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Canberra Today 12°/15° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Dining: New York times in Green Square

A NEW menu has been rolled out at Little Brooklyn, Green Square, Kingston, with many dishes celebrating the famous New York “street food” classics you can buy anywhere, any time in the Big Apple. This is fun food. Tasty food. Satisfying food.

The Brooklyn burger – dry aged beef with bacon, pickles confit onions, cheddar and house barbecue sauce. Photo by Gary Schafer
The Brooklyn burger – dry aged beef with bacon, pickles confit onions, cheddar and house barbecue sauce. Photo by Gary Schafer
Frank Condi, an owner of Little Brooklyn, says the name and menu were inspired by his trip last year to the US. And so you have the Brooklyn dog, the Brooklyn burger, the Reuben and more – sometimes with an Aussie twist and sometimes not.

Little Brooklyn is an American-type gastropub with various eating zones, massive bar, colourful chequered carpet, and big television screens. It doesn’t pretend to be anything but a casual place to hang out.

My two favourite dishes are the lamb and labneh salad ($18) and the Portobello mushroom burger ($18).

The salad is a nice option if you don’t want pub grub. It’s a lovely, simple dish of slow-cooked slices of lamb, super creamy honey Labneh, roasted beets and snow pea leaves. I’ve never made my own labneh (cheese created from yoghurt), but it’s on my bucket list (I know, it’s not a very exciting bucket list).

If you’re a Portobello mushroom fan this light vegetarian burger will satisfy. The mushrooms, mini steak size, are perked up with salsa verde, peppery rocket, provolone cheese and intense oven-roasted tomato ($18).

I’ve also had the Brooklyn Reuben. This version is created with corned wagyu, sauerkraut and Dijon mustard ($18). It’s not my fave, but I can’t pinpoint why.

For sharing, dig into buffalo wings, corn on the cob with chipotle mayo and Tex Mex nachos. Sharing dishes range from $9 for crinkle-cut chips to $16 for pulled pork sliders (three mini burgers with bourbon barbecue sauce).

The large outdoor area facing Green Square has tall, rectangular, communal tables and a range of other seating. The beer garden facing Highgate Lane at the back is a cozy space. The main area inside is massive and super noisy when the place is full – sometimes uncomfortably so.

When inside, I prefer to settle in at one of the smaller tables positioned by the big sliding windows at the front. It’s a fun people-watching possie – you’re close to the action, but not in the thick of it.

Little Brooklyn has lots of tap beer and some decent wines. Cocktail lovers will have fun with the Bushwick Basher with tequila and Straight Outta Brooklyn with rye whiskey (all $16).

Groove to live music on Sundays, including on March 23 when Green Square hosts a picnic rug party to officially celebrate the recently planted grass (12.30pm-3.30pm). Little Brooklyn will host a fundraising barbecue to contribute to the re-planting.

 Open seven days, call 6260 8150.

 

 

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Wendy Johnson

Wendy Johnson

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