Romantic Restaurants

i meant right.

i have some problems with left and right. that's the place.

Frank Bruni's loving 2004 review of the Garden Cafe . . .

June 25, 2004
DINER'S JOURNAL
Garden Cafe
By FRANK BRUNI

A sharp-eyed colleague drew my attention to it: deep within the 2004 Zagat guide for New York City restaurants is a place in the Prospect Heights section of Brooklyn, Garden Cafe, with a food rating of 28 out of 30. That is as high as Le Bernardin's and Nobu's.

Did its owners fill out Zagat surveys themselves? Is that why a symbol, beside the name of the restaurant, flags the fact that a relatively low number of respondents weighed in on it?

Or is Garden Cafe a tiny but true gem with a small but worshipful following?

I went one night last week to find out, and what I encountered was a welcome rarity: a pair of restaurateurs who are not reaching for the stars but working hard and humbly, night in and night out, to make a decent living from simple but sophisticated food.

John Policastro does the cooking, in a modest kitchen with an oven and four burners. His wife, Camille, serves the tables: about eight of them, accommodating no more than 24 customers.

There is no décor to speak of, but the lighting is soft and Ms. Policastro's manner is soothing, a perfect complement to the food.

She brought my guests and me an appetizer of chanterelle mushrooms that had been sautéed in a white truffle butter and then mixed with creamed corn. It tasted the way a warm bath feels.

Mixed greens came with a delicious vinaigrette that had been thickened with sheep's milk cheese and infused with a bevy of herbs: thyme, marjoram, dill. Few dressings have pleased me more.

Each of the three entrees that we tried had an interesting dimension, a grace note: toasted cumin for the guinea hen, wild mushroom oil for the veal chop, a red pepper purée for the black sea bass.

The desserts, including a Key lime pie and a bittersweet chocolate tart, stayed the course, not so much dazzling as deeply satisfying us, which is just as important an effect.

The Policastros do not go for fancy pyrotechnics. But they have imagination and dedication. Once or twice a year, they travel to Europe, usually France, for inspiration and new ideas.

They shop daily so that they can use only the freshest ingredients. They lavish attention on little things: on this night, the butter that came with fresh bread had been seasoned with dried lavender and sea salt, just to make it special and different.

I am confident that those high Zagat marks indeed came from Garden Cafe's customers — the same ones who have already kept the restaurant in business at its current location for 18 years. It could well last another 18, not because it rivals Le Bernardin but because it doesn't try to — and for many of its understandably grateful fans, it's right around the corner.

Garden Cafe, 620 Vanderbilt Avenue, at Prospect Place, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, (718) 857-8863. Appetizers, $8.75 to $12; entrees, $20 to $22.

brooklynpotter wrote: i knew it was a gem. one of my ex-boyfriends-who turned-out-to-be-gay took me there.

gay men have the best taste. fact

brooklynpotter wrote: actually, i was the one to suggest it. but he did have nice clothes, nice apartment, votive candles, fancy shampoo...

The candles and fancy shampoo should have tipped you off . . . .

Rose wrote: [quote=brooklynpotter]actually, i was the one to suggest it. but he did have nice clothes, nice apartment, votive candles, fancy shampoo...

The candles and fancy shampoo should have tipped you off . . . .
there's something in the candles that turns men gay.
i think it's the soy. soy is gay

Carnivore wrote: [quote=quijibo]there's something in the candles that turns men gay.
i think it's the soy. soy is gay

Shhhhh! WhyFi is listening... :twisted:
you think WhyFi knows he's turning the park slope men gay? :shock:
it's those soy candle. i'm sure of it.

i attract gay men too. but that's because gay men are hornier than a cactus
and because of my good taste. natch!

^^^ was me...

WhyFi: how much do you sell your grapefruit scented soy candles for?