Brooklyn Menu Updates: Sim Sim City, and More

Menu Change: As previously reported by Nina Lalli over at Eat For Victory, Franny’s on Flatbush Avenue had added pastas to its menu. Right now the menu features three pastas, including a stellar penne with mint and zucchini ($15). In keeping with its mission statement of locality and sustainability, Franny’s sources mint from Long Island’s Satur Farms; zucchini comes from Hepworth Farm, located upstate in Milton. Pastas are selected by chef Andrew Feinberg from a variety of small Italian producers and are cooked al dente, with the firmness dial set one extra notch on the dente side of things. Last night’s pasta special was house-made spinach and ricotta gnocchi; seven light, and slightly oversized pieces adorned with simple, snappy parmesan cream. Summer cocktails include prosecco with homemade lovage syrup ($10).

Franny's
295 Flatbush Avenue
Brooklyn
(718) 230-0221

Recently Opened: The towering Gravesend restaurant Sim Sim is almost directly across the street from Hungry Cabbie favorite Sahara, and has been built in the same style as many of the other big box format places found along the same south Coney Island Avenue stretch -- lots of marble, lots of kebabs, and some choice neon backlighting in the bar area. A mix of Mediterranean, Russian, and French cuisine (with some traditional Georgian dishes thrown in), Sim Sim offers a departure from neighborhood standard grilled meat-centric menus in the form of sautéed soft shell crabs ($19), whole lobster (market price), and even escargots baked in butter and garlic ($9.50).

Sim Sim
2334 Coney Island Avenue
Brooklyn
(718) 676-5335

Movie Night: For the rest of the summer, Tuesday night is movie night at Ditmas Park restaurant The Farm on Adderley. The first showing, of Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, took place a few days ago; next week find out How Deep Is Your Love with a plate of Adderley’s award winning deep fried French fries ($4, with curry aioli) and 1977’s Bay Ridge extravaganza Saturday Night Fever. The series comes to a close on September 4th, with Out For Justice, the improbably star-studded 1991 Steven Segal vehicle that features, among other stultifying action adventure sequences, a car chase under a decrepit Boro Park elevated subway line and a cleaver-to-hand combat scene set inside a Bensonhurst butcher shop. Shows begin at 10 PM sharp in the small courtyard at the back of the Adderley dining room; seating is limited, so arrive early. Additionally, while the bar is open until 1 AM every night, the kitchen closes at 10:30. So if you want some choice fluke (ceviche, with avocado, sweet corn, and lime, $11) with your Squid and the Whale (August 7th), you best save the date now.

The Farm on Adderley
1108 Cortelyou Road
Brooklyn
(718) 287-3101

photo: the ever-popular, deceptively simple, extra virgin olive oil and sea salt pizza at Franny’s.