Exiting the elevated platform at the Smith and Ninth Street F stop, I begin to make my way toward Carroll Gardens’ Buttermilk Channel, soaking in the glittering glimpse of Manhattan that sits in the cold distance. Eight flights of stairs and three blocks later, I arrive at the handsome Court Street home of this new American bistro, the brainchild of former Blue Fin and Blue Water Grill manager Doug Crowell.
As a longtime Fort Greene resident, he’s always wanted to have a stake in the Brooklyn scene, going so far as to name his place after the tidal strait, Buttermilk Channel, that once flowed along the borough’s western edge and dominated the area’s 19th-century farming culture. “A neighborhood restaurant like this couldn’t work in Manhattan,” he says of his cozy, candlelit venue, calculating that as much as 80 percent of his clientele lives nearby.
When I enter, well-dressed 30-somethings and a smattering of gray-haired baby boomers fill the tables and refurbished mahogany church pews along the back wall. Crowell’s habit of visiting nonchalantly with all the patrons is a testament to his passion for the front of the house, a domain he happily inhabits while leaving the cooking duties to Executive Chef Ryan Angulo. Most recently the Chef de Cuisine at the Lower East Side’s Stanton Social, Angulo’s escape to King’s County has inspired a wide-ranging menu of classy comfort food and haute cuisine.
The eating options span the gamut from snacks to sausages, with creative endeavors like duck meatloaf ($20) and roasted cauliflower and apple soup ($7) rounding out the bill of fare. Bacon is a favorite ingredient of both Crowell and Angulo’s, and it’s featured prominently, as in the mound of maple and bacon roasted almonds ($3) that begin our meal. “Salty, smoky, sweet and delicious,” is my barbecue-loving roommate Fraser’s take on this appetizing snack, which includes soft hunks of pork as an upscale alternative to simple bar nuts. Slightly sweet popovers filled with crumbly goat cheese—this establishment’s version of bread and butter—come alongside the almonds, and disappear as quickly as they arrive.
Having touted the velvety smooth chicken liver mousse ($7) as a popular choice of charcuterie, our waitress lets me sample that next while suggesting a dipping sauce for Fraser’s single $2.25 oyster.
Topped with three plump grapes, the pinkhued mousse is a royally refined take on the beloved chopped liver of my youth. It’s also far too much for one human to handle alone, but I do my best to raise my cholesterol before a quartet of spice-rubbed baby back ribs ($10) materializes on the table.
Labeled as a first course on the menu, the impossibly tender meat falls right off the bone and begs to be enjoyed with a beer. Frosty, 20-ounce mugs of Kelso Nut Brown Lager ($7) and hoppy Six Point Bengali Tiger IPA ($7) ensue, and they would not be the last; it’s hard to choose from the full-bodied lineup of all New York draught microbrews. And while the wine list can’t boast an ethic quite as local as the beer, the bi-coastal selection does include bottles from the Finger Lakes and the East End.
By the time our second courses arrive around 9:30, the evening’s soundtrack of energetic jazz organ has helped fill the bar stools with young singles looking for a quicker, more casual bite.The vibe has loosened but the bathroom line has lengthened, which is bad news for a beer drinker like me. Luckily, a perfectly timed plate of golden herb-crusted hake ($18) helps me ignore my bladder, and I quickly enjoy a bite of sauce soaked kale, this dish’s leafy green of choice. Bits of Linguiça sausage, a Portuguese cousin of chorizo, mingle with chubby cranberry beans that work to brown the olive oil–based stew underneath it all. It’s a generous portion and tough to finish after everything I’ve eaten. Even a modest sized $10 bratwurst, bland after the ribs, is a chore for Fraser to put away.
With stomachs too full for more food, dessert becomes one last drink, a savory small-cask bourbon called Black Maple Hill. At $12 a glass it only slightly skews the otherwise good value of this high-lass meal, which Crowell is committed to maintaining in the midst of this economic downturn.
Judging by the packed house, so far so good.
> Buttermilk Channel
524 Court St. (at Huntington St.), Brooklyn, 718-852-8490
