Flatbush Farm

[Sneakeater]

The first thing that must be said is that this place has by far the worst signage that I've ever seen on a serious restaurant in New York. It's a real eyesore.

Flatbush Farm has opened in the old St. Marks Bistro space at Flatbush and St. Marks in Brooklyn. It's a typical New Brooklyn Restaurant: seasonal ingredients, organically or sustainably produced when possible, eclectic but simple ingredient-driven recipes, blah blah blah.

If this were ten years ago, I'd have been ecstatic to have this restaurant so close to my neighborhood. Now, I have to think that the food at the somewhat similar Stone Park Cafe -- to name just one place -- while possibly a bit more expensive (although possibly not -- I'm terrible at remembering prices), is much better as food; and the prix fixe at the much more similar Sorrel is a much much better value (and, although much cheaper, might also be better as food). And Franny's -- pretty much across the street -- is one of the best places to eat in New York City, IMO.

In other words, the Brooklyn dining scene has now developed to the point where I can say that I won't be rushing back to this perfectly respectable place because there are so many superior local options. Who'd have thought?

Edited October 10, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[Sneakeater]

Since one of the things I ordered was singled out for dispraise in the generally favorable "Underground Gourmet" review on the New York Magazine "Grub Street" food blog, I guess I should specify, as perhaps I'm being unfair to this place as a result of ordering poorly on one visit.

1. Tuna Belly over Slow-Cooked Beans with Olive Oil -- Not as unctuous as I'd expect tuna belly to be. And much more cooked.

2. Pork Goulash over Egg Noodles -- Boring.

3. Fruit Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream -- Of course this was good. If you can't do a fruit crisp, get out of the industry.

4. Orange Blossom Cocktail (sake & cointreau & other stuff) -- Bland.

5. Scotch & Mead -- Fine.

Edited October 11, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[docsconz]

Sounds like the tuna belly was cooked in a much more traditional European style. We have become used to no or minimally cooked quality fish, so sometimes an ingredient like tuna belly can be jarring when cooked thoroughly.

Funny, when I first saw this thread, I was thinking literally and thought it was about a new farm in the old farming community of Flatbush Do you know where they source their ingredients from?

[Sneakeater]

Actually, I do. They source, to the extent possible, from Eberhard Muller's Satur Farms on Long Island. (The chef at Flatbush Farm used to work under Muller at Bayard's.)

[H. du Bois]

Funny, when I first saw this thread, I was thinking literally and thought it was about a new farm in the old farming community of Flatbush Do you know where they source their ingredients from?

The vision that came to my mind was the children's garden in the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.

[Nina C.]

I had brunch here on Saturday and it was so bad it was funny. The waiter seemed stoned - for example we had to ask for water twice. The second time he plopped down two big bottles of water for the table but neglected to bring any glasses. It took twenty more minutes and flagging down a different waiter to get some.

Half of our food was brought out a full 20 -40 minutes before the rest. The craziest part is that even though two of us had ordered salads, and three of us had ordered a pancake, we got each of them at different times. No apology was offered until we asked again about the last of the food. There were other service problems here, like the waiter scratching his head OVER our plates of food, but the biggest sin is that the food wasn't that interesting. It was fine, but nothing more. The grits were TERRIBLE - flavorless and not smooth enough. One of my companions noted that they tasted like american cheese had been used in them.

Anyway, I don't know that the egullet crowd is rushing to eat here, but since this place got some buzz recently with Eric Lind taking over, I thought I'd take the opportunity to vent.