of lamb perfectly done with a crispy coating. To often the veggie plate is blah, East of Eighth veggie plate, seasonal selections, is tasty with a combination of textures with some just right ratatouille.
  
  At Ditmas Estates LLC, real estate, we believe that your neighborhood, its restaurants, stores and services is as important as the home you buy.
  
  Dinner for two is $ 80 and try their pre theater menu for $ 19.95
  
  Jan 09, 2012
  Add review for this restaurant
  
  
  
• Tasty Tavern
  
  
  4523 Avenue N
  Brooklyn, NY 11234
  (718) 692-1020
  
  A restaurant dying slowly
  
  Tasty Tavern
  4523 Avenue N
  Brooklyn, NY 11234
  
  (718) 692-1020
  
  
  Tasty tavern has been around a long time, maybe too long. Maybe when a restaurant gets too old, maybe we should consider putting it out of its misery.
  
  My first impression is that the décor has not changed in thirty or more years; while clean it is hardly inspiring. When I noticed that the tables were set with knives and forks with not a chopstick in sight, and I knew my initial impression was correct.
  
  The food is eh, nothing inspired and the portions are small. We had to flavor the food with overly sweet fake duck sauce. The service is o.k., but not professional. Of course, the restaurant refused to honor a coupon we had, but the restaurant is not pricey. Just not worth the price they charged. By the way menu prices posted on the web are very old.
  
  At Ditmas Estates LLC, real estate, we believe that your neighborhood, its restaurants, stores and services is as important as the home you buy.
  
  It is time to close this restaurant
  
  Dec 25, 2011
  Add review for this restaurant
  
  
  
• Santorini
  
  
  167 Grand Street
  Brooklyn, NY 11226
  (718) 388-3668
  
  Cooking is about Passion
  
  I have never been to Santorini, but I understand it is a wonderful island. The Santorini Grill lives up to its name.
  The dishes are simple, mostly grilled with some Mousaka and spinach pies thrown in, but done with a carefulness and passion that separates it from the crowd. The owners circulate and oversee the dinners and that is always a good sign. There was a singer with guitar, and very good, who just happened to be the father of our waitress and you had the feeling that the whole family had put their heart and soul into your dinner and that makes any dinner very special.
  The baby lamb chops were slightly pink just the way I like them, the Santorini shrimp was served on a bed of pilaf with just enough spice to make in interesting. A bottle of Macedonian wine, hearty but not astringent and there was a smile on every ones face.
  Dinner for four with wine, appetizer, dessert and tip was $ 150
  
  For more see www.ditmasestates.com
  
  Jan 24, 2011
  Add review for this restaurant
  
  
  
• Madras Mahal
  
  
  104 Lexington Avenue Frnt
  New York, NY 10016
  (212) 684-4010
  (212) 684-2788
  
  Kosher & Fun
  
  Madras Mahal is a kosher vegetarian restaurant, that not forgotten that the main purpose of restaurant is to serve good interesting food.
  
  Most of the items offered at Madras are standard fare for New York Indian restaurants; although all are kosher and non meat (some are dairy), but there are much larger selection of vegetarian dishes. While the food is good, there is one item that stands out the Dosai. These are very large (over 24”) fried thin double layered pastries, rolled and filled with a large variety of ingredients and served with various dips. Tearing apart and eating a Dosai with more than one person is definitely a way to break the ice.
  
  The wait staff is friendly, but clueless, so you have to remind them of what you ordered.
  
  The food is inexpensive a full dinner for two is $ 40.
  
  For more see www.ditmasestates.com
  
  Dec 22, 2010
  Add review for this restaurant
  
  
  
• Cafe Istanbul
  
  
  1715 Emmons Avenue
  Brooklyn, NY 11235
  (718) 368-3587
  
  A Good Turkish Experience
  
  There seems to be a spate of Turkish restaurants that have turned up lately, unfortunately not all are up to the task. Istanbul is an older and better standard.
  
  While the restaurant atmosphere is not as plush or a large as some, the food is better. Warning because the of the simple small area sometimes the noise level does get loud, but still low enough to talk across the table. While you have to trip your waiter, once you have his/her attention they are very good.
  
  Turkish food has some lovely and unexpectantly good appetizers and I recommend the Cacik, fried liver cubes without that oppressive liver smell, or Tarama, an emulsification of salmon roe in olive oil, very nice spread on pieces of Turkish bread.
  
  Turkish food excels on lamb and so does Istanbul. Lamb Kabobs are actually cooked to order and just right. But try there fish and if you are really adventurous the octopus casserole with onions, peppers & cheese. The casserole has none of the octopus smell and actually comes out very smooth almost like lasagna.
  
  Dinner for four with dessert but no wine is $ 170
  
  For more see www.ditmasestates.com
  
  Dec 20, 2010
  Add review for this restaurant
  
  
  
• Nino's Positano
  
  
  890 Second Ave
  New York, NY 10017
  (212) 355-5540
  
  Nino’s seems to have many loyal customers, I noticed the waiters call some of their patrons by name. There is a reason for this loyalty. It is good food with extra large portions and no cut corners.
  
  The Jumbo Crab Cakes were almost all crab, no Surimi here. The Caesar Salad was large and loaded with shaved cheese. Sorry, raw egg is illegal in New York State.
  
  The double cut Veal chop was enormous with a very good mushroom sauce. A chunk filleted Striped Bass looked like it had come from an Orca. It was crisp on the outside and perfectly done inside. The Grilled Prawns were nice, but a little salty.
  
  We did not bother about dessert as we rolled out of Nino’s Positano. One caveat there is a restaurant around the corner with a very similar name.
  
  Dinner was not cheap at $ 200 for three without drinks or dessert.
  
  For more www.ditmasestates.com
  
  Oct 21, 2010
  Add review for this restaurant
  
  
  
• In Vino
  
  
  215 E. 4th Street
  New York, NY 10002
  (212) 539-1011
  
  I am not a big fan of eating in cellars or mud huts, so I find it strange that Invino has decorated its walls with a rough sand texture that reminds me of both. But I guess if you have to distinguish yourself from the dozens of other bistros that have sprung up in Alphabet city, it could be worse.
  
  I had the Tre Insalate, three salads, a mint lentil, a bell pepper peporanta and an eggplant salad. The lentil salad barely tasted of mint. The bell pepper peporanta, roasted peppers had not had their skins removed, but the salad was very good.
  
  We had a pasta dinner with Bocatini di Liguria, Bocatini in a nice pesto sauce, but strangely without pine nuts. Pappardelle con Gamberi Arrabbiati, spicy shrimp with papparadella. The shrimp needed more spice and a lot less salt.
  
  You have the feeling that the chef is self taught, talented, but not experienced. Some dishes like Tre Insalate, antipasti, are enormous, while the Carciofi alla Giudea, literally artichokes in the Jewish style, is very small.
  
  I am being a little unfair, most people go to a wine bar for the wine and In Vino had a tremendous and well chosen wine selection. We had the Primativo, a rustic red, that stands up to highly flavored food without being abrasive.
  
  The food was good, dinner for three was $ 100, but go there for the wine.
  
  For more see www.ditmasestates.com
  
  Oct 21, 2010
  Add review for this restaurant
  
  
  
• Falai
  
  
  68 Clinton
  New York, NY 10002
  (212) 253-1960
  
  Brooklyn Boy meets Top Chef
  
  If you have every watched “Top Chef” on TV and wondered how the dishes the chefs prepare would actually taste, go to Falai. We should have known this was no ordinary place when we saw the expensive menu online and we had trouble getting a reservation on a Tuesday night.
  
  Falai is a narrow storefront almost entirely decorated in white (white, unusual platters and white tables, as well) with clear plastic chairs. There is seating for about twenty, with an open kitchen and bar.
  
  After being treated to baked rolls with unusual flavorings i.e. kale, fennel etc., we were emotionally prepared for our antipasti, POLENTA BIANCA, chicken liver, dried dates, wild mushroom “Vellutata”. A very small dish with plenty of flavor, this is not your grandma’s chopped liver!
  
  A gratis intermezzo of about an ounce of yellow watermelon soup with ginger, and we were on our way. Our next dish was PICI, hand-rolled egg-less pasta, marsala braised wild board ragu, aged herb pecorino, black truffles. Where do they get these ingredients?
  
  Main courses COTOLETTA DI MAIALE, rack of Hampshire pork, lardo-peach-hazlenut financier, artichoke; A pork chop like no other! Probably the best dish was ANATRA, smoked duck breast, leg confit, foie gras bon-bon, broccoli rabe, with fingerling potatoes. The duck was at once greaseless, but still medium rare, a real stand out. How did they do that?
  
  While the portions are small, dessert was, a not so simple. A single scoop of chocolate gelato, while ice cold, it was not icy and tasted like a very intense Mississippi Mud Pie.
  
  Dinner is not cheap at $ 100 for two, without drinks, but the experience and food was worth every penny.
  
  For more see www.ditmasestates.com
  
  Oct 12, 2010
  Add review for this restaurant
  
  
  
• Mill Basin Kosher Deli
  
  
  5823 Avenue T
  Brooklyn, NY 11224
  (718) 241-4910
  (718) 469-5498
  
  Kosher deli’s are almost an endangered species, basically because they have gotten a bad rap--- All that salt and fat…oy
  While still a carnivores delight the Mill Basin Kosher Deli has gone to the next step. Yes, you can still get a great Pastrami sandwich or a stuffed derma. Now there are salads, soups and other healthier items.
  Me, I am a traditionalist, for lunch I had the split pea soup, in a bowl almost big enough to do laps in, and half of Pastrami on rye for $ 8.99. There was Cole slaw, health salad, macaroni salad, half and full dill pickles, dark bread and of course, seltzer on the table gratis.
  While kosher delis are no longer cheap, who can put a price on reliving a memmory.
  
  For more see www.ditmasestates.com
  
  Aug 27, 2010
  Add review for this restaurant
  
  
  
• Prima Pasta
  
  
  5821 Avenue T
  Brooklyn, NY 11226
  (718) 209-1030
  (718) 469-5498
  
  A local Brooklyn standby earns its reputation the hard way, day after day with inexpensive, but good Italian food.
  Upon coming to your table a large never ending basket of piazza bread arrives.
  At these prices you expect grub, but the food is better than that, and while plain, is often quite good and the portions are large. Try the Cacciatore Chicken, boneless chicken simmered with tomato and mushroom, with bread crumbs over spinach.
  Every Monday and Tuesday there is an all you can eat Italian buffet for $ 10.95.
  A large variety of lunch specials are $ 7.25 and there are two for one entre coupons on the web page http://www.primapastabrooklynny.com/
  Just the thing to feed a hungry family on a budget
  
  for more see www.ditmasestates.com
  
  Aug 27, 2010
  Add review for this restaurant
  
  
  
• Bunny Chow
  
  
  74 Orchard
  New York, NY 10002
  (212) 620-5317
  
  Bunny Chow
  74 Orchard Street
  New York, NY
  
  212 260-5317
  
  We may not think of it as such, but South Africa is a melting pot. There are English, Dutch, Native Africans and Indians. Remember, Ghandi got his start here and a Bunny Chow draws from all these influences.
  
  Bunny Chow is a very narrow, dark small place with an immense flat screen TV. The service is friendly; indeed they really care about whether you enjoyed your dinning experience.
  
  A bad South African joke: Rabbit and Elephant stew (one Rabbit and one Elephant) is no longer popular, why? Nobody likes Hare in their stew…yuk, yuk.
  
  A Bunny Chow is a very thick slice of bread with the center scooped out and a curried meat or shrimp stew added, while very tasty there is some heat, and I recommend a cold beer on the side. Try the Kaasori, an Ostrich sausage, served with a garnish of salad and a lovely chutney. The chips flats were more mundane and topped with feta cheese. Warning Peri-Peri sauce is not for the faint of heart!!!
  
  The food and service is good, the ambiance forgettable and the prices are very inexpensive. Dinner for four is about $ 120 USD.
  
  For more see www.ditmasestates.com
  
  Aug 22, 2010
  Add review for this restaurant
  
  
  
• Joya
  
  
  215 Court St
  Brooklyn, NY 11201
  (718) 222-3484
  
  Joya, Thai Restaurant and Bar
  215 Court Street
  Brooklyn, NY
  
  718 222 3484
  
  We almost walked past Joya with its discreet frontage, but inside we found a large, clean, noisy and very hip dinning room with an open kitchen and an occasional DJ. There is also a much quieter delightful garden aea in the back.
  
  Joya is very inexpensive, the highest price entrée is $ 8.95, but the food is first rate. We ordered the Mango salad, a Glass noodle dish and a Beef Curry. The portions were very large.
  
  The Mango salad was topped with perfectly ripe Mango and the greens were flavored with fish sauce, lime and cilantro…yum. The Glass noodle dish was very large and filled with goodies. The Beef Curry was very flavorful and a little spicy, but with in normal limits and almost too big to finish. With a Thai beer a feast for $ 24!
  
  There is no website for Joya, no reservations, no credit cards, and no air conditioning although the space was cool on a hot day. The drink list is a handwritten addendum to the menu and there seems to be no desserts, very strange.
  
  With first rate food and an inexpensive price list Joya is indeed a find.
  
  for more see www.ditmasestates.com
  
  Aug 18, 2010
  Add review for this restaurant
  
  
  
• Saint Germain
  
  
  8303 3rd avenue
  Brooklyn, NY 11204
  (718) 745-8899
  (718) 469-5498
  
  Saint Germain
  8303 3rd Avenue
  Brooklyn, NY 11209
  
  718 745 8899
  
  Brooklyn needs a good French bistro, but Saint Germain is not it.
  
  The look of Saint Germain is really inviting and the single waiter available was helpful and friendly. The problem with Saint Germain is the food, the portions are large and the items pricey, but there are some basic skills missing.
  
  I love Ratatouille, the flavors of the distinct individual summer vegetables is a true bounty. Saint Germans’ Ratatouille was a mash of indistinct vegetables and insipidly flavored. If I want that I would have ordered a “V-8” drink. The ravioli had so much sauce on it; it came out as a soup. The same is true for the flank steak. BTW medium to well does not mean a blood red center.
  
  Oh well, and I really love French bistros, but not this one
  
  Dinner for four without wine was $ 190
  
  for more see www.ditmasestates.com
  
  Aug 14, 2010
  Add review for this restaurant
  
  
  
• Jin
  
  
  252 Broome St
  New York, NY 10002
  (212) 979-0989
  
  Jin
  252 Broome Street
  New York, NY
  
  212 979 0989
  
  Jin is located around the corner from a supplier to Sushi restaurants and as expected had some of the freshest Sushi and Sashimi I have tasted. Jin is also located on the site of an old bar, the type of place most people would call a “Dive”.
  The most universally accepted feature of a Dive is dark lighting and its unseemliness. The windows of Jin need a cleaning. I almost walked out when I was given a greasy, dirty, almost unreadable menu.
  The focus of Jin is on its Sushi bar and it is delightful. The chef is fast, efficient and knowledgeable. I am sorry to say that is not the case for the wait staff, who’s English is minimal.
  I ordered smokes eel in my dinner sized bento box ($ 18.95) and I received a single beautiful large piece of eel, but no knife to cut it. I asked for a knife, but none came. Japanese food traditional comes with green tea, but ours was missing. We both asked for tea, but the waiter delivered only one.
  The fish is great, but there are other Japanese restaurants
  
  for more see www.ditmasestates.com
  
  Aug 07, 2010
  Add review for this restaurant
  
  
  
• Jin
  
  
  252 Broome St
  New York, NY 10002
  (212) 979-0989
  
  Jin
  252 Broome Street
  New York, NY
  
  212 979 0989
  
  Jin is located around the corner from a supplier to Sushi restaurants and as expected had some of the freshest Sushi and Sashimi I have tasted. Jin is also located on the site of an old bar, the type of place most people would call a “Dive”.
  The most universally accepted feature of a Dive is dark lighting and its unseemliness. The windows of Jin need a cleaning. I almost walked out when I was given a greasy, dirty, almost unreadable menu.
  The focus of Jin is on its Sushi bar and it is delightful. The chef is fast, efficient and knowledgeable. I am sorry to say that is not the case for the wait staff, who’s English is minimal.
  I ordered smokes eel in my dinner sized bento box ($ 18.95) and I received a single beautiful large piece of eel, but no knife to cut it. I asked for a knife, but none came. Japanese food traditional comes with green tea, but ours was missing. We both asked for tea, but the waiter delivered only one.
  The fish is great, but there are other Japanese restaurants
  
  for more see www.ditmasestates.com
  
  Aug 07, 2010
  Add review for this restaurant
  
  
  
• Yeah Shang HAI Deluxe Corporation
  
  
  65 Bayard Street
  New York, NY 10013
  (212) 566-4884
  
  New Yeah Shanghai Deluxe
  65 Bayard Street
  New York, NY 10013
  
  212 566 4884
  
  Luckily their cooking is a lot better than there spelling.
  
  New Yeah has the run of now ordinary Chinese food, but its specials are really special.
  Shanghai is famous for its soup dumplings. These are steamed dumplings the have soup sealed in them, an experience in eating itself.
  
  Chrysanthemum Fish, $ 16, a chef ‘s special, a filet of fish scored then deep fried, the white flesh blooms and the skin shrinks producing an entree, that looks very much like a flower. Another specialty is a whole pork shoulder, $14, in honey sauce, which is the classic Chinese answer to BBQ pulled pork in a sweet sauce, definitely worth trying.
  
  What your parents never told you to eat you Seaweed? Seasoned seaweed steamed and tossed with sesame oil and seasonings, is much better than Popeye’s spinach and probably more nutritious.
  
  Can’t make it to Shanghai, try New Yeah, forget the spelling eat the food.
  
  for more see www.ditmasestates.com
  
  Mar 01, 2010
  Add review for this restaurant
  
  
  
• Piramide
  
  
  499 fifth Avenue
  Brooklyn, NY 11215
  (718) 499-0002
  
  Piramide Mexican Restaurant
  499 5th Ave Brooklyn, NY
  718-499-0002
  
  If you in the mood for a Mexican Restaurant, but want more than a workers luncheonette, Piramide is the place.
  Bright and clean, there a wide variety of dishes, even fish dishes. You know you are in a special place when you order guacamole and the waiter will prepare it to taste in front of you. (bland or omg hot). The avocados are specially flown in from Mexico for that authentic taste.
  Dinner is surprisingly inexpensive practically all the entrees are less than $ 20 and drinks are often on sale. There is a Sunday brunch for $ 9.95 that is a special treat.
  
  for more see www.ditmasestates.com
  
  Feb 26, 2010
  Add review for this restaurant
  
  
  
• Mhz Djerdan II Corp
  
  
  2283 65th St
  Brooklyn, NY 11204
  (718) 484-3180
  
  A Good Borek
  
  DJERDAN BOREK
  2283 65 Street
  Brooklyn, NY 11204
  
  (718) 484-3180
  
  This Albanian dinner (Yes, I said Albanian) looks a luncheonette. It is almost as hard to find as the country, itself being on a side street and an incorrect address on the menu. There are no hamburgers here. Instead plan to have Boreks, (similar to middle eastern Borekas ), that is a pastry that is stuffed with spinach or meat or cheese. The pastry is light and close to a waffle batter.
  That’s it! Boreks make up almost the entire menu except for some wonderful desserts. A typical dessert is Baklava swimming in honey and/or Karo sauce or cake or pastry that flavored in the same way.
  Boreks cost about $4 each and two Boreks are more that you can eat
  
  for more see www.Ditmasestates.com
  
  Feb 20, 2010
  Add review for this restaurant
  
  
  
• Great NY Noodle Town Inc
  
  
  28 Bowery
  New York, NY 10013
  (212) 349-0923
  
  Noodletown is not the place you want to take a date
  
  Noodletown
  28 Bowery
  New York, NY 10013
  
  212) 349-0923
  
  After midnight and after a show or movie, when most if not all of the food places in Chinatown, NYC have closed down, there is Noodletown on the Corner of Bowery and Bayard Streets
  The atmosphere at noodletown is Chinese luncheonette when it was new and it is not new now. There is no maitre d’, cooked ducks and pigs hang in the window. Soup is scooped out unceremoniously in front everyone. The waiters are constantly busy and either do not have the time or the English to greet you and certainly not to hold your chair.
  What noodletown does have is good home-style Chinese food. They go through great quantities of duck and the duck comes cut up with crispy skin and most of the fat gone. The Chinese broccoli is very fresh and steaming hot and actually cut so that even a Westerner can eat it with chop sticks. All the other dishes seem to have the same attention to detail that makes a meal very welcomed.
  Like I said don’t take a date to Noodletown unless you want to impress them with your ability to find good simple Chinese food.
  
  for more see www.ditmasestates.com
  
  Feb 14, 2010
  Add review for this restaurant
  
  
  
• Joe's Of Avenue U Sicilian Specialties
  
  
  287 Avenue U
  Brooklyn, NY 11223
  (718) 449-9285
  
  Joe’s of Avenue U
  287 Avenue U
  Brooklyn, NY
  718 449 9285
  
  I was 13 years old when I first went to Joe’s of Avenue U. Even after fifty years, Joe’s a Focacceria Palermitana has not lost its Sicilian roots. Initially Joes’s was only open for lunch. When lunch or the mid day meal was the main meal as it was back in Sicily. Gradually even Joe’s has adapted but its menu harks back to an even ancient era. A time when tomato was unknown in Italy (pre Columbus) and fish or fish sauce was the main flavoring... You can still get Pasta cchi Sardi (pasta with sardine sauce). Please note the dialect difference between Sicilian and standard Italian.
  
  Slowly, very slowly times have changed even for Joe’s. It is now open for dinner, but credit cards are verboten. Joe’s still has the steam trays for take out for the harried Italian housewife. I can still remember the sharp yet loving ear slap I got for misbehaving
  
  I had the Tunnina all’Agro e Dulci, (sweet & sour Tuna) my favorite of decades, and it is still wonderful. It makes you wonder why anyone would put Tuna in a can. The Vrocculi ri Rapi (broccoli rabe) and the Capunata di Milinciani ( Eggplant garnish ) are in a class by itself. The food is still terrific, plentiful and inexpensive. A full dinner for two with house wine and dessert is about forty dollars.
  
  for more www.ditmasestates.com
  
  Jan 30, 2010
  Add review for this restaurant