Buttermilk Channel

11/14/09

Meh.

by JoannaB at Citysearch

Arrived at 8pm on a Sat. night to be told it's a 90 min. wait- but we sat at the bar and got served asap. The hosts/bartenders/servers were incredibly friendly and helpful, wonderful people. But the food was very overrated. I had the sweet potato/goat cheese croquettes, which were bland and greasy (and goat cheese and sweet potato are 2 of my favorite foods on earth!) I was starving and didn't even finish them. The mozzarella was bland on the "snacks" menu, and the rabbit rouilletts (sp?) were great but the pesto was dripping with oil.

For entrees, my hubby got the fried chicken which was also bland (but juicy) and generally overrated (the slaw it came with was great though). He asked for 2 breasts but one was a strange cut w/out a lot of meat on it. One tasted almost undercooked.

I got the duck meatloaf, which was too salty. The onion ring it came with was totally tasteless, and the turnip/parsnip puree was just ok.

Hubby got the root beer float for dessert which was WAY too wintergreen-y. My cappuccino was terrible. BUT my choc/caramel tart was AMAZING. I practically licked the plate.

All that, w/one glass of wine, was $100 for dinner. PLEASE save your money and go elsewhere! It is SO not worth your time (90 mins? Really??) and money considering all the other amazing options in Brooklyn. I mean, fried chicken? How the eff do you mess that up??

• Pros: Amazing choc/caramel tart dessert
• Cons: REALLY overrated

11/06/09

great food, (mostly) good service

by sk09 at Citysearch

I just want to give Buttermilk Channel a shout-out. I used to live in Carroll Gardens and have had a number of delicious brunches there. Yes, it gets crowded, but what good Brooklyn restaurant doesn't? The food is delicious and well-prepared.

I recently moved to Windsor Terrace. For my husband's birthday, I organized a family brunch of 12 people. I tried my best to get us a reservation at a brunch spot in Park Slope, but absolutely no luck. Stone Park Cafe simply would not take a party that large, even as a walk-in, which I found ridiculous. Applewood told me they could take us, but only if we came at 10, so I completely rearranged our plans, then when I called back, they said they actually couldn't take us at all. Nice, right? And they weren't very nice about it.

Buttermilk Channel, on the other hand, was happy to give us a reservation, and the person I spoke with on the phone was very sweet. So, we'll be heading back to Carroll Gardens for birthdays from now on. Yes, there is some good cooking going on in Park Slope, but in my opinion, those restaurants have too much attitude, like they're God's gift to hungry brunchers. I hope that never happens to this nice little enclave at the end of Court St.

• Pros: delicious, interesting brunch menu
• Cons: gets a bit crowded

03/27/09

Don't do it...plenty of better places

by mmbrowne at Citysearch

First, had to wait for 1 1/2 hours for a table; OK, some would say, that's because it's a place in high demand. Yes, indeed. After NYTimes and New Yorker reviews, this place is packed. Overheard one women upon exiting saying, "Recession? What recession?" to give you an idea. However, the food is mediocre at best. But, worst of all is the fact that this place takes you to the cleaners with no consideration or class. During my 1.5 hr wait, I ordered a glass of Riesling: $9 on the wine list, and was charged $10; I gave $1 tip, as is customary and assumed I read the price incorrectly; after checking it, it was clear it was $9. I then ordered the chardonnay (from a different bartender and inquired about the price of the riesling; she confirmed it was $9) But, my $8 listed chardonnay was now $9 to her hand! Oh, "because of tax", she said!?! Go figure! The $9 glass of Riesling has 11% tax; the $8 Chardonnay has 12.5% tax; Hmmmm, sounds like a scam to me! And, when the owner (Doug) was asked about this, he, too, said, "9, even?"; "10, even?" "That's not right!" And, claimed it was an issue of "the computer"!!! Then, he was whisked away by some friend or other. After we gathered our coats he came back asking if we wanted the two dollars back, etc. I simply said, no, but you should check your people; he then went on a tangent about how he has to pay taxes for wine, beer, liquor, etc. And when we insisted that there were no bars that we frequented that required us to pay tax on a beverage listed on the menu, he proceeded to tell us he was "through with this discussion"; that we should "get out", etc. Never, in all of my dealings with restaurants around the world have I been so rudely treated by an owner! Again, don't even venture down there. Plenty of better places in more accessible areas of Brooklyn. Boycott this place. He deserves to go under. BTW..I only give it ONE STAR...because I have to give some sort of rating; if I could, it would have ZERO STARS.

• Pros: Looks good, crowded, veg menu...but, what more?
• Cons: Owner has an attitude that is totally unacceptable