Ashamedly, I know so little of Brooklyn despite having frequented for years the apartment of one of my best friends and recent x-lover, which means I know exactly 2 neighborhoods that run the length from the nearest subway to their front doors, without deviation…well with google maps and Hopstop, my newest favorite app on the iphone I’m headed to Flatbush Farms, a local produce using gastro-pub, but perhaps more importantly where a “friend” of a friend works as executive chef. Located in Prospect Heights, the restaurant sits at an awkward intersection and even with google maps and HopStop I still found myself a tad lost.

Inside the restaurant the decor is pleasant with a nod to the rustic but by no means all that remarkable. For those who bemoan a smoke free New York, they’ll enjoy the outdoor backyard, where smokers puff away freely.

With loads of specials, my dining partner and I decided to sample off the menu and see how the chef was flexing his flavor muscles. We weren’t disappointed. We started off with the corn chowder topped with caramel/chili coated popcorn. To be honest, we missed the chowder reference and thought we were ordering a popcorn, but was tasty so the bowl was spooned clean. Next we ordered the whole roasted Branzino atop a bed of quinoa and fried green tomatoes as well as the braised duck served with spaghetti squash and mushrooms. The meal was delightful – the duck perfectly braised and tender with the sweet spaghetti squash just melted in your mouth and the the quinoa had just a touch of spice, which was a nice compliment to the fish, also cooked to perfection. Sipped with a sparkling red, whose name escapes me, the meal was definitely worth it.

To both our surprise and later disappointment, the chef sent out a beet salad special (the surprise). Served with a yogurt sauce and fresh local greens, the salad was equally delicious, yet the chef never made a personal appearance (the disappointment). And no, we weren’t so high and mighty as to think he had to but considering the fact that this “friend” had specifically requested my dining partners presence, his lack of interest was just anticlimactic if not a tad disrespectful. But in true NYC style the evening ended with a curt, polite zinger of a text.

The beet salad was delicious. Don’t talk to me. Ever again.

We laughed about it on the subway back, a bit tipsy on the lovely sparkling red. While I would definitely recommend the restaurant, I don’t think we’ll be back anytime soon…

A little link love for the local purveyors:
• Satur Farms – herbs, lettuces and other seasonal produce from the North Fork of Long Island, NY.
• Fleischers Meats – grass fed organic meats from Kingston, New York.
• Vermont Fancy Meats – cheeses, lamb, veal, & rabbits from Andover, Vermont.
• Guy Jones – herbs, lettuces, fruit and tomatoes from Blooming Hill Farms in Mountainville, New York.
• Nester Tello – vegetarian diet organic eggs from Red Hook, New York.
• Stone Ridge Orchard- apples, cider, local foraged produce, berries, potatoes and tomatoes from Upstate NY.