Dine-In Brooklyn was winding down, it was rainy, dark, and becoming late. Where to eat? Several unsuccessful attempts to score a last-minute reservation ultimately led to an enthusiastic availability at Chez Oskar in Fort Greene. I'd passed the French-style bistro on several occasions but never paid it much heed. But what the heck? The situation was becoming desperate enough to warrant a $23 gamble.
Chez Oskar is a lively place that seems quite at home in this diverse neighborhood. It could best be described as a bistro à la Brooklyn—casual, funky, and comfortable. The service is friendly and the food is good, but I'd restrain any praise beyond that.
I seldom surrender to cravings involving cholesterol-laden foods, but the Country Pâté sounded the most promising among the five starters on the restaurant-week menu. Though the presentation was attractive, the taste failed to live up to the promise. Bland and uninspired, this dish made me rue my dietary transgression. It's a pity that the comparably priced escargots or the slightly more expensive salmon-and-tuna tartare were not offered. Perhaps they would have made a better first impression.
The five main course offerings—comprising fish, chicken, lamb, beef, and mushroom risotto—were ostensibly well-chosen, appealing to a broad array of tastes. Owing to the weather, I ordered the Lamb Shank to help defend against the chill that awaited me outside. The meat, tender enough to fall off the bone, was served with fingerling potatoes, artichokes, sautéed endives, and pomegranate sauce. The resulting concoction tasted much like a lamb stew. While not bad, it was unremarkable and rather ordinary. Statistically speaking, it seemed fitting that, among les plats of my two Comestaccomplices, mine ranked squarely in the middle.
As at Pó Brooklyn, the fowl was a better choice here. The Free Range Chicken with pancetta-potato gratin, caramelized onions, fava beans, and red wine sauce was rather tasty, albeit unexceptional. Instead of educing flavor from the chicken, however, the sauce's role was reduced to that of an inoffensive, unassuming accompaniment to the bird. It was a pleasant dish that would have benefited from a more aggressive sauce. Perhaps I was foolishly expecting something a bit more akin to a coq au vin.
Lemon and Garlic Crusted Codfish
The Lemon-and-Garlic Crusted Codfish was the weakest of the main courses I sampled. Served with poached leeks, potato crisp, and whole grain mustard vinaigrette, this offering could be aptly described as an insipid piece of fish with a few embellishments. Unfortunately, its plate mates were too bland to rescue the foundering cod.
Desserts were commensurate with the courses that preceded them—lots of promise unfulfilled. I'm not sure why I had high hopes for the Sweet Apple Crêpes. They certainly looked good. The dry, flavorless pancakes with caramelized apples left me as cold as the accompanying cinnamon ice cream, however. Although the Warm Chocolate Cake with vanilla ice cream was slightly better, it failed to catapult my taste buds into cacao ether. None of us was tempted by the Mango Crème Caramel.
Unfortunately, none of our dishes seemed to cross the threshold that separates the extraordinary from the ordinary. Most of the flavors failed to soar and some never even managed to take flight. Nevertheless, Chez Oskar's following has continued to keep it afloat since 1998. In terms of the $23 gamble, we probably broke even. This is a good neighborhood bistro, but scarcely worth a trip on the G train.
Chez Oskar
211 Dekalb Avenue (NE corner Adelphi St),
Fort Greene, Brooklyn (map)
(718) 852-6250
By train: to Clinton-Washington Avs (exit at Clinton Av)
By bus: B38, B69
love all the amazing pictures!
Posted by: jessie | 30 July 2009 at 12:03 AM
I'm surprised the "poached" chefs don't follow the Western example of multiple-kitchen executorship. (Consider Alain Ducasse's concurrent Michelin-starred restaurants in Monaco, Paris, and New York, for instance.)
As for Le Guide Michelin itself, many of us still remember the 2005 skulduggery in Belgium that saw 50,000 copies of the Benelux edition yanked from bookstores because they contained a review of Ostend Queen—a restaurant that had not yet opened at the time of publication! Former Micheliner Pascal Rémy cites additional cases in his tell-all book.
Thanks for your comments, Robert-Gilles.
Posted by: Comestiblog | 28 July 2009 at 11:32 AM
We seem to agree there.
The interesting thing in Japan is that regional food is slowly supplanting Tokyo's overblown restaurants, although they keep poaching our best chefs.
For example, out of the 10 Michelin 3-star restaurants in Tokyo (although I do have some dire reservations about Michelin-sponsored scams) three have a chef recruited in Shizuoka!
Mind you, Shizuoka's position is a bit special:
it grows 80% of Japanese wasabi, 50% of Japanese green tea, is the biggest fish contributor to Tsukiji (another rip-off between you and me. Ask Shizuoka Sushi chefs what they they think of Tsukiji!) and also organic veg and so on and so on.
You will understand why it is easy to write about food in Shizuoka, probably the most unknown (hidden) gastronomic treasure in Japan!
Cheers,
Robert-Gilles
Posted by: Robert-Gilles Martineau | 28 July 2009 at 04:17 AM
An interesting point, Robert-Gilles. This year, New York's chefs and restaurants won nearly every top prize at the James Beard awards. Among them, Jean Georges, a Michelin three-star recipient, was honored with the Outstanding (United States) Restaurant Award.
Gotham's restaurant business is among the most competitive in the world. Even amid an excellent economy, 70 percent of new restaurants here fail or change hands within the first five years.
That said, it should be noted that certain neighborhoods are underserved by upscale restaurants. Chez Oskar was a pioneer in Fort Greene and has catered to the tastes of its surroundings. I'm not sure whether it would enjoy the same level of success in Manhattan or, for that matter, in nearby Brooklyn Heights. Mediocre eateries can do well in areas hungry for dining options.
Thanks for the comment.
Posted by: Comestiblog | 27 July 2009 at 10:50 AM
It seems that living in an overlarge city has its disadvantages as you lack references, whereas a small to medium city will probably offer you more reliable restaurants on hand. Difference in competition or is it easier for mediocre restaurants to hide in a larger city?
Posted by: Robert-Gilles Martineau | 26 July 2009 at 09:11 PM