Will T.'s Profile

Went to Kitchenbar last night in the South Slope.  It's near the corner of 20th St. and 6th Ave. next door to Bar BQ.  They've been open about two weeks now.

Started at the bar with a Brooklyn Manhattan, essentially Jim Beam with a dash of blood orange syrup in it.  And yes, they make the blood orange syrup in house.

The menu is a half and half mix of small plates and large plates so you can mix and match as much as you see fit.  We had the cheese plate which contained three large blocks of cheese with candied walnuts and honey.  Next we shared the homemade grilled sausage which was excellent and the creamed spinach which was cooked whole spinach leaves and whole roasted garlic gloves in a bowl of cream.  Finally, we shared the large platter of mussels which were the largest, freshest mussels I've had in ages.

Prices are pretty good (sausage and spinach were $5 each, mussels were $16) and the portion sizes definitely make it worth the money.  But the cheapest thing by far is the wine.  They have a list of about 30 bottles of wine, and at least 2/3 of them are less than $20.

I was also surprised the service was as good as it was considering it's such a new place.  Everyone was nice, attentive and friendly, though I will say they weren't overly knowledgeable about the menu and/or the wine.  This is fine with me, but you'll be disappointed if you're the type who wants to know details about everything and its origins.

The restaurant was completely full by dinner rush on Friday, so hopefully this means it's going to stay around for a while.  I know I'll be back.

Had dinner and drinks here last Friday night with a few friends.  Their chili cheese fries as an appetizer are to die for.  Between the seven of us, we had the St. Louis Pork Ribs, beef brisket, pulled pork sandwich, macaroni & cheese (w/chipotle bechamel), greens (vegetarian), cole slaw, french fries, dirty rice, cucumber salad, and everyone got a piece of jalapeno cornbread.  Overall, the food was great with only the occasional miss and even that was up for debate (e.g. creamy vs. crusty mac & cheese).  

The BBQ itself was well done.  I tend to like my meat a bit smokier, but everything was tender and delicious.  The beef was sliced thin, the pulled pork still had plenty of char on it, and the bottles of sauce complimented rather than drowned the meat.  I'm from Texas and a BBQ snob, and while I can't say it compares with the stuff there, I will say that this is some of the best BBQ I've had in NYC.  Definitely better than BarBQ in Brooklyn, and just a tad better than Blue Smoke or Righteous Urban BBQ.

The beer selection is nice too.  They have four or five beers on tap, including not-so-common ones like Six Point Ales.  I was drinking bottles of Abita Turbodog, but they also have $2 Pabst if that's your thing.  Oh yeah, and the 5-8pm happy hour is 2-for-1 on all beers.