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899 - 917 Bergen Street: Soon to be Food Court and Beer Garden Smorgasborg - Page 4 — Brooklynian

899 - 917 Bergen Street: Soon to be Food Court and Beer Garden Smorgasborg

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  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    edited August 2014
    This venue's task has certainly been made more difficult as a result of 3rd Ward's collapse, and the failure to secure a new tenant.

    Berg'n was going to serve as 3rd Ward's defacto cafeteria. Hundreds of people were going travel to the space every week for 3rd Ward. They were expected to be hungry and thirsty.

    If the first floor of 1000 Dean becomes the winter home of the Brooklyn Flea this task becomes easier.


  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    edited August 2014
    Given how much media is being generated, I have no doubt it will be packed for the first month:

    http://www.myfoxny.com/story/26351166/bergn-beer-food-hall

    Some good spin re: how they planned for Berg'n to be a destination of its own:   http://therealdeal.com/blog/2014/08/24/brooklyn-flea-flea-founders-launch-crown-heights-effort/

    yea, the neighborhood improvements caused that.   Not the disappearance of 3rd Ward.  (?!)
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    edited August 2014
    some of today's press: http://brooklynbased.com/blog/2014/08/25/bergn-survival-guide/

    http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/08/25/the-weekly-agenda-a-couture-embroidery-class-in-l-a-a-new-brooklyn-beer-hall-and-more-from-the-cultural-calendar/?_php=true&_type=blogs&ref=t-magazine&_r=0
  • wbm
    wbm
    Does this open today?
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    Yup. August 27th.

    For the next month, I expect a wave ad new adopter, "have you been yet?" foodie types.

    In about October, we will get a feel for what it will become.
  • tsarina
    tsarina
    Been there , done that.
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    And, how was it?

    You went mid day on opening day. Was it filled with unemployed foodies?
  • Schmu
    Schmu
    It was half filled. Channel 12 was there. I finally tried the ramen burger which was better than I expected. I was told that they will eventually have Ramen in broth for the winter months. I wanted to get BBQ but it was closed until 5. Lot's of people with laptops and parents with very young children.
  • wbm
    wbm
    I'm here at 9:30pm. The place is packed, with a small line outside waiting to get in. Nice mix of people. Bar is operating smoothly. Food is a bit slow. You order at the window and they deliver to your table. Seems to be a great opening night.
  • rogers_sterling
    rogers_sterling
    I went at the wrong time--around 8 pm. The line was back to the train tracks, and they were only letting people in by groups of 10 every 15 mins or so. The dude working the door was super friendly. He explained there is a 400 person capacity, which seems on the low end for a place that size, but I'm sure they were taking no risks lest the DOB inspector show up.

    The place is great once you are in. Well designed and spacious. No problem finding a seat even at capacity. The waitress who took our drink orders was nice and prompt. I got Asia Dog for the lady and stood in a long Ramen Burger line for myself. Ramen Burger seemed to have some administrative hiccups, but again, first night and all that. They also had the longest line by far. I'll leave my culinary review of Ramen Burger for another day.

    It seemed to be the smoother opening night I've seen in this neighborhood, but with the pros running it that's not surprising. Looking forward to a more low key time there when the hype dies down.
  • Davina
    Davina
    Wow, that sounds like a long line. I'm happy to hear that it sounds like a successful opening.

    I would like to try the Asia Dog hotdogs.

    I am so curious about the Ramen Burger....so, is that really a burger where the bun is made of noodles? And is it good?
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    Photo of line from twitter:
    image
  • rogers_sterling
    rogers_sterling
    @davina yes, it's a bun made of ramen noodles. It's ok. The burger itself is great. I'm interested to try their burger ramen noodle bowl. The Ramen Burger sandwich itself was actually what I thought it would be, which was disappointing since the idea of ramen noodles clumped into a bun and grilled sounds like it could be a bit rubbery. I was hoping I would be surprised by their ability to turn it into a bread-like bun. On the other hand, they do these ramen fries which are awesome. They should consider making the bun out of that stuff which seems to be the same ramen noodles, but battered and deep fried.

    Get the Asia Dogs corn dog. Amazing.
  • laura palmer
    laura palmer
    I went for lunch around 1:30 today and it was about half full - it was the perfect fullness, actually. Lines of 3 or 4 people and the tables were easily available without a fight, but the whole place still felt bustling. Can't really speak to the food as I tried to order "healthy." Obviously wasn't the right thing to do there. The salads are not worth it. Everything else looked amazing though. 
  • goldemi1
    goldemi1
    What are the sweets options there? I just saw blue marble icecream and a ramen churro.  Ice cream is nice, but prefer other desserts.
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    The scene on Thursday night, as per the Berg'n facebook feed

    image

  • howncreights
    howncreights
    edited August 2014
    Went to Berg'n for lunch today.  Every other person had a child in tow, and there was a typed sign on the door asking parents to control their children, and not keep them there past 9PM.  (It refers to it as a 'line in the sand.')  

    Two kvells:
    1.  Beautiful open space.  So much light, could stay in there all day.
    2.  Everyone was super friendly.

    Two kvetches:

    1.  The ramen burger was tasty, but definitely felt like the gimmick was taking away from actual quality.  Ramen noodles are specially engineered to be most delicious sitting in broth, getting coated in goodness while staying firm.  Glommed together into a a bun feels like a waste.  There was a little browning on the edges, but not enough to elevate past being a glob of unseasoned noodle.  I like @Rogers_Sterling's idea.

    2.  Cheapest beer is $6.  Lots of neighbors, students, and artists are going to be put off by this.  There's plenty of taps there, why not throw PBR or Narragansett on one of them?  $4 would make a difference, I for one could come there on my schoolteacher salary regularly.  Which would be good for my soul.


  • clayfilms
    clayfilms
    edited August 2014
    It's like that Portlandia episode "Brunch Village"...except it's real life. :D 

    Photo of line from twitter:
    image


  • xlizellx
    xlizellx
    Stopped by today when I forced myself to get up off the couch. 37 weeks pregnant makes you tired.

    Saturday at 2pm the place was 3/4 full with plenty of seats. Mostly couples with kids and couples without kids. Food was fine - but $10 for a just-ok veggie burger is a bit much -- and the beer prices were way too much. We spent $36 on a burger, a slice of pizza, 2 seltzers, and 2 beers. Not terrible, but nothing that makes me want to run back. The space was attractive though.

    I agree that having 1 or 2 beers in the $4 or $5 range would make a difference. Also, many food options were only available at dinner which seemed odd. I'm sure it will do well, I'm just not sure I'm their audience.
  • Davina
    Davina
    Thanks for info re: Ramen Burger. Think I'll go for the Asia dogs instead.

    Bummed out about the beer prices. I had expected them to be lower.
  • mike dunlap
    mike dunlap
    edited August 2014
    At peak times on most non-winter weekends those racks will be several dozen short of what's needed.
    Yeah, definitely going to need more bike parking.

    image
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    edited August 2014
    As a result of being on the busy Bergen bike lane, it will be a good spot for bikers to stop by on their route.

    However, most seem to be taking the train or walking.
  • tsarina
    tsarina
    valet parking for bikes would be a recommendation.  food coop does it on weekends. how cool would that be?
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    The entire first floor of adjacent 1000 Dean is available.
  • howncreights
    howncreights
    Can the 1000 Dean workers walk through the building to Berg'n?  Or do they have to go all the way around the block?
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    The buildings connect via a hallway.
  • Davina
    Davina
    Went there today at 4pm-ish. The place was full of people. We had the Asia Dog; it was ok. We were sitting outside (too packed and loud for the little ones inside). It was a bit surprising to see that they had bouncers. I was also surprised that it was so many people there at that time.The place is quite sleek and nice inside though. Outside could need some...Idk...green plants or something. It felt a bit like a lot of effort went in to decorate the indoors but not as much for the outdoors.
  • clayfilms
    clayfilms
    valet parking for bikes would be a recommendation.  food coop does it on weekends. how cool would that be?
    LOL...

  • goldemi1
    goldemi1
    Bouncers?  That would give me an offputting feeling.  I'm wondering if it has something to do with it being the West Indian parade weekend.  A number of places either shut down or beef up security to deal with anyone unruly, or keep out crowds that come looking for bathrooms.  

    Hopefully they do away with them after this weekend.
  • crownheightster
    crownheightster
    I think the bouncers had more to do with enforcing g the capacity limits of the joint. When I went (admittedly, early on Friday eve b/c I was one of those peeps with a baby) I had a nice conversation with the bouncer who was mainly opening the door and making people feel welcome. Of course, his role could change as it gets later...
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