Video: When Ruth Reichl Tells Me to Do Something, I Do It or Visiting Roberta's in Brooklyn

Leading up to my New York trip last week, I had been tweeting and asking people where I should eat. The caveat being, I wanted to discover new chefs that were using local, sustainable ingredients. Much to my delight, @RuthReichl (former NY Times food critics, editor of Gourmet and author of Garlic and Sapphires) tweeted me that I needed to check out Chef Carlos Mirarchi's  Roberta's in Brooklyn.

Now, I'm adventurous, but I'm also a Florida girl. So when I exited the Morgan Avenue subway station at night time and saw nothing but warehouses, I was slightly freaked. But thanks to Google Maps on my phone, I had quickly found the entrance to Roberta's. Behind the concrete block warehouse exterior was a vibrant foodie scene with a packed house, shared tables, great service and some of the best bites I had during the week.

It was pretty dark where I shot this video (at the bar, with the excellent Francis helping us through the menu), but bear with it because the photos will show you the Diver Sea Scallops that blew our minds and the Green & White Pizza featuring fresh greens from the urban farm right off the outdoor BierGarden:


Reservations are only accepted for large parties (10-18), but we quickly found seats at the bar or out in the BierGarden.  Get adventurous and explore it next time you are nearby... we also found another couple of great stops in Brooklyn... but that's another blog post. Stay tuned!

PS. If you aren't yet a fan of Ruth Reichl, check out one of her books. She's funny and knows her way around both restaurants and kitchens.















UPDATE: Roberta's Chef Carlos Mirarchi was named to Food & Wine Magazine's Best New Chefs of 2011. Lesson: Always follow Ruth Reichl's instructions. Even if you are a lowly blogger.