Elsewhere      01/12/2009  

Carroll Gardens Gastro-destination Is the Ultimate Locavore / New Brooklyn Temple. But is That a Good Thing?

frankies

Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli (photo courtesy NY Mag / Dean Kaufman)

It’s rare that you can actually see a trend peaking, but Prime Meats, the forthcoming Carroll Gardens bar and restaurant created by the Frankies Spuntino guys, looks to be the ultimate restaurant of the moment, the Woodstock of the Little Locavore movement. As New York describes it, the place will feature an in-house butcher breaking down grass-feeding animals from small upstate farms, cocktails made with the sort of care and erudition reserved for the Talmud, coffee painstakingly created by the guy from Stumptown Coffee Roasters, beers from Six Points that necessitated a trip to Munich to research, and no doubt any number of other artisinal fetish-objects to go along with them. To be honest, I’m conflicted about it.

Other than the upstate, grass-feeding animals, which are stringy things better suited for stew than steak, I’m sympathetic to the desire to have good things. I’d rather use the Frankie’s olive oil than Colavita, just as I’d rather drink Stumptown coffee than I would Folger’s. But the tweeness of the thing! The affected, precious, sanctimonious atmosphere of it all! I can just imagine the smug stroller women and mincing gastronauts I’m bound to encounter if I go to Prime Meats. As it is, I can’t walk into Franny’s without it turning into a shooting spree; I can only imagine how annoying this New Brooklyn Cuisine citadel will be. But how I wish we had one like it in my neighborhood. What do you think? Is the food worth the culture? Your position on this one really puts you on one side or another of the food culture divide.

New York: Empire Building

Comments

6 Responses to “Carroll Gardens Gastro-destination Is the Ultimate Locavore / New Brooklyn Temple. But is That a Good Thing?”

  1. DocChuck on January 12th, 2009 3:06 pm

    Before the two “Franks” get serious about selling their meats, they need to stop by the local Wal-Mart — (do they have WMs) in New York City? — and pick up a cheap (inexpensive) razor or two.

  2. DocChuck on January 12th, 2009 3:16 pm

    Or visit one of my wife’s laser hair removal salons.

  3. jeremy on January 12th, 2009 3:26 pm

    Good food is good food. I’ve traveled great distances, suffered dramatic bouts of food borne illness and tasted a lot of sub par stuff in search for the really awesome grub. Putting up with a stroller seems innocuous compared to other ordeals one must endure. You make it seem like food prepared with care is an ordeal because of the type of clientele it attracts. Chill out. Have a talmudic pint and ignore the people sitting next to you.

  4. justin on January 12th, 2009 3:28 pm

    Yes, they do have beards. Very astute. And no, we don’t have Wal Marts in New York City.

    This all kind of reminds me of the craft beer movement. I like craft beers because they almost always taste better than mass produced beers. That will not stop people from assuming I drink craft beers out of some trendy or sanctimonious motivation. Many people do drink craft beers because it is trendy. Most drink them because they taste better. Some people will stubbornly drink Budweiser and only Budweiser because they perceive people who drink craft beer to be snobs. By avoiding restaurants serving good food because there is an element of tweeness or sanctimoniousness to them, you end up drinking Budweiser forever. I think this maybe kind of makes sense.

  5. Sneakeater on January 12th, 2009 6:23 pm

    I know where they got that sign from!

  6. DocChuck on January 13th, 2009 12:06 pm

    I am a man that enjoys a finely crafted cocktail.

    Just the same, I prefer to enjoy them in an ambiance that doesn’t make me feel like I’m on the set of the movie “Deliverance.”

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