North Brooklyn Restaurant Updates

Cafe Drake recently checked in at a few favorite drinking and dining haunts in Williamsburg & Greenpoint, Brooklyn and has mostly sad status reports to share: maybe it's owner Camille's new found fame on reality TV as early-nixed contestant on this season's Top Chef, or perhaps the kitchen can't keep up with the demand of recent teeming crowds, but Paloma is growing weaker by the moment. The banquettes are tattered, the floors in need of a sweep and the food relatively dismal. One of the bright and early adapting stars of the Greenpoint culinary scene has fallen; let's hope they can get back on track after a dry, overcooked tuna steak and mushy green peas with feta we choked down a few weeks ago.

Parish Diner needs to rethink the dinner menu - quickly! An entree this week of beer-battered cod turned out to be soggy, overfried lumps of doughy fish, with undercooked and oversweetened baked beans (note to kitchen: who uses the pinto variety for this New England standard??) and needlessly rich creamed corn. The only satisfying note was the finale: a moist and luscious blonde brownie studded with chunks of deeply dark chocolate and candied macadamia nuts.

Franklin Avenue's Brooklyn Label still draws the brunch crowds in full force and still serves a great burger. Our only complaints on a recent brunch with Jen Ruske were: fries that were crispy and excellent in texture but way too salty and a waiter so addled by Ritalin he rushed us through the meal as though a kitchen fire was breaking out, pausing at the table long enough only to COUNT HIS TIP in front of us!