Night & Day closes - "Biscuit" is coming...

[SlopeHead]

Saw that Night & Day on 5th Ave. in Park Slope gave up the ghost recently (last night?). The windows are covered over and little signs say "Biscuit: BBQ, Live Music, and Margaritas" - coming in 13 days.

[josh L]

same name, same owner, same chef, same negative feedback

[theresax]

ugh, just wandered in to this bbq place in park slope tonight and the food was awful. Ordered the deviled eggs to start which were taken out of the fridge and still had ice on the eggs? Annoyed. Then I got the pulled bbq chicken sandwich which was ok but nothing special and my bf got the pulled pork sandwich which he liked. We also ordered the onion rings w/ ranch dipping but they were so damn salty and barely fried that I couldn’t eat them. I also thought their version of ‘slaw’ that came w/ the sandwiches was a little odd bc it wasn’t really shredded. Anyway, I think the worst thing about this place was on my way to the bathroom to wash my hands before leaving I looked over to the right and saw about 20 garbage bags in the hallway? WTF?

[famdoc]

The sentiment on chowhound is running 99-to-1 against this place.
Could it last, under the circumstances? The live music is a wonderful characteristic, with some very talented people doing gigs here.

[Larry Brooks]

Hmmmmm, live music. Crappy food. Lots of places to hear great music other than a mediocre at best bbq spot.

[pitu]

I have to say, the onion rings were fantastic when we ate there.
They are $7, so they better be good : )
The batter was right, very lightweight, fresh out of the fryer. I love good onion rings!

This was our 2nd go at Biscuit. I had the pulled pork samich this time - the meat was preeeeety tough so I will continue to wait for my next trip to N. Carolina. I had ribs the first time we went, and they were tender and delicious. I guess I got lucky...
Unlike my first trip, the BBQ sauces were good. I tasted all four of them -- a really hot hab, a sweet cider-based, a mustard (my least favorite, it *just* tasted like mustard) and a vinegar one that still needs a little work imho.

The slaw *was* weird - regular thick cabbage cut chunky, like confetti made of quarters.

Girlfriend had a veg plate. The collards are vinegary, but some of us like them that way!
The biscuit that I tasted was underdone.
The woman bartending was very nice - we sat at the bar and enjoyed our meal, chatting.

For sure, if you're looking for Carolina Kitchen, you are not going to find it on Fifth Ave, but it is still absolutely so much better than most of the awful Southern food I've had in restaurants in NY that I don't mind. And since they did great with the onion rings, I'm going to brave the fried chicken for you folks sometime!

[josh L]

the times I ate at biscuit on flatbush, the food was close to unedible, tough chewey ribs, super dry chicken, soggy greens, bland uninspired sauces- how this place is better than "most of the awful Southern food" in NYC is beyond me. I'd bet a rib plate at the Grand Canyon diner on 7th Ave is better.

[pitu]

dude, they are two different restaurants.
same principal and name but different places.
the food I ate at the new Biscuit on 5th Ave in PS had promise -
I detailed what was good and what was bad

It doesn't seem very useful to keep talking about a place that closed
a few years ago - this is a different restaurant.

[foodpyramid]

I've been reading this string with interest, as I was quite relieved to see that Night & Day had thrown in the towel. More on that later.

First, as far as the Blue Star/Mark commentary: If I'm not mistaken, Nosh was his third venture, not his second. I used to love the food (great brunch!) at Whim (or was it Whin?) that I believe Mark, the owner of Blue Star, had previously owned on DeGraw, off Clinton. (Great grits.) It was cozy and comfortable, but the service was terrible, and honestly, Mark was such an odd and erratic presence, and the turn-over for waitstaff was disconcertingly high, and more than a few friends of mine were even hit on by him during their sunday brunch, enough to turn off even the most enthusiastic patron!
Even still, I was sad to see it go, and did try Blue Star, which I found mediocre-- decent food with a zany and confusing atmosphere and weirdly high prices. Nosh seemed like a failed attempt at some kitsch appeal-- I didn't even know it was owned by the the Blue Star owner, and always stood outside waiting for the bus, dubious just from the general presentation.

And as far as Night & Day goes, I echo the insanely slow service and decent food that others have written about, and I thought it was overall a good idea in theory but bad in follow-through. The "performance space" that they built looked more like a high-class hospital room from the outside, and the performances they had there were targeted to I-have-no-idea-who; I regularly go to small performance spaces for music, poetry, etc., and was never the least bit intrigued by their offerings! Am not too bummed they're closed and will be happy to give this new "Biscuit" a try, even given its dubious reputation on flatbush...

[lambretta76]

Wasn't his mom the mean woman who used to own Prospect Perk?

[DynamiteKidA]

Not surprised N&D is gone. Overpriced. Boring menu. Even the name screamed out overpretention. When it opened, it seemed like the last thing needed on 5th.

As for Biscuit, VeneziaHM got it right. It started out just fine, but deteriorated quick. You have to root for Josh Cohen, though, because his mother works damn hard down the block. He'll get a second shot from me.

[BKchompchomp]

I assumed Night and Day was going to be open 24 hours, giving it a rationale for being just like every other thing in Park Slope.

[obob96]

Went to Night and Day for a drink last year; it was owned by Judy Joice, who with her late husband Wes ran the lamented Lion's Head in the Village. Judy said she'd hoped to draw the same slightly older, literary, journalist crowd to Sackett Street as she did to Sheridan Square. As a former longtime Head-goer, I guess we've just lifecycled out. Too bad.

[VeneziaHM]

The food started out (in the first few months) as GREAT, but completely degenerated after that. I'm vegetarian, and, by the end, found myself choking down soggy mixed vegetables (from frozen?) soaked in BBQ sauce. I never throw food away, and I threw that away. Take out was even worse.

[BKchompchomp]

There was always a trick with biscuit's fried chicken. the qarter chicken was fantastic, but the half chicken was only half breaded and bizarrely dry. Maybe they'll have fixed that for the new opening.

[famdoc]

From "Grub Street," New York Magazine's food site:

http://nymag.com/daily/food/2006/10/b...

[Bob Martinez]

"Beloved Biscuit???" Based on this thread and previous ones , they're talking to the wtrong people.

[ramen girl]

it's a shame Biscuit is taking over night and day , i finally went to n&d last week and had an enjoyable meal there ,i had a beef cheek pate dish that was very nice and wanted to go back before they change the menu . it was a special. also steak au povire (sp)? was decent.
Biscuit on flatbush , the food was so awful i ended up throwing away the double crusted fried chicken . never again ! will not be giving them my money a second time .

[pitu]

Claire (or whomever knows)
Was the last chef at N&D the guy from New Orleans that got hired when the first chef got fired?
And now, we can extrapolate a little about why N&D might have closed...that, and all the high end competition on that strip.

The Biscuit guy is Josh, I think. A notice I saw said "Josh, Kris and Robin will be opening the new BISCUIT soon at 230 5th Avenue. "
I'm glad somebody is giving it another go -- Biscuit Flatbush was miles better than Cornbread Cafe . . .

[Claire]

Yes, Pitu, the last chef was from New Orleans. Too bad. I thought he was doing a pretty good job.

[josh L]

i never visited the cornbread cafe but the food as biscuit was close to inedible.

[jmj]

FWIW: Robin is one of the owners of N&D (and Cornelia St.)

[JessicaSophia]

And isn't the Night & Day corner "cursed"? I still remember whatever was there before it... one of the most terrible brunches I've ever eaten, but I'll always giggle about how their sign had their address as on "Fivth Avenue".... until someone must've corrected them and they changed it.

[SlopeHead]

I think it was Bibi's before Night & Day, and before that it was a laundromat or something. Bibi's was pretty awful as I recall. I liked Night & Day but with such stiff competition nearby I guess they were doomed. The whole vibe of the place never seemed to really click entirely though I did have some good meals there.

[MShapiro]

I’ve never been to Biscuit or Night and Day, but IMO whatever this Josh Cohen does is bound to get slammed on this board no matter how good it is or does. It almost reminds me of Blue Star on Court, where the former owner (forgot his name?) could not catch a break, whether deservingly or not, even at his second place on Atlantic. If Cohen opens a BBQ joint and the food is bad, service stinks, or the place is a dive that’s one thing. But every so often a ‘gang mentality’ appears on this board. Some posters revert to the ‘Hey everyone else is doing it I will too’ reason to bash a restaurant. It’s really easy to jump on the band wagon, it’s a lot harder to write an impartial opinion. Besides we can all use some good BBQ.

[EJC]

>>Besides we can all use some good BBQ.<<
Indeed, that's why I traveled to Harlem for Dinosaur (or had it FedEx'd from Dreamland in AL) instead of walking the short 10 blocks to his previous spot. It was flat out bad.
I hope the new place is a different story, and will definitely give it several tries - but I imagine that Pies 'n Thighs will remain my Brooklyn BBQ standby.

[jen kalb]

i think people will be fair enough if the food is good.

[Peter Cuce]

I thought Night & Day was terrible without even knowing the chef/owner's name (until now).

[noodles]

Thank you for the reasoning. Mark at Bluestar closed Nosh within months of opening. And as to Josh, I have no beef with him personally whatsoever. What I did not like was the poor cooking and excuses made for their product at Biscuit which was sub par. And I tried to like it!! But after three times of trying, and being horrified, c'mon. Bluestar was scuttled b/c of a dispute between chef and owner.

[Bricks718]

the pies and cookies were top-shelf, but who knows if Maio Martinez is coming along to the new Biscuit... Also: the once a month whole pig roast never dissapointed.

[lambretta76]

And the biscuits inedible.

[doldrums]

Chef Bobby Flay seemed to like Biscuit. He shot a Boy Meets Grill there and applauded their food.

[EJC]

"Roker on the Road" did as well (I think it was one of only like 5 episodes that they continually rerun).

They had passable sides, but the meat was miserable.

[noodles]

I am so glad that I am not alone when I say that the food at Biscuit was horrific. Bordering on the inedible. Horrible. The fact that they even called it BBQ is laughable. I would not be surprised at all if this is the same joint. It goes to show you how much Al Roker knows about food. There is a reason the show is no longer. I am however glad to see Night and Day gone the way of the Dodo. Is this location cursed? Three restaurants in as many years?

[jen kalb]

biscuit had a really excellent pr machine.

[jason carey]

Bobby flay is over rated and Biscuit SUCKED, no matter what he or Al Roker says.. These are people whose tv segment producers say to them,, hey lets do a segment in Brooklyn...and hey great says the host,, how quaint, BBQ in Brooklyn, and then they get there and of course are going to say, gee its great.

[Claire]

I heard that the chef from Biscuit, who also co-owns Sample, took over when the last chef at Night & Day was fired, so....

[Steve R]

Exactly. It was actually even in the NY Times. It's interesting because, as inept as Biscuit was, Sample seems to be touted by many on these boards and elsewhere. Hopefully, he'll emulate Sample and not the non-lamented Biscuit.

On the other side of this, I am somewhat annoyed that Night and Day closed. I thought that the previous chef, from N.Orleans, had some potential there and the general concept of the place (readings, music...) was good as well. Even had a nice pedigree, with owners from Cornelia St Cafe and Lion's Head. Oh well.

[EJC]

I hope it's not a reincarnation of the previous spot on Flatbush. Quite possibly the worst bbq I've ever eaten in my life.

[SlopeHead]

Oh god I didn't even think of that possibility. But now that you mention it, what are the chances that another BBQ place called "Biscuit" would come along in this part of Brooklyn? Seems to me they must be related. Yikes.