The Pines

I love to pop in here for a drink and something else -- appetizer, a quick bite, or a dessert. While the execution is great, I find that the price does not reflect the quality of the food (delicious but actually on the humble end of fine dining), the service (friendly but casual), and the setting (Brooklyn cute, but shabby chic). The couple of times that I had a full meal, it was thoroughly enjoyable... until I got the check.

This is a fantastic restaurant. Trust me: you want to go there, and then you will want to go back again and again. The menu changes on a daily basis, there are a lot of seemingly weird combinations that always end up being delicious, and the wine list has interesting options including natural wines (made without additives and sometimes unfiltered). The cocktails are also inventive and very good. It's hard to give advice on what to eat, given that the menu changes every day, but you should definitely order the bread (which was always on every time we visited): order that first with some wine if you don't know yet what else to eat. The bread is baked across the street at Runner and Stone. It is fantastic. After your meal, cross the street and buy some more bread for your home. Fantastic.