Sweet Mama's
Some incentives work better than others.
When a rent hike forced Terrie Mangrum to close her Park
Slope restaurant, Sweet Mama's, last March, she
offered anyone who found a suitable replacement space
a lifetime supply of her soulful southern cooking. A year
later, she's relocated to Williamsburg, where Ebenezer
D. Luxx (pictured, with Mangrum in cowboy hat), who scouted
out the new place (and in the process became Mangrum's
business partner) may now sup on chicken-fried steak seven
nights a week, 52 weeks a year, or at least until his
cardiologist intervenes. And Brooklynites starved for
Coca-Cola ham, cornmeal-crusted catfish, and collard greens
have a much larger space in which to sample those delicacies,
not to mention a jukebox heavy on the Allman Brothers,
Alabama, and Elvis, plus an outdoor garden. Happiest of
all may be Mangrum, back doing what she loves -- simply
cooking her Tennessee mom and great-grandmother's recipes
for a bunch of grateful Yankees.
559 Lorimer
Street, Brooklyn
718-599-4444
· Cuisine: Soulfood |
Amma
Amma means mother in Hindi,
and it's also a clue: Visitors to this warm, orange-banquetted
Turtle Bay newcomer should expect Indian home cooking,
not the trumped-up fusion fare that's become so pervasive.
So what if there's no actual mom slaving over the lamb
vindaloo, Goan fish curry, goat biryani, and chicken
tikka? Clean your plate anyway.
246 E. 51st
Street
212-644-8330
· Cuisine: Indian
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Dolcino
Unless you look carefully, you might
not notice that the Italian restaurant Da Beco has changed
ownership and is now named for a coastal town in Montenegro,
the republic where the three partners grew up. The kitchen
will accommodate any off-menu request, ingredients permitting,
and fish is ceremoniously filleted tableside. The garlicky
zucchini that comes with the bread basket is utterly
addictive.
517 Second
Avenue, near 28th St
212-448-9505
· Cuisine: Italian
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Photo: Carina Salvi
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