Caserta Vecchia

221 Smith St
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(718) 624-7549

Menu
Website

Dear Pizza, I love you....

Caserta Vecchia offers a spacious indoor dining area with a romantic feel, perfect for a hot date. The wood fired brick oven reminded me of a restaurant around the corner from where lived in Sicily for two months. This was a bit of a nostalgic meal for me, but I did not let it influence my judgment, to bad.

Caserta Vecchia has a nice outside patio with a mix of chairs and wood benches for all ass types. I ate outside and usually do if offered. It is nice when a place puts money into landscaping and decking. Eating on gravel is a drag, unless you are at the Astoria beer garden.

After the seemingly authentic wait staff sat me I noticed I felt a bit sober. So I reached for the the menu and perused the drink selection. Do I try the Basil Mojito or just get a beer? The Basil Mojito is going to be really good or fucking putrid I thought. I rolled the dice and won, it was a great reinvention of the traditional. Highly recommended.

After sipping a whole drink on an empty stomach within seconds I started to feel a bit inebriated. An overwhelming cornucopia of options on the menu and a slight buzz was making it impossible to focus.

When I go out to have a nice Italian meal I often look over the pizza section all together and sprint to the pasta. Since I could not focus (by the way I was half way into my second drink at this point) I decided to keep it simple. Pizza and mixed greens it was.

I ordered traditional mixed greens dressed by the house. The salad was crisp and the dressing was excellent. I tend to enjoy dressing on the more acidic side and have been know to just eat vinegar on my greens, but this was a perfect balance of acidity and sweetness. This meal was off to a great start.

Now for the main event. When I looked down to order I noticed something quite amazing. They offered whole wheat home made dough. You do not see that to often in any pizza or pasta joint. This excites those of us who love to enjoy pizza while avoiding type II diabetes.

When the pizza came out it was topped with the perfect amount of cheese, a bit of sausage and a couple well-placed olives. It not only looked and smelled fantastic, it was a damn good pie. Dare I say best pizza in Carroll Gardens?

The crust had good flavor, the sauce was seasoned well and the cheese was not overpowering or excessive. The three main pizza components where joined together like a three piece Voltron of perfection

Oh, and they took credit cards! I wanted leave, puke in the street and come back for another meal.

Elote (Williamsburg)

Elote. The good, the bad, the tequila.

366 Union Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11211
718-599-2655

This is the first of many guest posts here on Best Street Brooklyn. It comes from a person whose opinion is level headed and her literary skills are only exceeded by her wit. Elote is in one of NYC’s hippest hoods, so the bar is set high!

Enjoy…

This predominately Southwestern style restaurant is fast becoming a neighborhood staple thanks to its flavorful creations and outdoor patio. Formally known as Santa Fe, Elote boasts an impressive tequila list (35 + choices) and some of the best muddled margaritas a girl could ask for.

In addition to it’s overstuffed drink menu Elote carries a loaded dinner menu Some local favorites. . .

Sandwich de Barbacoa

Slow roasted pork shoulder pulled and slathered in a sweet-spicy sauce on challah bread, topped with fried onions and sided with slaw and refried beans.

Dia de los Puercos Mole Negro

Plantos Machacados topped with slow cooked pork cubes in peanut, chocolate and chile sauce.

Taco Salad

Lime-marinated, spiced steak served throughout a bowl of greens, corn and tortillas chips. Mixed with a light, slightly sweet creamy dressing.

Although some of these listed are among the fave of the pack, I’d have to say the a la carte chicken or pork soft tacos take the Elote crown. Warm tortilla shells encase some of the most delicious stewed chicken or pork I’ve ever given my tongue the chance to taste. This perfectly tender meat sits on a slather of beans and is topped with lettuce and a drizzle of sour cream.

But with all the raving going on, one would wonder whether Elote has its faults. Don’t worry pessimistic ones, it does. . .

Elote seems to overall lack the spice gene. Yeah the taco salad has a little kick but not enough to require a flushed “ooh that’s spicy” reaction. If I’m eating Mexican or Southwestern cuisines, I want me some spice!

The prices are nothing to brag about either. Although Tecates run a cheap $2, the margaritas will cost you $5 a piece. And if you’re like me with tequila, you’ll always want just one more. As far as dinner, the prices will run an average of $15 a plate. A little expensive for Mexican food and the neighborhood it calls home.

The décor is okay, although with an open kitchen and bar seating it’s hard to be boring. There’s a slew of tables to choice from and the waitstaff is always accommodating, no matter your party size.

One thing I must mention is the outdoor patio. Outdoor patios in NYC are like people with foreign accents. Attractiveness increases ten fold. Nicely flooded with greenery, Elote’s patio holds a sea of wooden picnic tables and a sprinkling of kitschy, plastic two tops.

As I bid adieu, I’ll leave you with these thoughts. At Elote, waitstaff is your friend, the food always smells great and you’ll probably walk out satisfied, if not a little more than tipsy.

By Saint Ramsey Von Spinkle

Café LULUc

214 Smith St
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(718) 625-3815

Dinner Menu

Breakfast/Brunch

It was a beautiful day and I was in the mood for an outdoor feast. There is nothing better for a hangover than 10 cups of coffee, a gallon of water and a satisfying meal outdoors. Café LULUc looked like a good spot from the sidewalk and I was correct. They have an impressive, large wooden patio with a big old tree poking out of the center.

First, LULUc is cash only. If you do not have a horde of coinage in your pocket move on, its Smith Street, not like you lack choices. Do not get me wrong. They have decent food, but not worth paying an ATM fee to turn around and give the money right back. I am not cheep (always), but paying to get my own money troubles me. The more folks pass up cash only establishments the more pressure we put on business owners to join us in this decade. Oh, did I fail to mention I was being treated? Lets move on to the cuisine.

I ordered a fruit, yogurt and granola plate. The dish I received was full of yogurt topped with granola, perfectly sliced bananas and fresh red strawberries. When I order a dish that has fruit I weigh my opinion heavily on how fresh the fruit is. The fruit was fresh, the granola was crunchy and I enjoyed my brunch.

My friend ordered an omelet with mixed greens and fries. The omelet was a good size and the mixed greens looked fresh and crisp. I tried a couple of his fries and oh were they special! I loved the size, cut and texture. Add some vinegar and ketchup combined with being outdoors and I was teleported to the fair.

To sum it up, average food, amazing fries, good portions and a nice patio. Would I go back? Maybe. But I am sure I will stumble over a fine plastic craving restaurants that will make my mouth water in the realm of mid-priced traditional brunch.

Pita Grill

Pita Grill

329 Smith Street
Brooklyn, 11231
718-875-0500

Menu/Order

Yeah yeah, I know it is a chain and some may take points off just for that. Aside from some evil capitalism there are several things I enjoy about the Pita Grill.

1. They take credit/debit cards so I do not have to search for my bank if I have no cash.

2. They have free delivery.

3. You can order online to avoid word of mouth style misunderstandings when trying to specialize your order.

4. The provide real healthy options!

I had a chicken gyro with fat free yogurt sauce on a whole-wheat pita. For health nuts this is the perfect combo. The wheat pita keeps the meal low on the Glycemic Index, chicken provides lean protein and they have low fat sauce options. Oh yeah, and it tasted good! Who knew with a little ingenuity you can make healthy food taste good…weird.

Those of us who attempt to eat right on occasion really appreciate healthy sauce options. Full fat and sugary dressings and sauces can ruin a healthy meal. I also had the stuffed grape leaves. I thought they were a bit below average and a tad small, but they satisfied my craving.

Trout

Trout
269 Pacific St
Brooklyn, NY 11201

Menu

Who do they think they are? My general sense is that since they have outside dinning and a trendy décor they think they can serve food that tastes like it was all prepared in the microwave.

Looking forward to a refreshing cocktail on this beautiful sunny day I decided to start off with a mojito. According to Bacardi the drink should have consisted of 1.5 oz Rum, 12 fresh spearmint leaves, 1/2 lime, 7 oz club soda and 2 tbsp. simple syrup (or 4 tsp. sugar).

I was served a cup of club soda with some spearmint leaves mixed in. It was not a refreshing take on the mojito.

Lets move on to the cuisine. I had muscles, a salad and watermelon. The best part of the meal was the watermelon, for obvious reasons.

The muscles were overcooked, about ¼ were closed and uneatable. They were swimming in a sauce that resembled seawater with some spinach, onion and boiled waterlogged sausage tossed in. It is hard to fuck up muscles, just steam and serve. Usually anything else is bonus, but they did a fabulous job of wrecking one of my favorite summer snacks.

Some folks may have enjoyed the salad but I found the dressing to be overly sweet. My distaste for the salad may have been purely personal preference. The greens were fresh and crisp and I will leave it at that.

For my first entry I hate that it has to be so harsh, but I felt like I was fooled. Fooled by the shiny outside seating, like a raccoon drooling over tinfoil. The place reeked of laziness in the kitchen and should consider becoming BYOF.

By no means am I a chef or a food critic. The purpose of this forum is to give layfolk like myself one mans point of view and share experiences. I cannot remember a time when I went out to eat and actually felt a bit violated.