Beast: Nice write-up on Gothamist

theindecisionpigeon

With all the talk lately about the new neighborhood bars and restaurants, it's nice to see a write-up on a place that's a little more established, and a lot delicious!

http://gothamist.com/2008/05/12/camera_in_the_k_106.php

Here's the text - the posting has pix too:

Beast, on the corner of Vanderbilt and Bergen Streets in Prospect Heights, serves a wide range of tapas and brunch plates with a Spanish flare. As befits the restaurant's bristling name, the first of two dining rooms is dark – almost medieval – and dotted with appropriately colorful creatures: monsters, gargoyles, and demons. The kitchen is open and separates the front from the back room; curious diners can usually observe a small army of toast and burgers on the grill.

Beast's brunch fare is full of refreshing options, with sauteed polenta earning a place on the menu just next to the rum-spiked caramelized apple french toast. "The standard" offers a choice of thick cut bacon, boar or chicken apple sausage with your eggs and greens, the latter of which develops a lovely smoky sweetness when grilled. The slightly-too-oily chorizo hash is saved by a delectable spicy chipotle-spiked hollandaise sauce, perfect soak-up material for the house's sourdough toast.

For an extra $3, the homemade bread basket (two lemon sour cream muffins and a brownie during our trip) is well worth it, especially if your entrees tend towards the savory. Small touches, like a smoky homemade ketchup, properly-dressed mixed greens, and attentive waiter service make a weekend morning here pleasant beyond the plates.

Beast is open for dinner daily and for brunch on weekends, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. 638 Bergen Street (at Vanderbilt). 718-399-6855.

sneakyonstmarks

Before i get me brunch food on the table it will be time for dinner!

alafairnadia

sneakyonstmarks wrote: Before i get me brunch food on the table it will be time for dinner!

sour grapes, much?

dbb

"A Spanish flare?" Hope that's not against the fire code!

sweet tea

alafairnadia wrote: [quote=sneakyonstmarks]Before i get me brunch food on the table it will be time for dinner!

sour grapes, much?

FWIW, this was also my experience, the one time i went for brunch: an unconscionably long wait followed by food that was mediocre at best.

i may try them for another meal someday, but the brunch experience was pretty damn awful.

not trying to put them out of business or anything; just sayin' that sneaky's comment is not totally out of left field, imo.

alafairnadia

sweet tea wrote: [quote=alafairnadia][quote=sneakyonstmarks]Before i get me brunch food on the table it will be time for dinner!

sour grapes, much?

FWIW, this was also my experience, the one time i went for brunch: an unconscionably long wait followed by food that was mediocre at best.

i may try them for another meal someday, but the brunch experience was pretty damn awful.

not trying to put them out of business or anything; just sayin' that sneaky's comment is not totally out of left field, imo.

interesting. I've found their brunch service to definitely be slower than their dinner service. haven't tried their lunch service - I work in manhattan so it doesn't work out for me. but. I guess I find brunch to be slow in general and always find it suspect when my brunch pops out in 10 seconds in a packed restaurant - did someone else request that plate and then reject it?? - however, I can understand theannoyance of slow. but it's not a constant thing there.

sweet tea

it was partly the annoyance of the extraordinarily slow and partly the annoyance of how quickly the table that came in way after us but clearly knew the staff were served.

mostly, though, it was how the slow -- over an hour -- was handled. no apologies, no explanation, no comped bread, no "that'll be out soon, would you like more coffee?", nothing. the waitress tried to give our food to every other table in the room before giving it to us. if i recall correctly, a woman at the next table was so upset at how long they'd been waiting that she started to cry. any restaurant can have a bad day; this (plus not really liking the food) was what made me not want to come back.

granted, this was some time ago. ymmv.

alafairnadia

sweet tea wrote: it was partly the annoyance of the extraordinarily slow and partly the annoyance of how quickly the table that came in way after us but clearly knew the staff were served.

mostly, though, it was how the slow -- over an hour -- was handled. no apologies, no explanation, no comped bread, no "that'll be out soon, would you like more coffee?", nothing. the waitress tried to give our food to every other table in the room before giving it to us. if i recall correctly, a woman at the next table was so upset at how long they'd been waiting that she started to cry. any restaurant can have a bad day; this (plus not really liking the food) was what made me not want to come back.

granted, this was some time ago. ymmv.

damn! that does sound awful! I would have cried and/or loudly demanded a comped bloody mary. I'm sad that you had such a bad experience there.