Dine-In Brooklyn: Same As It Ever Was in Sunset Park

A year ago, Sunset Park was represented by one restaurant during Marty Markowitz's Dine-In Brooklyn week. This year, we are represented by one restaurant again! Maria's Bistro Mexicano is keeping us on the map, or at least on the Dine-In Brooklyn PDF, which can be found here.

So despite all the hype of hipsters and gentrification, a year hasn't changed Sunset all that much. May I humbly suggest that we all go out and TRY to spend $23 on a dinner or lunch for two in Sunset Park during Restaurant Week? There are plenty of places that are stand-bys or new. Use it as your excuse to celebrate some of the cheap eats we have here. Use it as an excuse to check out "that place" you are curious about but never entered.

Leave lunch/dinner suggestions (especially if they are off the usual Matamoros/Pacificana path) for your neighbors in the comments section.

My suggestion is that if you've never gotten a sandwich at Puebla Mini Market on 5th and 39th, get one. They are HUGE (plenty for sharing), and they are freshly made as you wait. $6. You can eat in the little area in the back or take-out. The flautas are really good too.

No Dine-In Brooklyn for Sunset Park

Apparently, from March 24th through March 31st, Brooklyn is having its own version of Restaurant Week. When I surfed to the official Visit Brooklyn website, I thought how cool that would be for Sunset Park. I mean, there are so many places on 4th, 5th, and 8th Avenue that I'd love to try. Sometimes a little incentive is what I need to leave my familiar trail of elotes and "#7 spicy" sandwiches. I entered Sunset Park into the menu bar, and waited. It reloaded, and then stopped. I figured the page had to load or something. All I saw was "2 for $23 at the following restaurants." Above it was Windsor Terrace, and below it was a list of the places that had what was promised: 2 for $23. Nothing from Sunset Park! Not even the new-ish Maria's Bistro Mexicano was listed. Its original location is participating, however.

At first I was annoyed. Then I realized that most of the places around here don't need to offer $23 (or even 2 for $23) special menus for three courses. Go to Tacos Matamoros on 5th, and you'd have to eat 10-15 tacos to reach the $23 price. Stop in at Nyonya on 8th, and you can already get an appetizer, meal, and dessert for around $23. Well, unless you order the Curry Fish Head or Jumbo Prawns. I suppose Nyonya would have been a good candidate.

And so, Dine-In Brooklyn munches on without Sunset Park. Our gentle neighbors to the north and south have the largest number of restaurants listed. Not too far a trip for someone who wants to support Brooklyn's nod to Restaurant Week.

Considering that we ordered in Maria's tonight, and despite the large amount of food, it was considerably less than $23 per person, I'm satisfied that we're getting a better deal here than everywhere else in Brooklyn will get with Dine-In Brooklyn going on. Eat up, Sunset!

*edit: According to the insert in the Spring 2008 Brooklyn! issue, Maria's Bistro Mexicano on 5th and 39th is indeed participating in Brooklyn's Restaurant Week.