Fort Greene: No. 7

I was pretty excited to try the latest Fort Greene offering, No. 7. Located directly behind the Clinton-Washington C-train steps, the restaurant is the brain-child of former Perry St. sous chef, Tyler Kord. My girlfriend and I walked in at about 7:15 on Saturday, passed the long white marble bar that has yet to produce a cocktail list (they are still experimenting) and were seated immediately. The restaurant itself is pretty long, with the bar and dining room separated by an open kitchen which makes the segue from hip drinking area to stark white, u-shaped dining room not too difficult. While we looked at the menu, the tables filled up around us and even though all the diners sit close together, the high ceilinged room never felt claustrophobic.

Elizabeth looked at the rather short menu and commented that nothing really popped out at her. However, when the waitress came by and eagerly listed off the specials, the seared duck breast on top of BBQ pulled duck leg had our eyes popping. We settled on starting with the fried broccoli appetizer and then splitting the special and the olive-oil poached smoked salmon. As someone futzed with the ultra dim lighting, we were brought bread with warm butter-bean puree and a dish of cucumber slices soaked in vinegar: a welcome refrain from butter.

From then on, each dish we had was surprising and lived up to Kord's self-proclaimed"casual badass" style. The Broccoli was tempura-ed nicely and came on top a smear of sauteed black bean. On the side was a grapefruit and frisse salad that included copious amounts of dill, an herb I don't always take kindly towards, but here it worked.

I also usually shy away from poached salmon, but the entre was perfectly cooked and a dollop of tartar cream off to the side worked equally with the fish and the cabbage slaw. To top it off, the accompanying scallion latke was killer and the spoonful of apple sauce (or maybe apple butter) playful without being glib.

As a whole, the duck special should be put on the regular menu. The bbq duck leg was pretty much pulled to perfection. The pan seared romaine came with crumbled blue cheese and it was hard to not eat it all at once. The cornbread was cut into a long thin rectangle that was pleasing to the eye, although the recipe could use a few more tweaks. However, things got a little rough with the duck breast . I will say it was succulent and perfectly cooked. The problem was in the seasoning: the skin side of breast was completely over-salted. So much so that I basically had to cut off the skin and push it to the side. Even with this distraction, I would order it again.

The dessert special was a gourmet version of Little Debbie's Oatmeal Cream Pies along with a purple cow (apparently a Midwestern beverage, here made with Concord grapes and Creme). The dish was good but tongue in cheek, and a little too cute.

When we got the check, I told the waitress about the over-seasoning, and she thanked me for the feedback and told me that Kord was overseeing the kitchen tonight but letting his sous chef take the reins. This isn't a good excuse as far as I'm concerned, but the cooking in general had earned my trust. Overall, I came away from meal feeling like I'd be back soon. Who wants to join me?