First Bite: Red Gravy

Welcome to First Bite, wherein we bring you a look at some of the city's newest restaurants shortly after they open. We'll go, eat some food, take some pictures, and report back to you. This go round it's Red Gravy, the newest addition to Saul Bolton's Brooklyn empire.

After working under David Bouley and Eric Ripert, Saul Bolton introduced New York to his own culinary stylings via SAUL in 1999. The restaurant opened on what was, at the time, a somewhat dodgy Smith Street. It earned a Michelin star six years later. Peter Luger also got a Michelin star the same year. Together, the two restaurants were the first to do so in Brooklyn. For SAUL, the accolade legitamized Bolton's contribution to fine dining and haute cuisine in Kings County. Since then, Bolton has opened The Vanderbilt in Prospect Heights and Brooklyn Bangers, a sausage stand at the Brooklyn Flea. He also created the opening menu for the Nitehawk Cinema in Williamsburg last fall and just opened the doors to Red Gravy, a cozy Italian restaurant on Atlantic Avenue.

Dinner starts with complimentary fresh-baked focaccia and fava puree. The restaurant's name suggests run-of-the-mill Italian-American, but the puree is a welcomed addition to the table and it prepares diners for a meal that is anything but.

Arancini ($5) - Smoked mozzarella. The Italian croqueta. No reason not to order these if you end up at Red Gravy.

Meatballs $(9) - Soft polenta and gravy. Bolton goes the small route with his meatballs here. Four of them sit over a nest of poletna and gravy. Not the most delicate meatballs we've had, but the fresh herbs and quality pork definitely show through. This is what you'd call a win win for the kitchen. It's easy to put together, pleases the masses, and probably only costs the restaurant $1.50 per serving.

Brussel Sprouts Salad ($15) - Guanciale, figs, and gorganzola. The combination of ingredients works really well, there just wasn't enough of them on the plate. Not sure how this rings in at $15 when most of the (handmade) pastas hover around the same price.

Casarecce ($15) - Cauliflower, taggiasca olives, garlic, anchovy, and percorino. A classic Southern Italian pasta. The olives and anchovies are suggestive of puttanesca, but cauliflower and the absence of tomato take the dish in a lighter direction. Bright flavor, great portion, and perfectly cooked noodles.

Ravioli ($16) - Sheep's milk ricotta and hen of the woods mushrooms. Another generous portion. Hen of the woods get quickly cooked down in a splash of white wine and butter into a sort of mushroom ragu. They retain their texture and it mimics that of the homemade ravioli. Fresh ricotta is a nice filler that doesn't interfere with the woodsy mushrooms.

Orecchiette ($17) - Spicy lamb sausage, rapini, and ricotta salata. Outstanding pasta. Haven't had orecchiette cooked better anywhere else. Maybe a smaller crumble for the sausage, but everything else about this dish has us excited to go back for more.

Reginetti ($17) - Rabbit sugo. Hearty, filling, and perfect for a cold winter night. The translation of sugo is juice. Ragu and sugo are more or less interchangeable terms, both are the result of a long braising process, but you're likely to find more tomato in a ragu. The sugo works perfectly here with the reginetti, which gathers the "juice" into all of its nooks and crannies.

Red Gravy | 151 Atlantic Avenue | 718-855-0051 | www

Wednesday - Sunday, 5pm - 11pm