Dan Shapiro

Il Fornetto
2902 Emmons Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11235

(718) 332-8494

Restaurant week in Brooklyn is a fantastic time to try out new restaurants. This year we choose Il Fornetto

Il Fornetto has a beautiful location overlooking Sheepshead Bay, A big wall window allows you to watch the sailboats going by.

For restaurant week, the restaurant, offered two prix fixe meals for $ 2010, consisting of soup or salad, pasta and dessert. While inexpensive, the food was not good. The soup was tasteless and my pasta dish, penne in eggplant sauce had dried pasta ends. The pasta had obviously been sitting too long.

Truly unfortunate

for more see www.ditmasestates.com

Financier-patisserie
35 Cedar Street
New York, NY

212 952 3838

Maybe I am old fashioned, but a pastry shop should sell pastries, not sandwiches and soups. Financier did not loose its way, it was never on the right track. This chain thinks by giving itself a French name they can become French, Mon Dieu!!!

The pastries look like they have been sitting too long. I am sure they are not made on the premises.

The sandwiches are served on a greasy pita and have no relation to a Croc Masseur. My lamb sandwich had so little lamb, I hardly felt like a carnivore.

I guess when your financial firm is doing badly and you need lunch quickly everything leaves a bad taste

For more see www.ditmasestates.com

Black Duck
122 east 28 street
New York, NY

212 204 5240

The Black Duck was the best rum running ship of its time and the Black Duck restaurant does its best to live up to its name sakes reputation. It comes close.

We started with the Lump Crab Cakes, which unlike most restaurants really contained lump crab meat. The Calamari, another appetizer was thoroughly cooked, but not yet tough and indication of good things to come.

It signature dish, Crispy Duck Breast, is crispy at the same time the meat is still medium rare without being fatty, a real trick. The duck was served on pureed parsnip with and apple pomegranate reduction, yum!

Getting fresh Halibut in NYC is almost impossible, but the Black Duck's halibut was so good it had to fresh not frozen. Do they have a friend in Vancour?

While, the portions were no large, the atmosphere was perfect. An impressive date place and with the Park East Hotel next door, well who knows...

For more see www.ditmasestates.com

Il Fornetto
2902 Emmons Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11235

(718) 332-8494

Restaurant week in Brooklyn is a fantastic time to try out new restaurants. This year we choose Il Fornetto

Il Fornetto has a beautiful location overlooking Sheepshead Bay, A big wall window allows you to watch the sailboats going by.

For restaurant week, the restaurant, offered two prix fixe meals for $ 2010, consisting of soup or salad, pasta and dessert. While inexpensive, the food was not good. The soup was tasteless and my pasta dish, penne in eggplant sauce had dried pasta ends. The pasta had obviously been sitting too long.

Truly unfortunate

for more see www.ditmasestates.com

New Yeah Shanghai Deluxe
65 Bayard Street
New York, NY 10013

212 566 4884

Luckily their cooking is a lot better than there spelling.

New Yeah has the run of now ordinary Chinese food, but its specials are really special.

Shanghai is famous for its soup dumplings. These are steamed dumplings the have soup sealed in them, an experience in eating itself.

Chrysanthemum Fish, $ 16, a chef ‘s special, a filet of fish scored then deep fried, the white flesh blooms and the skin shrinks producing an entry, that looks very much like a flower. Another specialty is a whole pork shoulder, $14, in honey sauce, which is the classic Chinese answer to BBQ pulled pork in a sweet sauce, definitely worth trying.

What, your parents never told you to eat you Seaweed? Seasoned seaweed steamed and tossed with sesame oil and seasonings, is much better than Popeye's spinach and probably more nutritious.

Can't make it to Shanghai, try New Yeah, forget the spelling, eat the food.

for more see www.ditmasestates.com