Faro

[Wilfrid]

This place deserves its own thread, although it's also part of the discussion about how eating in Bushwick has changed. I reviewed it this week.

 

I think it's just over that borderline where you tell people you should go there just to go Faro; as contrasted with Northeast Kingdom, which was an essential place to know about if you were ever in the neighborhood.

 

I've been trying to locate Fritzl's in those terms. I definitely do tell people to make a journey to Fritzl's, but that's because I'm talking to people who are interested in restaurants and the new forms they could take in New York. I'd be more likely to send non-"foodies" to Faro. Not because the food is better than Fritzl's, but because it's a much longer menu, and a full restaurant experience. Fritzl's is still: wow, those specials are amazing, and look at the cooking that's going on this unlikely place.

 

Note; It's early days, and I should mention that eaters whose opinion I respect were there the same night as me, and reported a less happy experience--albeit with different dishes and a service quirk which skipped me.

[Sneakeater]

I thought it was called "Farro".

 

(I guess this goes in the "You Learn Something New Every Day" thread.)

[Wilfrid]

I kind of played around with the name a little in the review. It would make a lot of sense for it to be called Farro.

[LiquidNY]

Is it pronounced "fair-o", "fahr-o", or "fer-o"?

[Wilfrid]

We don't have the vowel sounds in English.

 

(Staff are saying "farro".)

[Neocon maudit]

Even putting aside Blanca, I get the sense Bushwick has a superior dining scene to Park Slope. This confuses me.

[porkwah]

We don't have the vowel sounds in English.

 

(Staff are saying "farro".)

 

perhaps i should eat there during passover.

[Sneakeater]

Even putting aside Blanca, I get the sense Bushwick has a superior dining scene to Park Slope. This confuses me.

 

It shouldn't. Professionals with children don't eat out as much -- and certainly not as adventurously -- as hipsters.

[Sneakeater]

Also, unlikely as it might seem, I'd argue that Bushwick is a "destination" nightlife neighborhood in a way that Park Slope isn't.

[Wilfrid]

Yes, which is why we see a continuum from bars and clubs, through bars and clubs which serve food, to very few places which are primarily restaurants.

 

983 Bushwick's Living Room, Arrogant Swine, Guacuco, even Dear Bushwick all look like and behave like bars. Faro has a bar, but looks and acts like a restaurant. Northeast Kingdom and Cafe Ghia are kind of in the middle. Arguably Montana's too.

[nuxvomica]

Even putting aside Blanca, I get the sense Bushwick has a superior dining scene to Park Slope. This confuses me.

 

no strollers!

[Wilfrid]

I should have mentioned Hi Hello as another obvious place which is known for its food but which looks, acts and feels entirely like a bar.

[Orik]

I thought it was called "Farro".

 

(I guess this goes in the "You Learn Something New Every Day" thread.)

 

Turns out it's called "Farro but I didn't bother with spellcheck"

[SobaAddict70]

"Equally unusual is a generous serving of Roman gnocchi — which turns out to be spongy planks more like polenta — tangled like some ancient ruin with swiss chard. Gnudi are more like pasta than naked ricotta dumplings, as they usually are, and come with wonderful soft green chickpeas the likes of which you’ve probably never seen before. Nevertheless, my favorite pasta strove to be more conventional: a miniature cavatelli mixed with pork ragout in pureed ricotta and parsley, which lent a strange greenness to the dish."

http://ny.eater.com/2015/7/28/9056841/faro-restaurant-review-bushwick

[Wilfrid]

Thing is gnocchi aren't necessarily potato gnocchi, although that's become almost an automatic assumption in New York. The menu when I was there read gnocchi sardi, not Roman gnocchi, so maybe Sietsema got something different from me (looks the same); but it's pasta, not much like polenta.