Ici

[MonsieurSatran]

"There is a restaurant paradox, too. Sometimes restaurants succeed precisely because they do not try too hard. Because they are humble in reach. Because they are what they are, and they know what that is.

Ici provides a good example. Its menu is extremely brief, with as few as a half-dozen appetizers and a half-dozen entrees. The handiwork behind some dishes is as simple as a sauté pan, butter and a few accents and herbs."

Ici (Frank Bruni)

Frank Bruni gives Ici one star. What does everyone think? Has anyone been?

[bloviatrix]

Blovie caught Bruni's report on NY1. Bruni explained that he chose Ici because he wanted to show that there are quality places to eat in the outer boroughs. Plus, even though it's a neighborhood place it's a couple of blocks from BAM so other people might want to check it out. Blovie got the feeling that Bruni plans on reviewing more places like this in the future.

[oakapple]

Coincidence? Joe Dziemianowicz reviews Ici in today's New York Daily News:

X marks the spot. It's a time-honored way to track a treasure. So put a big fat X at 246 Dekalb Ave., in Brooklyn.

That's home to Ici, a terrific new neighborhood restaurant with a noticeable French accent and just enough pizzazz to make you want to come back for another meal.

Decor in the dining room, which seats 40, is pleasantly low-key and low-lit. Brown tables and chairs are set against whitewashed bricks, cream-colored walls and two fireplaces (one works). In the picket-fence-enclosed garden strands of white lights form a constellation of glimmering stars.

The food on the small menu, which changes every week or so, isn't fussy or far-fetched. The dinner roster (they also serve breakfast and lunch) lists several salads, a few sautéed fish, seared steak, roasted chicken and a simple pasta. The ingredients are as fresh, local and organic as possible, but the prices won't scare anyone away.

... ... ... ...

In French, Ici means "here." Any place that makes me feel this good - I'm there.

[Pan]

I'll bet it'll be impossible to get a table there now...

[Sneakeater]

Not much commentary about Ici lately, so I thought I'd use a recent meal there as an excuse.

Ici is, to me, an emblematic "new Brooklyn" restaurant. It's earnest, homey, modest in scope and price, but more ambitious than you'd necessarily expect in reach and execution. It's not worth a detour, necessarily. But on the other hand, it's the kind of restaurant that would be very hard to succeed with in Manhattan. Given the high fixed costs there, you'd have to be pricier and probably more ambitious (or at least pretentious) -- but also less individual and quirky.

Ici's food takes off from French bistro, but with twists. (And -- to the extent anyone cares -- with an emphasis on organic ingredients.) There are all sorts of Mediterranean and sometimes even Asian accents. You get the feeling that the menu consists pretty much of what the chef (a woman with experience at Daniel and elswhere) conceives of that week or even day, based on market availability, the weather, etc. Not everything is great -- change that, not anything is great -- but the food ranges from very good to good. Thinking it over, Ici is sort of what Jarnac's supporters claim for that West Village spot -- but, to me, much more successful.

Last Saturday, I started with an excellent appetizer of local squid with lemon and lots and lots of smoked paprika. The lots and lots of smoked paprika turned out to be a good thing, as it added flavor interest to a dish that would otherwise have mostly been texture. This was Ici at its best: not wildly innovative, but unexpected and very good.

I then had roast duck. This was Ici at its most middling. The duck was a little dry, and the dish as a whole, while good enough, was nothing special.

The best dessert there is prettty consistently the date one. On Saturday, though, I opted for a fairly rich poundcake topped with a compote of "last of the season blood orange and first of the season rhubarb." (I ordered it pretty much because I was so charmed by the nomenclature.) It was fine.

Reading this over, it doesn't really communicate how much I enjoy Ici. The food is actually better than I made it sound (if, I emphasize, not worth a special trip). The room is pleasant in the extreme. And I love the extremely mixed -- in all conceivable ways -- clientele that Fort Greene restaurants attract. If you're in the neighborhood (at BAM, say), I really recommend your giving Ici a try.

Edited May 3, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[oakapple]

We're going Friday night (pre BAM)....looking forward to reporting back.

[Sneakeater]

I honestly can't wait to read what you think of it.

(I've got to get a life.)

[FatTony]

We live in the neighborhood and we visit Ici a fair bit. Our experiences have been so mixed it's hard to recommend wholeheartedly. And yet when it works it works really well, as Bruni says, succeeding because it accomplishes what it sets out to, and no more.

Despite the protestations of the neighborhood's boosters, Ici is one of the few places in Fort Greene with real ambition and capable of what I'd call Manhattan quality food. (There are several more such places in Park Slope).

Foodwise, the issue is inconsistency. I've had a wonderful french toast at brunch, perhaps the best I've ever eaten. The brunch bacon is thick cut, juicy and fatty (in the best way). They've offered a great short rib sandwich (lunch only) and the roast potatoes are delicious. I've had that squid dish and the paprika really does lift it. Last night I had a simple and delicious cucumber and yoghurt soup with plenty of mint, a perfect appetizer on an unusually warm May evening. But my roast chicken entree (a breast, a heap of white beans) was merely good and poor value at $21.

On another occasion, a duck confit appetizer came inundated by a mustardy dressing that was itself overpowering. The accompanying cornichons upped the acidic ante. Their sole pasta entree ("cavatelli, good olive oil, scallions") needs a fourth ingredient. The curry chicken salad sandwich with date and walnut is so sweet it ought to be offered as dessert.

My other beef lies with the service. When Ici is busy the staff simply can't cope. On numerous occasions I've been seated, waited for a menu, received the menu, been unable to attract a server to take my order, finished eating, can't get the check. Friends of ours who live in the neighborhood won't go back for this reason alone. During our last brunch visit all this happened, my eggs were seriously undercooked and we received the wrong check.

In this respect, Ici suffers from a malaise that's common among Brooklyn restaurants: it's not quite professional enough for prime time. The lack of real competition will keep me coming back, as will the lovely outside space and a decent wine list. But I think Ici could learn a few things from first rate Park Slope spots like Al di La, Blue Ribbon and Stone Park.

Looking forward to hearing about your experience Oakapple.

[Sneakeater]

I probably should have sent this by Private Message, but I really love your reviews, FatTony.

Edited May 5, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[H. du Bois]

In this respect, Ici suffers from a malaise that's common among Brooklyn restaurants: it's not quite professional enough for prime time. The lack of real competition will keep me coming back, as will the lovely outside space and a decent wine list. But I think Ici could learn a few things from first rate Park Slope spots like Al di La, Blue Ribbon and Stone Park.

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Maybe this isn't the right thread to ask this question, but the quote above made me think about it. Would we really want Brooklyn restaurants to be like Manhattan ones? I prefer the not-ready-for-prime-time ambience to the haute-er than thou atmosphere that some have attempted. One of the worst dining experiences of my life was at Vaux in its early incarnation, and it wasn't the fault of the food or the wine (the waitstaff were colder and ruder than they were incompetent). The food/decor/ambience were far more suited to the upper east side than to Park Slope, and they just plain got it wrong. Their transformation to bistro food and atmosphere was closer to the mark, though it was, alas, unsuccessful.

I like the less edgy atmosphere of Brooklyn restaurants - it works for me. And all the bastions of haute cuisine in Manhattan are only a train ride away.

As for Ici, I've not been yet - but I'll have to check it out.

[FatTony]

Thanks Sneakereater

[Sneakeater]

Maybe this isn't the right thread to ask this question, but the quote above made me think about it.  Would we really want Brooklyn restaurants to be like Manhattan ones?  I prefer the not-ready-for-prime-time ambience to the haute-er than thou atmosphere that some have attempted.  One of the worst dining experiences of my life was at Vaux in its early incarnation, and it wasn't the fault of the food or the wine (the waitstaff were colder and ruder than they were incompetent).  The food/decor/ambience were far more suited to the upper east side than to Park Slope, and they just plain got it wrong.  Their transformation to bistro food and atmosphere was closer to the mark, though it was, alas, unsuccessful. 

I like the less edgy atmosphere of Brooklyn restaurants - it works for me.  And all the bastions of haute cuisine in Manhattan are only a train ride away.

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I agree with this completely.

Edited May 6, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[Sneakeater]

For that matter, as I've said elsewhere, I far prefer a place like Ici, which tries and often succeeds at doing something unslick but individualistic, to Saul, which strikes me as a rather provincial attempt to create an undemanding but mellifluous version of haute cuisine.

(I guess that's why I prefer the Clash to the Eagles, or Neil Young to James Taylor.)

[H. du Bois]

For that matter, as I've said elsewhere, I far prefer a place like Ici, which tries and often succeeds at doing something unslick but individualistic, to Saul, which strikes me as a rather provincial attempt to create an undemanding but mellifluous version of haute cuisine.

(I guess that's why I prefer the Clash to the Eagles, or Neil Young to James Taylor.)

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Glad you added the musical analogy - I've not yet been to Saul or Ici, so it would have been difficult to picture the differences between the two.

(Pondering, with pleasure, a gastronomic version of the Clash ...)

[oakapple]

A friend and I had dinner at Ici last Friday night. I should have taken better notes when my memory was fresh, but I vaguely recall starting with a goat cheese salad that was unspectacular, followed by sea bass that was simply grilled, and presented competently without any frills.

Ici is about a fifteen-minute walk from the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and is a safe choice for a pre-show meal. Much of the clientele seemed to be from the Fort Greene neighborhood. The outdoor garden is lovely, and the restaurnt is child-friendly.

Our meal was nothing special, but it was enjoyable and easy on the pocketbook. I will certainly consider going back the next time I am going to BAM. Otherwise, I wouldn't make a special trip.

[Sneakeater]

With all this rumormongering and denial going on, it's hard to know what's true.

But most of this part of Brooklyn would agree: anyone who'd leave Catherine is seriously misguided.

[Nina C.]

With all this rumormongering and denial going on, it's hard to know what's true.

But most of this part of Brooklyn would agree:  anyone who'd leave Catherine is seriously misguided.

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I assume you are talking about this? http://www.villagevoice.com/blogs/food/arc...terday_grub.php

Sounds like a disgruntled employee spreading gossip....