Ample Hills Creamery

I know what you're thinking. Its 30 degrees outside, what business do I have eating, let alone reviewing an ice creamery in mid November? The answer is simply, it's that good. Ample Hills Creamery is the real deal. The brainchild of Brian Smith, who started off by selling his homemade hormone-free ice cream out of a cart in Prospect Park, AHC quickly grew so popular that a brick and mortar location was opened in Prospect Heights. 

Best known for their unique flavors and delicious varieties, you get the feeling here that whoever thought these flavors up may have been puffing a little too much of the funny stuff. My all time favorite has to be the Caramel Crack Caramel made of salted butter caramel ice cream with pieces of Deb's crack cookies, saltines, sugar and chocolate. Addicting, creamy, perfect. Munchies is a combination of pretzel infused ice cream with bits of potato chips, pretzels, ritz crackers and m&m's. There's also Maple Bacon, Stout n Pretzels, Drunken Pumpkin, and Ooey Gooey St Louis Buttercake amongst the 16 ever changing flavors.

Besides for the outstanding ice cream, the staff at AHC really go above and beyond and are so extra friendly. You are free to sample as many favors as you need to (and trust me, you will need to). There is also an adorable play space in the back complete with play kitchen and toy ice cream trucks that light up and sing. There's even a ledge for the kids to stand on to see the ice cream flavors (genius move guys). Trust me, your kids won't want to leave. And once you taste the ice cream, neither will you. 

So bundle up, this place is worth the trek, no matter what the weather. Ample Hills Creamery could very well be the best ice cream Brooklyn has ever seen. 

Neighborhood: Prospect Heights, Brooklyn

Cuisine: Ice Cream

Bite Mark: *****

Good For: Kids, Kids at heart!, Birthday Cakes 

Ample Hills Creamery, 623 Vanderbilt Ave www.amplehills.com 

The Pickle Shack

What happens when you cross Shamus Jones, owner of  Brooklyn Brine's famous hipster-chic pickles with Dogfish Head Brewery owner Sam Calagione? The Pickle Shack (duh).

The Pickle Shack is the new Vegetarian centric gastropub located on 4th Avenue in Gowanus area of Brooklyn. It's a small 35 seat eatery with 8 draft beers on tap, a simple layout, and a menu full of salads, sandwiches and sides. 

Although not marketed as a vegetarian spot, and no "fake meat" in sight, the focus here is on hearty delicious vegetarian options, with some Brooklyn Brine pickles thrown in for good measure. There are a bunch of sandwiches on the menu, and the bread is baked fresh down the block at Runner + Stone.  Some other veggie-licious  grub I've sampled is the grilled kale, butternut squash salad with grainy mustard and a mushroom veggie burger with grilled onions and a side of pickle.

Although this place sounds like a pickle loving vegetarian's dream come true, honestly, the best thing I had the 2 times I visited is the fried hop pickles with lemon aioli. The kale salad was a little too sweet, and the fried oyster mushrooms too bready. On my last visit I shared the aforementioned veggie shroom burger and grilled cheese sandwich. Both were good, but probably not worth going back for. 

I would give this place one more try, they are still pretty new and getting their act together. In the meantime definitely pass by for a nice beer on tap and those crazy good fried pickles. 

Neighborhood: Gowanus / South Slope, Brooklyn

Cuisine: Sandwiches, Gastropub

Bite Mark: ** & a half

Good For: Beer on draft, Vegetarians, quick lunch, PICKLES! 

The Pickle Shack, 256 4th Ave & President Street  www.brooklynbrine.com

I Heart Franny's

One of my favorite Brooklyn go-to spots, Franny's is a Prospect Heights staple most famously known for their delicious thin crust Neapolitan style pizza, and their organic locally sourced ingredients.
 Andrew Steinberg and Francine Stephens are the owners and husband-wife team of this amazing establishment. They are extremely conscious of the local sustainable ingredients they use, and a look at the back of the menu will tell you the names of the farms where your food was born. If you are a Franny's groupie like myself you should also check out Brooklyn Larder down the street (228 Flatbush), where they sell gourmet foods and provisions, cheese, meat and some mean sandwiches. 

Just mention to me Franny's and I do my "happy food" dance. This is my happy place. It's a given that Franny's will be an exceptional meal and that I will leave here full, drunk, and satisfied. I love that the menu is constantly changing but I always have plenty of meat and shellfish free options to choose from (and often can't hold back and order the whole menu!) Some may complain the staff can be "Brooklyn snobby" but as long as you are nice and patient I have never had a sour experience. 

The room at Franny's includes a nice size bar where you can also eat, a couple of wooden tables, exposed brick walls, and a cute backyard. I almost forgot about the soap! Go to the bathroom and tell me honestly if you've ever smelled a more refreshingly delicious smell! I keep meaning to write down what the hell that is. But as you know nothing in life is perfect, and Franny's too has its minor drawbacks. There are often times long waits (be patient), salty food (sea salt is sprinkled on just about everything -- and I love them for this), and the meal does not come cheap (it's worth it). 

Yes, you are going to have to wait. Be smart about it. Don't show up with 6 people at 8:30 Thursday night and expect to be seated ASAP. Go early or late, or like me go just with a friend and hope to grab a seat at the bar. Often the bar is my favorite experience. Locally brewed beers on tab, friendly bartender, quick service, and sick food. Another tip if you are jonesing for a Franny's fix on the weekend is to go right when they open at 12, or wait until the rush dies down at 3:30 and have a much more pleasurable experience (especially with little ones in tow). 

Although the menu is ever changing, there are a few constants. The simple sounding bruschetta of garlic with olive oil and sea salt. Trust me and get this. It comes with just 2 pieces per order and each person is going to want their own. Crispy, salty, crunchy, delicious-ness. The vegetables. I'm not going to get into too much detail with specific dishes because as I mentioned they are always changing, but basically whatever vegetables are fresh they pair some yummy cheese, EVOO, sea salt, and the results are genius. I've had clementine pistachio salads, grapefruit, olive and hot pepper concoctions, all kinds of greens (kale, fennel, chicory, etc), root veggies that I've never heard of, and delicious combinations of vegetarian friendly soups (below is kale, beans and bread) -- really they are all amazing. The fried things are never too oily and usually the first to finish. I've had arancino balls that are to die for, and fried potatoes with cheese and capers and a spicy mayo that I still dream about.

The pastas are always al dente, and of the 3 ever changing pastas there are always at least one or two that are vegetarian friendly. Spaghetti with meyer lemon and parmigiano is delicious, as is their cacio e pepe when they have it. Don't be afraid of bottargo, fish roe, or even anchovies here. They are never fishy and add amazing flavor. The pizza is without a doubt something special and on par with the best of the best. They are extra thin (like a flatbread), almost burnt and are made with the most freshly tasting ingredients that you can imagine. They are served uncut (for authenticity sake) with a sharp knife. The basic pie allows their delicious creamy mozzarella and amazing sauce to shine through but my personal favorite is the ricotta, mozzarella, oregano, garlic, hot pepper pie. 
It is life changing. 

 

I'm usually too full at this point to think about dessert, but I've seen cannoli, panna cotta, and homemade ice creams swing by that may change your mind. After this the bill is going to come and it is going to be expensive. Don't complain. You just had a delicious meal and your wife / husband / friends / kids will be thanking you for it. You are paying for the fresh food, laid back atmosphere, and wonderful experience. 

If you haven't already been, I strongly recommend you stop reading and head over to Franny's ASAP. Tell them The Brooklyn Bite sent you. 
 And FYI ,the Franny's team is opening an offshoot in Park Slope that will be bigger and offer reservations (yay) slated for a April 1 opening. I can't wait. 

Neighborhood: Prospect Heights, Brooklyn

Bite Mark: *****

Good For: Date Night, Girls Night, Family, Neighborhood Gem, Pizza

Franny's, 295 Flatbush Ave nr Prospect Pl  718-230-0221  www.frannysbrooklyn.com

Krescendo

I love the feeling I get when I read about an anticipated new restaurant opening in Brooklyn. Saturday evening we had the pleasure of trying the brand new Southern Italian focused restaurant, Krescendo. This place was originally slated to open in October, but with Sandy and the Nor'easter slowing things up a bit, it officially made its Brooklyn debut at the beginning of November. Krescendo is headed by famous chef/author/tv personality Elizabeth Falkner, who  recently relocated to Brooklyn to open up this new Italian eatery not far from the Barclay Center in the Boerum Hill section of Brooklyn. 

Rosa Nero

Krescendo looks like what a lot of these new Brooklyn spots look like, and not in a bad way. Exposed brick, nice long bar with ample seating, and a sexy mosaic wood burning pizza oven on the back wall. The place was full but not packed, and the hostess led us to the bar saying the wait would be no more than 20 mins (not terrible for a saturday night in a borough that rarely takes reservations). The bartender Rob who incidentally interns at Serious Eats, was friendly and helpful. I got the Rosa Nera with rosemary infused vodka, lemon, honey and black pepper. Good, but kind of weak (I like a strong drink). My friend got the Sweet Action beer, which was almost as good and the name implies.

We ordered the Olive Misto and Black Garlic Knots while we were waiting for our table. Olives were flavorful and warm, and the garlic knots were crispy but soft in the center, and delicious. Rob recommended we also try the Arancino Balls which were really good, gooey crispy and not too heavy, with a nice pesto sauce around it. The Burrata with Caponata was also one of the highlights of the night. I LOVE burrata. Really how can you go wrong with a  creamy oozier version of a mozzarella cheese? This one was wonderful, as was the eggplant caponata.

    The pizza I'm sorry to say was probably the least exciting part of the meal, surprising as Chef Falkner actually won an "acunto forni"(think gold medal for pizza olympics) at the world pizza championship. The Margarita Extra pizza was just ok, I found the sauce on the sweet side and it did not have enough cheese to my liking. I was also not crazy about the Patata e Uova pie with potatoes, scallions, and egg, and although it sounded interesting, the potatoes were slightly undercooked, and both pizzas needed salt. The pizza was not terrible, but after the wonderful drinks and apps, I was expecting amazingness. Maybe we should have tried the Californication or Flower Power pizzas I had read about. To be fair, the restaurant is barely 3 weeks old, so I would definitely not count this place out because of it.

The pasta course was better than the pizza, and my table enjoyed. The sarde pasta was couscous like pasta loaded with capers anchovies, sardines, olives, and breadcrumbs. Pretty tasty. The other was more basic, but a good restaurant is often judged on how well they can make a basic marinara spaghetti. This one got a B+. Not Scarpetta level, the sauce a little on the sweet side, but still a pretty tasty bowl of spaghetti. We were satisfied, but not bulging. 

Dessert. As I'm sure you can figure out by now I'm not a huge dessert person (more FOOD please), but the Tartufo was pretty delicious. The Cannoli I found to be just okay, would skip this one next time.


Overall I enjoyed my experience at Krescendo and will probably be back. The food for the most part was clean, inventive and tasty. The drinks and appetizers were better than the pizza. But again they are only 3 weeks old. The wait staff was friendly, and the atmosphere works well as a good local place to add to the rotation. There was parking right outside, comfy booth seating, and a nice bar area. Try it and judge for yourself. We found it to be a solid Brooklyn spot.

Neighborhood: Brooklyn, Park Slope

 Good For: local easy spot, apps & drinks, date night, girls night 

Bite Mark: *** (2.5 for the food, half star for the friendly service and nice vibe)

Krescendo; 364 Atlantic Avenue bet. Hoyt & Bond 718-330-0888 www.krescendobklyn.com