My favorite was "Vinegar $8" as an appetizer? Or maybe it was a cocktail. Either way, someone on Vanderbilt St would sell that to me (and I'd buy it just because I'd want to tell my friends I bought a vinegar drink).

Maybe you mean Vanderbilt Ave? Vanderbilt St has no commercial zoning.

What many people don't know is that 3 of the pricier restaurants on Vanderbilt Ave are all actually the same restaurant group. Their background is partially the 3-Michelin star Alinea in Chicago via chef Greg Baxtrom. Olmsted was first, then came Maison Yaki, and then Patti Ann's.

Olmsted is mostly very good (started great, then got bad during part of the pandemic, now is improving again), but you can still joke about being sold $8 vinegar from them for sure, haha. However, since "midwestern" cuisine is now becoming somewhat trendy, jokes about expensive port wine cheese balls at Patti Ann's ($12) may be more appropriate.

I live 2 blocks away from Zaytoons on Vanderbit and got the name wrong. I now have deep Brooklyn shame..

Those places are really nice, but so busy. Hard to just walk in and get a table.

That street has really changed in the past 5 years. I really like the semi-new Indian place next to Bicycle Habitat. I don't know why they sell bagels and pizza, but their Indian food is pretty good.

Plus the summer streets are nice. Really give it a neighborhood vibe.

Hello from slightly further south on Vanderbilt Ave :) I haven't tried that Indian place yet, but it's on my list, now. The pizza and bagels threw me off (not because "Indian == bad bagels/pizza", but because "somewhat random assortment of foods" is sometimes a red flag).

Not just the choice of food, but the decor inside looks like it was thrown together with spares from other restaurants. But, the food is good. Just as good as Joy Indian on Flatbush. Try their chicken jalfrezi - its delish.

Was this comment generated by the same generator? :D

Gushing about the credentials and pedigree of a particular restaurant and bar is also very Brooklyn

First, let's replace "gushing" with "discussing", because that's what was happening. I'm not sure "got bad during part of the pandemic, now is improving again" counts as gushing.

In what way is caring about your local food options in your immediate neighborhood, on the street you live, where your friends and acquaintances eat, drink, and work "very Brooklyn"? I guess if you live somewhere that restaurants just appear and have faceless owners with employees you'll never know, this isn't a thing. This is something discussed by really anyone who is interested food and restaurants in their area all over the world. If you like what a person did at one restaurant, you may like what they do with a new one. Or, maybe it's noteworthy when only the first one is great, and the subsequent ones are mediocre.

Has the Juicy Lucy migrated east yet?

In case you would like to tell your friends that, some cocktail bars will make you a shrub.

In Taiwan I had a drink made of sour plum vinegar and soda water. Absolutely delicious and refreshing on a hot day! So good I bought a bottle of the vinegar to take home.

You can get vinegar in some fine dining as digestive, usually served in thin tall glasses. It's good for your stomach.

Wow that’s cheap. At the Animal and the Instrument, vinegar was $17.

The idea with what I call "bend-over-just-over-double pricing strategy" is to figure out the ceiling price of a menu item and double it. It allows the patrons to feel like they are in the right place.