Saul in Brooklyn

[zeitoun]

Not sure if this was discussed before but has anyone been to Saul in Brooklyn? I live not too far from it and went there twice in the past year.

Saul Bolton, the chef, used to work at le Bernardin; he is in my humble opinion cooking some pretty good meals over there. I am not too fond of the Smith Street choice of restaurants however, I think this one deserves a citation. It was recently given a generous 27 for food in Zagat. Although many would agree, myself included, that Zagat is not a reliable reference for food rating, Saul deserves a high mark. In terms of comparison, I would even say that Grocery and Garden Cafe also in Brooklyn (both in my opinion huge let downs for food) which were both given high ratings in last year’s Zagat survey, do not come close to what is being offered at Saul. My only two reproaches so far: the menu should change more frequently and desserts are far from being impressive.

I would be curious to find out your impressions.

[MichaelZ]

I live in Brooklyn Heights, so have occasion to go to Saul fairly often, but not often enough. I believe it is clearly the "best" (I know that is a personal thing....) restaurant on Smith St., combining good food, service and ambience. Way more appealing than the Grocery, in my view. Saul is underrated and underappreciated. It deserves to be full all of the time.

[Cathy-Ann]

I've been to Saul a number of times. They offer a great prix fixe, and their duck confit is wonderful. On occasion, they also offer wine pairing dinners (I'm kicking myself that I was too sick to attend one on the wines of Burgundy).

[chefrodrigo]

I used to work for Saul. A very cool guy who is definitely serious about food. He was one of the, if not THE, Smith street pioneers who does deserve more praise.

Rodney

[Pan]

Please tell us more about the cuisine there. Also, what kinds of prices are we talking about and what are the cross streets?

[zeitoun]

Please tell us more about the cuisine there. Also, what kinds of prices are we talking about and what are the cross streets?

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The cuisine is American with strong French influences, very much like (in style) what you could find at places such as GT or 11 Madison just to name a few. Saul is still essentially a neighborhood restaurant, and I sincerely hope it will remain that way. It is not quite a "destination restaurant" but does belong in the category of places that should be given a try by those who truly appreciate good food. The chef and owner does care about the food he makes, and the experience you will have there will make you feel that way. This is why I think Saul deserves an acknowledgment, this kind of genuine care and attention is unfortunately rare nowadays in the restaurant industry.

Prices are affordable, in the $35 to $60 range per person. Dinner only is served (no brunch, another trait I admire!). The wine list is respectable.

The restaurant is located on Smith Street between Bergen and Dean Streets.

And I will restate, it is in my opinion much better than the Grocery a few blocks down the street.

[Pan]

Thanks, zeitoun.

[oakapple]

I never would have tried Saul, but for its recently-acquired Michelin star. It is actually a very close trip from my apartment in lower Manhattan — two stops into Brooklyn on the A; change to the F across the platform, and then one stop to the corner of Bergen and Smith Sts. Saul is just a couple of steps down from the subway exit.

The space is pleasant, but forgettable. The food is remarkable. You can see why the Michelin inspectors were impressed. We started with an amuse of hot curry soup. My companion and I both started with the smoky seafood chowder, which resembled a New England clam chowder, but with hefty chunks of smoked fish in the broth, and a helping of dainty micro-croutons served on the side. The soup was served in a slightly oval dish with its own ceramic cover, which the server removed tableside.

For the main course, my friend ordered the sliced ribeye, while I ordered an off-menu special called the Lamb Tasting. This consisted of lamb cooked four ways with a bed of mixed vegetables and spices. The two most memorable components of the dish were a lamb sausage and a shreded lamb confit inside a fluffy pastry.

For dessert, we both had the Baked Alaska, for which Michelin had printed the recipe in their guide. This was pleasant enough, although nowhere as memorable as what had gone before.

I don't believe Saul carries a rating from the New York Times, but I have no hesitation in saying that the restaurant is serving three-star food — at least on the strength of this one visit. Dinner for two came to about $200 including tax and tip, which included a $45 bottle of wine.

[Kent Wang]

I had the smoked seafood chowder when I went a few months ago. Didn't you find the broth to be way too thin to be a chowder? Everything else about the soup was great though.

[notsomuch]

I think Chef Saul Bolton has created some of the best food in New York City. I've eaten there once and was so much more impressed than anything I've had at any of the other one star Michelin restaurants that I've dined at. His food is innovative without being experimental, the service is genuine and without pretension.

On my visit, I had the seafood chowder (which I agree with the above poster that it was loose, but I preferred that), and my girlfriend had the hamachi tartare (served with avocado creme) and we shared the rabbit crepinette that was featured that evening. Great start to the evening. Chowder was hearty without being weighty, the tartare (served elegantly in a short martini glass) had some bite (thanks to some wasabi infused tobiko), and the rabbit was lovely served over a whole grain mustard and carrot/cumin sauce.

Next up was entrees. My lady had the ribeye, which was decadent (Chef Bolton thinks it isn't enough to give you sliced ribeye, but finishes the dish with a piece of braised beef short rib...ridiculous), while I had the scallops. Three U-10 scallops with wilted leaves of romaine heart and topped off with raw Parma prosciutto. (A raw element!) And then the dish is topped off with a hint of peppermint and almonds.

Dessert was surprisingly good. The Valrhona chocolate cake, warm pinenut tart and pumpkin souffle are all winners. (I can't remember with great detail these dishes...I drank heavily throughout the evening...I hope all of you understand.)

The wine list was small but strong. The list is very reasonable priced.

I recommend this restaurant without any reservation and hope all on eGullet go to this true gem.

Edited December 21, 2005 by notsomuch (log)

[Pan]

I think Chef Saul Bolton has created some of the best food in New York City. I've eaten there once and was so much more impressed than anything I've had at any of the other one star Michelin restaurants. His food is innovative without being experimental, the service is genuine and without pretension.[...]

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I appreciate the report.

Just out of curiosity, which of the other Michelin one-star restaurants have you been to in New York?

[notsomuch]

I've been to these one star Michelin restaurants: Annisa, Cafe Gray, Gotham Bar and Grill, Gramercy Tavern, Oceana, Spotted Pig, The Modern, Wallse and WD-50.

[oakapple]

I think Chef Saul Bolton has created some of the best food in New York City. I've eaten there once and was so much more impressed than anything I've had at any of the other one star Michelin restaurants.

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I've been to 17 of the 31 one-star restaurants in the guide. I couldn't say that Saul is serving better food than, say, Babbo or WD-50. But I can see why the Michelin inspectors thought Saul was good enough to be considered an approximate culinary peer of those restaurants.

[Pan]

I've been to these one star Michelin restaurants: Annisa, Cafe Gray, Gotham Bar and Grill, Gramercy Tavern, Oceana, Spotted Pig, The Modern, Wallse and WD-50.

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You get around. Thank you. I look forward to more reports from you.

[oakapple]

In today's New York Daily News, Pascale Le Draoulec awards 2½ stars to Saul:

Restaurant Saul in Boerum Hill takes its name from chef and owner Saul Bolton. But Saul could also be an acronym for this honey pot of a restaurant: Sophisticated. American. Unpretentious. And oh, so Lovely.

The fatty top layer of his pork belly starter jiggles like, well, a bowlful of jelly. He counters its gelatinous richness with sharp pickled okra, firm black lentils and grassy grilled scallions.

The winning entree was the Chatham cod served atop a perfect brandade in a bowl with steamed cockles, a puree of piquillo chilis and two strips of chorizo in a frothy, parsley green shellfish broth.

[Sneakeater]

This is carping, but as a longtime Brooklyn resident, I would dispute that Saul opened "long before" Smith Street became a Restaurant Row. I'd say Saul was part of the second wave (OK, maybe the first-and-a-half wave) of the Restaurants to open in that Row.

Edited December 23, 2005 by Sneakeater (log)

[rich]

Had dinner at Saul last evening - arrived at 7pm and was immediately impressed with the attractive interior and spacing of the room.

The amuse bouche was a creamy red lentil soup with saffron scented yogurt - quite flavorful and a great contrast between the hot soup and cold yogurt.

The bread was first rate - a sour dough, crusty example of what many bakers strive to attain - served with soft, room temperature butter.

Our (my wife) first course was roasted sardines and the duo of fois gras. Both were quite good. They served three large sardines, which meant being careful about the bones. They were fresh and had a strong flavor of the sea - served over a red bell pepper/pear coulis. My wife's fois gras was extraordinary. A piece of warm, roasted fois gras along with a cold piece, served with chopped fresh figs and toast points.

The entrees were the pork special and roasted squab. My wife had the pork, which consisted of a pork chop, pork shoulder and pork belly. It came with whipped garlic/majoram flavored potatoes and ginger-scented sauerkraut. The belly was soft, rich and full of robust flavors. The chop and shoulder were cooked perfectly - moist and very delicious. I opted for the $10 supplement and had fois gras with the squab. It was served medium rare, sliced into small medallions and two "drumsticks" The skin was crispy, the meat tender and the fois gras was the perfect foil for both. It was served with Israeli couscous and sauteed spinach - both added another dimension and texture to the dish.

For dessert we opted for the cheese selection for two (at $16, possibly the best deal in NYC). We were served six (they gave us one extra) healthy portions of cheese (if I can find the list, I will post the types). It came with grilled sour dough bread, which gave the bread a totally different flavor, and elderberry preserves - an extraordinary dessert. We had two dessert wines. I had a Vin d'Glace from Oregon ($8) and my wife had a Vin Santo from Italy ($18 - she always picks the most expensive dessert wine when I'm paying). During dinner we had a 2000 DeLoach Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonoma ($36).

Only one negative about Saul and it's the wine list. Not with the content, but the pricing. Most wines (and there was a good to very good international selection) fell into the treble damages plus category and that's just asking too much. There were three reds below that level so I went with the DoLoach, which at $36 came to a little less than 2 1/2 times retail.

Dinner with tax and tip came to $212.

I did learn one interesting fact. The couple that sat down next to us (as we were in the middle of our entree) were served small plate after small plate. It looked like a tasting menu, but there was no indication on the menu. When I asked our waiter, he confirmed it was a tatsing menu and said if we called by 4pm of the day we were dining, it would be possible to have one created. I'm certainly going to take him up on that offer on our next visit.

One more note - Saul has some of the most attractive and unique tableware I've seen - especially the soup bowls.

Edited January 20, 2006 by rich (log)

[Brooklyn]

In a word, remarkable.

[Pan]

In a word, remarkable.

←

OK, but would you please elaborate?

[Brooklyn]

In a word, remarkable.

←

OK, but would you please elaborate?

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Go there and see for yourselves. They are serving dishes as creative and well prepared as almost anywhere in NYC. It is a gem of a restaurant.

[gaf]

Sweet Brooklyn New York City Entry #88 Saul

A friend of mine decreed that I needed some Brooklyn chow, so we braved the F train out to restaurant row on the Smith Street corridor, somewhere between Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill, and Cobble Hill. (Jonathan Lethem can point to the subtle divisions, but I am lost).

We chose Saul, one of the earlier outposts along this gentrified stretch, well-loved by Brooklyn Zagateers and known by crusty Manhattanites for the novelty of its Michelin star. Saul's allure makes us the bridge and tunnel crowd.

Judging by Saul, Brooklyn dining reminds me of the best meals I have had in Minneapolis or St. Louis, filled with diner's pleasures. No putdown to be sure, but as has been noted Saul is inventive without being experimental. If you do not expect to be walloped in the gut or in the wallet, you will eat well. Chef Saul Bolton knows what we like, and if we are not confronted, we are indulged.

The first glance tells the tale. Saul is a sleek but modest space. The exposed brick and paper tablecloths say much about what argue is the best dining in the borough (if one doesn't count The River Café or Peter Luger or DiFara). Saul is less art than craft, and the prices (for both food and wine) match. Put another way, the food at Saul doesn't seem to be in dialogue with the current trends across the river; it merely aims to satisfy. The innovations are thoughtful, but don't amount to a philosophy of the plate.

We began with an amuse (or more properly a starter) of the signature carrot-ginger soup with chive creme fraiche. The overriding sensation was a velvet tranquility. The ginger was an undertone. Although it was presented as carrot-ginger, I had to wonder how much ginger was present (on the menu, it is listed as "carrot soup").

My appetizer was duck confit with Anson Mills grits, pickled ramps, and green fava beans. Perhaps the dish suffered slightly from being overly sweet (a problem throughout the dinner - and often evident in restaurants distant from New York, where chefs have learned that the surest way to please diners is to remember, following Mary Poppins, that a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down). The sweet pickled ramps and what may have been a honey glaze made for a dish that was easy to eat and perhaps a bit too easy to savor. Most intriguing were the jade green al dente favas. The dish was well-made, but not a challenge.

Saul's candied creativity was on display in my main course, a nightly special: Rabbit loin and rack of rabbit (a very miniaturized rack) with chestnut honey puree, caramelized endive, frisee and green apple, served with a cider reduction. Here was a main course dessert. I particularly admired the clever frisee with apple. The chestnut puree added a distinctive herbal note, but verged on cloying. Admittedly the number of diners who would object to having a three courses of dessert might be tiny indeed.

My dessert was also sweet and good. (My companion ordered the Goat Cheese Panna Cotta, which was not sweet, he attested; that might be a better choice for those who felt a saccharine buzz). My choice was a poached bosc pear in a saffron scented passion fruit cream, and a macadamia nut crunch dulce de leche ice cream. I couldn't taste much promised saffron; the plate was all fruit and nuts. The passion fruit and macadamia nuts echoed the surf on Smith Street.

I enjoyed each sweet mouthful. And yet I felt that chef Bolton pandered to my pleasures. This is a restaurant for eaters, not for chefs, not for critics. Saul does not rely on a theory of the table, merely the practice of an evening's delight. Crossing the river is to travel from art to craft. For Manhattanites the East River is as wide as the Mississippi.

Saul

140 Smith Street (at Bergen Street)

Brooklyn (Boerum Hill)

718-935-9844

My Webpage: Vealcheeks

[Sneakeater]

Another gaf review that nails it.

FWIW, I think Saul is somewhat overrated. And just for the reasons you said. To me, it's sort of like "fine dining lite" -- very good, but the sort of thing we can get better and more creative over the bridge. My favorte (non-"cheap eats"-ethnic) Brooklyn restaurants are more like Al Di La or Ici or even Madiba -- less, I don't want to say pretentious, but maybe more quirky and "of themselves", the kind of things maybe you couldn't afford to do in Manhattan, rather than a smaller-scale version of what's done better in Manhattan.

Edited April 18, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[Sneakeater]

Even on the Smith St. Row, I always preferred Patois (where I haven't eaten in years, so don't ask). Not that I've been yet, but for now Taku seems most promising there.

[Sneakeater]

FWIW, there's a list of "Brooklyn cuisine" restaurants in the current issue of New York that (accepting the basic misguidedness of attempting such a list) actually sort of captures what's best about the "new" Brooklyn restaurant scene.

[Daniel]

My friend and I had dinner here tonight..

We were given a carrot amuse.. Was very creamy.. Almost like it was carrot scented cream soup.. Either way, it was free and a nice touch..

I had a salad.. Trumpet, hen of the woods,shitake mushrooms,asparagus, poached egg, pancetta, a slice of parm.. The salad was really great.. A ton of mushrooms, it was hearty, and to scrape the plate with the crusty bread they give you.. Good stuff... The bread was very good.. It was a crusty sourdough from Sullivan St. Bakery..

I had another appetizer for my main.. I had the pork belly with lentils..

Great dish.. The pork belly was cooked perfectly.. The lentils were done well.. A salad with sherry vinegar on top of roasted onions on puff pastry.. This dish was really enjoyable.. Again, loved to scrape the plate with the bread..

For dessert we ordered one of the better Baked Alaskas I've had... I feel like it was the Pastry Chef's version of a smores.. It tasted like a perfectly toasted marshmallow mixed with chocolate ice cream and a cookie.. The stiff meringue used, was super sweet and really toasted well under the broiler.. It gave it that toasted marshmallow taste..

We also had a few cups of a pretty good French press coffee and some cognac.. Its not a destination but, if you are in the area its a really solid experience.. Waitstaff was really cool..

Edited April 28, 2006 by Daniel (log)