239159 Tue Dec 10 18:20:34 -0800 2002 22 19 Outer Boroughs 0 1268293 I lived in Park Slope for just about six years. Our apartment was near the subways and the food-nadir of the world aka Flatbush Avenue. We just sold our place in September and, with the exception of bidding farewell to two friends, have not had one hankering for anything about Park Slope. It took me a while to read Leslie Brenner's farewell of 1 1/2 years ago, and she hit the nail on the head. The only places I could cheerfully recommend to anyone in the Slope would be Al-Di-La (just amazing), Olive Vine, Cafe Steinhof (not everything, but the goulash is good)and Bistro St. Marks. There's a new Indian resto on 7th Avenue that doesn't suck. Let's not even talk about the abysmal cooking at The 12th Street Bar & Grill. You want risotto? I'll make it for you, at less than half the price and it will be edible. The rest of the roster is dreck, pure and simple. And these folks (are they all such lemmings?) who live there don't seem to mind. And let's not talk about the prices. My jaw dropped when I saw the menu at 12th St. -- and the joint was packed. It was a good Mom place, and she needs to get out more, but PUHLEEZE. The only good thing about Park Slope, in all those years, was a) the great transportation into the city where we lived; b) the Park (wowwee); c) seeing my best friend on a regular basis and d) Al-Di-La. Other that that, the absolute best thing about Park Slope was taking the 4-times-what-we-paid-for-it apt. sale $$ and putting it in the bank. On the other hand, there are a few restaurants I miss in Brooklyn, like Restaurant Saul, The Grocery, Pastis, Cafe Banania, Smith Street Kitchen, BRAWTA CAFE (can you please send me their jerk chicken right now??)...alas, none of them in PS. Frankly I eat better living in the Hudson Valley than I ever did in the old neighb. And try not to rag on me -- I am a born-and-raised Brooklynite who grew up going to Lundy's every Sunday night and whose father was a smoked fish wholesaler. And there's some wonderful food in Brooklyn -- Park Slope's generally sucks. Tue Dec 10 18:20:34 -0800 2002 0 Shelley 1 1268294 I agree wholeheartedly :-) and I live in the Slope! I will say that I have had a few good meals at Luce, Gingko Leaf, Cucina before they changed chefs, and the new Curry Shop. Tue Dec 10 18:53:29 -0800 2002 1268293 0 Kerry 2 1268307 And I disagree equally wholeheartedly - but what's the difference? Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I guess it's normal to either feel you made the right move (as in our new Hudson Valleyite) or to feel more sentimental about the old neighborhood. The general vitriol about Park Slope in the post makes me wonder a little, but no big deal. I'm happy to live there and can think of many more decent places to eat than the ones mentioned. Chip Shop, Coco Roco, Press 195, Rosewater, Two Tom's, Bonnie's...there are plenty. Wed Dec 11 11:14:36 -0800 2002 1268294 0 Zephyr 3 1268320 I was curious as to Shelleys' standards for judging restaurants so I looked for her previous posts. There were none on the Outer Boroughs board and only a single post on the Manhattan board. That one might not have been from her since the email address was different. She said she was quite happy with the Hudson Valley restaurants but has yet to post about any on the Tristate board. Wed Dec 11 13:38:04 -0800 2002 1268307 0 Bob Martinez 3 1268339 Notice that you didn't mention one 7th Avenue restaurant :-) 7th Avenue has some kind of culinary curse. I do like the Chip Shop. I have had horrible experiences at Coco Roco (waiting 2 1/2 hours for lunch while they filled take-out orders). I am fond of Bonnie's, have not been to Two Toms but they have a great reputation. As far as Press 195, I love the people who run the place but question their random food choices (maple pesto, come on!). I also like Geido, Tamari and Gingko Leaf. But I still don't think Park Slope restaurants are on par with Cobble Hill or many Queens restaurants. There is a kind of overpriced mediocrity (witness Sotto Voce, Amin, Inaka, Mr. Wonton, the list goes on and on). Wed Dec 11 22:35:21 -0800 2002 1268307 0 Kerry 4 1268344 It's true, I rarely, if ever, eat on 7th - but then I live closer to 4th so that's Ok with me. And "Park Slope", I'm here to say, is bigger than the blocks between 7th and the Park....I can't argue with you about the specific palces you mention, but the places people like seem to be mounting. All said, there are plenty of choices in the neighborhood. Some are excellent, some are OK, and some are poor. Like ANy neighborhood. But this all started with a certain poster who has moved and seemed to feel validated by trashing the old neighborhood farily indiscriminately. That was a silly post, I thought, but look at the heat it generated! In MY opinion, most of the Smith Street restaurants are highly overrated! OK, Cobble Hillers, have a go at me! Thu Dec 12 08:44:14 -0800 2002 1268339 0 Zephyr 5 1268394 Just help yourself... I wish fewer people considered our neighborghood (Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens) such a dining mecca, due to silly articles in rags like TimeOut... Fri Dec 13 13:41:18 -0800 2002 1268344 0 Katerina 1 1268316 Where the heck in the Hudson Valley are you? I'm in Tarrytown, and the pickin's often seem a tad slim up in these parts! Wed Dec 11 12:34:08 -0800 2002 1268293 0 Lisa M 1 1268317 I agree with most of what you wrote. However, I think pound-for-pound Blue Ribbon on Fifth Ave. is clearly the best restaurant in Park Slope-- hands down. From appetizers, service, wine list, decor--it's pricey but you pay for what you get. Wed Dec 11 13:00:04 -0800 2002 1268293 0 bob 1 1268332 I moved away a couple of years ago and there is truly only one restaurant I really miss - La Taqueria on 7th Ave. Good mexican (ok, border Tex Mex) is hard to find in this city. Can't beat the price either. I also have to through in a good word for Coco Roco. It opened after I left but I had a pretty amazing meal of their ceviche there. Wed Dec 11 16:28:32 -0800 2002 1268293 0 anne_nyc 1 1268333 I too am a little surprised by this listing, whilst it is true there are plenty of bad restaurants in Park Slope there are also loads of great ones, Blue Ribbon, Bonnies, Dizzys, Cocott, Rose Water, Coco Roco, Minnow to name but a few. As a local restauranteur (ChipShop & CurryShop) i hardly ever leave the Slope when i'm eating out & think we have a great selection of decent restaurants. Wed Dec 11 16:57:14 -0800 2002 1268293 0 Chris 2 1268340 Thank you so much for opening the Curry Shop! I have already had three delicious meals there! Love the samosas. Wed Dec 11 22:39:41 -0800 2002 1268333 0 Kerry 2 1268348 All due respect, but Dizzie's represents all that is medicocre about Park Slope. Thu Dec 12 10:23:03 -0800 2002 1268333 0 Tom Philpott 1 1268336 The phenomenon of trashing one's old neighborhood after moving (or old boyfriend - I wonder what I saw in that oaf?) is nothing new psychologically. But anyone who got 4X their original price on an apartment sale after a 6 year holding period has a heck of a lot to thank Park Slope for... This post seems mainly like a bash on a particular named South Slope restaurant and not a serious comment on the current Park Slope or even Flatbush Ave restaurant scene...although for many years upscale and quality pickings were slim, Ive never felt the need to trek all the way over to Smith Street to get a good meal. And in the last couple of years, the PS and area options have expanded enormously. If you come back to visit, hope you'll visit some of the newer spots people are mentioning. Enjoy the HV! Wed Dec 11 18:17:17 -0800 2002 1268293 0 jen kalb 1 1268338 I agree with you . Husband & I move here exactly 2 years ago and I work in the biz in Manhattan. P.Slope has 5 good places worth going back to -places where you savor the flavors and like the service-Blue Ribbon, Bonnies, AL di la, Geido Sushi, Ginkop Leaf and Rose Water. There are no great Indian places, Mexican, or Chinese or Greek. For the amount of people living here, not enough restaurants to rave about.I wish-wish! there was a good Chinese place- a place to order in- Olive Vine is good, not great. I know people are complaining about the increase in rents and in chi-chi places, but I have tried the inexpensive "authentic" Dominican and Mexican and think the food has noflavor, meat is tough.etc. ANYWAY, on a positive note, mmmm al di la-sardineson arrugula and beet/cheese ravioli and rabbit and blue ribbon's skate and seafood and steaks and apps and their bread and their bread pudding! Wed Dec 11 20:21:40 -0800 2002 1268293 0 le bouquin 2 1268345 If you want excellent Chinese Food come to Lai Yuen on 101st St & 4th Ave. Bay Ridge (to the left just before you get on the Belt Parkway from 4th Ave.) They only serve specialty dishes and Japanese food in the restaurant and are pricey but worth it. They also have the regular Chinese dishes to take out and the prices are much more reasonable. Enjoy. Thu Dec 12 09:49:44 -0800 2002 1268338 0 Irving 3 1268357 I have not been to "that part" of Brookly and I think when I get over the Christmas craze(since I work in this biz) I will chow with my Frenchie! merry! Thu Dec 12 17:14:18 -0800 2002 1268345 0 le bouquin 1 1268342 So many choices, So many complaints! Hey now, Slopers: Y'all have those stainless steel SubZero's and gas-fired grill-racks built into your high-tech, highly appeciated kitchens, right? Why not use all of your (our) 'Hound-ly resources, shop for the finest professional-quality ingredients, open up your Marcella Hazan's and Betty Crocker's quietly lining the bookshelves, longing to be read, and THEN...invite me over for genuine home-cookin'...plus, the way you serve it is likely to be the way YOU'D WANT IT served to you - done to perfection, at economy prices! I'll stop at BierKraft or the 7th Avenue "Ace" for the hops & pop and even help you load up the Fisher-Pikel dishwasher after dessert. If the menu features Greek or Portuguese (special favorites of mine: grilled lamb or fresh sardines), all the better!...Thanks. Wed Dec 11 23:05:36 -0800 2002 1268293 0 Mike R. 1 1268354 Wow! After reading the threads you PSers are a contentious lot. Maybe because it is such as congested overpriced area with so many highly stressed people. But really, there are enough good and some very good restaurants there to keep anyone happy and then there is the rest of the bourough to explore. But give me Ft Greene/Clinton Hill any day. We certainly don't have the selection to choose from as in the Slope, but we are a lot more relaxed! Thu Dec 12 14:32:27 -0800 2002 1268293 0 Faren 1 1268426 Hey, don't get me wrong -- those restaurants I mentioned deserve all the business you can give them. And I liked making all those bucks off my apartment sale -- that was not the reason I bought the apartment. The time was right, I could not find work in NYC and my husband wanted to spend more time upstate. To the smart aleck who thinks if you move from NYC, you must live in a trailer or RV -- blech on you. Period. Another person questioned where I am -- between Rhinebeck and Hudson -- some wonderful and terrible places to eat there, too, and not all of them cheap. What I object to is everyone getting so dewy-eyed about PS. It is not paradise, it is not the end-all-and-be-all, it is not all crunchy-granola, it is not all Sub-zeros-and-Vikings...just a reality check. Sat Dec 14 12:49:55 -0800 2002 1268293 0 Shelley 2 1268464 I think we can all agree that it has become an easy place to get a very good high-end meal, and as difficult as ever for cheap-moderate food. Mon Dec 16 10:21:29 -0800 2002 1268426 0 Tom Philpott 1 1268438 I quote: "The only good thing about Park Slope, in all those years, was a) the great transportation into the city where we lived; b) the Park (wowwee); c) seeing my best friend on a regular basis and d) Al-Di-La. Other that that, the absolute best thing about Park Slope was taking the 4-times-what-we-paid-for-it apt. sale $$ and putting it in the bank." Am I missing something here? Your quote lists four knockout reasons for living in Park Slope (despite the grammatical misdirection implying only one reason), besides the fact that you made a lot of money by virtue of having lived in Park Slope in the first place. This makes Park Slope a bad place to live? Given the fact that Park Slope has places like Blue Ribbon, St. Mark's Bistro, Cocotte, Coco Roco, etc., I think that the days of Park Slope being a culinary wasteland are over. I'm glad that Park Slope provided you with happiness and profit; I'm sorry that you feel like you need to leave Park Slope because of some perceived culinary deficits. Good luck in your new neighborhood. Sun Dec 15 11:22:29 -0800 2002 1268293 0 George Lynch 1 1270110 GOOD RIDDANCE! I hope the people who bought your apt. are creative, happy people who will contribute to the community instead of BITCHING all the time. 'BYE NOW!! Tue Apr 01 12:00:24 -0800 2003 1268293 0 foodguy1