G'Day Bklyn

JB’s Burger Opens on Smith

Provence en Boite’s newest spin-off a couple of doors down on Smith Street promises delicious burgers, hot dogs nestled in baguettes, salads and ice cream, sort of a laid back, faster food version of the bistro that moved into the neighborhood from Bay Ridge a few years ago.

Given the apparent success of Oaxaca Tacos nearby, which is also working on its own spin-off for 4^th Ave., near Carroll Street, JB’s Burger should do a roaring trade too. Named for Executive Chef and co-owner Jean-Jacques Bernat, who with his wife Leslie Bernat, runs Provence en Boite, the newly opened JB’s Burger takes over the space once occupied by Patois, and most recently by La Petite Provence.

Here’s hoping the burger/hot dog formula works better than the couple’s short-lived La Petite Provence, which offered much the same fare as the restaurant proper but in the small-plate style sweeping New York.

With the sun shining at last, there’s been a crowd outside and a lot of buzz about the newest burger joint; my husband spied a burger on his way home one evening and commented that it “looked really good.” I’ll give it a try next time I’m in a burger-beer mood and report back.

JB’s Burger is at 255 Smith Street in Carroll Gardens; 718 254 0007.

Ring in Spring With Tacos, Markets and Ball Field Feasts

Yay! Finally something useful is moving to a street I frequent. First Oaxaca Tacos opened around the corner from us on Smith Street, making for the first fast, friendly and delicious place for delivery or a quick late-night meal at the bar. Now, Oaxaca is opening an outpost on 4th Ave., between President and Carroll Streets, which is wonderfully convenient for me, since it’s right around the corner from where my children go to school.

Fourth Ave. is otherwise pretty barren, save for Root Hill Café, Brooklyn Lyceum a bit further down and the down home Latin American food at Yomaris Restaurant. So the addition of Oaxaca Tacos is most welcome. I already predict after school visits for a quick bite, or stopping in for a late lunch when I arrive too early for school pickup.

I’m a fan of the soft tacos, especially the fish, or the bowls of rice and beans with chicken mole or carne asada and all the trimmings. There’s no opening date yet beyond early April  for the new Oaxaca at 250 Fourth Ave., according to the website, but the sign is up and the bodega it replaces is long gone.

What a nice change to have something I like in a useful location. From our Carroll Gardens address we manage to be just far enough away from everything we utilize; walk up to Henry Street for bread and bagels (Mazzola + Marius), hike up Court Street for Citibank and CVS, down to Atlantic Ave. for cheese, olives and pita bread (Sahadis + Damascus Bakery), Atlantic again to cruise Urban Outfitters and soon Barneys Co-op. Now if we can get someplace on Smith Street, near Degraw please,  to get a good cup of coffee and a fresh baguette, I’ll stop complaining.

Oh, and speaking of good stuff, I should mention that the Carroll Gardens Greenmarket, which sets up outside of PS 58 and across from Carroll Park, resumes Sunday, April 11.

Also good news for fans of tacos and beyond, the beloved Red Hook Ballpark vendors will be setting up their stalls again May 1.  And the satellite vendors at the Brooklyn Flea’s Fort Greene and Hanson Place venues will be at your service from Sunday, April 11.

Spring is in the air at last …

Ribs For Heart Day

The Remains of a Good Rib Dinner

A table for two, tonight? Oh gosh no, replied the addled maitre d’ at Po when my husband tried for a last-minute dinner reservation, since the kids were nestled at grandma’s for the night. We had kind of forgotten about the whole Valentine’s Day, romantic couples on date -night thing and just wanted something good to eat.

It just wasn’t meant to be. All our favorite, walkable haunts were booked to the brim. Apparently we were the only Brooklyn couple who hadn’t booked weeks ahead for the chance to share the love with a roomful of strangers, who knew?  What to do, what to do. Order BBQ of course.

We’d had a menu for Jake’s BBQ in the drawer for months and finally got to try it. And glad we were; a pile of juicy, beef short ribs, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob and individual, small cornbread loaves — teamed with a good bottle of red — we couldn’t have been more sated. We ate well, didn’t have to trudge through the slush AND in these tough times, we figure we saved about $100 on what we would have spent going out. All that food was just short of $30. Oh, and the neighbors’ dog gets the bones!

Next time, we’re thinking of riding the BBQ shuttle over to Jake’s for a nosh. No kidding, Jake’s will send a car to take you to the restaurant and home again, for free. What’s not to like? Jake’s BBQ is at 189 Columbia Street in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn.

The Chook

Wandering down our street one chilly afternoon, we heard what sounded like  bock-bocking in the bushes next to our building. Lo and behold it was a big, seemingly lost chook, looking for someplace to park itself.  A call to 311 proved useless because animal control apparently deems it completely fine to keep chickens in Brooklyn backyards, or to have them wander the streets until a cat or car gets the better of them. My feisty four-year-old, a budding locavore, suggested we eat said bird, while animal-loving husband and son set up a cardboard box as a temporary home and surfed the web for other solutions. They came across the eglu, a brightly-colored, modernist chicken house sold by the aptly named Omlet, and aimed at urbanites keen to keep a chicken or two for a supply of backyard-fresh eggs. Just as I was warming to the idea of one of these aesthetically-pleasing coops in hot pink or lime green perhaps, our adopted pet was gone, hopefully back to wherever it came from. Only in New York, I guess …