So many cafes open on Fifth Avenue in Park
Slope, that when a new one comes along, it’s sometimes met with
an under-whelming, "Isn’t that nice."
The new Stone Park Cafe, however, deserves a hearty welcome.
The restaurant opened in September, directly across from the
Third Street playground where the Old Stone House historical
museum stands. The eatery is owned by two Joshes – Grinker, who
cooked at The River Cafe, and affable front-of-the-house man
Foster, who managed Tribeca Grill for nine years. They make a
dynamic team.
The long cafe seems to draw indoors the natural elements that
surround it. It’s divided into a large front room ringed with
windows, and smaller back room that offers an expansive view
of the street and the trees beyond.
There’s a bar as you enter, where diners can sip wine from the
cafe’s extensive and well-priced list. Black-and-white prints
of fish, by Manhattan artist Steve Thurston, hang on the khaki-colored
walls, and the tables are covered in cream-hued cloths topped
with cocoa-colored paper. Bell-shaped glass lamps hang from the
ceiling and bark-like sconces on the walls cast a warm glow.
The environment is informal but more elegant than other bistros
on the block – an apt backdrop for Grinker’s sensual yet restrained
cooking.
His menu focuses on a few fine seasonal ingredients that amplify
one another. The flavors are clear and true, and the textures
are pleasingly complex.
His alchemy begins with an appetizer of house-smoked black cod
in a veal ragout. The smoking lends a saltiness that elevates
its mild flavor; the veal sauce, with bits of tender meat, is
slightly sweet and plays off the salty, silky fillet. Sweetbreads
– crispy, mild tasting and fluffy – sit nearby.
Something wonderful happens when you taste Grinker’s grilled
octopus with a bit of bread salad that’s soaked up cracked pepper
vinaigrette. The marinade of extra virgin olive oil, thyme and
rosemary in which the fish were bathed before being put on the
grill, adds a fragrant, herbal note to the dish, while the pepper
and vinegar brighten the quiet squid.
And, yes, a salad can be as "awesome" as Foster claimed.
How "awesome"? It’s worth exploring the question. The
frisee is topped with a poached egg, that when cut, drizzles
its creamy yolk over the greens. Little squares of salty, smoked
bacon and potatoes fried in the bacon’s fat are tossed around
the plate. It’s a carbonara without the pasta, so eat it and
feel virtuous for your restraint.
The overly dense and under-seasoned bluefish cakes disappointed,
but two sides – a spunky celery root slaw and a corn relish with
the crunch of fresh kernels – made up for the lapse.
The seafood stock that dampens saffron-scented risotto was heart-pounding,
but then, so were plump pan-seared sea scallops, tiny, sweet
Manila clams and a few pieces of mild chorizo sausage that added
spiciness to the entree without overpowering it.
Braised rabbit was so tender and moist it could be eaten with
a spoon. Not a bad idea, as the utensil would help lift each
grain of stock-soaked couscous, licorice-flavored slivers of
fennel and sea-scented picholine olives to your lips.
Both desserts were worth the calories. The chocolate brioche
pudding is as rich as it sounds, and the tiny scoop of rum raisin
ice cream that melts beside it will remind you of the days when
a dish of Louis Sherry would leave guests spellbound. A disk
of buttermilk panna cotta sits in a pool of tart tangerine mint
sauce that did for our overloaded palates what the first jolt
of morning coffee does for our energy.
Children are welcome at Stone Park Cafe. They’re even offered
their own menu. But my advice is to leave them with the nanny.
They’ll be an annoying distraction from a meal you’ll want to
consume slowly.
Stone Park Cafe (324 Fifth Ave. at Third
Street in Park Slope) accepts American Express, MasterCard and
Visa. Entrees: $16-$24. Open for dinner Tuesdays through Sundays.
Brunch is available all day Sunday. Closed Mondays. For reservations,
call (718) 369-0082.
