New York Magazine's Cheap Eats Issue

The following Brooklyn joints got a mention in New York Magazine's Cheap Eats issue.

Beast: "...Few bars serve food as thoughtfully considered as arugula salad with feta and fennel pickled with mustard seed and fenugreek, or juicy skirt steak cooked rare, its slices gently draped over flavorful fritters made of corn and red pepper. Breaded and fried bits of manchego make an addictive snack to nibble along with a glass of sherry or quartino of wine, and the burger is a righteous hunk of salt-crusted meat. Informed, helpful service is a big plus."

Beast is located at 638 Bergen St, at Vanderbilt Ave., Prospect Heights 718 399 6855

Bouillabaisse 126: "Fragrant broth and potent rouille, but there's much more to Neil Ganic's blackboard menu. For example, his tender poached pear bolstered by a brick of blue cheese -- offered as an appetizer, even better as dessert; his moist and meaty crab cake; carefully cooked fish fillets, paired with the potatoes and vegetables of the night (often buttery, sometimes gratineed, invariably delicious)... "

Bouillabaisse 126 is located at 126 Union St., nr. Columbia St., Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn; 718-855-4405

Frankies 457 Spuntino: "...Who can resist slow-cooked braciola swimming in red sauce? Ditto the meatballs and sandwiches like an elegant eggplant marinara wedged between a halved square of Sullivan St. Bakery pizza bianca? Deftly dressed salads, bountiful soups, and carefully roasted vegetables add a healthful note to the proceedings...This time of year, the gravel-strewn courtyard and converted stable out back may exert too strong a pull. The peace and quiet feel otherworldly-except when the elevated F train slides by."

Frankies 457 is located at 457 Court St., nr. Luquer St., Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn; 718-403-0033

The Queen's Hideaway: "...The Hideaway feels like a labor of love, like a friend's dinner party, like real home cooking, like what you pray to find on back roads in small towns on a cross-country trip but end up stumbling over in a remote corner of Brooklyn. It's a one-woman operation (nearly -- someone else bakes the pies) where the chef-owner writes a new menu daily, uses great purveyors and Greenmarket produce, and smokes her own buffalo flank steak out back. There is no pretense, but there are fresh strawberry preserves along with hot, buttery popovers at brunch. Which would you prefer?"

The Queen's Hideaway is located at 222 Franklin Ave., nr. Green St., Greenpoint, Brooklyn; 718-383-2355

Taku: "...The dishes emerging from his bustling open kitchen are creatively presented (a banana-leaf-tied stack of spicy-sauced chicken wings, for instance) and packed with deeply harmonious flavors. Roasted maitake hand rolls are seasoned with garlic confit; charred long beans are blanketed in sesame miso and crushed tofu. Although {Adam} Shepard lards his house ramen Momofuku-style with rich Berkshire pork and smoked bacon, the menu more often veers to light and fresh flavors, like the refreshing medley of peas, beans, citrus, and olives that accompanies the silky konbu-cured black cod..."

Taku is located at 116 Smith St., nr. Pacific St., Boerum Hill, Brooklyn; 718-488-6269

I've been meaning to try all of these places. Of course many others could have made the list and do we really consider these places "cheap?" My idea of "cheap eats" are places like Castro's, the Mexican restaurant, and Cafe Habana, which recently opened in Fort Greene, where you can eat well for $10.00-$15.00. Maybe what they mean is "Moderate Eats." Still, I can't wait to try these places out.