Pete Wells Hangs with the Governor

Remember that scene in Scent of a Woman when Al Pacino's (blind) character Colonel Slade tears it up behind the wheel of a red Ferrari?  That was all shot in DUMBO in '92.  Twenty years later, chef Brad McDonald and the trio behind Colonie and Gran Electrica opened Governor in the same Brooklyn neighborhood.  Today, Pete Wells gives their efforts two stars.

Tamer Hamawi, Elise Rosenberg, and Emelie Kihlstrom have opened three restaurants since February 2011, when they introduced their vision to the world via Colonie on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn.  The restaurant received a star from Sam Sifton three months after it opened.  In March this year, the trio got their hands messy with masa and opened Gran Electrica on Front Street in DUMBO, serving their take on the cuisine of Mexico.  Governor opened in July four months later and two blocks east.

Wells finds the DUMBO neighborhood similar to Tribeca, "With its axle-shattering cobblestones leading to a river, its expensive lofts, its S.U.V.’s and au pairs and its acronym."  There was a heavy on the food this go round, as will likely be the case when you're talking about a chef who has Noma and Per Se on their resume, a fact McDonald is guilty of.  The celery root "pasta" was "cool, smart and unexpectedly seductive."  The flavors in McDonald's version of beef tartare "hit you right where they should," and McDonald's desserts are equally appealing, "A disc of chocolate ganache, outfitted with bits of cocoa Rice Krispies Treats, was dark and intensely brooding, and a flat macaron topped with cajeta was an ideal partner for macerated strawberries.

Restaurants in Brooklyn like Saul and Franny's are key players in the Brooklyn dining scene.  Newcomers like Governor, Battersby, and Gwynnett St share an ambition to elevate the borough's cuisine.  A growing presence of like-minded restaurants reflects a shift in the borough's dining trends.  While Governor may not be a fine dining restaurant, the fare is fine and the room is elegant.  These things come at a price and add to the fact that a meal in Brooklyn is becoming more likely to reflect the price of dinner across the river in Manhattan.  In his review of Gwynnett Street today, Ryan Sutton explains "Brooklyn fine-dining has become as expensive as Manhattan dining."  He encourages New Yorkers to, "Get used to it."

For more on Governor, check out our First Bite.

First Bite: Governor

Welcome to First Bite, a new feature at DigestNY where we post about some of the city's most anticipated restaurants shortly after they open. We'll take some pics, eat some food, digest, and then report back to you. This go round it's Governor in Brooklyn's DUMBO neighborhood. It's the third restaurant from the team behind Gran Electrica nearby on Front Street, and Colonie in Brooklyn Heights. Bradford McDonald is the chef. His time at Per Se and Noma shows in his clean flavors and slick plating.

Click to read more ...

The Third Time's Another Charm

Tamer Hamawi, Elise Rosenberg, and Emelie Kihlstrom have added Governor to their Brooklyn empire.  Governor is the third project from the team that opened Colonie and Gran Electrica all within a year and a half.

Colonie opened in February 2011 and received a star from the Times three months later.  Gran Electrica opened in March this year on Front Street in Dumbo.  Governor opened last night and serves food from chef Bradford McDonald.  The restaurant showcases McDonald's past, some of which was spent working at Per Se and the food forage mecca that is Noma.  The menu has items like smoked ham holladaise, marrow popovers, and squash gazpacho.  A tasting menu is in the works and should debut sometime this summer.  In the meantime, take a look around the new space at 15 Main Street.

Do the Gran Electrica, Boogie Woogie

Colonie is a seasonal, small-plates restaurant that opened on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn Heights a little more than a year ago.  Tamer Hamawi, Emelie Kihlstrom, and Elise Rosenberg make up the trio responsible for the restaurants success.  The momentum of which has lead to their latest venture, Gran Electrica.

Bradford McDonald is the executive chef for the restaurant group.  He and chef Sam Richman, an ex Fat Duck and Jean Georges employee, spent some time in Mexico learning the food so they could present an authentic product at Gran Electrica, which opened about a month ago at 5 Front Street in DUMBO.

Gran Electrica is making a lot of their own products in house, i.e. tortillas and chorizo.  The food and drinks all look pretty good as the restaurant fills the zapatos left by Hecho en Dumbo, the neighborhoods previous restaurant to serve Mexican fare that crossed the river and settled in NoHo a couple years ago.

Patsy Grimaldi to Occupy Original Grimaldi's Space

Patsy Grimaldi has left a long trail in the history of New York City pizza.  It started in the 40s, when he learned how to make pizza under his uncle up in Harlem.  A legal battle in the 90s lead to the current Grimaldi's name and the end of the decade, 1998, saw Patsy Grimaldi's retirement from the pizza world.  A decision that never stopped haunting him.

Unpaid rent forced Grimaldi's out of the original 19 Old Fulton Street space at the end of last year.  They opened their new location half a block away, at 1 Front Street.

Patsy Grimaldi saw this as a perfect chance to come out of retirement.  He plans to open Juliana's, a name attributed to his late mother, in the original Grimaldi's location at 19 Old Fulton Street in DUMBO, BK.

Make pizza, not war.