Gone But Not Forgotten

Two of my favorite Smith Street haunts have recently closed.

First was Trout which had previously been Gravy.  The proprietors of the restaurant block at the corner of Pacific and Smith Streets had a good thing going for a while.  They opened Pacifico, a Mexican restaurant still going strong.  Gravy was a southern style joint whose outdoor space became the hip summer spot, Trout.  Then the whole thing became Trout which didn’t sit well with me as they no longer made the incredible chicken fried steak.  But the most unfortunate thing about these guys is they took over LaRosa & Son which probably had the best pizza in all of Brooklyn and turned it into Pacific Pizza which I thing lasted no more than three months.  The moral of the story…don’t mess with a good thing! 

Second, and this just happened last week is Boerum Hill Food Company closed its metal gate for the last time.  This was the place where when I first moved to the neighborhood I’d sit outside with a coffee and a cigarette and talk about my awful dates with my friend Emily.  They also had killer mac & cheese and buffalo wings.  I stopped eating there when they dropped the mac & cheese, but still got a coffee once in a while.  It always looked busy.  I dunno, maybe it’s just the RIDICULOUS SMITH STREET RENTS DRIVING EVERYONE OUT! 

It’s a shame to see old stand-by’s close because nine times out of ten, the replacement is some gimmicky hipster joint that looks a whole lot cooler than it tastes.

~Sam