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Hummus: check, Brazilian: check, next stop Italian - Page 5 — Brooklynian

Hummus: check, Brazilian: check, next stop Italian

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  • mike dunlap
    mike dunlap
    Wow. That is really surprising. It has always looked very busy and has gotten a lot of good press. I went twice in a group of 6 each time and everyone really enjoyed it.

    Italianmeh.
  • mike dunlap
    mike dunlap
    She was just named Best Female Chef in Brooklyn by Brooklyn Magazine this week:

    http://www.bkmag.com/2015/02/18/the-third-annual-brooklyn-foodie-awards/
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    It is too bad they didn't say how many people voted in their foodie awards. I might take them more seriously if I knew.
  • Brooklyneya
    Brooklyneya
    Brooklyn Mag. interviews Pacifico about the closing:

    http://www.bkmag.com/2015/02/23/exclusive-pacifico-fine-foods-to-shutter-this-friday-and-shanna-pacifico-tells-us-why/
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    edited February 2015
    Once it reopens, we should make a thread about which of the local sit down Italian restaurants will be next to close.
  • mike dunlap
    mike dunlap
    Once it reopens, we should make a thread about which of the local sit down Italian restaurants will be next to close.
    Let's not.
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    edited February 2015
    Most of the time, our threads are spot on.

    This message board isn't so influential that I worry about it causing a healthy business to go under.

    I'd like to think we cause some businesses who may be struggling a little to improve themselves based on what they read.

    I suppose we could just use this thread.
  • eastbloc
    eastbloc
    We will try to go to Pacifico's one last time before they close.  It's a shame.  
  • crownheightster
    crownheightster
    It is a real shame. I wish I could have gone!
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    Ms. Whynot and I went once.

    She is a vegetarian and didn't feel there was a whole lot for her to eat there, so we haven't been back.
  • crownheightster
    crownheightster
    If the majority partner is intent on turning the space into an Italian placa, I kind of hope it will be a moderately priced italian red sauce joint. Some place where I can get a great variety of parmigiana dishes and maybe eggplant rolls tiki. Maybe a place called Nonnas.
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    I think a business that was ultra child friendly, yet served mom wine would work.

    Amorina on Vanderbilt uses that formula.
  • epiclylaterd
    epiclylaterd
    I have little to add to the conversation besides that I've been to Aita in Clinton Hill and it is pretty good. Not mind blowing, but good.
  • Davina
    Davina
    I think a business that was ultra child friendly, yet served mom wine would work.

    Amorina on Vanderbilt uses that formula.
    Mom wine? What's that?
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    edited February 2015
    It is also know as "mommy's juice".     As in, "that's your juice, this is mommy's juice"

    http://blogs.babycenter.com/mom_stories/wine-and-moms-an-epidemic/

    Related topic: mom jeans.
  • crownheightster
    crownheightster
    I'll take a fine Chianti over "mom wine" any day. 
  • eastbloc
    eastbloc
    My wife is a vegetarian and she has always been happy with the options at Pacifico's.  It's been different enough to always make us appreciate the creativity of the chef and the departure from the mainstream.  

    On the "mom wine" front, Cent'anni is definitely a winner.  Crayons and colorbook placemats, a laid-back atmosphere that's just loud enough to absorb family interactions, kid-friendly menus plus solid cocktails and consistent food make it a winner for days when you want to have dinner with a three-year-old.  

    But Cent'anni works for a lot of different reasons.  The space is versatile.  You can drop in for happy hour, and decide you want to stay for dinner.  You can bring your visiting friends and family, and know you'll be seated at some point and that they'll all have something they enjoy.  

    I have a hard time seeing the Italian joint that replaces Pacifico's hitting most of those marks, and even if they did I'd be unlikely to know about it because Cent'anni is half a block away.  So the loss of Pacifico's has no silver lining for us.  We wish we had gone more often.


  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    It will be very hard for this new place to compete with Cent'anni's backyard.
  • crownheightster
    crownheightster
    edited February 2015
    Is this the same business partner that ran out the hummus place in, like, 3 months? If so, I understand needing to make a profit, but he has greedy and unreasonable expectations. I mean, it takes time to build a base and get people coming. Closing the restaurant after the chef is named. 'Best in brooklyn' seems to me to be really short-sighted. People will go to that restaurant.
  • rogers_sterling
    rogers_sterling
    That interview at BK Mag was depressing. I hope she is successful, and I hope her business partner doesn't regret this.
  • ehgee
    ehgee
    But Cent'anni works for a lot of different reasons.  The space is versatile.  You can drop in for happy hour, and decide you want to stay for dinner.  You can bring your visiting friends and family, and know you'll be seated at some point and that they'll all have something they enjoy.  
    Cent'anni seemed stupendously overcrowded the two times I've been.
  • ehgee
    ehgee
    "I also think people thought this was a fancy restaurant at the beginning, maybe because of the “Fine Foods” part of the name"

    $20 entrees count as 'fancy' to me, especially in this neighborhood.
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    edited February 2015
    Is this the same business partner that ran out the hummus place in, like, 3 months?.
    The Hummus place and Pacifico had nothing in common.

    1. The storefront was up for rent after the Hummus place went out of business

    2. They did not share any principals as it relates to their alcohol licenses.

    Hummus: http://www.trans.abc.state.ny.us/servlet/ApplicationServlet?pageName=com.ibm.nysla.data.publicquery.PublicQuerySuccessfulResultsPage&validated=true&serialNumber=1269358&licenseType=RW

    Pacifico: http://www.trans.abc.state.ny.us/servlet/ApplicationServlet?pageName=com.ibm.nysla.data.publicquery.PublicQuerySuccessfulResultsPage&validated=true&serialNumber=1278021&licenseType=OP

    Here's an article about Pacifico when it first opened: http://ny.eater.com/2014/6/25/6201705/shanna-pacifico-opens-pacificos-fine-foods-tonight

    As stated above, Shanna Pacifico is leaving.

    I believe Roberto Aita will run the new entity, and is the majority owner. He presently runs the Fort Greene restaurants Aita and Mayflower.

    I believe Kristi Banister (who owns Williamsburg's High Horse) is/was a minority investor.
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    Closing the restaurant after the chef is named. 'Best in brooklyn' seems to me to be really short-sighted. People will go to that restaurant.
    I think you may be over estimating the circulation and influence of Brooklyn Magazine.

  • homeowner
    homeowner
    Brooklyn Mag. interviews Pacifico about the closing:

    http://www.bkmag.com/2015/02/23/exclusive-pacifico-fine-foods-to-shutter-this-friday-and-shanna-pacifico-tells-us-why/
    It was a business decision, not a personal decision. That doesn’t mean I think it’s the right decision, but I respect that it was his decision to make. Roberto is Italian; he knows Italian food. And in all reality, people want to eat Italian. When people discuss what they want for dinner, it tends to be a toss-up between Italian, French, sushi and Mexican. And while his Clinton Hill restaurant, Aita, hasn’t gotten very much buzz, it’s making money and is paying for itself. It’s also in a wealthier neighborhood where there isn’t so much as a bodega within three blocks in any direction. Of course, Crown Heights is different, and I don’t think Italian is what this neighborhood wants or needs. But since Roberto didn’t spend all that much time here, the decision was ultimately based on numbers, not on the kind of feedback we’ve gotten from our customers. 
    I found this to be incredibly depressing. And at the same time it explains so much about why the neighborhood is changing the way it is. Never mind serving the community you're in, just create a place for the neighborhood you want it to be and wait for it to change. 
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    edited February 2015
    @Homeowner -
    Regardless of their intent, such decisions certainly have the effect of telling long term residents that their money and preferences are either invisible or not valued. I hear you.

    Until now, Roberto Aita merely wanted to be the "majority owner" of a nice restaurant in an area that does not yet have a lot of them, and (perhaps needless to say) he wanted it to be profitable.

    He entrusted Shanna Pacifico to get him there and is likely convinced it is possible by the success of similar places in the immediate area, such as Bar Corvo and Mayfields.

    Centanni and Barbochino are slightly below them in price and service.

    However, all four are larger, have backyards and a pretty happening bar scene. They have invested far more capital, and it is paying off.

    Shanna Pacifico didn't have the same tools to work with, and didn't experience the same success...
  • Brooklyneya
    Brooklyneya
    It's sad and surprising, but having only been there once I won't really miss it. My friend and I were both not impressed with our dishes, which were also very pricey. I agree with Shana's assessment that the menu was limiting or off-putting. I'm one of those people who stopped by and looked at the menu with others on numerous occasions only to walk away. If you're vegetarian or don't eat pork, options were limited.

    I really appreciate creative menus, but what successful restaurants with creative menus seem to do to be sustainable is to include some staples like burgers, steak, pastas. Mayfield comes to mind.
  • mcpoet
    mcpoet
    Yeah, as a vegan I never ate there, as there didn't seem to be anything vegan friendly on the menu.  Nowadays you really need at least a few token vegetarian options or you're not really meeting the preferences of the community, especially in this neighborhood where large numbers of people are either vegan or vegetarian.
  • suppleknuckles
    suppleknuckles
    man i went there twice: once soon after it opened, and once a few weeks ago. both vastly different experiences! the first time it was pricey, small portions, very esoteric ingredients. it was good but somehow didn't seem worth regular visits. the second time i went, many months later, it was slightly cheaper, a lot more accessible, and surprisingly delicious. really, more of a homestyle brazilian cuisine than anything else. and the portions were HUGE. I feel they made a big mistake putting their "fine dining" foot forward first....brazilian food isnt really a cuisine new yorkers are too familiar with. they may have encountered big success if they had started out with mostly cheaper entrees that featured that amazing cilantro rice and whatever that stew sauce was that i couldn't get enough of.

    i always thought a zaytoons would do well in that space. much better than yet another italian restaurant. ugh! franklin ave. you don't know how good you have it. i wish all these unsuccessful but yummy places could just pick up and move down to Flatbush but alas. 
  • ehgee
    ehgee
    It does feel like much of today's Brooklyn fine dining scene writes off vegetarians, or offers them a pasta dish that's a solid 'meh' at best. That's the same thing that annoyed me about many of the new places in Williamsburg, and also why I never stopped by Pacifico. Dunno how much of the dinner crowd we vegetarians are, but it doesn't seem like Pacifico, at least, afforded writing us off. It is off-putting that the majority of the 'veggies' menu also contains meat.
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