East Burn

[April 23rd, 2008]

We’ve got to admit it—the opening of Mike and Matt Bender’s bar/restaurant/gallery/venue last winter in the space formerly filled by Nocturnal didn’t exactly fill us with glee. The hokey name, weird logo and all-in-one business plan sounded like a disaster waiting to happen.

We were wrong. It turns out East Burn is a great bar (more on that in next week’s WW) and a pretty decent, pleasant restaurant. The wide upstairs dining room is scattered with booths and decorated with price-tagged art. Fans of the old club will recognize the space, but it definitely has an identity of its own.

Prices on the “simple European” menu (read: “Brooklyn bistro”) have come down since December, and it presents a nice range of entrees: the $23 strip steak is still there, along with a hearty and warming buffalo paprikash with spaetzle and spinach ($13). Appetizers and salads are generous to a fault; the pear and spinach salad could feed two, and an excellent plate of figs, romano and sopressata at a recent visit was as big as an entree.

But for all the fennel pollen, fontina and local-sustainable whatnot, we bet most East Burn customers will go for the burgers and sandwiches ($7-$9)—and the Trinity Fries, a pile of shoestring russet and sweet-potato fries topped with shavings of fried leek. This is the kind of side dish that breeds compulsions and is sure to keep the crowds coming in the door.