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The luncheonette that isn’t

By Tina Barry
for The Brooklyn Paper
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The Brooklyn Paper / Daniel Krieger

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It’s not their fathers’ luncheonette.

Dina and Demetri Kachulis are now running the Park Luncheonette — the Williamsburg lunch counter that their forebears opened in 1931 to feed the area’s factory workers.

Times — and neighborhoods — change, so the third generation Kachulises revamped the small dining room and brought in a new chef, Jason Drcelik (formerly of Artisanal and the Old Homestead in Manhattan).

Dina and Demetri even got rid of lunch, making the place a luncheonette in name only.

Also missing is the joint’s famed soda counter, another victim of the renovation. But Dina Kachulis vows that the place is true to its founders’ spirit (heck, the retro feel even drew Martin Scorsese to film some scenes for “The Departed”).

“We tried to keep the place as original as we can,” she said of the recent renovation. “The tin ceilings and walls, the bar and even the sign outside are the same.”

Even traditionalists admit that they like having more tables near the window — giving diners a great view of McCarren park.

The menu is the biggest change. Drcelik offers dishes like diver scallops on toasted brioche with guacamole; and a grilled salmon with caper beurre blanc sauce that the customers of yore could never have dreamt of. There’s a full liquor license and small international wine list, too, but neither impresses the older customers, who still wander in demanding an egg cream.

Park Luncheonette (334 Driggs Ave., at Lorimer Street in Williamsburg) accepts American Express, Diners Club, Discover, MasterCard and Visa. Entrees: $9–$19.95. Dinner is served Tuesday through Sunday. Brunch is available on weekends from 10 am. Subway: G to Nassau Avenue; L to Bedford Avenue. For information, call (718) 383-3571 or visit www.parkluncheonette....

©2007 The Brooklyn Paper

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