just b/c i know lots of brunch lovers will say this, but lotta ppl visit Miriams on the weekends.

Bruni starred Moim, that korean place off of 7th ave. What do you guys think about that place?

I'm just glad Applewood didn't make it on any list. They do an okay brunch, but the pretension is so thick you'll choke.

I would rate these a little differently

1) Applewood: the best most interesting restaurant in Park Slope and Brooklyn, doing great food with excellent ingredients!
2) Stone Park Cafe: I love Stone Park, very good solid well made food
3) Palo Santo: how did you miss this place it is incredible, once again using high quality ingredients and making interesting dishes
4) Al Di La: it is amazing, but I think you placed based on hype not performance! Sometimes the Entrees fall flat!
5) Bogota: Not even mention! This place is a gem from the fried pork platter to all the Colombian dishes! Yum!
6) Ten Sushi: way better than Taro and they have live scallops on the weekends
7) Press 195: not even mention you are way off, check my yelp!
8) Bonnie's: best burger and wings in the hood, good chili too
9) Taco's Nuevo Mexico: no complaint just rated a little high.
10) Convivium Osteria: have not eaten here in awhile but I remember it being really good!

Sarah DiGregorio

Hey Danny-- Moim, yes, I have not been there and really need to check it out. I walked by and looked at the menu, and it looks like you have to order/pay for your banchan. I couldn't bring myself to do it. That's not to say it can't be good, it just put me off. Have you been?

I think Canaille makes pretty decent French bistro fare....and what about Franny's?

Sarah DiGregorio

Hi Paul-- Thanks for your comment. Franny's is on the north side of Flatbush in Prospect Heights, otherwise it would have been on here.

Bogota should be on there for sure! Also Fonda. And Press 195 (maybe more of a casual/lunch spot but still amazing & also the best fries in the hood by a longshot). Tacos Nuevo's meat is bad cuts/chewy and gross.

I cannot believe Heather D thinks Fonda is better then Taco Nuevo mexico. "meat is bad cuts chewy and gross"...that is some bombastic taco ignorance right there. And why does everyone have a hard on for a panini place? christ press 195? It's fine, but it's a goddamn sandwich shop

I forgot about Fonda that place is great! I like Tacos Nuevo because they delivery till 2am and serve Lengua! But Fonda is much better, but also more gourmet. Also Moim is great, I would definitely give it a shout but not in the top ten.

I have heard great things about Canaille, but have not tried it yet.

My biggest problem is that Al Di La always is called the best restaurant in Park Slope, when my foodie friends and friends that work in the culinary profession come in I take them to Applewood and Al Di La and almost everyone likes Applewood more, maybe it is sweetbreads or some of the more unique items on the menu but Applewood always seems to the be the favorite!

Stone Park almost always delivers the goods as well!

@Sarah,

I went to Moim only once, right around when they opened. So I can't really say much these days. They didn't have banchan back then either. The one thing that I remember was that it wasn't a great value proposition for Korean food... which is already pricier compared to other Asian fare.

As for some of the other restaurants that P1 recommended. Bogota is always doing crazy good business on the weekends and yea.. Palo Santo (on Union btwn 4th and 5th) is a good meal when they were doing that chefs counter thing where you get these little dishes. They used to only do that on week nights and it was super cheap. Their regular menu is good too.

Nicely done Sarah. I think you hit most of these right on. Although I have to say Chiles and Chocolate really only has one good thing, enchiladas, so I can't agree with that call. Also Alchemy deserves a nod, even if it is a runner-up, merely because their burger is the best in North Slope (sorry Bonnie's lovers, it's just so much better)...Dram Shop also just for their burger should be on as well.

Went to Bussaco a couple of weeks ago -- had the chef left by then? It was shockingly bad, with the same, messy flavor combo on every dish: honey, orange peel, pistachio ad infinitum. Spinach was so gritty as to have an audible crunch and the drink tepid and watery. The server, though very polite, was clearly struggling his way through the recited menu to to point that our party felt uncomfortable for him.

I went in there wanting to love and left, unable to get the visceral memory of the spinach grit out of my head for a few hours.

where's Palo Santo? also can anyone explain how Cafe Steinhof can finish ahead of Applewood in anything but beer. I agree with the top 5 as being restaurants that deserve respect, but the low ranking of Applewood and the omission of Palo Santo and Frannys(is it considered in the zone) are the obvious observations.

I can't believe that Brooklyn Fish Camp wasn't even a runner up! I'd say it's in the top ten. Blue Ribbon should also have been in the top ten.

Sarah DiGregorio

Park Sloper-- I can see why you feel that way, but those two restaurants in particular, I think, have value issues. (I always give extra credit to quality restaurants that are also great values--hence Steinhof's high ranking.)

I like BK Fish Camp, but I think it is just too expensive for the pay-off (three scallops as a main dish, last time I was there). Same goes for Blue Ribbon--it's expensive, although also excellent, hence its spot on the runner up list.

After discussing this with people over the weekend it was decided that I had left people out that had to be in, put people in that had to be out and ranked people all wrong. The revised list from large group of Park Slope Foodies:

1- Applewood
2- Stone Park Cafe
3- Al Di La
4- Cafe Steinof
5- Bogota
6- Palo Santo
7- Ten
8- Fonda
9- Bonnies
10- Press 195

You really need to try out Moim. My wife and I love Korean food and it is consistently excellent - I think it would have a much bigger following if it were located just a few feet closer to the foot traffic of 7th ave.

Yeah...dining in NYC !!! In the 1980s, when i worked for trust babies in Manhattan, they would lunch at Le Cirque and similar joints. I would dine at the pretzel stand on the corner of 53rd and Fifth. Except on payday- then i would dine at a rancid Irish chain bar where old white ex cons served french fries and dried out burgers to black bike messengers. Boy, those were the days. I hope those creeps (the trust babies) are dead. I really do.

nibble and nook closed some time ago; it's space is inhabited by either a new pizza spit or the bahn mi place that the guy from henry's left to start

How could Bogota Bistro not be mentioned at all on this? I think your writer should come back and visit Park Slope sometime.

Bogota Bistro is among the most packed restaurants any night of the week, has made a commitment towards improving its food, year after year, and provides a combination of quality, inventive food and great prices. It's a shame that an article of this much visibility would miss out, as it should easily be in anyone's top five in the hood.

Can't believe people think Taro and Ten are better than Yamato?! $9 Lobster salad is amazing! The dishes are incredible and consistent for the 6 years I've been going there.

Farm, Moim, Brook Vin

Rosewater should be top 10.

Bogota is good food and crowded, but not worthy of a best list. Same with Song.

Where is Bogota?!

This list would be more helpful if Sarah actually explained why each of the 10 restaurants are on the list.

I live in the Slope, and it has a lot of great restaurants, including many that aren't on this top 10 or the runners-up.

How about it, Sarah? How about stepping up and explaining the logic behind your picks?

Fair///with some shuffling I guess...but that aside.

Why is fake meat not recommended?

Red meat is tied to health issues (I eat it occasionally) and the carbon footprint/waste water issues. Watch Food Inc and tell me how you feel about chicken.

Do you think Candle Cafe is not recommended?

This comment is stupid and I get the nose to tail movement, but you should be a little more open minded.

Sarah DiGregorio

Marty-- Uh, think you're reading a little too much into it. I've found the fake meat at 'Snice to be over-salted, and not nearly as good as their regular vegetarian stuff--made with vegetables, grains, pasta, fruit, etc. 'Snice is a useful place to have in the neighborhood, but I wouldn't recommend their fake meat. Simple as that.

zuzu is OVERPRICED and boring...but more over priced...for Ramen..really..

Palo Santo has to be on any top 5 resto list in park slope. Brooklyn Fish Camp? Total rip-off. I considered beating my head against the counter until they called the psych ward when I found out a lobster roll the size of a Bark's hot dog was $33. And where is Biercraft? OK OK probably not a "restaurant," but they have the best sandwiches EVER.

Miriam! for both Brunch and Dinner! Half price bottles of wine during the week and 4 mezes for 9 dollars always!

Sarah DiGregorio

Hey Matt-- I went to Palo Santo once back when it was relatively new, and felt that the food was just okay, and the service incredibly slow. Based on all these endorsements, I'll have to go back and check it out.

Agree on Brooklyn Fish Camp.

Biercraft is undeniably awesome, but yeah, I guess I don't think of it as a restaurant. On the other hand, I included the empanada street cart, so you have a point.

Al Di La is my favorite place to get violently ill. I ate there twice (had leg of lamb the first and mussels the second) and spent the movie portion of my date in the men's room at the theatre.
Very tasty and very nauseating.

Bogota Bistro should be #1!

Bogota Bistro should have been on the top 5. Excellent food, amazing service.

I agree that Bogota Bistro should at least have gotten an honorable mention.

Bark? REally? Unless they've changed a lot since opening, I don't know why you included them. We tried them twice, they got orders wrong, very wrong, and really weren't all that, though I endorse the concept.

Brooklyn Larder, has some great food and a place in which to eat it. If Franny's is outside the lines, Larder could be there next to the empanada lady.

And Bistro Canaille? Reliably good French food imho.

What about Melt? They used to be wonderful but haven't been there since Marc Simmons took over the kitchen...

I would also love to hear some of the reasoning behind the rankings.

Thanks, Sarah for a thought-provoking list!

Looks like Bogota Bistro asked it's employees to bomb this thread....just sayin'

I noticed some comments from fans of Bogota were taken down. As one of the partners of Bogota, I also question the criteria involved in what constitutes a top 10 restaurant for Park Slope but hey...it's what you get paid to do and at least it's generating some attention for Park Slope regardless of the fact that we didn't make top 10 (which I earnestly felt we should have ... especially over someone selling empanadas from a cart. We'll take that.

Sarah DiGregorio

Farid-- No comments are ever taken down, that's our policy. In fact, I don't even have the power to do so, even if I wanted to, which I don't. I'll check with our web department to see if there have been any snafus.

And hey, some people like street food. Each to their own.

I love spending $40 on a meal i could make for $ 6. I also love spending $25 for a bottle of wine i could buy for $ 7. Is this a great city or what ?!

i think a lot of people mistakenly dismiss restaurants on their brunch offerings. best dinner choices in the slope are flatbush farm, applewood, and miriam: all three make creative, detailed, beautiful food.

JPan on 5th has great, fresh suchi at low prices! haven't tried Taro yet but def will!

Meanwhile, Burger King Corp.'s 2009 profit topped all expectations as it brought in more cost-concious eaters who, generally, do not live in Park Slope.

I mostly agree with this list - Stone Park is by far our favorite restaurant in the hood, and I'm glad to see Tacos Nuevo Mexico getting some recognition - they serve excellent, authentic food (at least to me, having lived in a Mexican neighborhood in San Antonio) at a great price. I would have given Belleville and Moutarde honorable mentions. They both reliably provide good to great bistro-style food, and Belleville also has an excellent brunch (although service can be slow). I'll have to check out some of the other places on the list (I've lived in or near the Slope for 9 years and still haven't hit them all yet).

Sarah...interestingly enough, I noticed the comments are back up. In any case, thanks for bringing notable attention to our neighborhood. Park Slope rocks!

What about V-Spot and Pres 195? I was shocked that they did not make it onto the list.

Farid from Bogota seems like such a dick. Big man, picking on a hardworking woman who sells empenadas on the street. I've eaten there before, the place is mediocre at best, the kind of pan latin bullshit Iwould expect to see on Universal Citywalk or some shit.

I went to Palo Santo for the first time a couple weeks ago and it was incredible.

Flatbush Farm deserves an honorable mention at least in my opinion.

Our take (10 years in P.S.):

-most Glaring Omissions from the Top 10:
Rose Water & 12th Street Bar and Grill

-most Glaring Omissions from Honorable Mentions:

Nana !!!!!
Los Pollitos!!!!!!
Coco Roco
Oshima-fresh food and soothing atmosphere

And if your are going to mention casual snack places, S'Nice turns out consistently fresh, tasty fare at reasonable prices.

Now, would love to see a rating of Noisiest and/or-Most-Obnoxious, Ear-Splitting Background Music Restaurants.
(May we nominate Stone Park to top that list?)

Stone Park is by far the best food in the area. The vibe is relaxed, they have great music, great drink selection, and the servers are friendly, attentive, and totally there for you. Never have I had anything less than mind-blowing. They also really value their customers.

Rosewater for brunch should be on the list too. Al Di La is good, but over rated. Same with Applewood-- their brunch is heavy and doesn't really vary. Good food but not mind-blowing anymore.

I just accidentally erased my rant about how horrible your top ten list is, and probably for the best because my comments were a little cruel about some of your choices (and understandably so).

Fess up, you haven't tried most restaurants in Park Slope. Nor have you spoken with a lot of Park Slopers to find out the truth about some of these places. You may have had A good dish at some of these places, but that's it. With Bonnies, Cafe Steinhof, Get Fresh, Total Wine Bar and Convivium I'd be surprised if you even had A good dish.

It's sad that this even went to print. Seriously.