Below are a few "honorable mentions"
that would have made the list if I had been allowed to name my
Top 16, and several citations are awarded to places that could
use a reality check.
Honorable mention goes to Beast
in Prospect Heights for terrific grilled sardines and an outstanding
lemon tart; Greenpoint’s Paloma
for scallops on a puree of nutty cauliflower that was at once
earthy and suave; Park Slope’s Tost
for admirably light panini; Sette
Enoteca e Cucina in Park Slope for a great mascarpone cheesecake
with quince compote; Smith Street’s Cibo
e Gente for lasagna the way it should be made; and Sweetwater
in Williamsburg for the best butterscotch pudding I’ve ever eaten.
The "Hey you’re hurting me!" citation goes to Song
in Park Slope for assaulting my ear drums, with Dish
in Bay Ridge coming in a close second.
The two Park Slope restaurants to win the "Least likely
to be confused with a Ricardo Montalban welcome" award are
Peperoncino,
for a dining room manager so surly he made me cringe, and a hostess
at the Miracle
Grill who could teach interrogation techniques to the CIA.
The "Gotcha!" medal goes to Bar
BQ in Park Slope. If I say I loved the chocolate cake I tasted
on my first visit, on my next, don’t bring out something that
looks like you picked it up at the deli counter at the grocery
store and try to pass it off as the real thing. If I were blindfolded,
I could taste the difference.
