New Restaurant: Abigail's

As you can see from the pic- it's empty. The place has been covered up for so long, leading some to speculate that it was a fake to attract buyers for the condos upstairs. A friend and I investigated (ie- peeked through the paper to see inside) and saw what you see in the pic. Looks nice, and it's really close to me. I will head over in a while and report back

They open on Friday. Today (5-7-08) and tomorrow (5-8-08) are friends and family days.

has anyone checked this out yet?

We ate there last night...not bad for the second night open. Our major concern is that entrees are $22, which probably won't fly for long in this neighborhood. Everyone should know they're still waiting for their liquor license, so it's BYOB for the next 2-3 weeks. They will be open all day (from 8am on weekdays!), so it should be interesting to see what's on offer in the long run.

Pluses:

* Very nice, friendly staff (we feel bad that the kitchen is downstairs, though -- that's not going to be fun after a while).

* Delicious asparagus and creme fraiche soup -- good portion, too.

* Good cheese and charcuterie selection.

* Excellent bread.

* Cozy space, very comfy but also a bit sexy.

Nitpicks:

* Tasty salad with roasted cauliflower and a perfectly boiled egg, but the bacon on top was ice cold. It would have been better warm.

* Garlic shrimp, though nice, could have used more garlic.

* We ordered a cheese plate at the end of the meal, but it came with capers and mustard. It couldn't be too hard to replace that with some dried fruit or similar so it could be more "dessert-y." The cheese was also straight out of the refrigerator instead of room temperature, which is a shame because it was a really nice choice of cheeses.

We'll definitely go back...most of our concerns are completely fixable and not a big deal for opening week. I think it will be a very nice addition to the neighborhood.

Has anyone tried their coffee yet? It opens at 8am, and on my way to the train this morning I saw a sign saying they serve Kitten coffee, apparently roasted locally. I didn't stop, because I don't want to try to hold a cup of hot liquid on the 4 train at the height of morning rush, but it sure would be cool to have good coffee right on my corner.

Oh, that's disappointing.

I googled Kitten coffee: http://www.kittencoffee.com/home.html

From their website: "Kitten Coffee is a New York City based gourmet coffee roaster supplying premium espresso beans to the cafes, bars and restaurants of New York City."

The only info I found on the beans is this: "100% Arabicas from Brazil, Guatemala and a little Ethiopian." Nothing about fair trade or organic, so I guess it's not either.

I'll give it a try, but as a Gorilla fan I was a little skeptical of the name anyway.

ooooooo- no liquor license yet?

Just biked past there. It looks SO pretty inside! Lots of candles and funky low lit chandeliers.

I ate there the other night with a friend... it totally took over an hour for our food to come. They didn't see our order... I chop that up to them just getting settled.

I had a Kobe Burger, and brought my own wine... had a great night with friends. They have excellent bread, and the waiters seem nice.

Had delicious baked eggs for brunch there today. Nice staff. My coffee from there was quite good. thumbs up.

Had brunch there this morning. It was good, but not transcendental - if their food improves over the next couple of months, at it seems to happen at most new restaurants, it'll be fantastic. My eggs benedict with salmon was good overall, but the yolks were a little too firm and it arrived not quite as hot as I'd like, but we'll certainly be back soon!

Nah! Those were only minor quibbles!

The bowl in the middle is sweet potato hash - diced sweet potatoes, bacon, and onions and peppers, maybe? The dish on the far side, my wife's, is the strata - pretty tasty, but a little dry

Navyyard, are you saying that they now have their liquor license?

Had a great brunch there on Sunday. They were very friendly and service was fast. Had the Eggs Benedict with Salmon, cooked to order. One thing I really appreciated was that the portions were just right. No wasted food but I didn't leave hungry.

Very nice place to have in the neighborhood.

Tried the brunch here and was underwhelmed. The portions were skimpy, especially the sides (which were also overpriced - $4 for a tiny dish of rosemary potatoes?). The flavor was decent, though, and the service friendly. Time will tell, but I think they might have to lower their prices for some dinner items, like the $24 rib dinner. Seems a bit high for the area. They're still waiting on their liquor license...