Enlarge this image

The Brooklyn Paper / Robin Lester

Salt seller: At Sidecar in Park Slope, sides of salty succotash and perfectly seasoned mashed potatoes mixed with carrots accompany the fried chicken.

The Brooklyn Paper / Robin Lester

Print this story

Share this story

Email a friend

Your name

Your email address

Recipients’ email addresses (Up to ten, separated by commas.)

digg

del.icio.us

Sidecar is one sexy place. Opened in July by brothers Bart and John DeCoursy, the bar and restaurant evokes a swanky, classic New York setting with one well-appointed large room.

On one side, attractive patrons in their twenties perch along the gleaming wooden bar. Along another are deep, dark leather booths that are ideal for a party of six and just as welcoming for a couple looking for privacy. Black wainscoting rings the room, creating an intimate cocoon, and the warm lighting goes a long way toward hiding under-eye circles and other telltale signs of over-imbibing.

Overdoing the booze is a hazard in a place with a cocktail menu as seductive as Sidecar’s. Listed as “elixirs,” the lineup includes retro favorites like “Pimm’s cup” (Pimm’s number 1, ginger syrup and cucumber) and a gimlet, made as “God intended,” with Plymouth gin, lime and simple syrup.

The house special, the Sidecar, naturally, arrives in a sugar-rimmed glass. Its blend of cognac, Cointreau and lemon produce a slightly sweet drink with a pleasingly bitter edge. Another winner, the icy cold Sazerac, offers the jolt of Overholt rye with Pernod lending a lingering hint of anise.

The wine list is a work-in-progress, but a small number of reds and whites are available by the glass.

To accompany the retro drinks, Chef John DeCoursy offers a menu of American classics like fried chicken, a burger and grilled salmon, and new American favorites such as the “Banh-D” sandwich (a pork-heavy spin on the traditional Vietnamese “Banh Mi” sandwich) and three grilled tacos filled with a mix of fresh vegetables.

While Park Slope’s Sidecar possesses a unique allure, the food — with the exception of an amazing plate of oysters — could be a lot sexier.

DeCoursy worked as a raw bar chef at Blue Ribbon, so he knows how to source and handle the best oysters. The Malpeques he served were impeccably fresh and slid down the throat in one whoosh of clean, briny, steely flavor. The chef offers a ramekin of cucumber mignonette, the traditional oyster accompaniment usually made with shallots. The grassy taste and crisp snap of the vegetable amplified the sweetness and silky nature of the shellfish. I can’t think of a better wake-up call to the palate than a plate of those oysters, especially after all the rich Thanksgiving fare I consumed two days prior to my dinner.

The problem in several dishes that I tasted was oversalting. Man, does DeCoursy like salt. A fetish for bacon doesn’t help his penchant for the seasoning, either. I love pork as much as anyone, but I’ll take a pass on “BLT Soup,” a greasy, intensely saline blend of crisp bacon cubes, escarole and tomato.

Pork also makes an appearance in the “Sidecar Club” with roasted turkey. (It sounded like a grand sandwich, but wasn’t tempting enough to order as a post-Thanksgiving meal.) And the so-called “other white meat” shows up once more in a savory succotash of string beans and corn.

Oversalting left its mark on an otherwise crunchy, nicely moist fried chicken. It’s not easy finding a good rendition of this dish in the city, so with some restraint on the salt and a heavier hand with pepper, this could be a meal that draws in crowds. Sides of salty succotash and perfectly seasoned mashed potatoes mixed with carrots were tasty.

A great burger should be a given here. After all, who wouldn’t drop into a bar after a night of carousing — especially this one, that stays open until 4 am — and hunker down in a cushy booth to sink their teeth into juicy beef? This patty had a nice char but was too lean for that succulent drip that defines a great burger. A side of skinny, ultra salty fries are worth the trip over.

The one dessert available each evening is a cobbler made with seasonal produce. Right now, apple is the filling of choice. It’s odd then that with so many varieties of this fruit available now, the slices are bland. More sugar would have helped, and as good as the puff pastry top was, I missed breaking through that brittle cover of traditional cobbler topping and spooning up the crunchy bits with the fruit.

Sidecar can’t be beat for a well-made cocktail and a plate of great oysters, but more care needs to go into the cooking for the food to equal the elixirs.

©2007 The Brooklyn Paper