Lookout Hill - Closing Tonight

Vaca frita, yum... Hey, J0518, have you tried the vaca frita at Cafecito on Avenue C & 10th St.? My favorite.

Never really understood why no one can get it together to offer good Cuban food in NYC. Victor's is way too expensive & too touristy. Every other place I've tried has its own deficiencies. You can usually tell just from the rice & beans that they're not getting it right. Then you get improper marinading. Even the coffee is typically wrong - real Cuban restaurants don't give you sugar on the side; the coffee should be super-sweet to start with.

I've never had any issues with the Cuban food at Rincon Criollo, 40-09 Junction Blvd in Queens (1/2 block south of the 7 Train & Roosevelt Ave). I've eaten there with people born and raised in Cuba and they swear by it. I could eat a plate of rice there and be happy (but their vaca frita, chicken bits and other fried meats are delicious too).

Zebra wrote: Vaca frita, yum... Hey, J0518, have you tried the vaca frita at Cafecito on Avenue C & 10th St.? My favorite.

Never really understood why no one can get it together to offer good Cuban food in NYC. Victor's is way too expensive & too touristy. Every other place I've tried has its own deficiencies. You can usually tell just from the rice & beans that they're not getting it right. Then you get improper marinading. Even the coffee is typically wrong - real Cuban restaurants don't give you sugar on the side; the coffee should be super-sweet to start with.

the issue, to me, is simple: there aren't that many Cubans in NYC, and too many non-Cubans tried to cash in when Cuban themed things were cool.

I've been to Cafecito twice. got served yellow rice and black beans the first time, which is usually sign #1 that there ain't any Cubans running the operation. i talked to the owner, though, and he was a pretty nice guy, and of Cuban descent, if i remember correctly. i think i remember the food being ok the second time i was there.

you're right on every single point, though. no one, other than the two village spots, and the overpriced Victor's, gets it right.

i haven't tried Rincon Criollo, but i did try El Sitio in Woodside once and liked it.

i'd like to see something along the lines of Cuba or Havana Alma de Cuba in the neighborhood. I think it'd do really well, and wouldn't interefere with Bogota's business, since they're off doing something completely different.

I will say that one of the best places I've EVER been to is right across the bridge....Azucar in Edgewater and Jersey City. As good as the best Miami spots.

How about some good old fashioned Red Hook huaraches?

<---Cuban

i'm cuban too....

would that actually make FOUR of us on here, or are you all kidding?

I'm half-Cuban myself. Who wants to start a gang?

Dim Sum, Cuban or (please god) Vietnamese!

Video game arcade, bowling alley, or pool hall!

does four and a half quality as a gang?

btw....whoever mentioned a salad place......that's another winner for me.

J0518 wrote: does four and a half quality as a gang?

btw....whoever mentioned a salad place......that's another winner for me.

That was me with the salad place.

I'm only half-Cuban as well. And half French. I'm a Fruban

OTB or cash checking place.

Just kidding.

I vote for good Cuban.

A really good produce market would work

a faux dive bar would be cool with me.

I want a hardware store that sells vietnamese sandwiches (for under $5) and is open until 10pm.

seems like there would be a huge market for vietnamese sandwiches in this hood...

or how about a beard papa?

:roll: wouldnt it be great if some regular on this site (some with over 1000 posts!!) finally opens a business themselves instead of whining and criticizing and complaining and suggesting everyone else do it. Have any of you? im not talking about making pottery here or creating websites or whatever most of you do for a living - those are jobs - im talking about an actual brick and mortar business.

by the way, thanks Lookout Hill for everything!

Chinese deli!

what about "Brooklynian.com/parkslope, The Store!"

eatshoplocal wrote: :roll: wouldnt it be great if some regular on this site (some with over 1000 posts!!) finally opens a business themselves instead of whining and criticizing and complaining and suggesting everyone else do it. Have any of you? im not talking about making pottery here or creating websites or whatever most of you do for a living - those are jobs - im talking about an actual brick and mortar business.

by the way, thanks Lookout Hill for everything!

Lookout sucked just like Buscuit did. So, eatsshoplocal are you offering up the $$ finacial backing for us to open a shop? If so a bunch of us will take you up on it.

It'd be nice if entrepreneurs did their research in advance and identified needs in communities before setting up shop.

Some businesses I would support would be:

-A shoe repair shop that makes with competent, talented staff that's open daily from 8AM-8PM

-Pharmacies with good customer service

-An international grocery store with Chinatown and Astoria grocery prices

-Doctor who do house calls

-A video game arcade

-A movie theater

-A dry cleaner that's open on Sundays.

Are any of those ideas researched?

an international grocery store with chinatown and astoria grocery prices?

you forgot to add with good customer service

hopeless, completely hopeless...

"Playa Cabana Bar" - that's the new face of Lookout Hill/Biscuit/Night&Day/BiBis. Have to say, it doesn't sound super promising but maybe they'll have good reasonable drinks and fresh grilled fish tacos. That being said, I will leave immediately if Jimmy Buffet comes on the sound system.

Yeah, why can't Park slope have a small Independent theater?
It would show hollywood and artsy movies. Hosts midnight movies, themed classic movie nights... maybe even a mix of an art house theater?

I miss that :-(

If it is the same owners/chef and they execute as well as they did the last 3 or 4 versions of this restaurant, it is sure to stink. Too bad - it is a good spot. I will give it a try when it reopens and hope for the best.

the owners don't seem to listen to what the neighborhood wants, so they must take blame for these endeavors failing.

i am all for giving places a chance, but playa cabana bar sounds like it will last about 2 seconds.

look through the hundreds of threads to see what people in this neighborhood want. we want vietnamese, we want GOOD indian, we want brick oven pizza...the list goes on...

it's just such a shame they aren't paying attention since as was said, it IS such a great spot...

I think Raw & belzjm have a very good point. Can anyone else find the posts in the past where locals have voiced their opinion of what the nabe needs and what type of shop should open up here. I seem to recall this is a common topic. A store closes/we write out our wish list/and store turns out to be something else...

Does anyone else have examples of this?

Mamacita, I think the answer to your earlier question about a movie theater is because Park Slope has BAM very close by...