Cuisine

Neighborhood

CUISINE: Italian
NEIGHBORHOOD: Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens

276 Smith St. at Degraw St.

(p) 718-875-1980

In 1993 Mario Batali partnered with Steven Crane and opened his first restaurant, Po, on Cornelia Street. Fast forward a few years and Batali and his crocs were kicked to the curb, but the restaurant stayed strong. In 2007 Crane and partner Jonathan Casteel opened a Brooklyn outpost, with Chef Lee McGrath in the kitchen. Like the original location, Po Brooklyn has a neighborhood feel and draws a local crowd.  The restaurant is small and can be cozy, depending on where you sit. If you're too near the door on chilly days, you're bound to freeze, and the corner table in the back shares a wall with the bathroom, inviting the sporadic sounds of flushing, running water and a strange TV-like static. CONT'D

Aside from the physical discomforts, the food at Po is very good. Dinner begins with a complimentary white bean bruschetta soaked in high-quality olive oil.  The all-Italian wine list is infallible. McGrath's pastas are cooked perfectly al dente, but the sauces lack Batali's depth of flavor. The entrees, however, are just as good, if not better than Batali's mid-ranged restaurant, Lupa. Both the grilled salmon with balsamic and the veal marsala with truffle oil build on flavor expertly; you can taste the hours of preparation that went into each bite. For dessert, skip the "Po Sundae" (the mint gelato doesn't taste homemade), and opt for the dry ricotta cheese cake or chocolate tiramisu. The generous sizes, reasonable prices, and knowledgeable waitstaff make Po worth a return trip. 

Posted in FOOD on January 11, 2010 3:17pm by Jena Steinbach | 1 comment

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We are young (early 20's) and hungry (for knowledge! music! art! food!) friends living on (or in areas which border) Manhattan. We moved to the city seeking higher education, and an alternative to frat parties and gin buckets. We prefer a bottle of Chianti to a keg, lunches at City Bakery to a dining hall, Joe's to Starbucks, Frankie's Amatriciana to Batali's. Our uniting factor is our love for food. For detailed, personal information, keep reading.
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