Futura Bistro Modern, a restaurant in an
ungentrified strip of Park Slope’s Ninth Street, possesses one
thing no eatery in Brooklyn has: a chandelier so grand it could
have graced the ballroom of the Titanic.
The fixture, lit by hundreds of bulbs and covered by thousands
of draped crystal beads, is an odd and strangely beautiful touch.
The rest of the room is contemporary yet warm with 21st-century
touches like lipstick red, tulip-shaped bar stools and enormous
expressionist paintings.
This combining of new and aged is the leitmotif of this five-month-old
eatery, owned by chef Lisa Lo Bue and her husband, Giovanni Iovine.
(The couple also owns the Greenwich Village Italian canteen,
Borgo Antico.) Partner Davor "Dado" Petrovic, who manages
the dining room, joins them in this venture. Joining Lo Bue in
the kitchen is her mother, Bella Lo Bue, who turns out the restaurant’s
desserts, and her father, Carlos, who works the grill.
Lo Bue is Argentinean, while Iovine is an Italian expat. Their
menu is a 50/50 split between each of their homelands, with a
couple of Greek and Spanish touches rounding out the fare. When
Lo Bue crosses boundaries, pairing Spanish and Italian, or Greek
and Italian ingredients for instance, she does it gracefully.
Begin the meal with a spread made of feta cheese and sundried
tomatoes, a pink, salty and bright blend that’s great slathered
on soft slices of Italian bread.
Lo Bue’s empanadas, flaky and light renditions of this crescent-shaped
Argentinean pastry, are excellent; one vegetable and one meat
combination are served as a starter. I’d pass on the bland spinach
and order two with the sweetish beef filling.
If you enjoy sardines, you’ll appreciate Lo Bue’s rendition.
She serves four of the firm little fish rolled around slices
of ripe tomato. Each bundle is dipped into a heady oil bath flavored
with garlic and cilantro.
The frisee salad with roasted pear makes a perfect light prelude
to the entree. The slightly bitter, curly greens are tossed in
just enough gorgonzola cheese dressing to give them a bit of
a bite, then sprinkled with crisp walnuts and tiny squares of
salty, crisp pancetta (Italian bacon). A half of the tender fruit
is fanned out near the greens, lending a sweet note and playful
counterpart to the ingredients. It’s an updated, sprightly spin
on the spinach, bacon and bleu cheese salads of the past, which
were delicious but heavy going.
The best starter is the simplest: slices of nutty, smoky Serrano
ham, a Spanish country ham that’s cured for a year or more. Paper-thin
pieces are coupled with a round of provolone cheese that’s baked
until it’s gooey and its top is crusty. Wedged between slices
of Italian bread, it makes the world’s finest ham and cheese
sandwich. A few pungent olives add a welcome saline note to the
ingredients.
Any of the red wines on the short, well-chosen and reasonably
priced list would pair well with the dish. (Most reds fall in
the $30-$35 range; whites $26 to $30.) Or, have the waiter bring
a carafe of the fruity sangria to the table.
The entrees, while carefully prepared and served in abundant
portions, weren’t as successful as the appetizers. A special
of gnocchi (tiny Italian dumplings), mixed with sauteed zucchini
and ringed with clams in the shell, proved monotonous after a
few bites. Each of the elements was fine – the pasta toothsome,
the vegetables still somewhat crisp and the mollusks fresh and
tender; together though, there was no spark.
I can say the same for the pairing of delicious sausages and
small, delicately flavored white beans that should couple naturally,
but were strangely bland together. The links – one bold and crisp-skinned
made of wild boar, and a milder one that blended rabbit and veal
– were great on their own, but overpowered the beans.
Bella offers a different "semifreddo" each week that
shouldn’t be missed. The dessert is airy yet creamy, somewhere
between a mousse and gelato. The strawberry-ginger tasted of
fresh berries brightened and made spicy with bits of the crystallized
root. It’s terrific. I’ll have to return to sample her bitter
chocolate-jalapeno or the tart/sweet apple-raspberry flavors.
In the spring, the upper level of the two-level Futura Bistro
Modern will open to the sky, providing a secluded, al fresco
experience for 40 lucky patrons. Add that to the chandelier for
novelty dining in the borough.
Futura Bistro Modern (287 Ninth St.
between Fourth and Fifth avenues in Park Slope) accepts American
Express, MasterCard and Visa. Entrees: $9-$21. The restaurant
serves lunch and dinner daily. Brunch is offered from noon to
4 pm on weekends. For reservations, call (718) 832-0085.
