Though I really do love Brooklyn, schlepping to the boroughs for dinner isn’t something I normally do. It’s not Manhattan chauvinism; it’s laziness. But I’d make the trip across the river again for The Grocery, a Smith Street stalwart. I’m not a duck lover. Maybe that’s because I had duck the night before I was rushed to the hospital with appendicitis; those associations are hard to kick. But The Grocery’s duck, sliced thin with a wine reduction sauce (they must add a dash of vinegar, too), made me think I could forget my earlier canard-trauma. The chocolate fig cake was a winning dessert–if you like figs, which I don’t, and you’ve always yearned for a really rich Fig Newton.

Sit in the lovely garden if it’s a lovely day. Otherwise, bask in the warm neighborhood aura created by the husband-wife team who run the place, Sharon Pachter and Charles Kiely.

The Grocery
288 Smith St (Cross Street: Between Union Street and Sackett Street)
Brooklyn, NY 11231
(877) 201-5189
F at Carroll St
Street parking is available if you hunt a bit.

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