Nightingale 9

Nightingale9 is the new, hip, Vietnamese spot from the team that brought you Seersucker and Smith Canteen. Touting Vietnamese street food and classic dishes, given the general success of their previous endeavors, I was looking forward to trying the newest addition to the Carroll Gardens food scene. Always one for an adventure, my lack of meat and seafood eating rarely becomes an issue when trying some more adventurous spots. I always seem to manage finding enough to eat. Sorry to say that that was not the case here.

Some things to note about Nightingale9 or N-9 for short. This place is cash only. They only serve beer and wine (currently). They take reservations. It is a cute spot with mostly wood communal tables. And the menu is pretty limited. Although an online scope of the menu offered some veggie options, on the night in question we were told they were no longer on the menu. The waitress was sweet and did her best to accommodate, but I wouldn't recommend a trip here to the non meat and shelfish-eaters that I know. We pretty much ordered every vegetable on the menu, but I would not say I left feeling overly satisfied.

Some of the standouts was the Green Papaya Salad (sans beef), and the Raw Collard Greens with coconut, fried shallots, and lime. They also gave us a bowl of steamed rice since they were unable to do the fried Jasmine rice without the meat in it and NC Peanuts were a nice salty sweet snack. The 3 sauces they give you on the side to dip everything in is also a nice touch. 
Although I found the food rich and flavorful, I wasn't blown away. I was kind of annoyed they took some of the other vegetarian options off the menu, and weren't able to do more in the kitchen to fill our hungry bellies. Regardless, the best part of the meal was by far the Ice Pops they serve for dessert. We had the Vietamese Coffee served in a metal tin with cocoa nibs to dip and the Thai Basil with shredded Coconut on the side. I would go back alone for those pops! Yum!

Neighborhood: Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn 

Bite Mark: **and a half

Good For: Adventurous Eating, Ice Pops! 

Nightingale 9, 345 Smith Street  www.nightingale9.com