New Cookbook Features Favorite Neighborhood Spots

Over the last several years, Brooklyn has arisen as one of the premiere restaurant destinations in not just New York City but the country. While Brooklyn's culinary culture was once noted for its steak houses and family-owned Italian restaurants, the borough's food scene is now defined by inventive, trend-setting chef's and restauranteurs.

In The New Brooklyn Cookbook, authors Melissa and Brendan Vaughan take a peak inside the kitchen of 31 Brooklyn eateries that redefining Brooklyn's food culture, including four from Prospect Heights, and reveal the recipes of some of their most delicious dishes.

Although Prospect Heights' restaurant scene is still growing, people often mistake that to mean it doesn't yet include the work of chefs who can stand toe-to-toe with the upper crust of King County's culinary artists. As the inclusion of Aliseo Osteria del Borgo, James, Franny's and The Vanderbilt in the Vaughans' book shows, that's not the case.

's inclusion is both obvious and peculiar. The two dishes included -- crispy octopus with Agrodolce and Roasted Potatoes, and Pappardelle with Zucchini, Roasted Tomatoes and Rosemary -- rival any recipe in the book. However, as the author's note, the restaurants humble exterior and non-existent website make Aliseo "probably the least known in [the] book."

Franny's, on the other hand, is well-known example of the inventive, relaxed and buzz-generating style that defines Brookyln's food scene.

"Can there be a better example of new Brooklyn cuisine than the clam pizza at Franny's?" ask the authors. Well, maybe: The chicken liver crostini and vanilla panna cotta with strawberries included in the book aren't so bad either.

While Franny's may define "new Brooklyn cuisine," nothing captures the warmth and class of Prospect Heights quite like James.

"James is a neighborhood place that's serious about food," write the authors, "but not so serious that it loses its identity as a neighborhood place."

James's location -- tucked along the corner of Carlton and St. Marks Avenues, rather than displayed prominently on the major restaurant blocks -- speaks to this attitude, as do the simple but smart dishes featured in the book: Spring onion soup with boar lardon and pecorino, and the ricotta beignets with red wine berry coulis.

Where James chose to go small, The Vanderbilt Chef Saul Bolton chose to go big: "Big enough, in fact, to accomodate four distinct dining experiences," write the authors.

Patrons can dine at the bar, snack at a high-stooled table in the front, sit in the back in what feels like a more "conventional" restaurant or "grab a counter seat facing the open kitchen." It's a lush but varied dining experience, just like the two dishes Melissa and Brendan Vaughan chose to include in their book: pork loin with Parisian gnocchi and butternut squash puree, and Spanish ham croquettes with saffron aioli.

Prospect Heights may not have had the most inclusions in The New Brooklyn Cookbook. Park Slope, with five restaurants, seven if you count South Slope, takes that prize. But given our little neighborhood's size, Prospect Heights residents certainly have a restaurant scene they can be proud of.