Last Saturday evening we went out with a couple friends to the new restaurant called No. 7 (named for its location at 7 Greene Avenue in Brooklyn). We didn’t order any apps as we had snacked at home (more to come on that), so we went straight for the entrees. The menu is quite small, and we had four of the five selections, all pretty good.
Both the cod with cockles and chicken were both served au jus (though on the menu the jus for the cod was called “fumet”) that was poured at the table. The chicken was stuffed and rolled and served with asparagus and carrot puree. Purees are big on the menu—an asparagus puree accompanied the lasagna as well. The lasagna wasn’t the standard red-sauce type, but very creamy and covered in melted gruyere. It was delicious, and accompanied by a salad with a very bright citrusy dressing. The dressing would have been too acidic on it’s own, but was a perfect complement to the creamy lasagna. The salmon was tasty enough and served with a scallion latke that was more the shape and size of crab cake than a latke, but a good accompaniment to the salmon in any case.
For dessert, the four of us split two, one a special: a blue cheesecake with champagne grapes. The other was a chocolate sesame cake with peanut butter, chocolate ganache, and a side of homemade ginger beer. I suspect we should have taken our waitress’ persistent urging for us to order the vanilla and banana pudding to heart: both desserts were losers. The blue cheese cake just tasted like fluffy, diluted Maytag. The only sweetness in the dish was injected by the grapes, and that just wasn’t enough. And it didn’t work as a cheese course either, as the flavor of the blue cheese was diluted by another flavorless cheese (or cream, or something). The dish, as my disappointment, is hard to describe. One dining companion observed that the chocolate sesame cake tasted just like sesame noodles. Which is good if you want sesame noodles, not good if you want chocolate cake. The ginger beer was tasty and refreshing, however. Both desserts were just a little strange, and not terribly enjoyable, which if anything, dessert should be.
As to the service: No. 7 is newish, so they are clearly still working things out. I am a little annoyed after reading other reviews online that we were supposed to have been served a complimentary bean dip and pickles at the beginning of the meal. We weren’t offered anything except water (oh, except we asked for that). Our waitress was very sort of familiar with us, in a chatty, “Hey, let’s act like we’re friends!” way. After telling us the specials, she went away and came back promptly; one of us ordered the pork chop special, to which she responded that they were all out. In the two minutes that lapsed, they ran out of pork chops? Anyway, as I said, they are new and figuring stuff out still.
All in all, it was definitely good enough that I would go back there, but maybe after they have expanded their menu a bit and worked out the service kinks.
No. 7
7 Greene Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11205
[no phone listing]
P.S. Sorry for the lack of photos. I forgot my camera! Bad Gastronormous!
Photo courtesy yelp.com
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