dine in brooklyn picks - applewood, park slope

took advantage or brooklyn's restaurant week last week, first with a dinner at park slope's applewood and later at fort greene's luz. here's the rundown:

applewood:

appetizers: salad with pistachios, meyer lemon, cheese of some sort; soup with white beans and some sort of leafy green. entrees: braised beef; an amazing fish dish with the creamiest parsnip puree i've ever had. dessert: bread pudding; rhubarb compote with ice cream.

the salad was underwhelming and left me asking where all the nuts and fruit were hidden. occasionally i'd get a bite of one and remember that it was actually included in the salad, but, for the most part, the salad was just a salad, nothing special. the soup was pleasant, and comforting on a cold night, but also left me wanting more. not more soup, but more from a soup. a light broth, some white beans, and some wilted greens. yes, it was satisfying, but it didn't make me go "wow."

now the fish, that did make me go "wow." i don't recall what kind of fish it was, but it was white, and flaky, with a crispy skin. accompanied by a sublime parsnip puree, the fish stole the show. the second entree, some sort of braised beef option paled in comparison. it was flavorful, but the presentation seemed sloppy in light of the amazing fish dish.

as for the desserts, the bread pudding was... bread pudding. and the rhubarb compote was... a soup of rhubarb with a dollop of ice cream. sure, they were both adequate, but did they really show off what applewood can do? i don't think so. looking at their current menu, i see dessert items such as: warm chocolate souffle; maple pudding cake; roasted apple crisp; grilled olive oil cake (!). any one of these desserts would have been a more welcome option, but perhaps that's just a matter of taste.

despite my lackluster review, the success of the fish dish is enough to make me want to return. and enough to make me recommend it to anyone, with reservations. it's a quaint spot with a local/seasonal menu and they were kind enough to seat us (an hour later) despite our lack of a reservation on a hopping "dine out" night. cheers.

stay tuned for luz up next...