Open Thread Wednesday 9/30/09

By on September 30, 2009 6:29 am in Brooklyn Heights
BHB Photo Club pic by mopostal

BHB Photo Club pic by mopostal

Wassup! Comment away!

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33 Responses to Open Thread Wednesday 9/30/09

  1. lcd September 30, 2009 at 9:25 am #

    Anyone been to Armando’s yet? What’d you think?

  2. alex September 30, 2009 at 9:46 am #

    Anyone know anything about the Italian restaurant that was supposed to open in October on Columbia Place and Joralemon Street, where Heights Deli used to be? I haven’t noticed any work going on in the space, so I’m not very optimistic…

  3. David September 30, 2009 at 10:07 am #

    I saw Matt Drudge at Five Guys last night! He ordered a plain hamburger with none of the free toppings. Who does this guy think he is?

  4. JP September 30, 2009 at 10:21 am #

    Can anyone recommend a reliable car service nearby? I am getting quite sick of Brooklyn Heights Car/Limo because of:
    -not knowing how to get to/from Newark Airport (I fly CO occassionally)
    -arriving late for pick-ups
    -telling me the credit card machine is broken after I arrive in the car, so only cash (which may mean an ATM stop)
    -having cars that while decent on the outside, need to be updated or cleaned on the inside
    -not having EZPass (another time waster)

    NYC cabs generally are fine and I try to use them, but at certain late/very early hours, waiting for a cab with luggage is not a reliable option

  5. Peter September 30, 2009 at 10:26 am #

    Brooklyn Heights Bloggers, lend me your … restaurant recommendations! Looking for a romantic spot in the ‘hood (or near it) to spend with my fiancee this weekend. While I enjoy Jack the Horse, Henry’s End, Noodle Pudding and Le Petite Marche, looking for something that I haven’t tried.

    Been to Po, Fragole and others (can you tell I love Italian?), but I am still in search of a true neighborhood gem. Any recommendations? Thanks!

  6. Cranky September 30, 2009 at 10:38 am #

    Peter, if you don’t mind shelling out the dough, you could try the River Cafe. Also if you like Italian, there’s always Queen on Court Street.

  7. MadeInBrooklyn September 30, 2009 at 10:43 am #

    Arecibo or Eastern are the way to go for car services.

  8. Peter September 30, 2009 at 10:56 am #

    Thanks Cranky … haven’t tried the River Cafe yet, might be a little steep for a random weekend (even though I heard great things). Thought Queen was solid, but not quite the romantic vibe I was looking for. Anyone else?

  9. AEB September 30, 2009 at 10:56 am #

    ANY nabe, Peter? I think you’ve exhausted what the Heights has to offer….

  10. Peter September 30, 2009 at 11:06 am #

    AEB, I’d be willing to go into Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens. How is Boca Luppo? Ferdinando’s?

  11. fyi September 30, 2009 at 11:13 am #

    Peter, I would try Chestnut in Cobble Hill. It’s not Italian, but the food is phenomenal, and it’s very quiet & romantic

  12. bam September 30, 2009 at 11:26 am #

    Frankies 457 on Court Street in Carroll Gardens is delicious!

  13. AEB September 30, 2009 at 11:44 am #

    Peter, Boca Luppo very good but hardly romantic. Noisy, is the operative word.

    For romantic, it’s the River Cafe. Expensive, but a lovely experience on all counts.

  14. promenade September 30, 2009 at 11:58 am #

    Peter –
    Why not try Vinegar Hill House (Dumbo-ish)…certainly worth the walk, and lovely for a date…

  15. Peter September 30, 2009 at 12:44 pm #

    promenade, that looks like a great suggestion, thanks! I have lived here almost three years and have never even heard of it, yet it looks fantastic. Thanks for the tip!

    While I pretty much eat anything, my fiancee is a vegetarian, and I see they only have “sample menus.” I assume they are vegetarian friendly as well?

  16. promenade September 30, 2009 at 12:49 pm #

    Peter, I would think so…just give them a call….my only reservation is that they don’t take reservations and the word is def out on this place – so beware it is packed. Bon Appetite!

  17. Snoopy September 30, 2009 at 1:05 pm #

    Try Mazzat on Columbia and Sackett (?) in Carroll Gardens West.
    Great food, fair price, romantic atmosphere.
    http://www.allmenus.com/ny/brooklyn/250376-mazzat/menu/

  18. ABC September 30, 2009 at 2:26 pm #

    Vinegar Hill House or Alma (on the roof)

  19. alex September 30, 2009 at 2:32 pm #

    I think the garden out back at Bacchus (on Atlantic Ave) is kind of romantic, although it may be getting too cold for that.

  20. Monty September 30, 2009 at 2:55 pm #

    Second Eastern car service. I have been using them a lot recently and been very satisfied. I would also say that Queen is a great spot for romance. Went for Valentines a while back and had a superb meal. Our shared dessert had a little heart drawn on the plate with strawberry syrup :)

  21. MmmJuevos September 30, 2009 at 3:09 pm #

    Can anyone recommend a good egg sandwich takeaway spot?

    Thanks!

    Juevo

  22. melanie hope greenberg September 30, 2009 at 3:37 pm #

    Hope you will stop by the BH Blog tent to meet me on Sunday from 10:30-11am.
    Thanks for the support BHB and BHB readers :)

  23. Peter September 30, 2009 at 4:11 pm #

    Juevo, the place on Henry across from Gristedes makes a solid egg sandwich, but if you want the best, head down to Front Street, LA Bagels, in DUMBO. Awesome stuff right there ..

  24. In The Heights September 30, 2009 at 4:52 pm #

    Peter – River Cafe – great view, but total tourist trap. Go for a drink, but skip the food. Saul on Smith St. is amazing.

  25. MmmJuevos September 30, 2009 at 5:05 pm #

    Aha i did not know that… Thanks, Peter!

  26. MmmJuevos September 30, 2009 at 5:27 pm #

    SO glad I asked –I’ve been dreaming of a good sandwich place like La Bagel for years… Thanks again!

  27. bklyn20 September 30, 2009 at 6:23 pm #

    Re: My dissertation on car services:
    Arecibo — I believe they are quite inexpensive. However, they are notorious horn-honkers. My former upstairs neighbors went on many plane trips and always called Arecibo. Nothing like a honking horn at 5:00 am on a summer morning with your windows wide open to start your day right! I never took this service due my honking hatred.
    Eastern — From what I could tell, slightly better cars. Less horn-honking and pretty inexpensive.

    Neither of these car services allow you to reserve cars in advance, I believe. Don’t think either takes credit cards.

    Promenade — more expensive than either of the above, but does take credit cards. Other main advantage of Promenade is that they call you when your car is downstairs, so you don’t stand waiting in the street at 3:00 am for your ride to the
    airport. Thus, they don’t honk and bother the neighbors.
    Promenade has uniformly clean black cars; with the others, what you see is what you get. I use Promenade when I ned to be sure t be somewhere at a certain time, and when I want to be sure to have an air-conditioned car. I use Eastern for local trips and they are just fine for that, but on rainy days the wait for a car from them can be hours long. I only use car service once or twice a month, so other people may know better.

    I used Cadman over 10 years ago — very rude guys and nasty cars.

    I may be wrong about Arecibo — as I said I never take them.

  28. Peter September 30, 2009 at 7:19 pm #

    My pleasure Juevo … enjoy!

  29. Peter September 30, 2009 at 7:21 pm #

    PS Juevo, the official name of the place is La Bagel Delight …

  30. neighbor October 1, 2009 at 12:24 pm #

    Re Car Services. Very different experiences from bklyn 20. I used Promenade for years for airport travel. They were great. Then one morning they never appeared for a 6 AM airport pick-up. Never appeared, didn’t call. The same thing happened again — and I gave up on them.

    Cadman has been excellent for me. Always on time, they call first, never miss a beat. Nice black cars. Drivers fine.

  31. XYZ October 1, 2009 at 1:59 pm #

    Never had a problem with promenade for airport travel. Have been using them for over 15 years. I cannot recall a bad experience with them.

  32. Bob October 2, 2009 at 8:51 am #

    Promenade: 5 years using them. One bad experience. Apologies galore from the manager. Stellar (within the realm of car services so the bar is low).

  33. promenade October 2, 2009 at 9:05 am #

    QUESTION:
    Halloween is now around the corner and I absolutely refuse to subject my children (and ourselves) to the craziness of Garden Place this year – does anyone know if the rest of Bklyn Hts is finally “doing” Halloween and if not, any other suggestions of where else to trick-or-treat?
    Thanks