Dining in Brooklyn

[DaveO]

Visiting and staying in Brooklyn for about a week in late February.

@Steve R. Would you still recommend Henry’s End?   And how about Italian?  (Despite my age and professed orientation you can skip the old skool stuff )

[Steve R.]

You can’t do that.  We’re in Florida until end of March!

Yes, Henry’s End is still recommended.  The Game Menu is on & the turtle soup is great, as are the elk chops.  The duck is also a good choice.  If you go, make sure you talk to the owner (Mark) about being on yet another food board with me.  He got a kick out of years of Chowhound debates & chuckles at my involvement.  Drop my wife’s name (Ginny) if you want to be treated well & mine if you want to hear sarcastic comments.  

Two doors from Henry’s End is Noodle Pudding, our favorite Italian place.  We eat at the bar 1-2 times per week (not a typo).  The owner (Tony) is a great guy & all is fresh.  It’s cash only with no reservations for parties less than 6, but I couldn’t recommend it more.  Not an upscale place but very solid home cooking from a guy from Ischia who knows what he’s doing & has been full house for 20+ years.  Again, you have to let them know you’re our proxy eaters while we’re in Florida.  It’s more than name dropping here — these are friends.

For old school red sauce Italian, there is no better place in NYC than Parkside in Corona, Queens.  You need reservations any night you go but it’s worth going if you want to eat that style of food.  We love it.  Like being in a stereotype with good food.

[DaveO]

Thanks.  Had heard about Henry’s End off and on for years.  Never ate there.  Saw it mentioned recently which sparked my interest.   After reading reviews was curious what foodies thought.  Saw your avatar and comments albeit from a few years ago.  It appears we will have a party of six. Our Brooklyn friends live nearby but aren’t food obsessed.  

On the other suggestion thanks again. sounds good.  After many decades of old school Italian in NY region as long as we’re dining in Brooklyn, an area I have little or no experience/knowledge, I really don’t need or have interest in ever more “ old school”- though if a place did a chicken oreganata, broiled cut w/ bone in pieces—more Italian than Greek —I’m all in.  Maybe my all time favorite dish.  

Come to think of it I gotta go back and work on that dish.  Have a recipe from a woman who specialized in Jewish dishes that creates a good rendition.  Ha ha

Stay warm

[Steve R.]

ETA: let me know where you’re staying, how many people for dinners, what else you’d like, etc & I’ll be happy to assist.  I got time after tennis, before naps, while watching the waves & dolphins.  Either pm or on the board if you think it’d be useful to others.  Brooklyn is geographically huge &, now that it’s trendy & over gentrified, there are good places everywhere that aren’t worth an hour trip but worth going to if reasonably convenient.  That includes wineries, bourbon producers & breweries. Queens is also chock full of things & now has the best Chinatowns, as well as various Latin American places.  Manhattan ain’t half bad either.

[DaveO]

thanks.  I'll PM.  This visit will probably involve more time hanging out among old friends, along with some other personal activities, than visiting a myriad of places, but those two dining suggestions in Brooklyn Hgts. sound perfect as the hosting house is in a neighboring part of Brooklyn and quite close.  Plus they now come with the best of suggestions.  

...as to Bourbon Producers and Breweries.  If we were younger it might spark stronger group interest.