07/23/08

Larva in your food? Trout is the place to go!

by cmchang

My dining experience at Trout summed up - disgustingly unsanitary food preparation and horrible management. One of the featured items on the menu is raw shucked oysters - as my fiance was eating his third oyster we noticed something crawling in the shell. Lo and behold it was a live squirming crab larva - in the oyster shell that was just in his mouth. We promptly alerted the waitstaff and she was very apologetic, which was the complete opposite attitude of the "manager." One would think that in ANY dining establishment, management would apologize for the inconvenience and somehow try to win the good graces of the customer. Instead the manager was defensive as if it were our fault that we found the offending larva and told us that "stuff happens" and he could only comp us 50% off the bill. Now this was a mere difference of $6. The monetary value was of no importance, but the mere fact that he was not apologetic and in fact, combative with several members of our party was mind-boggling. What a way to win the hearts of your customers, buddy. Now correct me if I am wrong, but aren't you supposed to check the oysters as you are shucking them for such things!?! Apparently not at Trout, they are more than happy to sell you contaminated food items and then become incredibly antagonistic when you speak up. Trout lost 8 customers that day and many more as we have spread the word to never patronize this subpar establishment.

• Pros: Absolutely nothing
• Cons: Found live larva in our food, awful customer service

06/24/08

beer garden joy and cute bartenders who smile!!

by allreadytogo5

who the hell comes here for the food anyway? we love this place for it's amazing outdoor space and it's killer drinks. it can be chaos (Brooklyn Law Students run amok...beware) on gorgeous days, but it's so much fun. have a bklyn iced tea, or the popcorn shrimp, or whatever is on the special wheel!! so glad they turned indoor Gravy into an extension of Trout. Now it's open all year!

• Pros: outside! you can smoke! drinks are amazing.
• Cons: gotten a bit pricier since last year, and the college kids found it...

05/12/08

beststreetbrooklyn.blogspot

by tagray1

Who do they think they are? My general sense is that since they have outside dinning and a trendy decor they think they can serve food that tastes like it was all prepared in the microwave.

Looking forward to a refreshing cocktail on this beautiful sunny day I decided to start off with a mojito. According to www.bacardimojito should have consisted of 1.5 oz Rum, 12 fresh spearmint leaves, 1/2 lime, 7 oz club soda and 2 tbsp. simple syrup (or 4 tsp. sugar).

I was served a cup of club soda with some spearmint leaves mixed in. It was not a refreshing take on the mojito.

Lets move on to the cuisine. I had muscles, a salad and watermelon. The best part of the meal was the watermelon, for obvious reasons.

The muscles were overcooked, about ? were closed and uneatable. They were swimming in a sauce that resembled seawater with some spinach, onion and boiled waterlogged sausage tossed in. It is hard to screw up muscles, just steam and serve. Usually anything else is bonus, but they did a fabulous job of wrecking one of my favorite summer snacks.

Some folks may have enjoyed the salad but I found the dressing to be overly sweet. My distaste for the salad may have been purely personal preference. The greens were fresh and crisp and I will leave it at that.

For my first entry I hate that it has to be so harsh, but I felt like I was fooled. Fooled by the shiny outside seating, like a raccoon drooling over tinfoil. The place reeked of laziness in the kitchen and should consider becoming BYOF.

By no means am I a chef or a food critic. The purpose of this forum is to give layfolk like myself one mans point of view and share experiences. I cannot remember a time when I went out to eat and actually felt a bit violated.

04/01/08

OK for drinks, but nasty food.

by bktothefullest

This was our first and last visit to Trout. The atmosphere was pleasant and divey, a little reminiscent of Live Bait, but the food was notably bad. The lobster roll was mostly mayo and caused a queasy feeling. Also, you would think that fish and chips are a no-brainer for a divey seafood place...but after a basket of mealy steak fries and Mrs. Paul's-quality fish, you would stand corrected.

• Pros: fun divey ambience
• Cons: gross food

11/21/06

Open all year?!

by phonohohno

I was so glad to hear they would be open year-round, though I have no idea how they're going to do it. I guess the same people who braved the rain will brave the cold. Good thing, I don't think I could have made it until summer without a Brooklyn Iced Tea. They're amazing. Good burgers and fries here too, the rest of the food was just ok.

• Pros: Brooklyn Iced Tea, burgers, vibe
• Cons: bathroom in kitchen

10/07/06

Fun at first, abusive & above the law if they feel like it

by faerrortal

Do not give them your money.

We really enjoyed ourselves, until my fiancee got sick outside (on public sidewalks) and the bartender rudely demanded me in for soap and water to clean up. After getting said water he verbally accosting me and my fiancee for the incident, I said "be cool," and was thrown to the ground, given cuts on shins and knees. I offered to clean up if he would apologize and was forced out. As we left, I was calling the authorities and was met by a man who claimed to be the owner and his aggressively large security. They told me not to call the authorities (or else), to leave, accosted us, threatened us. We left. The authorities could not act, in spite of my physical injury. Do not give these mob style bar owners your money. I used to love their different establishments (pacifico, gravy), but can no longer endorse because of mob-style intimidation.

• Cons: Intimidation, agression, physical attac.

A yet-to-get-weathered outdoor drinking deck you'd expect to find in some small fishing town.

by Katie Heffernan

In Short
A wooden plank gate propped open by an oar marks Boerum Hill's curious outdoor corner bar. Inside, the kitsch is piled high in a boating junkyard vibe--but the fishing rods, rusty bike, rowboats and newly minted vintage signs are a little too perfectly skewed. With spacious picnic tables, a short barbecue-style menu, cheap drinks (including the hourly Wheel of Death drink special), the bar's bound to get some authentic wear and tear.