Brooklyn Restaurant Round-Up Part 2
Dokebi Bar & Grill (199 Grand St., 718-782-1424)
iCi Restaurant (246 DeKalb Ave., 718-789-2778)
It isn't as though Williamsburg couldn't use a Korean bbq restaurant to round out the growing ethnic diversity of the local scene. And thankfully the residents of Northern Brooklyn have not been subjected to yet another Siamese eatery (Note to Developers: people don't really like Thai food that much). And one does from time to time get cravings for late-night kimchee and cellophane noodles. And sadly, Dokebi must be relegated to the status of non-destination. Forever. Two very recent meals - lunch and dinner - have disappointed so severely we're writing this place off for good (after this scathing review, naturally. Please let Cafe Drake vent here - it's healing for us and useful consumer information for you).
While the menu is straight forward, bare bones Korean standards, the decor is less easy to identify. A victim of multiple personality disorder, the interior shifts its influences square foot by square foot. Exposed brick walls and houseplants suggest a 70s fern bar, while red dinette set chairs, and blue tiled floors echo a 50s diner sensibility. Add fairly high-tech grilling equipment atop bleached wood banquettes and you've got the industrial 80s vibe. A fine combination for a frat house mix CD, not so good for a venture advertising home-cooking at steep prices.
And now we hit the REM stage of this particular nightmare - the food. Dokebi can claim its place in the record books as offering the stingiest selection of complimentary appetizers in Korean restaurant history. Three - count 'em THREE - microscopic saucers arrived at our table, bearing bonsai versions of kimchee, pickled daikon and fried wakame. The latter was of superlative quality: warm from the oil, sweetened with a syrupy soy sauce and dusted with spices and salt. Portions being what they are at Dokebi, a mere sneeze would erase all evidence the dish had ever appeared. Salad and miso soup to follow (choose one or the other - or neither) were non-entities; the former was a mess of watercress stems with little dressing and the latter a boiling bowl of dishwater. Entrees fared much worse. The spicy beef stew ($9) is a miserable puddle of chalky brick-colored broth, enlivened only by a few shredded strings of leathery beef and annoying strips of scallion, ruler-sized in length. It's almost too painful to go into detail about the grilling debacle at our table.
Service is basic but acceptable at Dokebi, although the staff is clueless as to the menu and no help with recommendations. Or perhaps they do know the menu. All too well. And honestly can't in good conciensce recommend ANYthing. If so, hats off for their honesty. If you really want Korean food that sticks to your ribs and excites the palate in need of spice and complex saesonings, stick with Korea town on the west side of Manhattan. Or even better, venture to Elmhurst or Sunnyside in Queens for a truly memorable meal. Everything Dokebi did wrong, we can assure you Taeneung ( located at 43-01 Queens Blvd. on a lively block in Elmhurst) does right.
Ft. Greene is till taking baby steps in its culinary growth, but DeKalb Ave. offers not only the remarkable LouLou (see our Brooklyn Restaurant Round-Up Part 1) but also the extraordinary iCi Restaurant. We've only had one dinner here so far, but once our wallets recover we'll be returning frequently to try everything else on this exciting menu. Go ahead and commit to a minor splurge and sample an offering from each course. (Hint: if you don't drink as heavily as we do, you're apt to experience only minor sticker shock upon presentation of the bill)
Worth every penny, and under-priced at that, was a starter of Chicken Liver Schnitzel with a Shallot Compote ($9). Indescribably rich, with a powerful tongue-coating burst of allium and organ meat, the liver competed equally with my pesco-vegetarian companion's choice of Grilled Squid with Smoked Paprika ($10). After the first course we began to wonder if the chef could do any wrong, a perverse and self-lacerating question, and one mercifully answered with a kind and gentle No. In fact, we wondered here at Cafe Drake why the whole world couldn't be more like the Walleye Pike with Carrots & Cabbage ($21), sucullent and flavorful in a mustard and horseradish broth while maintaining the delicacy of the fish. Also on par was Braised Pork Shoulder ($20), displaying the benefits of slow, careful cooking. A side of mustard greens was pungent and tender. It's reasonable to assume all desserts at iCi have a wow factor, but none could shine brighter than the extra-sharp cheddar served with pickled watermelon rinds ($6), a true revelation in the sometimes staid world of cheese plates.
On a quick final sidenote, last month we remarked that Greenpoint's jewel, Paloma, had deteriorated in terms of staff. A recent dinner finds us proclaiming that service has improved (if not soared). Menu changes now reflect the restaurant's growing and sophisticated clientele and two more final words: Mint Sidecar. (More reviews next week)
iCi Restaurant (246 DeKalb Ave., 718-789-2778)
It isn't as though Williamsburg couldn't use a Korean bbq restaurant to round out the growing ethnic diversity of the local scene. And thankfully the residents of Northern Brooklyn have not been subjected to yet another Siamese eatery (Note to Developers: people don't really like Thai food that much). And one does from time to time get cravings for late-night kimchee and cellophane noodles. And sadly, Dokebi must be relegated to the status of non-destination. Forever. Two very recent meals - lunch and dinner - have disappointed so severely we're writing this place off for good (after this scathing review, naturally. Please let Cafe Drake vent here - it's healing for us and useful consumer information for you).
While the menu is straight forward, bare bones Korean standards, the decor is less easy to identify. A victim of multiple personality disorder, the interior shifts its influences square foot by square foot. Exposed brick walls and houseplants suggest a 70s fern bar, while red dinette set chairs, and blue tiled floors echo a 50s diner sensibility. Add fairly high-tech grilling equipment atop bleached wood banquettes and you've got the industrial 80s vibe. A fine combination for a frat house mix CD, not so good for a venture advertising home-cooking at steep prices.
And now we hit the REM stage of this particular nightmare - the food. Dokebi can claim its place in the record books as offering the stingiest selection of complimentary appetizers in Korean restaurant history. Three - count 'em THREE - microscopic saucers arrived at our table, bearing bonsai versions of kimchee, pickled daikon and fried wakame. The latter was of superlative quality: warm from the oil, sweetened with a syrupy soy sauce and dusted with spices and salt. Portions being what they are at Dokebi, a mere sneeze would erase all evidence the dish had ever appeared. Salad and miso soup to follow (choose one or the other - or neither) were non-entities; the former was a mess of watercress stems with little dressing and the latter a boiling bowl of dishwater. Entrees fared much worse. The spicy beef stew ($9) is a miserable puddle of chalky brick-colored broth, enlivened only by a few shredded strings of leathery beef and annoying strips of scallion, ruler-sized in length. It's almost too painful to go into detail about the grilling debacle at our table.
Service is basic but acceptable at Dokebi, although the staff is clueless as to the menu and no help with recommendations. Or perhaps they do know the menu. All too well. And honestly can't in good conciensce recommend ANYthing. If so, hats off for their honesty. If you really want Korean food that sticks to your ribs and excites the palate in need of spice and complex saesonings, stick with Korea town on the west side of Manhattan. Or even better, venture to Elmhurst or Sunnyside in Queens for a truly memorable meal. Everything Dokebi did wrong, we can assure you Taeneung ( located at 43-01 Queens Blvd. on a lively block in Elmhurst) does right.
Ft. Greene is till taking baby steps in its culinary growth, but DeKalb Ave. offers not only the remarkable LouLou (see our Brooklyn Restaurant Round-Up Part 1) but also the extraordinary iCi Restaurant. We've only had one dinner here so far, but once our wallets recover we'll be returning frequently to try everything else on this exciting menu. Go ahead and commit to a minor splurge and sample an offering from each course. (Hint: if you don't drink as heavily as we do, you're apt to experience only minor sticker shock upon presentation of the bill)
Worth every penny, and under-priced at that, was a starter of Chicken Liver Schnitzel with a Shallot Compote ($9). Indescribably rich, with a powerful tongue-coating burst of allium and organ meat, the liver competed equally with my pesco-vegetarian companion's choice of Grilled Squid with Smoked Paprika ($10). After the first course we began to wonder if the chef could do any wrong, a perverse and self-lacerating question, and one mercifully answered with a kind and gentle No. In fact, we wondered here at Cafe Drake why the whole world couldn't be more like the Walleye Pike with Carrots & Cabbage ($21), sucullent and flavorful in a mustard and horseradish broth while maintaining the delicacy of the fish. Also on par was Braised Pork Shoulder ($20), displaying the benefits of slow, careful cooking. A side of mustard greens was pungent and tender. It's reasonable to assume all desserts at iCi have a wow factor, but none could shine brighter than the extra-sharp cheddar served with pickled watermelon rinds ($6), a true revelation in the sometimes staid world of cheese plates.
On a quick final sidenote, last month we remarked that Greenpoint's jewel, Paloma, had deteriorated in terms of staff. A recent dinner finds us proclaiming that service has improved (if not soared). Menu changes now reflect the restaurant's growing and sophisticated clientele and two more final words: Mint Sidecar. (More reviews next week)
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