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

L'Apicio

Last night The Brooklyn Bite was off to Manhattan (via the bridge  and tons of traffic) to a family birthday dinner at the new East Village hot spot, L'apicio. L'apicio is an Italian themed restaurant from Executive Chef Gabe Thompson and beverage director Joe Campanale both of L'artusi (one of my favs!), dell'anima, and Anfora fame. In addition to the great modern Italian fare, there is also an extensive wine list, and a deep cocktail menu. The space is modern and slick, and larger than I would have guessed. There is a comfy looking lounge area in the front, and a main room with a mixture of stand alone tables and cushioned booths.                  
                                  

We sat by the bar where the friendly and helpful bartender attended to us until our party arrived. I had the delicious Spicy Dirty Martini, with celery bitters and b & g peppers and juice. 
Spicy & strong, just my style.

We were 6 people which definitely has its benefits (now I can order the whole menu without anyone giving me dirty looks!), and order WE DID!          


Check out the full menu here. L'apicio menu

We started with the Grilled Endive salad with pecorino; Romaine salad with anchovy croutons, Escarole with pecorino-buttermilk dressing, and the Bosc Pear with blue cheese and hazelnuts. All were decent salads, though maybe a little cheesy and slightly redundant. Next we ordered the bruschetta with fried egg, and tuna carpaccio with olives and artichokes. Both were excellent. I'm a sucker for anything with a fried egg on it, and fresh tuna carpaccio is always a good thing.

The pasta course was by far our favorite. The best was the Mezzalune with cauliflower, capers and pine nuts, it had great texture and delicious flavors. The Spaghetti with spicy tomato sauce, was simple and excellent. The Orecchiette with ribollita ragu, and the pasta special with porcini mushrooms, were also both delightful additions. Each pasta tasted unique and exquisite in its own way. 

Next came the roasted mushrooms, chillies, and ricotta salata
from the "polenta alla spianatora" section. Another winner. 

The main course. By this point we were all pretty full, but the fish was fresh and all the flavors worked well. The Red Snapper was prepared with black lentils, sofritoo crudo, and frisee, and the Branzino was grilled with chickpeas, chilis, and olives. Maybe not the most memorable part of the night, but solid fish. The creamed kale was the only thing we had all night that was a flop. The roasted brussels sprouts on the other hand, were great and went well with the fish. 

The night ended with dessert including a banana chocolate torta,  chocolate cake, and some gelato. The chocolate cake was better than the banana torte, though honestly none of the desserts were exceptional. Coconut gelato was pretty good, pass on the rosemary gelato.

All in all, I would definitely recommend L'apicio. The place was cool and trendy, the food was excellent, and we had a beautiful birthday dinner. 

Neighborhood: East Village, Bowery 
Good For: Drinks, Date spot, Birthday, Large groups

Bite Mark: *** & a half

L'Apicio; 13 East 1st Street bet. Bowery & 2nd Ave 212-533-7400 www.l'apicio.com

Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria

I love this place. It has all the making of a perfect, great for so many reasons spot. It's located on Great Jones Street, off Bowery, right around the corner from the original (and still great) Il Buco. There's a ton of excellent bars and restaurants in this area, and tons of nightlife for afterwards if that's what you are into.
I've been here twice now, once for dinner at the bar, and again yesterday with a friend for lunch. The food is delicious, the service excellent, and I love the vibe. The chef, Justin Smile does an amazing job. It's casual, but still really nice. 
When we came for dinner we had the padron peppers with preserved lemon and sea salt(I love these and order them any time I am able to), the gnudi with ricotta, cherry tomatoes, anchovy and brown butter which was insane, and the branzino which comes salt baked with caramelized lemon. Yesterday for lunch we had crispy artichokes with fresh lemon, perfectly crispy but not oily. The ricotta with grapefruit, extra virgin olive oil and pistachios, also delicious. And the panini with grilled kale, strachiotello cheese and anchovy was gooey greatness. 

Do not leave without get the salted caramel gelato, you will not regret it!

Go here. Then come back again. And again. And again. It's a winner. 

Neighborhood: Noho, Bowery 

Good For: Lunch, Dinner, Drinks, Date spot (though you may get communal table)

Bite Mark: ****

Il Buco Alimentari; 53 Great Jones Street bet. Lafayette & Bowery 212-837-2622