Outdoor Seating

For a friend's birthday last night, I headed out to the newly re-opened Trout in Carroll Gardens.  Trout is cute and reminiscent of a bad Caribbean beach bar.  And I mean that in the best way possible.  

The menu is limited.  Our burger arrived on a slightly stale bun and our Niman Ranch hot dog, while flavorful and large, lacked the adornments I have come to expect (what, no onions?).  Also, they were out of the "watermelon with wildflower honey," which is probably meant to be a mid-summer special anyway.  

But the kitsch was worth the trip.  My friends drank hurricanes out of plastic Coors Light cups.  Those drinks, never quite as potent in the islands, came topped with a heavy hand's worth of Bacardi 151, enough to get the average drinker more than averagely soused.  For the record.  

Today, I ventured out in the rain once more for yet another outdoor dining experience.  Habana Outpost, in Fort Greene, is really the kind of restaurants that all restaurants should be aiming to replicate.  They're sustainable.  In the realest way possible.  They collect rainwater from gutter drains into big buckets.  They use plastic cup made from recycled corn.  Solar panels above the restaurant patio collect and store energy.  A smoothie blender is actually powered by--get this--a human on a bicycle. 

So I could look past the cash only thing (a pet peeve), as well as the fact that the Cuban didn't live up to Casellula's Pig's Ass.  Anyway, the corn on a stick, grilled and rolled in queso blanco, lime juice, and chili powder, more than made up for the passable sandwich.  

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Trout

102 Smith Street

Brooklyn, NY 11201

718.935.1294

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Habana Outpost

757 Fulton Street

Brooklyn, NY 11217

718.858.9500