Brown Betty: The Review

The new Brown Betty Cafe is not that close to my apartment, but if something is new, I'll make the journey. Plus, it's not far from Outpost. Being in the location it's in (Grand south of Fulton), I didn't expect much in the way of decor or ambiance. I was wayyyy pleasantly surprised!

The color scheme and the subway tiles in the kitchen are warm and inviting, and the staff is super friendly and welcoming.

I had the cornish hen (a favorite of mine to prepare) and Jay had the jerk chicken burrito. Mine was delish, and the perfect amount for lunch - a small piece of roasted hen, plus sides of rice and beans, and a salad with mango vinegarette dressing. Jay loved his, but it was a bit spicy for my taste.

We each had a thai iced coffee -- sweet and creamy.

It's a great lunch place, or a coffee-muffin stop mornings on the way to the C train. Yesterday, they started serving a prix fix dinner for $17.95, including salad or soup, entree and dessert. It will be offered on weekend evenings. Being the inside table space is small -- maybe 5 tables for two, plus two small areas with bar-style seating -- I'm not sure how dinners will work out. If they added a back garden, it would be perfect. Food quality-wise, it'll probably be a winner.

Bonus... they have rock candy!!! (a childhood favorite of mine growing up in Buffalo)

Do stop by and pick up a thai iced coffee. Take it to go, or if you have the time, sit inside and enjoy the ambiance.

Brown Betty Cafe 466 Grand Ave. Bkln, NY 11238 718.398.8800 www.brownbettycafe.com

Yamashiro: The Review

Jay and I hit up Yamashiro last night -- the new sushi haunt on Myrtle. Inside, the place is small. It's not totally lacking atmosphere, but it's definitely not the kind of place to go for a trendy night on the town. Most, but not all, of the tables were full when we arrived at 8:15pm -- not bad for a Monday night!

I immediately recognized the waiter as having worked at Sushi D. He recognized me, too. He said that most of Yamashiro's staff came from Sushi D. Interesting. We also started with free edamame, just like Sushi D. However, Yamashiro's edamame was kind of dry and wilty.

The menus were certainly not as flashy or nice as those at Sushi D, and were kind of confusing.

We started off with some apps - I had the kani salad, and Jay had the salmon skin salad. The kani was just fine. Jay wasn't very happy with his. The salmon skin on top of the salad was actually very tasty, but it was sprinkled on top of a boring pile of iceberg lettuce. Our apps took for-e-ver to come out, which was annoying.

The rolls were very tasty, specifically the Waterfall and the Dynamite (both pictured on the left). Waterfall is topped with crab and the Dynamite is fried in tempura. Heavenly.

We were too stuffed for desert, but if not we would have gotten the Japanese ice cream, which comes deep fried in a puffy bun thing, and appears to have a side of carrots on fire (literally, it comes burning).

Summary: Not as nice inside as Sushi D. They also played techno music inside, which was annoying. Service is friendly and prices are a bit lower than at Sushi D. Definitely great for takeout, and fine for dining in, especially if you're close by. Good fancy rolls. Low on atmosphere, crappy edamame. No outdoor seating. Good deal for the $$$.