Anyone try Miriam's?

Subject: miriam's is great; i also miss the surreal cafe tho'

I think Miriam's is one of the best restaurants in Park Slope (disclaimer: I have not tried Applewood or Stone Park which I know people rave about). The owner is extremely friendly, as is the wait staff. The food is exquisitely prepared. They have some new thing on Sundays after 5 p.m. where they convert the place, remove the tables, and have music and free appetizers and cash bar ( so you can try the food that way).

Also, however, I do miss the Surreal Cafe! I also do not understand why that place couldn't stay in business. It was a bit simpler as far as food preparation and much different than Miriam's. .... And I had read that charming (somewhat sappy) little story on their takeaway menu about why they started the business and then they just disappeared! I liked that they had organic and sustainable food and you could eat reasonably healthy. I guess some people didn't like it but I did!

But Miriam's is a great place, worth trying.

cat.

I agree. I was there 2 weeks ago for the first time. The guy behind the bar counter was super nice and all the wait staff were nice as well.

The next day, I thought about going back to have a nice glass of wine and some light food by myself. It was that good!

I totally recommend.

Jack's exactly right. The food at Surreal was just too simple and middle-of-the-road to attract a bunch of people on any given night. I did love their burger (as I loved City Lighting's burger....is there a theme here?), and my in-laws seemed to think they made the "best cappucino in New York."

8thandPrez wrote: I'm finding it hard to believe anyone ever ventured into the Surreal Cafe. Is it really any surprise why it folded so quickly? Let's enumerate:

1. A name that says nothing at all about the place. Surreal? What does it mean? What vibe is it trying to convey? It just sounds deliberately cute and whimsical.

2. A menu that does nothing to distinguish itself from the 5000 other brunchy places on 5th, 7th, smith, court, etc.

3. Don't even get me started on the Celtic font that was used for the logo.

they had a good burger, brunch was pretty good, and it was good to take veggie friends too. also, my in-laws still swear that a guy there made "the best cappucino in NYC" and "would have no trouble getting a job at any coffee place in New York."

so, yeah, not the best, but 2nd Street Cafe has survived for years making crappier, just-as-boring food.

Subject: surreal cafe/nee miriam's

1. surreal cafe folded because it was thought of as a brunc place. they made heaps of cash on the brunch crowd, but they lost it all come dinner time. nobody will take a restaurant named "cafe" seriously as a dinner spot

2. miriam's is real good middle eastern food. their jerusalem bread is delicious. and don't forget to try the salad wrapped in eggplant. the turkish coffee is not great however...

"Sauteed wild mushrooms, chick peas and small fava beans. Accompanied by hummus and jalapenos....Avocado and spring vegetables wrapped in grilled eggplant strips. Topped with creamy French feta and tossed in a light lemon herb vinaigrette....Stuffed Potato and Zucchini Filled with sliced zucchini, garlic, red onion, herbs and cracked buckwheat cooked in a roasted tomato sauce...."

I have not been to Miriam's yet, but their menu looks AMAZING!!!

5th Ave, a couple blocks in from Flatbush Ave
(yum)

Cabaki wrote: Miriam's was one of the best meals I had this year. Everything was impeccable and delicious and the servers were great.

The only thing that surprised me was that they were closed on Christmas Eve last year....I figured they'd be open because they're owned by Israeli jews, but I was wrong. I'm sticking to chinese this year....

Yes, you're always better off with the traditional Jewish Christmas...

friendlypitbull wrote: [quote=8thandPrez]I'm finding it hard to believe anyone ever ventured into the Surreal Cafe. Is it really any surprise why it folded so quickly? Let's enumerate:

1. A name that says nothing at all about the place. Surreal? What does it mean? What vibe is it trying to convey? It just sounds deliberately cute and whimsical.

J0518 wrote:
so, yeah, not the best, but 2nd Street Cafe has survived for years making crappier, just-as-boring food.

Yeah but at least the name tells you where it is.Yeah and the older, lessy fussy crowd tends to eat on 7th; more fussy foodies go on 5th where the cooler places are at....

sweet tea wrote: DOES miriam in fact do brunch? people on this board have mentioned "israeli breakfast", but they don't have a brunch menu in their window (or didn't last time i checked).

also, what is israeli breakfast?

no idea what "israeli breakfast" is, but YES to brunch at miriam's

pitu wrote: [quote=sweet tea]DOES miriam in fact do brunch? people on this board have mentioned "israeli breakfast", but they don't have a brunch menu in their window (or didn't last time i checked).

also, what is israeli breakfast?

no idea what "israeli breakfast" is, but YES to brunch at miriam's

Here's your answer to the israeli breakfast question (taken from a customers review of Miriam)...

"My fave is the Israeli breakfast, which is eggs your choice, with israeli salad (tomatoes, cucumber) plus haloumi and pita. They also have this fried dough thing served with eggs and harisa and pickles. More standard omelettes are also good- I like the one with mushrooms and thyme, and my husband enjoys the one with smoked salmon. They also make good challah french toast. And fresh o.j. And at $8 it's a really good deal.

Check out the entire post on underrated park slope brunches:
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/317101