STIR IT UP on Atlantic

[Driggs]

Anyone tried this. Heard a good buzz about it. Jamaican near Atlantic and 3rd....

[Tom]

There's a story about them in the Time's dining section today.

[Driggs]

Thanks. Did not see that. SO much for it being a empty find.

[Lambretta76]

I've never, ever seen anyone else in there. I wouldn't worry about it. Good $5 lunch special that rotates daily.

[funkymonkey]

when we lived in fort greene, we went there regularly and really liked it!

[JackS]

I used to live on that block, and I never liked the place. Jerk chicken, goat dishes ... they tended to not have much in the way of taste, as I recall. Sorry.

[Boots]

I absolutely love this place. It's great for taking the girlfriend out, because she's a vegetarian, and their vegetarian dishes are literally the best-tasting vegetarian food I have ever eaten. So spicy and flavorful. Ask for their homemade hot sauce. Out of this world.

[jro3000]

I went with a group of 6 to Stir It Up on Sunday and despite the big write up in the NY Times, the place was relatively empty, so luckily for us, I think it may remain relatively quiet, perhaps b/c of it's not-quite-Cobble-Hill/Not-quite-Park-Slope location.

Anyway, we ordered and shared a bunch of apps/dishes/drinks and were uniformly impressed with everything.

Apps: We started with the Jerk Chicken Wings (possibly the best wings we've ever had, marinated for 5 days so that they were perfectly flavored, and spiced with a kick that added to the taste without taking away from the other dominant flavors of the marinade) and the Fried Cod Fish (very interesting...almost tasted like a fish flavored sweet bread).

Main Courses: The whole snapper, coconut shrimp, roti goat, and stewed chicken were all delicious. Rice and beans, cabbage and plaintains all made for great sides and the homemade bell pepper sauce is fresh and lively, but again, complements the dishes rather than overpowering their flavor.

Drinks: Freshly made carrot juice, ginger beer and sorrel were all hits.

Dessert: The sweet-potato-cheese-cake was out of this world. My buddy ordered the carrot cake, but she was out, and brought this cake instead. After my friend let one of us take a taste of his cake, the cake immediately moved to the center of the table for all of us to share.

X-Factor: The owner of the place served up each and every dish and took care of us like we were eating in her home. She's a sweetheart and went out of her way to make sure we were enjoying the dining experience. When she saw how much we enjoyed the wings, she brought out two complementery orders. When they were "forced" to make the carrot juice from scratch b/c they didn't have any prepared, she treated me by making a whole caraffe of carrot juice, but still charging me just $3 (the price of one glass). In short, you really leave this place feeling like you had a great home-cooked meal.

I know there is one or two postings of people who came a while ago and were less than impressed. From what I understand, she is more of an experimental "homemade" meal cook rather than a trained chef, so I think there's a good shot that she's getting better and better with time.

I cannot more strongly recommend this place, which has picked up the torch in the wake of Brawta, which seems to be dropping off in quality by the day.

[PAL]

JRO, I'm just curious--are you able to compare this place to the West Indian food available in Crown Heights and Flatbush?

Because from the Times review, and subsequent posts here, it sounds great. But I'll still be quite skeptical until someone can make that comparison. If this woman turns out to be a Mina of the Caribbean, then I'm there.

-PAL

[Boots]

This is a little late, but I've eaten at various joints in Flatbush, and I've never enjoyed a carribean meal more than at Stir It Up.

I've had similar experiences with drinks made to order.

[kazhound]

i actually went to stir it up the day after i came home from a trip to jamaica. i was pleasantly surprised by this place. i was really craving vegetarian food since i had eaten a lot more meat than i'm used to in jamaica and the friend i was meeting had given up meat for lent anyway. we picked this place primarily for location and i was really impressed by the vegetarian options. we had the vegetarian jerk chicken and the vegetarian amazing chicken plus a side of spicy spinach. i liked how the fake meat dishes had veggies too. i just had the leftovers for lunch today and it reminded me to post a positive review - yum!