Garden Cafe closed??

I called and voicemail said something about being on vacation till the 24th.
Can anyone confirm?

Is there any place in PH that is comparable for dinner?

Nowhere else is PH is comparable for dinner. I think the next best places are either Franny's or James (in that order).

How about Aliseo? I've never been, but I am curious as to how it would compare in quality.

aliseo fails when compared to franny's, pasta-wise. they dont' have pizza but do at their cheaper location, amorina, across the street. personally, I prefer amorina's pizza but kinda get a little crazed about franny's pasta and small plates. yum. james is good - second visit helped them in my op. the scallop app is delish. and the muscadet is actually wonderful.

BrookFetish wrote: How about Aliseo? I've never been, but I am curious as to how it would compare in quality.

I only went once, after hearing lots of good things about them. I got a squid dish that was so awful I haven't been back (and it's been over 2 years). Actually, on second thought, it's been long enough that I don't remember whether it was squid or octopus. I just remember an overcooked fishy mess.

On the other hand, their focaccia was excellent, which is probably why I like their pizza place Amorina so much better (although still not nearly as much as Franny's).

Frannys vs Garden Cafe? Huh? Aliseo is good, but still no Garden Cafe (but with garden cafe prices and no credit cards).

I would recommend Al Di La on 5th ave - fantastic!

Pretty much the same experience, Carn, but different entree(s)... and probably about 4 years ago. Also, never really felt welcome there from a service standpoint.

That said, love Amorina. A terrific go-to salad, great value slices, above par kids menu, and lovely pizzas.

Jekyll and Hyde?

Carnivore wrote: [quote=BrookFetish]How about Aliseo? I've never been, but I am curious as to how it would compare in quality.

I only went once, after hearing lots of good things about them. I got a squid dish that was so awful I haven't been back (and it's been over 2 years). Actually, on second thought, it's been long enough that I don't remember whether it was squid or octopus. I just remember an overcooked fishy mess.

On the other hand, their focaccia was excellent, which is probably why I like their pizza place Amorina so much better (although still not nearly as much as Franny's).

comparing apples,pears and oranges again? damn!

The hubs and I went to James last night and had a DEE LISH US meal. Really good. Highly recommended.

Hey what is the really good Italian place that used to be a drug store in Clinton hill? Been only there once but can´t remember name or exact location!

sneakyonstmarks wrote: Hey what is the really good Italian place that used to be a drug store in Clinton hill? Been only there once but can´t remember name or exact location!

i think it was on gates ave but thought it had closed.

so people still love garden cafe? i have a special occasion dinner this weekend and i'd love to try it out.

Just finally moved into the nabe last weekend and went to James this weekend. Superb food, great cocktails, friendly service, good vibe. I'm so happy I live so close to them. I also had no idea they were so new.. everything was flawless... really. They know what they are doing.

smw380 wrote: so people still love garden cafe? i have a special occasion dinner this weekend and i'd love to try it out.

It's the top restaurant in the neighborhood.

Very funny- The NYT City section this weekend had a feature "Good Eating/Prospect Heights." They came up with basically the same list as us, but as usual failed in including Abigail Cafe, which is in Crown Heights.

Link

Muk wrote: Pretty much the same experience, Carn, but different entree(s)... and probably about 4 years ago. Also, never really felt welcome there from a service standpoint.

That said, love Amorina. A terrific go-to salad, great value slices, above par kids menu, and lovely pizzas.

Jekyll and Hyde?


[quote=Carnivore][quote=BrookFetish]How about Aliseo? I've never been, but I am curious as to how it would compare in quality.

I only went once, after hearing lots of good things about them. I got a squid dish that was so awful I haven't been back (and it's been over 2 years). Actually, on second thought, it's been long enough that I don't remember whether it was squid or octopus. I just remember an overcooked fishy mess.

On the other hand, their focaccia was excellent, which is probably why I like their pizza place Amorina so much better (although still not nearly as much as Franny's).

me too, too. love amorina with my whole heart. went to aliseo once and haven't wanted to go back. high prices, enh experience. everything on the plate (a lasagna made with mushrooms, i think) had exactly the same, somewhat bland and heavy flavor. got bored partway through. service okay but service at amorina much better. (this could be in part because of a running joke i have with one guy there about my maniacal tiramisu needs -- but just the fact that he remembers said running joke when i'm only in there every couple of months counts as great service in my book.)

only been to GC once. while the food was good, i didn't really feel at home there. like i had come to a friend's house when they weren't home and their parents were feeding me anyway. nothing wrong with the service, i just felt off, like i was badly impersonating someone i don't know well.

i miss sorrel.

we ended up going to AlDiLa and had a fabulous meal. My sister noted that she was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't a pasta-based (red sauce joint) style of food. Lots of options with different meats to choose. She said her husband, who doesn't like Italian, would love it.

the thing about aliseo that I've noticed is that they tend to do a lot of weird stuff that I avoid avoid avoid. the fig stuffed pork loin is great. the seafood lasagna? just as awful as it sounds. the trick to that joint is to walk in and treat albano like you've known him forever. it's the first restaurant I ate in in PH when I first moved here - my folks LOVE IT - and albano took to us for being so chatty. if you've met me and know how chatty I can be with barkeeps, restaurant servers, etc, my dad is 100x me so I come by it naturally. by the time we left, albano was sending us to his friend delissa's new space, sepia, on underhill which had just opened. the thing I hate about aliseo is that their menu is basically a giant lie - most of the time 50% of the dishes aren't available. rather than reprinting a seasonal menu, they just leave everything there and tell you half the shit you want isn't available.

the thing I love about garden cafe is that they use all those old school, american ancient grains. sides made with bulgher or spelt make me super happy. my mother just loves that place (my dad has never been).

albano came into amorina once and gave us these awesome macroons his sister had made. i got nothing against him. i just don't love aliseo.

I went to Aliseo once, and while I thought the food was okay (and a solid Italian nearby is not a bad thing to have) I definitely noticed that you did better there if you knew the owner. People who came in after us got seated immediately because they knew him. I was kinda turned off by that.

yes, my wife and i used to go to aliseo pretty regularly but stopped going after a couple of sour experiences, including one on a big birthday for her that turned out to be a big drag. it's true that folks who seemed to be on a very friendly basis were treated nicely, while others not so much. garden cafe, on the other hand, has always been great.

alafairnadia wrote: the thing about aliseo that I've noticed is that they tend to do a lot of weird stuff that I avoid avoid avoid. the fig stuffed pork loin is great. the seafood lasagna? just as awful as it sounds. the trick to that joint is to walk in and treat albano like you've known him forever. it's the first restaurant I ate in in PH when I first moved here - my folks LOVE IT - and albano took to us for being so chatty. if you've met me and know how chatty I can be with barkeeps, restaurant servers, etc, my dad is 100x me so I come by it naturally. by the time we left, albano was sending us to his friend delissa's new space, sepia, on underhill which had just opened. the thing I hate about aliseo is that their menu is basically a giant lie - most of the time 50% of the dishes aren't available. rather than reprinting a seasonal menu, they just leave everything there and tell you half the shit you want isn't available.

the thing I love about garden cafe is that they use all those old school, american ancient grains. sides made with bulgher or spelt make me super happy. my mother just loves that place (my dad has never been).

I gotta say I find their menu terribly UNseasonal. They think its always Autumn!! (oh and the secret ingredient? SALT)

yeah. I mean, if I'm going to get nicely salted yummy food, I'm heading to franny's.

also, I think a lot of stuff at aliseo changed after he had to start using a real kitchen rather than the one in his apartment. (absurd)

that said, if someone wanted to take me to fancy meal in PH, I'd go garden cafe.

I think I'm missing something. What is this James place and where is it?

OpossumQueen wrote: I think I'm missing something. What is this James place and where is it?

Where Sorrel used to be, at Carlton and St Marks.

stopped being lazy and googled. Looks tasty.

http://jamesrestaurantny.squarespace.com/info/

Yup - looks like the Garden Cafe is closed for good.

http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/off/788350405.html

Hey Sneaky, the restaurant in the drug store you were thinking of is called Locanda Vini e Olii and is on Gates and Cambridge. It is still very much open--we go there regularly.

meganlibrarian wrote: Yup - looks like the Garden Cafe is closed for good.

http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/off/788350405.html

:shock: :shock: seriously?!?
I was just reading new reviews of the place on chowhound.

Well, maybe not closed as such (I have no idea), but it's definitely for sale.

One of the guys at A&S Pork over on 5th Ave told me that they looked at a restaurant space on Vanderbilt. Wonder if it was this one. [Before anyone gets his/her hopes up that A&S is comin' over to PH, the guy said that the space was too small. They also looked at the old hardware store space at Vanderbilt and Dean but said that it needs "a ton" of work.]