Profile

After a fire wiped out the original Brooklyn Star, the restaurant rose from the ashes more than a year later, in March 2011, to once again serve Joaquin Baca’s upscale comfort food, in larger digs. Those familiar with the space’s previous tenant, Lazy Catfish, will recognize the layout here: a long bar in the front room across from some high-top tables and stools, with the main dining room in the back, full of the original Brooklyn Star’s salvaged furniture. Off-white walls and gray-blue booths create a country-store vibe, which complements the southern flair of starters like bacon-and-jalapeño cornbread served hot in a miniature cast-iron skillet. The small-plates menu mixes seasonal salads with creative, meat-heavy dishes designed for sampling and sharing, such as Dr Pepper–sweetened ribs, fried pig tails, and roasted marrow bones. The fishlike consistency of the veal sweetbread tacos is perfectly balanced by crunchy fried hominy balls, pickled onions, and pineapple salsa. The large plates allow for more traditional meals, with steaks, pork chops, trout, and a meatloaf sandwich, each thoughtfully paired with different vegetables. Brunch offers similarly interesting selections, including a Mexican twist on a Benedict, with two masa (tortilla) cakes topped with ground chorizo, black beans, and poached eggs, as well as southern classics like biscuits and sausage gravy or fried chicken and waffles. For a particularly rough morning, try a classic, beef-broth-fortified Bloody Bull. — Daniel Benjamin

Sweetbread tacos, $14; Dr. Pepper ribs, $18; breakfast torta, $9

Related Stories

Featured In

• Adam Platt's Where to Eat 2010 (1/4/10)
• Eat Cheap 2009: The Cheap List (7/20/09)
• How Former Momofuku Partner Joaquin Baca Outfitted His New Restaurant, Brooklyn Star (5/18/09)

Recipes at Brooklyn Star

• Seven-Layer Dip (2010)