Flatbush Farm

Farms are taking over Brooklyn! The Farm On Adderley, and now Flatbush Farm... a friend and I recently enjoyed a hearty meal at the latter. I'd missed St. Mark's Bistro, which formerly occupied the space, so I was happy to see a thriving restaurant once again.

We truly enjoyed our rich, hearty meal, but we felt that the dessert course was the least successful part. (How strange this is!) We began with a kuri (and curried) squash soup and an earthy chestnut soup with celery root and tender soft chestnuts. Then we were presented with a very rich preparation of striped bass, served with a sage cream sauce and buttery parsnips, and a delightful lamb stew with nicely browned potatoes and turnips.

The dessert of apple chestnut crepes seemed too savory and heavy. But this was the only sour note in an enjoyable meal, and the absence of empty tables indicated that Brooklynites are truly enjoying the harvest at Flatbush Farm.

Flatbush Farm: 76 St. Marks Ave., Brooklyn, (718) 622-3276.

Sweets News

• Mary's Dairy, NYC's wonderful super-premium ice cream store, has just come out with a line of ice cream cakes! And just like everything else at Mary's, the ice cream cakes are made with ingredients of the highest quality: handmade buttercream, Valrhona chocolate pearls, and bittersweet chocolate ganache.


• Speaking of chocolate, you've got to check out the exotic confections of Rhonda Kave, founder of Roni-Sue's Chocolates. You can find these exciting truffles at Jeffrey’s at Essex Street Market (120 Essex Street, 646-269 6812). Try the Mint: Callebaut bittersweet chocolate ganache center blended with mint jam, peppermint powder and oil, Moroccan mint tea and Vandermint liqueur, or the festive Margarita: handmade marzipan blended with fresh lime curd, key lime juice and zest, pure agave tequila, kafir lime leaf and key lime zest, then drizzled with key lime chocolate and coarse sea salt flakes!

Valentine's Day At Sakagura

Although Asiate is at the top of my list for romantic restaurants (what a view!), a cozy, dim nook in the back room of Sakagura is pretty romantic too. And since my companion and I are in love with Sakagura, it was only fitting that we spent Valentine's Day there, enjoying the special prix fixe dinner.

In Japan, Valentine's Day is something of a Sadie Hawkins affair. (White Day, which is celebrated on March 14, was created to balance things out. On Valentine's Day, women give men a gift (usually chocolate); men reciprocate on White Day.) This Valentine's Day, it was almost impossible not to give someone a piece of chocolate... Hershey representatives were out in force around Grand Central Station, handing out free samples from their new Cacao Reserve Collection. (Disclaimer: As a food blogger with Blogads on my page, I was the happy recipient of a large box of complimentary chocolate bars and truffles from this very collection; in a bit of serendipity, I received this box on Valentine's Day. There is no way I can eat all this, so please E-mail me if you'd like to share in the wealth.)

But back to Sakagura! My companion and I sat down to a pink rose petal-strewn table and a sake aperitif in which one rose petal floated. (See? I told you it was romantic.) Instead of opting for a three-flight sake tasting, we ordered the sweet, low-alcohol Himezen sake. Soon we were served a dense, creamy soymilk custard in which bamboo shoots and shiitake slivers were steamed. On top of the custard was a layer of gelatinous shark fin-thickened soy sauce. Scrumptious.

The next plate was a carnival of different tastes, colors and textures: cold, caviar-sprinkled shredded lobster salad with crunchy yam, sea urchin with a spray of Japanese salt, thin slivers of fatty tuna, grilled red snapper served in a giant leaf, and sweet citrus halves stuffed with snow crab and sea urchin.

Sakagura was so crowded that there was a very long wait for the grilled dish, so our apologetic server brought over a plate of cold fried whitefish salad. The entree was a choice of foie-gras-stuffed Kobe beef or Toyama yellowtail teriyaki; we opted for the latter. Just as we were about to start eating the chopsticks, along came the rich marinated yellowtail, decorated with red pickled ginger, Japanese mountain pepper and toothsome miso-dressed taro potatoes.

A pungent shiso sorbet palate-cleanser was next, and then came the bamboo baskets of sushi. We loved the smoked salmon sprinkled with tiny dots of sweet egg, chopped tuna, grilled eel and sardine-like needlefish.

A romantic evening isn't complete without dessert (and other things that are not relevant to this food blog, but that's another matter), and we were delighted by the chocolate-mousse-stuffed mochi, mixed berries and cream on pound cake inside a crisp cookie shell, and rum raisin ice cream.

Sakagura: 211 East 43rd S.t, B1, (212) 953-7253.

The Art Of Coffee

I didn't know coffee could be so beautiful!

(For the record, my favorite cups of java in NYC are: the macchiato at Cafe Grumpy and the "Leftist" espresso blend at Gimme Coffee.)

Brunch at Goblin Market (CLOSED as of September 2007)

With its strategically exposed brick wall and pounded-copper bar, Goblin Market feels like it's been around for much longer than four months. Today, I was on my way to Grandaisy Bakery to pick up some pizza patate when I decided to stop over at Goblin. I'm so glad I did!

As I sat drinking strong coffee, I watched the plates piling up on neighboring tables: a thick Angus burger, a foot-long rolled tomato, mozzarella basil omelette, lemon buttermilk pancakes. Fortunately, my dish (creme-fraiche-rich eggs scrambled with smoked salmon, topped with a small spray of domestic caviar and served with slightly browned, parsleyed potatoes) was not long in arriving.

The dinner menu looked great too... you can have your steak marinated in miso or Mediterranean-style.

Goblin Market: 199 Prince St., (212) 375-8275.

A Valentine To Make Them Swoon

I can't think of a better way to express one's love than to take that special someone to the Valentine's Day three-course dessert and wine tasting at The Chocolate Room. Lucky couples can linger over a plate of double-dipped strawberries, and they can feed each other homemade Graham-cracker smores. I say "lucky" because two of the three seatings are already completely sold out, so interested chocolate-loving lovers must hurry if they want to reserve a table!

The Chocolate Room Brooklyn: 86 5th Ave, Brooklyn, (718) 783-2900.