Vaux -- Blue Ribbon Brooklyn

[cabrales]

Blue Ribbon Brooklyn's impending opening is reported in the New York magazine newsletter. Apologies that, up on a brief search, I was unable to locate the prior discussion, which I believe included Nina's input.

"Blue Ribbon Sushi

Now that brothers Eric and Bruce Bromberg have established an outer-borough beachhead with their Blue Ribbon Brooklyn, they’ve taken the inevitable next step: cloning Blue Ribbon Sushi right next door. The Park Slope spinoff, formerly Vaux, is bigger and boxier than the Sullivan Street original, and features a raw bar—something of a Blue Ribbon signature—stocked with giant abalone, sea urchin, and Alaska king crab. Partner Toshi Ueki oversees a **menu identical to Manhattan’s,** from appetizers like peppered lamb with red miso and soy sauce to special maki rolls like the Blue Ribbon (half a lobster, shiso, and black caviar).

278 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn

718-840-0408"

I guess prices might approximate the original?

[La Niña]

It's not open yet, so no definitive information on the pricing.

I can't wait. Right in my 'hood!

Edited January 25, 2003 by La Niña (log)

[Stephanie]

I heard it opened yesterday. Will give it a look when I go to Bonnie's Grill later.

[La Niña]

Woah! Please report what you see!

[Stephanie]

It is definitely open. I don't know what the hours are, but I passed by just after 5:30 and there were a few people eating already. There is a little sitting/waiting area in front with some low benches. I only took a quick peek into the dining room--there's a nice size sushi bar plus tables, and the motif is all polished wood & clean lines.

I've never been to BRS in Manhattan, so I can't say if the prices are the same. (It does seem like it will be the priciest Japanese restaurant in Brooklyn.) The menu has a long list of appetizers, some salads and hot entrees, a full page of nigiri sushi and another 1/2 page of rolls, including some vegetarian offerings. In addition, there was a menu insert of daily specials--I counted about 10 appetizers, 8-10 sushi fish (I only remember the bluefin tuna), and a few other entrees. They do take credit cards.

I'm very glad it finally opened before I depart the 'hood, and I hope to pay it a visit in the next couple of weeks (along with Thomas Biesl).

[roryrabbitfield]

Does anyone know if it will be open for lunch? It's so annoying that many of the best restaurants in the Slope are dinner only. What's a girl to do for the 2nd most important meal of the day?

Rory

[roryrabbitfield]

I ate at Blue Ribbon Sushi (5th Ave near 1st Street, Brooklyn) last night. It was really great. They have a few interesting touches, maybe they do this in their Manhattan location, but I don't know because I haven't tried it. I ordered green tea, which came in a wine glass and contained a round ball of tea leaves, tied together at the center, like a pompom. I've never seen this before. They happily refilled my glass with hot water whenever it was low. I think it would be better to provide a teapot with the pompom in that, because it's not ideal to drink a hot drink from a wine glass, and the refilling-when-low approach means your first glass is strong and the rest are progressively weaker.

Next came miso soup with mushrooms. Here, the interesting touch was that they provide you with the miso paste in a separate bowl, which you mix into your soup to taste. You can use a spoon to mix the paste with a little broth, then add the thinned-down paste to the soup bowl. I thought this was an interesting and nice touch, but might not think so on the second go-round. I think that adding the miso separately does little to improve the soup. It's great for DIY advocates though.

I got a seaweed salad next. Four varieties of seaweed, each served in separate piles, on the same plate. It was good, and there was a lot of it. I didn't finish one of the varieties, left most of it over. The waiter was VERY concerned about my having left it over, and came back to check if there was anything wrong with it. They were seriously concerned! They offered to give me something to replace it, but I assured them it was fine, there was nothing wrong with it. (They ended up giving me a free dessert at the end of the meal.)

I tried their special "Blue Ribbon" roll, with lobster and black caviar. I have to say it didn't blow me away. The lobster wasn't used to its best advantage somehow. The roll is $16, due to the premium ingredients, but there are probaby more exciting flavors in the special rolls section of the menu.

I also had a few a la carte sashimi pieces, all exceptionally fresh.

Try their Plum Wine (Ume Shu). It comes with a pickled plum. tasty.

It was a treat to eat at such a great restaurant so close to home (I live around the corner.) The bigger treat was to eat at a brand new place that is trying so hard to be top notch, and is supremely concerned with customer happiness. I left feeling like they had treated me in a very special way, and I will happily eat my way through their menu (which will be an expensivew project).

The interior is beautiful too. It is open for Dinner only. Closed Mondays.

Rory

[cabrales]

Blue Ribbon Sushi (Manhattan) has a lobster sashimi that is fairly nice (although somewhat expensive; I can't remember whether whole or large portions of a lobster have to be ordered). I haven't tried the lobster/caviar roll.

Edited February 5, 2003 by cabrales (log)

[Stephanie]

I just got back from a very nice dinner at BRS Brooklyn. It seemed fairly empty for a Friday night, even as early as I went. I started out with a small glass of Bishoden sake. There are several sakes you can get in that size, which probably holds no more than a double shot, and a few of them go for only $3. The Bishoden was not too dry; I think the menu described it as "fruity."

My appetizer was a special, saba mackerel stew cooked in miso. The saba was nicely cooked and the broth/gravy was a little rich, almost as if cream or something similar had been added. I like that I was brought a separate tray to put the bones on.

I tried the roll with spicy scallops and smelt roe. The scallop was almost buttery in texture and not too spicy, and the smelt roe added a nice contrasting texture. I also had several nigiri sushi pieces: a special of baby eel, a special of hamaga (sp?) mackerel, salmon, smoked yellowtail, arctic char, fluke, tuna, and egg. (I had wanted to try the trout, but they were out of it.) I was impressed by the quality of fish, particularly the arctic char and hamaga. The baby eel was tender and not overly sweet. The only thing I didn't like was the smoked yellowtail, which may be an acquired taste. I also thought that while the pieces of fish were a nice size (not too big), the rice was not big enough, leaving the fish to flop over the rice.

When my sushi was brought out, I was told that they use tamari soy sauce rather than regular soy sauce, and that the wasabi was fresh-grated. I'd never had fresh wasabi before--what a difference from the green paste you usually get! I was actually taking little nibbles of it to taste it without the soy sauce.

When it came time for dessert, the waiter said "I'm going to bring a surprise for you." It turned out to be a sponge cake roll filled with a mixture of sweetened red beans & whipped cream, topped with red bean ice cream and chocolate sauce. The ice cream was just OK, but I enjoyed the cake. The sponge cake part had a hint of almond to it, and I later found out it had been soaked in plum wine.

The service was very solicitous, except for the fact that I kept getting pushed to try more sake. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that my appetizer and my dessert had been comped. I don't know if this is just a new business thing or if that's something BRS in Manhattan does. Even with the comps, the tab with tax & tip came to just under $47 for 1 person.

Definitely a top-notch place, and a good addition to the neighborhood if you want something a cut above Yamato or The Gingko Leaf.

Edited February 8, 2003 by Stephanie (log)