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Photo by Eating in Translation

Tasteworthy: Blue Marble‘s Organic Ice Cream
420 Atlantic Avenue (between Bond and Nevins), Boerum Hill
Ice cream season is upon us, and Brooklyn Based is raving about the fresh flavors at Blue Marble: “a Strawberry that actually tastes a little tart (just like in real life!!), a Mocha made with rich cocoa and studded with fat chocolate-covered almonds, and Blackberries and Cream that no one should ever share.” This Sunday, they’ll be setting up shop at the Flea and offering a rotating selection of four flavors.

Loads of Openings
The NY Times reports that Abigail Abigail Café & Wine Bar (807 Classon Avenue at St. Johns Place, Prospect Heights) will open this Friday, South Brooklyn Pizza (451 Court Street at Fourth Place, Carroll Gardens) opens tomorrow, and the owners of Fatty Crab are getting ready for a summertime opening of a Southeast Asian barbecue spot called Fatty’Cue (91 South Sixth Street, Williamsburg). Time Out New York says that Plan B, a “sports den that boasts an 800-square-foot garden,” has opened at 626 Vanderbilt Avenue (between Park and Prospect Place) in Prospect Heights, and Organic Heights, an “organic bakery and takeout spot, featuring 30 varieties of tea and fair-trade, shade-grown coffees,” has opened at 460 Bergen Street (between Flatbush and Fifth Avenue).

Now Closed: Chicory Brooklyn
243 DeGraw Street (between Clinton and Court), Cobble Hill
“Just taking a moment to mourn the neighborhood’s best fried chicken, greens and various roasted veggies. Also, I’ll miss the burger.” [A Brooklyn Life]

After the jump: Prices rise at Sweet Melissa and — you knew it would happen eventually — somebody’s opening a burger joint called “Williamsburger”…

Coffee Prices Rise at Sweet Melissa
175 7th Avenue, Park Slope; (718) 502-9153
“I am a regular at Sweet Melissa’s in Park Slope for a normal cup of American coffee. It has a nice fullness and the nutty flavor that’s reminiscent to what Dunkin Donuts coffee used to taste like when it was good. So I didn’t mind a few months ago when they raised the price of a small cup from $1.50 to $1.75. But today I went in and they had raised the price to $2.25. I know food prices have gone up based largely on fuel issues, but a 50% hike in price in the past 6 months is pure greed in my eyes, especially in this economy. Call me a cheapskate, but I’m going to have to stop going in protest.” [Chowhound]

The Restaurant Name That Couldn’t Be Avoided: Williamsburger
A couple of weeks back, Eater posted a listing for an available restaurant space in Williamsburg, and the property owner quickly found a new tenant: “The new tenant will be a burger joint called ‘Williamsburger’. I look forward to that because spending $12 bucks for a decent cheeseburger in Brooklyn is a bit outrageous (sorry Dumont Burger).” Says Eater: “We all knew that the day would come when a restaurant named Williamsburger would open, so don’t try to fight it people.”


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

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  1. It’s a real effect, believe it or not. For whatever reason it’s more difficult to be successful if you take over a space that has a history of failure. The longer the history of failure, the tougher hurdle to overcome. But that corner is a great location and it hasn’t been a restaurant for more than a few years, so I would think that it shouldn’t be all that hard to get a winner in there.

  2. 3:23…I still just don’t agree with you.

    Night and Day, which was what that place was before BBQ was equally unappealing.

    So yes, I think it’s the food, not the location.

    A few blocks down is probably the best restaurant in Brooklyn…Al Di La…they seem to be doing ok, since I waited an hour for a table the other evening.

    5th Avenue and President is prime real estate. Plus it has an outdoor area. Primo!

    I think the businesses failed and I gave you the 7th and 3rd (former Tempo Presto space) as another so called “doomed location” which is now the star of 7th Avenue with a place with good food and a great interior and outdoor space.

    That’s all it takes.

    Good food brings them in every time.

    BBQ was subpar in every way. I never heard of a single person who thought it was good.

    And certainly never heard anyone say…wow…that BBQ sure was good, but the location sucked!

  3. But Biscuit was not the 1st restaurant to open and quickly close there –
    and maybe they all had bad food –

    but it is also possible that the area is saturated with restaurants (and therefore that corner is doomed for a new one)
    or the size, layout or location of this particular store makes it unsuitable (“doomed”) for a restaurant.
    or maybe the LL demands too much rent for a restaurant to survive (i.e. “doomed”)
    or maybe the turnover in restaurants has turned people off to trying anything new there – and thereby making opening something else very difficult or impossible (“doomed”)

    or maybe they just need good or great food to overcome some or all of the above (which is what I said in my 1st post)

    Point is – it isnt “ignorant” given the history to call that spot (so far) doomed – hopefully this new restaurant will prove the factual history false.

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