The Greens

ananimalfriendlylife.com - Aug 14 06

I found myself liking Brooklyn Heights, the area where this restaurant is based. Not necessarily all the shops and such, but the tree-lined streets and housing were attractive, and put me at ease as I came and left the area to eat at The Green's.

I tried a few things on my first visit there, and they were all pretty good. The best by far was the Yin-Yang, which consisted of partly shredded mushrooms in a delicious brown sauce with sesame seeds that was surrounded by broccoli. I only wish I hadn't spoiled my appetite on some appetizers.

The zucchini pancakes would have been one of my favorite items, too, if they hadn't been over-cooked. They were a bit too crispy in parts. Soaking the bites in the accompanying soy sauce helped.

The miso soup was so-so. I liked the price, and the seaweed was the best, least slippery I've ever had. The broth was a bit bland, though.

I also sampled the soy "cod" from the Heavenly Vegetable Cod, which was basically bean curd with one side covered with the same seaweed as that in the miso, which did give it a bizarrely fishlike quality, especially due to the meatier texture. From the look of it, I was expecting something more like tofu, but it was denser and chewier.

The chocolate fortune cookie had egg in it, but the plain fortune cookies were vegan. When I asked about the egg, I was told that the egg was the only item that was like that, but I'd have to wonder about other items.

Cons include rather clipped and inattentive service. I kinda felt like we were imposing, honestly. The setting is rather plain as well, but not unattractive, per se. Then again, all four occupied tables, including ours, overlooked the street, and that was a pleasant view indeed.

All in all, I'm looking forward to going back some day to try more of the inventive menu items.