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.

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Have neglected Maggie Brown’s a bit on this blog. No more.
I remember being so happy when they first arrived on Myrtle. It is also where I celebrated Christmas one year that my sister was away. And where I mourned an important relationship. Since the bar there has seen my joys and my tears (literally), it deserves more of my love.
Meghan, Rashida and the other bartenders mix some great drinks too. Mojitos especially.

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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.

Yet another non-Myrtle hangout for me. Worth sharing though because I almost never come here. Mullane’s is our non-dive Irish pub. (The Alibi being the divy version.) High ceilings, new fixtures, brick walls, relatively new. Tonight is a mellow early week night.



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Watching I watched the Euro Cup soccer final the first half of the Euro Cup Soccer Final at Anima. Anima replaced ll Torchio (Myrtle bet. Waverly and Washington) a couple of weeks ago when it was allegedly sold by the family who started ll Torchio. The decor is the same but the menu is less expensive and includes brunch.





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Update 7/1: This post should have been dated 6/29 but did not go through for a variety of technology issues until 6/30.

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.

Friends and I had a feast today at Yamashiro, arguably the restaurant with the best service on Myrtle Ave. Yamashiro is at 466 Myrtle between Hall and Washington.
Pictured below are the vegetable tempura, the seafood, avocado and seaweed salads and the clear soup.