[Pigging by Wilfrid: June 1, 2015]
Faro shines a light, because faro, Italian, beacon... Okay, what I should really say it that it shines yet another light on what was once a dark block off the largely dark main drag of Wyckoff Avenue in Bushwick.
Largely dark, because the industrial gloom of those once empty, bleak streets was relieved, back in the '00s (you do remember the '00s?) only by the warm, homely light of Northeast Kingdom.
Northeast Kingdom: "an inviting, warm beacon on an otherwise spartan and industrial stretch of Wyckoff Avenue in Bushwick," as Peter Meehan said in 2008. When I first ate there, in 2009, things hadn't changed much. You just didn't believe there was going to be a restaurant at all on that corner, let alone quite a nice one.
Have things changed? Yes they have, as I've described in a number of reviews here: of Montana's Trailhouse, for example, also mentioning Bodega, The Diggs, Guacuco, The Rookery, Union Pizza. To which you can add Tchoup Shop at Heavy Woods, Hi Hello, and an even longer list of bars with more limited eating options, all clustered around those few blocks, not to mention Fritzl's Lunchbox, an easy stroll away.
And now you can at last add a restaurant of some ambition to the list. Faro, opened by former Northeast Kingom chef Kevin Adey, on one of the last bar-free blocks to be found around here.
Ambitious because Northeast Kingdom--even under Adey--emphasized comforting choices like short ribs, chicken, a burger. You could find--then and now--interesting twists like a pig's head terrine or country-fried rabbit and waffles (I've eaten both there in the last few months), and the ambience has always been downhome, tavern/bistro.
Faro is a dramatic space. Soaring ceilings; brightly lit by New York standards; bare wood bar and tables; a bunch of logs piled in the lobby. It announces itself. Service is correct, the menu is exceptionally appealing--I've eaten there twice, and there are still things I regret not trying--and there's an almost overpowering emphasis on making everything possible inhouse--and, of course, sourcing locally. It's a big stage for Adey, visible in the open kitchen at the rear of the dining room.
In its very early days, the results were mixed but very promising.
Results could hardly have been better than Adey milling local oats and emmer (known in Italy as farro), and serving them in a whey foam with fresh peas and morel mushrooms (rationed morels, as they're bound to be in an $11 dish). A creamy taste of spring.
The bar is not as brightly lit as the tables.
Rewarding too, slices from a torchon of foie (clearly made inhouse, or not far afield: denser and more biteable than an industrial paste). This came on toast with the nice contrast of rich, roasted beets and tart green strawberries.
Farro, one way or another, kind of dominates the central pane of the menu, which offers not only Parker House rolls from freshly-milled wheat, but a series of pasta dishes which almost compel you to order three savory courses. The pasta is house-made, of course--not just the ribbons of stracci, but the tight shells of lumache and gnocchi sardi too (beware, I can't be the only diner who glanced too quickly and thought he was ordering potato gnocchi). In the case of those latter shapes, I thought effort exceeded return; maybe it's just me, but tasted blind I wouldn't have distinguished them from good commercial, Italian brands.
But the garnishes were fine--the green garlic-speckled lumache with asparagus, morels and a duck egg; the gnocchi with big chunks of tenderly braised goat and a ricotta dressing. Value is amazing, given the ingredients: $11 to $18.
Big plates, as I suppose we call them now, are limited: beef or duck, scallops or skate. I tried the duck breast--local farm-raised mallard. I ate a lot of wild mallard back in the UK, but you don't see it here so often. It's rubbed with honey and served with a smart fennel-rhubarb salad.
I'd be picky about the execution here. If you're going to slice it thick, cook it past rare; if you're going to serve it rare, slice it thin. Duck generally, and especially a breed like mallard, is just going to be chewy. Flavor was great; we're talking about fine tuning.
So much going on with vegetables and pasta and meat that I never did order dessert. But I did get a cute little banana bread thing at the end of one meal. There are local spirits and modest wines to accompany the meal.
Adey has a strong local following, and you take your chances trying for a seat at weekend peak hours, but I'm told reservations are coming. Let's be clear: Northeast Kingdom was a vital place to know about, if you ever found yourself in the neighborhood. Faro is a place to get on the subway and visit. And you have about twenty choices for pre- and post-dinner drinks.
For form's sake: Because some readers will know that I know the publicist for Faro, I should say these meals were neither pre-arranged nor comped.
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