{F.O.B.} Brings Authentic Filipino BBQ To Smith Street

{f.o.b.} has been open at 271 Smith Street in Carroll Gardens for just over a week now and things are going very well, according to owners Armando Litiatco and manager Ahmet Kiranbay.

Their new casual eatery offers authentic filipino barbecue and fresh seafood, all expertly cooked by chef Litiatco. The dishes are reminiscent of the meals his family "cooks on a Sunday afternoon" in the Philippines, "with father grilling in the backyard and mother baking in the kitchen."

The menu includes spicy chicken langkawas, (grilled wings, galangal, chillies, lime, palm sugar, and coconut milk) as an appetizer. Main meal choices consists of chicken or pork skewers smothered in filipino bbq sauce, Cebu style chicken roasted with lemongrass and garlic, and the grilled spare ribs slow braised in San Miguel beer and served with banana bbq sauce.

Fish Inihaw consists of a filet grilled in banana leaves and topped with adabong kamatis.

Pair all with a side of egg noodles, rice or sautéed morning glories seasoned with chili and garlic.

"This is the restaurant we have always wanted to open" Litiatco and Kiranbay told me on a recent visit. The two partners met ten years ago in San Francisco, where they ran a catering company together. More recently, they worked at Shokudo, an Asian restaurant in Miami.

The search for a perfect location for their eatery took almost a year. After looking all over New York City, they settled on Carroll Gardens because "it felt like a real neighborhood."

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Dassara Hosting Special Sake Tasting and Dinner This Wednesday Evening

As Justin DeSpirito of Dassaro explained to PMFA last week, his Ramen Noodle shop at 271 Smith Street is exploring moving into a different space in the neighborhood. However, for the time being, the eatery is staying put and coming up with some great specials like this Wednesday's special Sake Tasting and Dinner.
Here is more information:

"Join Dassara Ramen on Wednesday, April 15, 7-10 PM for the first of our Wednesday Sake Tasting Dinners. Andrew Richardson of World Sake Imports will be pouring Dewazakura "Oka" Ginjo, a light and floral sake with a cherry bouquet that is perfect for an early spring evening. 
Andrew will also here to answer any sake-related questions and, of course, to pour some free samples.

We'll also have some great food and sake pairings. For $20 you can get a sake flight paired with a variety of bites, including beets with a white truffle and ginger dressing, longbeans with house-made tofu and kimchi, tsukune (chicken meatballs) and Alaskan pollock skewers. $30 gets you a ramen and sake dinner tasting.
Sake tasting is free."

Order tickets for the event via Eventbrite here.



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Dassara, The Ramen Noodle Place On Smith Street, Is For Sale

It would appear as if Dassara, the Ramen Noodle eatery at 271 Smith Street between deGraw and Sackett Streets, is up for sale.  PMFA spotted an ad for the 1,200 square foot commercial space in the window at Smith Hanten Realty.
The restaurant is being sold with all its kitchen equipment for $180,000. The monthly rent is $8,500.
It seats 55 and has an outdoor seating area in the back.

Dassara opened on Smith Street in 2012, having taken over the storefront from 'new american' restaurant 'Chestnut'.

This winter has been very tough on restaurants in the neighborhood.  Quite a few businesses have called it quits.   There are currently quite a few empty storefronts along Smith Street that are looking for a new tenant.

***Update***
I just received an email from Justin DeSpirito of Dassaro. he wanted to give everyone an update on what is going on with the restaurant.  He writes:
"We are exploring moving to a different space in the neighborhood, but haven't taken any serious steps other than to list the space to see if we can get a good offer to cover the cost of moving. Our plan is to stay where we are unless many different moving pieces miraculously fall into place soon.
We'll keep you in the loop if anything does materialize.

In any event, we're adding on a new seafood concept for the summer that we are really excited about and should have details over the next couple of weeks. We had a first tasting last weekend and think that it will be a hit in the neighborhood."

Thanks for the information, Justin.  Glad to know that you and your restaurant will continue to be part of the community either at the present location or at a new one in the neighborhood.

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This Sunday, 'Revolving Dansk' Brings Danish Christmas To Dassara On Smith Street

How about celebrating the season with some Glögg and some Danish food? And you don't even need to leave the neighborhood. This Sunday, December 8th,  Revolving Dansk is hosting a special evening of Danish Christmas specialties and movies at Dassara on Smith Street.

Here is more information:

Revolving Dansk, a danish pop-up restaurant in NYC that specializes in danish traditional and street food, is pairing with Dassara Ramen in Carroll Gardens to create a daytime danish Christmas event. The event will focus on serving traditional, melt-in-your mouth, crispy pork with a street-food twist, prepared by celebrity chef Pablo Ventura, former chef of Fatty Crab. They will also be bringing their infamous danish red hot dogs, as well as serving glögg (warm red wine with a kick), which is full holiday spirit.

You can make your reservation here.
It's a one-night event, so don't miss it.

Danish Gris-Mas

by Revolving Dansk

at Dassara 

271 Smith St., Brooklyn, NY. 

Sunday December 8th, from 1pm to 6pm. 

Find out about Resolving Dansk events here.

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Getting Ready For Ramen On Smith Street

There is some real excitement about a new eatery on Smith Street, and it hasn't even opened yet. DASSARA, a ramen noodle place has taken over the former Chestnut space at number 271 Smith Street, between de Graw and Sackett Streets and is in the process of putting the final touches on the space.
In May, Dassara, LLC, applied for an on-site liquor license in front of Community Board 6's Permits and Licences Committee and late last week, an artist was painting a steaming bowl of noodles on the roll down gate.
Judging by the comments of passers-by, this place will fill a real need on Restaurant Row.



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