On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Category: American (Traditional) [Edit]
Neighborhood: FlatbushCortelyou Rd (Q)
Newkirk Ave (Q, B)
Loading...
blah..blah..blah-
They always treat us well, have my drank in stock & leave us to ourselves enough to enjoy our night out.
It is hardly Brooklyn of old, but the people there can sure make it feel that way.
-- now bring back that kick ass mustard!
So it's Thursday, October 1st and I just place my online order at 5:37 PM. I ordered the Classic Caesar Salad, Romaine lettuce with croutons, anchovies & Caesar dressing, Garlic Rubbed Skirt Steak with roasted garlic cream & crisp potato pancake, and Smoked Gouda Mac & Cheese at the advice of laura z., one of the posters. I hope I like everything because I am HUNGRY! It's one of the few decent places in the area to deliver and make it so easy to order! It's 5:57 PM. They aren't late but I'm growing impatient. 6:05 PM. Stomach is rumbling. 6:15 PM on the motherfucking dot. It's here. AMAZING!
The Verdict:The caesar salad was pretty bad. A true salad has whole pieces of anchovy in it. I guess they sneak it in the dressing as not offend the stroller park mommies that have invaded this neighborhood. The problem with that is the dressing just didn't taste good. Bad choice all around. The skirt steak is cut to thin and its not medium rare as I asked. Almost every piece is well done and then theres one very rare piece. Weird. So basically the only good thing I ordered was the mac and cheese. Thanks, Laura! Sorry Picket Fence but I'm just not that into you.
I personally picket Picket Fence. There aren't that many restaurants in Ditmas Park, so this place is jammed full of people on the weekends for brunch. We had to wait an hour for a table. The kicker? There were two tables totally empty, completely cleared, and no one else waiting for a table. That's just bad service.
Once we were seated, we were neglected. No water. No coffee refills. It took asking the waitress three times before I got a fork to eat my runny eggs. All of our food was cold and disgusting. On top of that, it was overpriced.
Sadly, my roommate shared with me an identical horror story. Do yourself a favor: skip Picket Fence. There's no excuse for such terrible service.
Sorry to see all the spotty reviews here. Either we were lucky, or the place has improved. We made a reservation for six, got seated right away, liked the menu choices, enjoyed our food, had great desserts, and an overall good time. What's not to like?
The floor staff should be given severance pay for a year, for their undying commitment to working for such a horrible restaurant. The servers - fantastic! The food quality, pretty bad. Ordering take out is f*in horrible. I've had orders come without dressing for my salad, a beef burger instead of turkey, sides of spinach that wasn't rinsed (so very crunchy with dirt specks). I had a delivery person come expecting cash, wouldn't give me my food even after I had checked that the transaction was present on my credit card. Food is never prepared how you order it (rare vs medium rare).
I keep going back because of the convenience of the on-line order form, but I hate myself for doing it every time. I've had so many poor experiences with this restaurant. In fact I'm eating their food right now and I'm angry and I'm hungry. Don't get sucked in.
I want to love this place. I really do, but it just seems that the food is falling by the wayside. We've been coming here for a couple of years, and lately we haven't been impressed.
First the good: a huge and wonderful back patio. Fantastic smoked gouda mac and cheese. Chocolate pudding. Delicious.
And the not-so-good. The rest of the menu just lacks. The fried chicken is no longer luxurious. The brunch items (eggs, French toast) were so blah the last time we arrived. Veggies are kind of boring. The service is just ok. The popcorn is no longer hot when they bring it to you. I just can't keep coming here, when there are so many other great places nearby.
Picket Fence: please get your act together!! We need you to be great, too!
if you're local to the neighborhood, it's GREAT for delivery. this is serious comfort food, and I haven't yet had something from the menu that wasn't delicious, from the mushroom caps to the pappardelle carbonara to the burger, and of course the smoked gouda mac & cheese... just to name a few. I have to agree with most of the other reviews that the service for dine-in is terrible, but again, if you live in the area, it's a fantastic place for take-out or delivery on those nights when you don't feel like cooking
The gouda mac is the only thing that I ever liked from this place. And the last time I had it delivered it wasn't as good as I remembered. It's just really sad. The burger is fine, but don't expect too much. Come on picket fence, make better food.
Whatever you do don't have the fries delivered, they come so soggy its disgusting. I only live 5 blocks away, and its unacceptable that the fries would be in that bad of shape.
Kind of fancy for a bloke like me, but they left me with a few pleasant surprises. I thought this would remind me of some of the 'reconstruction southern' spots I've been to, and was right. Except the portions weren't too small, meaning a little more accurately southern, even if it doesn't sell itself as such.
The staff are prompt, if busy, and the atmosphere not bad (if a bit hip for me), though the menu is short and pricey. This vegetarian chickened and got the vegetarian plate of four appetizers (for the price of three). Each was wonderful. Besides the much heralded mac and cheese, the creamed spinach and vegetable risotto were great. The potato pancake was also pretty good, a little sloppy past its crispy exterior, but I should have asked for some apple sauce or sour cream to accompany it. My associates have experience with the fish and sandwiches, and they get give it respect on both counts.
I had one of the most ridiculous brunches there this weekend. Let me break it down.
1. I order the meatloaf sandwich off the menu. The person I'm with orders a prosciutto sandwich off the brunch specials. The waiter is unaware that both items are on the menu and we have to show him where they are. He takes our orders and 10 minutes later, returns to tell me that they are only serving the brunch menu and my meatloaf is a no go. I then order the BLT with fries and again, I have to show him the menu. he comes back several minutes later, not able to remember my side order (he's serving about 4 people in the whole place).
2. After a good long wait, the food arrives. The person I'm with is served an omelet. I let him know that she's got the wrong order. We have to explain again what is clearly marked on the specials menu and he snaps at me for telling him what we ordered as he walks away.
3. The waiter returns about ten minutes later, saying the cook is rushing out the prosciutto sandwich order and it will be ready in a couple minutes. Nearly 20 minutes later, it finally arrives (Keep in mind that there's still only 4-6 people in the whole place).
4. There's no prosciutto in the sandwich. Instead, there's plain, nasty generic sandwich ham that is so old and has been left out in the air so long, it's hard, dry and tough to chew. At this point we just want to eat and gtfo.
5. Reaching for ketchup, the person I'm with spots a cockroach, ambling around the lip of the bottle. The waiter is nowhere to be found. In fact, he's been disappearing for several minutes at a time to places unknown.
6. Getting the bill from the waiter was a lost cause. I eventually caught a busboy and got him to get it to us, as the waiter was once again a no-show.
Needless to say, I'm never going back there.
this place really has the potential to be good but they need to get their act together
the menu was very boring and i ended up ordering the veggie burger which wasn't good and tasted like a "morning selects"
I do recommend the smoked Gouda mac and cheese but i don't think its worth going there for
i the biggest let down was when they didnt bring me any popcorn!
maybe it is better as a brunch... but i am not going back to try
sorry picket
3.5 stars actually.
(note: i've only had vegetarian food here)
This place is better for brunch than it is dinner.
The food I've had here is pretty good, but nothing amazing. The sweet potato fries were a little bit soggy. My friend had a catfish sandwich (i think) and he was really underwhelmed by it.
Cute ambiance for the neighborhood. If you are looking for something in the neighborhood that is cheaper than PTD and the Farm, this is the place for you.
The restaurant looks like a giant "Home Sweet Home" sign hanging on the front door of your tacky great aunt's Florida condo.
The food tastes like you could've saved yourself $15 and a freezing 20 degree walk down Cortelyou by staying at home and making it (using flavor) yourself.
On the other hand I did get poured two GIANT glasses of Shiraz by a very friendly waitress so honestly, who knows what the hell really went down during my time at Picket Fence.
I used to cook here before the original owner sold it. It was excellent. I've been back since and the grilled chicken wrap is still excellent.
What I really remember was how bad I hated the sous chef while I worked there. Oh god he pissed me off every fucking day. Goddamn Russian with no social skills.
I kinda miss him. I think I may have had a crush on him.
Sit in for brunch, or order dinner for delivery or pickup.
I can't say enough about the weekly pancake specials, or breakfast in the garden, but for dinner, if you are going out, you might as well go to the Farm right down the block. Its better food for only a little bit more.
My roommate and I order from here when we don't want mexican or chinese delivery, but it gets a bit pricey.
I would consider renting out the back patio for a party though. My birthday anyone?
I went for brunch around 1PM on Saturday. Very accomondating staff (I had a stroller), prompt service. But, food was nothing to write home about. Ordered stuffed french toast with caramel apple....didn't find any caramel and if one layer of apple qualifies as stuffed, somewhat disappointing.
An adorable little spot! I was originally lured in by the clever and well done signage! Kudos to the designer who thought to attach an actual picket fence to a sign! I laughed for a good while about that.
It's a very pleasant and local place with good service and good food. There was nothing that stood out in my mind, but the food was overall delicious. It is a little expensive for the neighborhood, but I like the fact they they support locals so I don't mind. I've seen many places in this neighborhood come and go, and I hope this is one of the few places that stays. I had a nice experience there and I would go back again.
If I am lazy on the weekends and don't have anything in my fridge except expired milk and old hummus, Picket Fence is where I go to get my grub on. They have great brunch foods and I am always full and happy when I leave this place. My other half almost always hits the steak and eggs---a meat eater's dream breakfast. Plus, eating in the garden in good weather always cures my hangover.
I have eaten here for dinner a few times, and, while a little pricey (probably due to the local ingredients), always satisfying.
WARNING: Sometimes the staff yell at each other. It's amusingly uncomfortable. :)
This is a very cute place, and I had a totally servicable meal here, but I wasn't blown away. Popcorn at the beginning of dinner was a nice touch. I got the veggie burger with fontina, and the chutney it came with made for a pretty tasty combo. But I think the fontina really made it, and that was my choice to add. My husband and I shared a "cupcake" with ice cream, but it was really a brownie -- a little too thick to be cakey. All in all, a decent choice before heading to Sycamore down the block.
I won't discount the good experiences other people have had there, but I went there recently on a Sunday and left highly disappointed. I arrived with my mother and her husband at about 3:40 (which meant the kitchen was still open for another 20 minutes before the restaurant officially closed for brunch). As we were sitting down, my mother inquired about the Turkey Burger the woman at the next table was having, and she claimed it was very good...hmmm.
My mother ordered the aforementioned turkey burger, her husband ordered minestrone soup & grilled cheese sandwich and I ordered a burger medium-rare with cheddar & bacon. After about 15 minutes had passed, my step-father's piping hot bowl of tomato paste, onions and water masquerading as minestrone soup arrived...and that was it. Now granted, our waitress could've asked us whether or not two of us wanted to watch the third member of our party eat "soup" and granted, we could've told her. But maybe something in her brain could've told her to "order-fire" the whole ticket. Because most people like to dip grilled cheese into soup...even if its something passing itself off as soup.
Anyway, 10 minutes later, with an empty table (and the waitstaff eating two hot burgers) the three of us were still sitting there waiting for the rest of our food. Our waitress came over (only after I inquired as to the status of our food) and explained the Health Inspector was there and was causing the cooks to somehow not perform their jobs because (take your pick, he'd tied them up? he was so fat they couldn't get to the stove? he harnessed their ability to cook in a jar?) Another 5 or 10 minutes later, our food arrived. My mothers turkey burger was dry, her husband's grilled cheese was, in his words "eh" and my medium-rare burger was dangerously close to medium-well...oh, and my fries were stone cold.
In short, keep walking down Cortelyou Road to the Farm on Adderley, or stay home and cook. I might go back again, but I fear they might lose one of the two stars I've given them...
It's the place you for comfort food. They have the best gouda mac and cheese with fried chicken. I much rather dine here as oppose to Farm of Adderly. It's unpretentious. The food is affordable and good.
This was the first legitimate 'hostess seating' restaurant Cortelyou had seen in long time when the Picket Fence first opened. And it seemed like everyone in the neigborhood went to show their support. The back yard is picture perfect at night with glowing candles and plants, and in the day time very charming. But the service is just about as slow as you can get. I've sat there for half an hour with nothing but an empty bread basket and a tall glass of water. Considering they're not usually packed with customers, it's strange that they can't get a simple mac & cheese to you faster. I also recieved a partially raw chicken breast during their lunchtime run. Needless to say, the food is fine... but not great. And while your waiting for the chef to deliver his 'masterpiece' you can think of several greasy spoons where they'd get it to you faster and of the same quality.
I enjoyed a nice brunch here outdoors. It would have been nicer had the outdoor seating area not been right next to a playground (one kid threw his empty juicebox over the fence), but nothing too bad. My omelet was good and the mountain of home fries served with it satisfied my morning hunger.
I would love to return sometime for dinner. They have a board up listing some really interesting specials each night (tempura green beans? YUM!)
Diner -quality food at restaurant prices
The service and decor were nice.The food wasn't bad.It was like a good Greek diner . Except more expensive. This based on dinner.
2.5 stars
I give these guys credit for opening a restaurant in a neighborhood that sorely needed good sit-down places to eat. But to be honest the food here is just ok, and the prices are a bit steep for what it is. Maybe it's just that I haven't been here for brunch yet.
Decor is ok but nothing special; the dimmed night-time dining area ends up accentuating the fluorescent lighting in the kitchen (doesn't work so well!) but the whole picket fence theme is cute.
This seems like a great place to go out for a casual meal with your kids, but it's not fabulous cuisine.
Picket Fence cleared the path for the new additions to Cortelyou Road. Cute with picket fence decorations and varied Americanish food. I have done lunch and brunch here many times and dinner a few times too. Try to sit in the garden away from potentially noisy toddlers. My fave lunch dish of the moment is the fried chicken sandwich served with cheddar, a homemade pickle and fries of your choice. My choice is sweet. The dish is $9 and all the flavors together are yummy. Yes service can be slow, but this is Brooklyn baby.
I keep going back to Picket Fence with the idea that maybe each previous bad experience was an isolated incident and that this time, it will live up to its potential. And because it's a cute place with a nice backyard, run by perfectly nice people, I want to like it, and I always want to give it another shot. But in the end, despite the diverse and tantalizing menu, the food is mediocre, and the service, though amiable, is sloppy at best. Picket Fence has all of the necessary requirements of a great, comfortable local spot, but apparently, none of the skills to execute.
macaroni and cheese.
MACARONI AND CHEESE.
i walk by every day on my way home from the subway, and the aroma of smoked gouda with crispy cheddar sprinkled on top makes me bash my head into the window and yell "gimme gimme gimme!!!!!!!!"
i've sampled the other stuff......brunch is pretty good.......mushroom soup is delish....but good god i just can't stop thinking about this MACARONI AND CHEESE.
must go microwave leftovers....
I'll come clean...this is my friend's restaurant. But I'd also tell him it sucked if it did. Luckily, it doesn't. Using mostly local ingredients from small purveyors, Picket Fence serves comfort food to fill your belly. Buttermilk Fried Chicken, BACON sandwich, turkey meatloaf...dinner, lunch or brunch. It's all good. And don't miss the back patio during the warm weather. Great spot for a cold beer and a snack.
i was tired, it was that strangely freezing weather that creeps up on you in late april. i had never walked to kensington from red hook before. hell, i hadn't even really been to kensington before. i was hungry, i was hANGRY, to be exact. my and the manfriend thought picket fence looked cozy, quaint and full of comforting fare. we were right on all three counts. very small, with a relaxed atmosphere-an interesting melange of people sitting around makes it feel like a great cross-section of the neighborhood. we had simple food-sandwiches and salads and the portions were generous, particularly for the price. definitely a good place to hop to if you are in the neighborhood and want a basic, quiet lunch.
This is a fabulous little restaurant located in what is quickly becoming a very cool part of Brooklyn - Ditmas Park West. I've only had brunch here, but it was reasonably priced and the hollandaise sauce on my eggs benedict had more citrus kick than usual - a plus in my books. I ordered the sweet potato fries in place of home fries and they were delectably rich and dense with just the right amount of crispness. Great backyard terrace and a mellow, homestyle feel. I will definitely be back for dinner!
There are not many restaurants like this in the neighborhood so it is nice to have this option! My sister and I went here for brunch and the food was very tasty. Nothing too exciting but they do a good job with your standard brunch items such as pancakes, breakfast burrito, etc. Service was pleasant. The restaurant is very family-friendly, which can be a good or a bad thing depending on if you have children of our own &/or if you think strangers' little kids are cute. The restaurant is kind of small and my sister and I couldn't have a private conversation until the people next to us left. They were sitting about 3 feet away and hanging on our every word. I guess I should take that as a compliment, huh?!
So there are 2 (maybe 3) good restaurants in Ditmas Park. This is one of them. When it's butt-ass cold outside and I'm too lazy to drag my lethargic self out at around 9, I stumble upon the realization that YOU CAN ORDER ONLINE! AND IT'S THERE IN 30 MINUTES!! I mean, it's lazy... but really wonderful.
Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese. Seriously. I shit you not... THE best mac and cheese I've ever had. It's 4 bucks. So if you hate the rest of your meal, you won't hate yourself as long as you've added this little golden nugget onto your order. Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese. It disguises itself as a "side dish," but once it comes out... you will see why I sometimes just order this by itself with another side of broccoli or something.
The burgers are pretty nice too.
Oh! Brunch?
Black Bean and Smoked Gouda Quesadilla. Again, seriously.
Maybe I have an untamed love of smoked Gouda, but this place has taken advantage of it.
At the end of the meal, add on an order of their totally orgasmic homemade Banana Pudding.
If you live in the neighborhood it is a must.
If not, mosey on over here and try it out when you're checking out your friend's new (huge cheap) apartment.
....
...... SMOKED GOUDA MAC AND CHEESE!!!!
This place is great for a quiet, inexpensive meal with friends. The decor is cool, the food was OK and the staff is generally friendly. I live right down the street so this place is very convenient in a neighborhood that doesn't have a lot of restaurants and is nice and casual.
Had to wait 40 minutes for a 12 dollar burger that was awfully bad. It was just the patty, bread and some leafs, nothing else! Don't waste your time or money.
good selection of beer & i dig their spin on old comfort food classics like smoked gouda mac & cheese, i really like the family friendly atmosphere, i missed the backyard last time (weather) but hope to catch it in the spring.
Neighborhood: Flatbush
Category: French
Brooklyn, NY
Category: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
Neighborhood: Flatbush
Category: American (New)
Brooklyn, NY
Category: Barbers
Neighborhood: Flatbush
Category: Bars
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
Living in Manhattan is so cliche. Proud to live…
My local dry cleaner, watering hole, deli, cafe,…
Local businesses in or around Ditmas Park,…
Little did I know it would turn me into an…
My local dry cleaner, watering hole, deli, cafe,…
