Caffe Carciofo

08/11/08

Sad to see you go

by longkappa

Sadly, The "Corner Italian Joint," as we called it, is closed. My wife and I, and eventually our little girl, have gone there for years. We loved the people and the food. My parents once sent us a gift certificate to us for Christmas, I called them while walking home, saying: "thank you so much, it's so nice to enjoy such a nice meal without having to cook it."

They'll be missed by me, and the other guy standing with me on the sidewalk as I read their notice. (At least x100)

• Pros: Hundreds of great meals and memories.
• Cons: Gone, gone, gone.

04/14/08

Skip it and head to another Italian in the area

by kmpnyc

I wanted so much to love this cozy neighborhood place, situated on a relatively quiet corner of Court Street. In fair weather, the restaurant's doors are thrown open to the street, creating a welcoming, al fresco kind of experience. Sadly, after our meal on Saturday 4/12, we will not be returning.

Service was friendly and reasonably attentive, but the food was simply pitiful. The bread basket had to be asked for and was delivered only after an excuse along the lines of "I think we ran out" was mumbled by the waitress; the dressing on a grilled artichoke salad seemed to have been applied with an eyedropper; and a plate of fresh papardelle with lamb ragu was delivered to the table with the ragu so stingily applied, I had to say something to the waitress. When the plate returned it did have more ragu, but the sauce itself was so watery, it tasted of practically nothing. My husband reported a similarly bland arrabiatta.

I am not the kind of diner who requires her food swimming in sauces. I have eaten in several cities in Italy and understand their restraint with sauce compared to the approach to which most Americans are accustomed. Caffe Carciofo was not practicing this kind of culinary restraint. On the contrary, it felt as though they had nearly run out of everything and were stretching whatever they had serve us a reasonable proximity of dinner.

With so many other fantastic restaurant choices in the area, you would be well served to skip this one.

• Pros: cozy, attractive space
• Cons: food

02/13/08

Romantic Atmosphere and Great Pasta!

by HeatherMacKay

I found this little gem searching through the good reviews on this website. I recently moved to the Brooklyn neighborhood ( Cobble Hill) from Manhattan, with my boyfriend. So we popped in here on Saturday night and although the place was packed and we hadn't made a reservation, we were seated right away. The hostess led us to a charming candlelit room that was tucked away in the back of the restaurant. It was so romantic and cozy! Our waitress recommended the grilled Calamari for an appetizer, which turned out to be mouth watering! My boyfriend tried the special Bufala Mozzarella which was simply delicious. We both ordered pasta for dinner, and let me say that it was out of this world! and the portion was huge - We tried the Rigatoni with Creamy Pesto Sundried Tomato and The Special Homemade Pasta with Sweet Sausage and Pork Bolognese Sauce. Everything was absolutely fabulous! We were just too stuffed to sample dessert. But we'll be back! And soon- In fact I made a reservation for Valentine's Day. I definitely recommend this lovely neighborhood spot. The prices were reasonable, the food and wine were excellent, service was friendly. A perfect warm welcome to my new hood!

• Pros: Ambience, Service, Food
• Cons: Parking