Myrtle Shuffle

Tomatoes
I love the american tapas at the General Greene, the new restaurant on Dekalb and Clermont, and am developing something of an addiction to their heirloom tomato salad. So simple (salt and olive oil) and yet so tasty. The white wine it goes best with is also the cheapest one on the menu, which can’t hurt. Of course when tomato season is here and the Farmers Market offers as many varieties of tomatoes as Carrie Bradshaw has shoes, I’ll prefer to eat my own.

Iceberg. Bacon.
The iceberg wedge plate may sound like a joke but it doesn’t taste like one. It is indeed a wedge of iceberg lettuce but how can anything taste less than succulent dressed in buttermilk and … Bacon. Oh and although I still haven’t tried their candied bacon I’ve definitely had their bacon dates.

- Posted using MobyPicture.com

- Posted using MobyPicture.com

At Smooch on Dekalb and Carlton for a much needed pre-work, pre-Manhattan iced tea.

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Myrtle avenue bar crawlers often find ourselves tired of Kum Kau or Sapolo (both Chinese greasy forks), when we get hungry past 11pm. Looks like we can now look forward to one more choice: Vesper. I have it on good authority that the bar is considering resuming its recent makeover by adding a kitchen. Yay.

To be fair, the Five Spot has been providing decent bar appetizers (chicken fingers, chicken wings, fried catfish and shrimp etc.) until 2 am on certain nights and I found out the other day that Sputnik on Taaffe and Dekalb offers its delicious burgers, parmesan fries and *salads* until 2 am as well. But Sputnik is a bit of a walk from the Rope-FiveSpot-Vesper bar axis on Myrtle and one isn’t always in the mood for the high bar and narrow layout at the 5Spot. Let’s see what Vesper brings to the selection. Since there is already tons of grease to go around past 11pm, it would be nice if they provided some salads or other lighter snacks. I’m crossing my fingers but not holding my breath.

Looks like the establishment replacing June at the corner of Dekalb and Clermont is called The General Greene, probably the man after whom the neighborhood was named.

Update: Now that I’m in front of a computer, I just googled General Greene and it looks like Fort Greene is indeed named after him. There is even a local blog called The General Greene  which bears his picture. Here is the wikipedia entry on General Greene.

If the flowers that punctuate the tables at Smooch were fuchsia last week, this week they magically turned blue.

Looks like there is a police investigation on that block this morning.

The Alibi on Dekalb and Carlton between Clermont and Vanderbilt is one of the neighborhood’s oldest bars as well as its most happening dive. Don’t quote me on this but I think it was already around when I moved here 11 years ago. Among its trademarks are its grumpy Irish bartender(s) and its pool league. I’ll try to sneak in a shot of the pool table when I’m next there.