Owners of The Royal Palms, a grocery-store sized club featuring regulation-size shuffleboard courts and a full bar, is set to open their new venue in a 17,000 square foot repurposed Gowanus building—location not yet disclosed—featuring a nostalgic bent with lounge music, bingo, Yahtzee, key lime-flavored cocktails and episodes of “The Love Boat” on TV.

The Brooklyn Paper reports that the coming shuffleboard club will offer a dozen regulation-sized courts and a potential roof deck. A final leasing agreement is in the works, thus co-owner Ashley Albert declined to give away the exact location, but she says it will “likely be a super-affordable spot to channel your inner snowbird. We want it to feel like a Florida hotel from the ’70s. It’s a fun vintage thing for 20-and-30-somethings to try. There’s just something kind of cool about old time-y activities.”

(Photo: TV My Wife Watches blog)

Venues include Zombie Hut (273 Smith Street), Knit Lit (253 Smith), People’s Republic of Brooklyn (247 Smith), BookCourt (163 Court Street), Last Exit (136 Atlantic Avenue) and the After Party at 8 p.m. at 61 Local (61 Bergen Street).

Special events include: * Armchair/Shotgun enacts a live old-timey radio show. * The Liars’ League NYC acts out the latest story by Mark Haddon, author of “The Curious Incident of a Dog in the Nighttime.” * The Cambridge Writers Workshop presents Literary Cabaret.

The inaugural NYC Lit Crawl took place in September 2008. Last year’s event in Manhattan drew more than 1,200 crawlers, enjoying 70+ authors at some 20 events. This is its first extension into Brooklyn. The full schedule is here, with all info here.

“Brooklyn is so literary, it seemed like a no-brainer,” founder Suzanne Russo tells the Brooklyn Paper. “There’s so many friendly venues and so much going on in the literary sphere there, we thought it’s really the place we should be. The venues are smaller, there’s an energy in Brooklyn, a creative spirit that’s more of a go with the flow, we’ll-do-whatever kind of thing.”

“It’s very unique,” manager Ryan Domingo tells the Brooklyn Paper. “People drink beer on ice in Thailand, but not like this.” The machine is reminiscent of those in wine stores that utilize a salt and ice solution around a bottle that chills it to perfection in about 4 minutes.

Pok Pok’s Bia Wun—or jelly beer—is made with low-alcohol content brews like Singha or Chang and served with a straw. The new restaurant, which originated in Portland and was named one of the 25 “Most Anticipated Restaurants of 2012″ in March by Eater, is located at 127 Columbia Street at Kane Street in the Columbia Waterfront District.

(Photo: Eater.com)

Encompassing 416 square feet, the outdoor space has seating capacity for 30 patrons. Current hours of operation are from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m., with food served until 11 p.m. Though it has yet to be officially named, the new establishment is already serving up a menu of tapas devised by Chef Jehangir Mehta, owner of Manhattan eateries Graffiti and Mehtaphor. Offerings include braised pineapple, lamb and pork belly buns and mustard seed shrimp with cucumber and yogurt sauce. A full lunch and dinner menu will be available later this month.

“We’re extremely thrilled to have one of the largest sidewalk cafés in Downtown Brooklyn opened for business and look forward to becoming a neighborhood destination spot,” NU Hotel General Manager Javier Egipciaco told us.

In addition to light fare, the sidewalk café also features an extensive selection of cocktails, thanks to the concurrent reopening of the hotel’s revamped bar space. The drink menu will vary by season, with original cocktail recipes concocted by Master Mixologist Milos Zica, principal bartender at Manhattan restaurant Employees Only.

A drink naming contest is currently being held to coincide with the opening of the café. A tequila-based signature cocktail is the focus of the competition, with a $100 bar tab to be awarded as the prize for the winning drink moniker. More details can be found on NU Hotel’s Facebook page.

NU Hotel Brooklyn is located at 85 Smith Street, on the corner of Atlantic Avenue.

Rides are $2 apiece and an all-day pass is $25, benefitting the non-profit Families First organization, which offers classes for children 0-7, support groups for parents and parenting workshops. Families First is based in Cobble Hill at 250 Baltic Street.

(Photo: Pardon Me For Asking blog)

According to the Serious Eats review, husband-and-wife chef duo Alex Raij and Eder Montero offer “a welcoming vibe for both family meals and date nights alike, with a menu ranging from snacky nibbles to bigger entrée plates.”

Read the full review here, with a slideshow of menu items that will likely have you running in for a taste… So far, it appears the restaurant has no website of its own.

(Photo: Serious Eats)

Reviewer Carey Jones writes in an exhaustively detailed piece: “What did our meal at Battersby tell me? That these chefs have dead-on intuition for how people want to be eating. That they seize on an impulse and cook it well—not just rushing vegetables with a 3-week season onto their menu, but preparing them as well as if they did it every day. And that flavor, balance and execution all seem to matter enormously.”

Read the full review at Serious Eats here.

(Photo: Nona Brooklyn)

A secondary piece showcases Brooklyn’s best “brewers, bakers and beef-jerky makers,” and includes Carroll Gardens’ own By Brooklyn, at 261 Smith Street near Degraw. Featured is its Binxgoods Genuine Vanilla, with the descriptor: “How to arrive at vanilla extract as fresh and pure as Binxgoods? First travel to India and befriend a bean farmer. Then let your imported beans steep for six weeks in your South Brooklyn kitchen.” The By Brooklyn website is here.

The pair was interviewed April 5 in the New York Times blog “The Local,” after the eatery’s license was approved by the Community Board 2 Health Committee. The spot will offer 53 seats and a full bar, serving dinner seven days a week and brunch on weekends.

The co-owners told the Times that their venture—the first restaurant for each of them—will offer fresh, seasonal ingredients. “We’ll have a serious menu, but you won’t look at the plate and not know what’s on it,” said Cooper, who was raised in Cobble Hill (on left in photo). The pair added that they chose the location because of their ties to the community: “I live in Fort Greene now and knew this was a great, accessible location. I wanted to be in the kind of brownstone community that I grew up in,” Cooper added.

The Prospect Restaurant at 773 Fulton Street, is between South Portland Avenue and South Oxford Street.

(Photo: Linda Villarosa for The New York Times)

The list—which you can see with full descriptors here—was compiled by Jonathan Pogash, a.k.a. The Cocktail Guru, a beverage consultant, writer and educator. He notes, “Cobble Hill, with its well-kept brownstones and vast dining selections, is also a hot-bed of activity in regards to beverages.”

Pogash’s top five are as follows:
* Last Exit Bar, 136 Atlantic Ave.
* Downtown Bar and Grill, 160 Court St.
* Watty & Meg, 248 Court St.
* Henry Public, 329 Henry St.
* Waterfront Ale House, 155 Atlantic Ave. #A

In Cobble Hill, participating venues are: Italian eatery Bocca Lupo, 391 Henry Street; Japanese Hibino, 333 Henry Street; and American Bistro Strong Place, 270 Court Street.

Check out the full list of participating restaurants at VisitBrooklyn.org.

Brooklyn Ink: Food for Occupiers in Zuccotti Park is being cooked in Boerum Hill and East New York, shipped to Lower Manhattan in donated vans and, occasionally, yellow taxi cabs.

The amount of food required to meet demand has reached a peak since the protests began in mid-September, Chef Eric Smith said. The voluntary kitchen staff, constantly shuttling food in from Brooklyn, is now preparing three meals a day for nearly 2,000 people.

Sean Dolan, chief cook at the protest, says one problem organizers face is an inability to “discriminate” between protestors and freeloaders.

“Rich people can come looking like homeless men, protestors can come in suits,” he explained. “We have to serve everyone.”

 

Bococaland: I admit, when I first saw the signage for the now open Mooburger (240 Court St.) back in January, I was skeptical. Organic burgers, snacks, drinks and more is what it was touting. I figured we’d get a small space with plastic tables selling outrageously over-priced burgers to families and the after-school crowd. But when I stopped in Friday night, I was fairly overwhelmed. The restaurant was packed, and the draw of seasonal wine and beers made clear it was open to everyone. The decor was wood and steel, the lighting low and the menu impressive for a burger joint.

Have you checked it out yet?

Everything seemed just dandy for the eatery at 11:45am yesterday according to their Facebook page where this was posted:

Come join us for a bite this evening and watch them film a scene for the new PanAm show on Smith Street. The streets are pretty clear — they didn’t block off all the side streets like they usually do when they film.
Hope to see you later–Jonathan/Sarah

Update: “To be a part of it, you’ll need to pick up a free immersion card at By Brooklyn or Brooklyn Tattoo/Urban Folk Art Gallery starting at noon on June 18. There will only be 500 in circulation, so appoint a responsible friend to pick up yours if you can’t get to Smith St. early. (They go fast!)” There’s a list of participating stores giving discounts here.

Yes folks, the foul-mouthed celebrity chef, disciple of the original culinary bad boy Marco Pierre White and host of Kitchen Nightmares would totally pull Breukelen out of its foodie coma.

We’ve seen every episode – UK and US versions.  This is what we think Gordon would recommend:

photo: Serious Eats

One of CHB’s reliable tipsters has informed us that Breukelen [268 Clinton Street] has served its last meal. We called there during regular business hours tonight and their answering machine was on.

The eatery opened last August in the old Cafe on Clinton space.  Anticipation in the area was high and the joint seemed to be jumpin‘ in its first few opening days.    DEVELOPING…

The Brooklyn Paper: By the summer, the space also may feature some non-reading material — coffee and wine — as general manager Zack Zook hopes to turn the downstairs space into more of a “salon style.”

We’ll keep you posted on developments.

Serious Eats: Jacob’s goal is to deliver Southern food he grew up eating, but “cleaner,” he says. “I want to strip all the crap out of it so you don’t feel debilitated after.” The fried chicken sandwich ($12), for example, is a thick breast of buttermilk-soaked meat (from nearby Paisano’s) with a crisp, cayenne-crusted coat. It’s not wearing a big ol’ parka of greasy breading. Then you have the crunchy, jalapeno-spiked slaw piled inside the round sesame seed roll—which neighborhood bakery Caputo’s bakes just for Van Horn—to add a refreshing touch. It’s one of the few fried chicken sandwiches you’ll eat and think, hey, I’m eating a salad at the same time!

CHB has always known something was “fishy” at that Key Food.  Last year, our EJ Cory filed this report along with a photo (seen here)  that was reblogged everywhere:

When they’re not changing dates on spoiled meat, our local supermarket has decided to have fun with their label maker. Presenting “octopus” – or imitation crab, squid, shrimp, mussels, etc. Barf.

Once again, the New York Times has ventured to the Cobble Hill area to report on one of our many fantastic food establishments.  This time it was none other than Fish Tales Gourmet Seafood Market featured in the March 3, 2011 article entitled “Fish People With Heart. Noses Agree.”

Founded in 1996, nearly 15 years ago, this is one good catch that didn’t get away!

According to the NYTimes: “ONE of the first things you notice when walking into Fish Tales Gourmet Seafood Market is the smell. There is none. But the fish motif is definitely in the air, including walls strung with nets and traps and a whole fish mounted above the stained wainscot. The shotgun layout feels like the well-lighted hull of boat.” 

Brooklyn Paper: The new Van Leeuwen sweet shop is twice the size of the original location and features the same goods as the flagship, including Intelligentsia Coffee, hand-made pastries from Greenpoint pal Chelsea Wilkes and 13 flavors of ice cream.

And this is not normal ice cream, but a hand-crafted mix of milk and cream from grass-fed cows, plus eggs to lend a custardy smoothness. Classic flavors of chocolate (Michel Cluziel, naturally) and vanilla (Tahitian beans, of course) share menu space with ginger and red currant

.

via Grub Street

Brooklyn Daily Eagle: An employee at the Taco Bell in Cobble Hill, which is somewhat hidden inside the main entrance of the Long Island College Hospital (LICH) on Hicks Street, said that he was not aware of the lawsuit. However, he was confident that the “beef” filling that they use in their tacos, burritos and other Mexican-style food is, in fact, beef.

Does he eat the beef tacos? Yes, he said. Does he give the beef tacos to his family? Yes, he said.

The Eagle article also notes the odd anonymity of the Cobble Hill Taco Bell, hidden as it is in the LICH lobby. A LICH security guard, it observes, used to block entry to the restaurant to anyone other than a LICH employee, patient, or visitor. Now, however, it’s no problem for anyone craving “seasoned beef [that] contains 88 percent USDA-inspected beef and the rest is water, spices and a mixture of oats, starch and other ingredients that contribute to the ‘quality of [the] product.’”

Photo: Janice Pullicino

The storefront that formerly housed Naidre’s (502 Henry Street at Sackett) has transformed into Maybelle’s Cafe. Maybelle’s food offerings are vegetarian-focused, and the cafe will offer Intelligentsia coffee, daily specials and free Wi-Fi. For now, the signage and decor definitely feel like a work-in-progress.