Divine Follie
Photo by Kate Attardo. NYMag
Italian
929 Manhattan Avenue, Greenpoint
AVERAGE ENTREE: $12
CARDS: Visa/MC
HOURS: Daily, noon-10:30pm
BOOZE: Beer and Wine Only
DELIVERY: Yes
MAP: Click Here (Lorimer Stop on L train, then take G to Manhattan Ave)
MENU: Click Here
FROM NY Mag: If you're wandering through Greenpoint's bleak, Eastern European-looking streets and want a break from pierogies, white borscht and the handful of Thai restaurants along Manhattan Avenue, Divine Follie offers a quick Italian fix. Charcoal cityscapes and dark wood French doors that open toward the street lend a Mediterranean charm to the sparse room, whose rear view to the dingy kitchen is small setback. The Ecuadorian chef and owner learned his trade from working in an Italian restaurant for nearly two decades before opening up his own humble digs in Little Poland, and the results from the kitchen are mixed. Mussels sautéed in white wine, tomato and garlic are supple and buttery, but the salad is off-peak with tough arugula and mealy pears. Light and flavorful, the Tower Follie--sliced and roasted portobello mushrooms layered with roasted red peppers and tomato, topped with melted mozzarella and basil pesto--is a meaty, winterized version of a salad Caprese. While the fusilli with sweet sausage wouldn't stack up to more authentic trattorias in the city, the veal scallopini, covered in sautéed mushrooms and parmesan, could best an Italian mama's recipe.
Comments
Jarkob and I finally went to Divine Folly after over two years of back-and-forth preemptive strikes in which one of us, under the guise of earnest consideration, would suggest dinner, delivery, or brunch from this less-than-stellar Greenpoint eatery. Neither of us wanted to go, and one would always back down in favor of a more savory option. It became a joke of sorts to see who could most creatively suggest it.
But on Sunday, March 26 the inevitable happened; the day in which neither Jarkob nor I would back down from this dreaded suggestion. I’m not sure why this restaurant in particular caught our contempt. Perhaps it was the menu, which left much to be desired. Or maybe it was the fact that they didn’t sell liquor, or that they turned us away the one time we tried to go for brunch (we arrived 10 minutes after they stopped serving).
We arrived for brunch at 11:50AM and Divine Folly had not opened. Relieved in knowing that we wouldn’t have to eat there, Jarkob and I decided to eat at Paloma around the corner. Unfortunately, Paloma was closed for brunch through the spring, and since there was nothing else in the area (save for Thai), we went back to Divine Folly (which was open by then) and took a table by the faux ficus with silk rose vines near the window.
The menu was limited, but refreshingly inexpensive. Jarkob ordered the eggs florentine ($4.5), and I had the eggs benedict ($5). I tried to order the eggs w/ smoked salmon, but the waiter/cook/manager advised it was unavailable. Strike One.
The coffee was good, and when the food arrived, it was presented beautifully (considering the price and the fake rose vine), and was a generous portion. Both entrees were served with a side salad that gave the impression (both in olfactory and gustatory sensation) that we were in fact chewing our cud. Jarkob later remarked that it “made his mouth dry.” Strike Two.
The benedict part of the eggs was also mediocre. There was not enough hollandaise, and the Canadian bacon on mine was awful. To boot, both of us reported soggy English muffins. Strike Three.
The upside to this is that we had two entrees and a cup of coffee for only $12.
Would I go back? I hope not.
Location: Manhattan Avenue near Kent, Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Posted by: The Monk | May 11, 2006 08:03 PM