Flies in the Buttermilk - Buttermilk Channel - 524 Court St., Brooklyn

I made my bi-annual sojourn to Brooklyn last night to try Buttermilk Channel, one of several restaurants in the borough that have been billed as "must tries".  I am admittedly a tough sell, skeptical that the growing restaurant scene in Brooklyn and the other boroughs is superseding Manhattan in creativity, innovation and sheer prolificacy (don't worry, it's a word, I looked it up). While I wasn't thoroughly disappointed by BMC, it didn't make me a borough convert either. The ambience is somehow stark, despite warm lighting and country, farmhouse decor. The service was attentive and friendly, but the food was uneven. The chef knows how to season, although not subtly, and while my pork shoulder was tasty and had a great, crispy crust, it was ultimately a bad cut of meat, leaving it difficult to discern even an ounce of meat among the fat and sinew. There were other disappointments too: my friend's fried chicken and waffles, in her experienced words, tasted "reheated" and "fast-foodish". On the other hand, the duck meatloaf, also ordered at our table, did not get enough attention. I found it a perfect meaty density, but still juicy and succulent (which is difficult to achieve in a meatloaf) with just the right amount of savory herbs. Overall, Buttermilk Channel is worth a try, but I couldn't help but think that it was a only reasonable facsimile for the Market Tables, Little Owls and even Irving Mills of Manhattan. I am a tough sell, but BMC will not, unfortunately, shake me from my bi-annual Brooklyn schedule.

Got to Go - Gottino - 52 Greenwich Ave., b/tw Perry & Charles Sts.

Good for a first date, a catch-up over glass of wine with a friend or just solo for a quick wind down on a week night, Gottino is a great "go-to" Italian wine bar, with an impressive and delicious small plate menu and a small, but well-selected wine list by the bottle and glass. A narrow space, with only a handful of relatively cramped tables, it's all about sitting at the marble bar, soaking in the wine and food knowledge of the bar keeps and taking in the farmhouse rustic and Italian kitchen atmosphere - I loved the piles of apples, chilis, and quince (I had to ask what these were) on the bar and downstairs in the wine cellar area.  The menu offers a selection of cheeses, cured meats, crostini, vegetables and some hot small plates.  Nothing is run of the mill - no Caprese salad on this menu - but, for example, wild boar country pate or cotechino (a blended pork sausage from the north) in roasted apples. The pate and artichoke crostini washed down with two glasses of the Oderro Barbera D'Alba made for a thoroughly tasty and filling dinner.  And back to the topic of dating (why not?): my Italian dinner companion was lamenting the difficulty of dating all these "busy" women in New York.  "Women in Italy," he said, "are not so busy".  Mi dispiace, Alessandro, I sympathize, but I do need to go home and blog. Ciao! 

Summer Surprise - Nick & Tony's, East Hampton - 136 N. Main St.

As much as I am a Hamptons habitue, Nick & Tony's stands for much of what I, and many others, don't like about the Hamptons: the see and be seen place, impossible to get a weekend reservation anytime after July 4th, and a very moneyed clientele with perhaps not as much class. Nevertheless, I manage to find myself there from time to time -usually the dead of winter, or this time a Monday night in late August - and I have to concede that the food and ambience do not disappoint. A warm and inviting atmosphere in which, as a friend pointed out, you can still have an audible conversation with your dinner companions, despite the restaurant being full and buzzing. They have a wood-burning oven, which makes most of their menu tasty, vibrant, healthy, and reminiscent of dinner somewhere on the Mediterranean. I can recommend the whole fish, it was Branzino stuffed with lemons tonight, and the roasted chicken prepared in the wood oven, in which they make pizzas as well. Service was somewhat lacking (umm, we need a menu to be able to decide what to order?) but unpretentious and accommodating. I don't recommend hitting Nick and Tony's on a Saturday night in July or August, but an off night in the summer or winter can hit the spot.

Noodle Histrionics - Mr. Chow, 324 E. 57th St. b/tw 1st & 2nd

Noodle histrionics, cougars and silverbacks galore, and a waiter who offered "MSG" as the Chinese spice that must've numbed my friend's tongue during his last dinner in Beijing, do not bode well for an extraordinary dining experience. Mr. Chow, while glamorous to the eye, is a little 2000-late and underwhelming overall. I felt lost in a New York past life, flush with cash and self-importance, and the live noodle maker and obsequious, uninformed wait-staff didn't make up for relatively bland, uninteresting and very expensive Chinese food ($35+ per entree). I had good company and good conversation, which made it all ok, and if I had to pick one thing to praise, the Peking duck, while dry and served with what could have been a Mexican flour tortilla, was five-spice-seasoned perfectly and satisifying with cucumber slices and plum sauce. I have a memory of visiting Mr. Chow in Tribeca three to four years ago and being kicked out of their bar: "the bar is only for diners". Preposterous and enough to make me not want to go back until required to for a business dinner this evening. Finally, tonight, I was a "diner" and now I'm not sure that I'm going back, ever.

DBGB - 299 Bowery b/tw 1st & Houston

It was a sausage fest in more ways than one. Two ex-Navy Seals as my dinner companions and nothing but meat, and mostly sausage, on the menu. At the risk of sounding totally crass, I loved it! With not a reservation to be had on a Monday night in the dead of a recession, others are clearly loving DBGB's too. We sat in the bar area but still enjoyed a feast from the raw bar, the Frenchie burger (beef, pork belly, arugula and gruyere cheese) Tolouse sausage, the Chop Chop salad and a beer float (no root in that) for dessert. The place is fun and lively, the service a little slow, but the food wins every time and the food was great. Nothing delicate or too complex, but unique and wonderfully, easily flavorful. Even the salad was stand-out and the beer float was unusual, but a surprising treat. I'm going back and have my mind set on the Piggie burger (who could resist?) topped with pork BBQ and jalapeno mayo and, of course, I'll have to have that with a side of sausage.

Kefi - 505 Columbus Ave, b/tw 84th & 85th

I am, admittedly, an Upper West Side hater, particularly when it comes to restaurants. I have yet to find a great one and Kefi was supposed to be it, but not quite. It's stark and cafeteria like in its ambience (upstairs anyway). The waiters in their blue T-shirts, might play differently beside the Aegean, but were lost in translation on Columbus Ave. More importantly, the food was mixed. Appetizers of fried calamari and dill tzatziki sauce and the foodie take on the Greek salad--chopped, mixed olives, caper berries--were almost perfect, but they were a cruel set-up for the mediocre-at-best entrees. My braised lamb shank and orzo was saucy yet flavorless and while my friend's lamb chops were grilled to perfection, the rice and scallion side was oversalted and still somehow thin on flavor. I am a fan of Donatella Arpaia's restaurant's overall, but Mia Dona, for example, on 58th b/tw 2nd & 3rd is a much better meal and experience. And, fyi, I'm an Upper East Side hater too.

Standard Grill - 846 Washington St., b/tw LW 12th & 13th

A grown up Bar Martignetti and likely to give Pastis, Balthazar and Morandi a run for their money, the Standard Grill is one of the better bar/restaurant scenes seen in a while. I didn't think the Standard could pull it off (and in 2004 I didn't think the Meatpacking District could pull it off either) but the massive west side highway structure, which reminds me of my elementary school, a hospital and the Seattle Space Needle all wrapped into one, has added the final touch of revitalization to the MPD (do they actually pack meat there anymore, anywhere?). Check it out. Architecturally interesting, big open spaces, lively, stylish bar with adequate Euro to NY ratio, tasty enough food and enough bartenders to actually get you a drink when you belly up, not to mention the outstanding, outdoor beer garden. Didn't stay long, only had a drink or two and a few nibbles, but liked what I saw, just because there was life, vibe and an interesting crowd. Who wants to go back?