Groonge R.'s Profile

It appears to be closed, therefore, it gets only one star for no longer existing.  I live only a few blocks from it, but only ate there a few times.  The concept was better than the execution, I'm afraid.  The last time I went, years ago, I got very little food for the money.  A Filipino friend I took there many years ago did like it, though.

Real-life kitchen nightmare: Wandering around DUMBO on Valentine's night, we found this place using Yelp on my iPhone.  (Superfine was booked up all night.)  reBar seated us right away.  The room looked very attractive, and a delicious smell emanated from somewhere in the back.  The beer list also looked impressive.  The waitress took our orders promptly.  Unfortunately, that's when the trouble started.  

After a half-hour, we had seen no sign of our appetizer, chicken skewers.  A inquiry to the waitress resulted in her returning from the kitchen to announce that the printer had broken, and our order had only just gone through to the chefs.  To the restaurant's credit, the waitress immediately offered to comp our appetizer and a round of drinks.  However, we further sat and waited while people who came in after us were served.  Bizarrely, this very situation had been portrayed in the episode of "Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares" that I had watched only a few hours before!

When the food finally arrived, the chicken skewers arrived, very quickly followed by our sandwiches and another order of the chicken skewers.  While tasty, the four skewers each contained only a single thumb-sized cube of chicken, which seemed parsimonious, considering the $5 price.  Had we actually paid for them, I would have felt even more annoyed.   My companion enjoyed her hanger steak sandwich.  I found the pulled pork sandwich ("The Rebar") small, and the meat seemed to have a slightly off flavor.  

I am basing my review on a single, somewhat negative experience.  One would imagine, however, that a restaurant would try to be on its toes on Valentine's night, of all times.  Perhaps the fact that it wasn't packed on that night should have been a tip-off.

Five stars for the concept!  Inexpensive Chinese and Mexican under the same roof!  Huzzah!  I have only tried the Mexican side so far, but found the chcken burrito more than satisfactory, and good-sized as well.  Prices are slightly higher here than at similar establishments elsewhere, but I imagine that's in keeping with the surrounding neighborhood.  Service was swift and friendly.

One commenter complains that "the nachos were very cheesy."  What did he or she expect?

East Palace!  I wish you were situated next door to me!

Went on a Sunday evening. It was very quiet. No one greeted us, or indicated if we should order at the bar or what. Atmosphere dark, very bar-like. No tables with chairs, just high round pub tables with stools. Noticed the strong odor of cooking grease hanging in the air, which was somewhat off-putting. Both myself and my dining companion ordered burgers, with a side of o-rings to split. Watched as the burger-maker pressed down on the burgers with his spatula--ouch.  

I actually thought the burger was okay, though on the dry side. I prefer a juicer, thicker burger. My dining companion would not eat hers. We thought the o-rings were okay. I wound up taking home the uneaten portion of my companion's burger (since I paid for it).  

Over-priced, can't recommend unless you've got $$$ to burn. The beer selection did look promising, though. 2-1/2 stars if I could give a half-star.

Upon first visiting about a year ago, I got the impression that Dusk was an upscale lounge.  Having just tried it again, I realize now that it is only distinguished from an ordinary neighborhood bar by pieces of broken mirror glued on the walls.  

Pizzas were being ordered in by other patrons, which was not a plus if you were sitting right next to them and the aroma of hot pizza wafted in your general direction.  However, it was not too crowded on a Friday evening, so  that's a plus.

People who think this is a dive bar don't know what a dive bar is.  A dive bar ought to make one think twice about entering, nervous about ordering, suspicious of the clientele, skeptical about the quality of the booze, and anxious to split as soon as possible.  

This place is a tourist bar, for chris'sakes.  There was an older homeless-seeming dude at the bar, but other than that, it was straight up boring.

Haven't dined here in years, though I live around the corner.  Couldn't get into Hummus Place so picked Mogador as our 2nd choice.  (Previously I'd had a bad experience at Mogador with a bug, but decided to overlook that incident.)  Arrived around 7:30 on a weekday evening.  Though crowded we were seated immediately.  The place was full of beautiful people but my friends and I did not feel out of place despite being dressed in gym clothes.  

Service perfunctory but acceptable.  Wait time for food was a little on the longish side, but they were crowded. The food is delicious, but the thing to remember is that the portions are small for the price.  Merguez platter I had was a little skimpy on the actual merguez.  My friend commented that the vegetable risotto was definitely not much of an entree.  My other friend's chicken couscous looked good, but again, didn't represent a huge amount of food for the price.

People-watching, pleasant summer breezes made for a decent experience overall. The last meal I had a Yaffa was not so great, so maybe I'll shift back to Mogador now.

The place is an institution so commenting upon it seems a bit superfluous.

Went on a summer Saturday evening at 8.  Was one of the only non-Indian places in the area I could suggest off the top of my head.  Had been there once before years ago, when they used to "import" their barbecue from Pearson's.  (What's happened to that place?)

Place was half full.  Seated immediately, even though my companion hadn't arrived. Waitress was very solicitous, almost overly so.  I ordered the brisket sandwich, because why bother with the burgers or Mexican here?  The portion size was decent, and the sandwich came with the usual tiny thimble of cole slaw, and a side of mashed potatoes which was not mentioned on the menu.  (I'm not sure how they divined that I'd prefer mashed potatoes to fries or anything else.)  Can't speak to the authenticity of the brisket, but it was tender and had decent flavor.  The sauce on the side was fine.  My companion's steak and portobello mushroom salad looked good, and the mushroom was well-seasoned.  I marveled at the size of her margarita (rocks), served in a pint glass, but realized after the check came that it also carried a commensurately large price tag of $9.  Large basket of chips with salsa came with the meal, though my sandwich and sides were more than enough to satiate me.

Atmosphere was low-key, and the roadhouse-theme aspect of the place was charming enough without being overpowering.  As the night wore on, the background sound level went up, however, so I can't imagine it's a great place when packed.  Overall, an acceptable place for a mild change of pace.

Went at the suggestion of an acquaintance.  At about 8 pm on a Monday evening, the place was only half full.  A/C a very  welcome amenity.  Secured an iced coffee with no difficulty from staff that was not surly, but rather bordering on friendly.  Since I don't drink iced coffee normally, I can't rate its quality, but it seemed fine.  (Would like to try some of their hot brews at some point. )  My companion had a chocolate chip cookie, which was fine.  I had a slice of quiche lorraine, which was delicious and served hot and promptly (with no surliness).  Several attractive patrons enlivened the view, which was mostly of people hunched over laptops or paperwork.  Coffee was typically expensive.  Verdict: very pleasant, probably much owing to the uncrowded condition.  

The tendency of reviewers on this site to go to crowded places and then complain about the places being crowded seems bizarre, if not ridiculous.

Came here for a late night snack and drink with friends after a show at Ars Nova. Atmosphere and decor fine, service acceptable.  However, the portion size of the mole burrito with optional steak was too small.  At $9, I would have expected it to be almost twice as large as it was.  Further, the self-serve "salsa bar" would have seemed to be a nice touch, similar to Uncle Moe's, but since there was waitress service, it was a trifle annoying to have to get up and walk all the way to the other end of the restaurant to get tiny plastic thimbles of salsa.  Nevertheless, the frozen pomegranate margarita and burrito were tasty.  Really up to you if you want to spend that much for not a lot of food.