A blog about our Brooklyn neighborhood.
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Monday, May 23rd, 2011
Adrianna Mateo, violinist (shown above playing Mendelssohn in a quartet), has performed at Steinway Hall and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Tonight (Monday, May 23) she’ll appear at the Castello Plan playing all solo violin works, featuring contemporary classical music, Brazilian choro, improvisations, and J. S. Bach’s monumental Chaconne in D minor. Starts at 8pm.
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Wednesday, April 27th, 2011
If the first step is admitting you have a problem, then the second step is heading to The Castello Plan tonight to indulge it at a special event celebrating a special wine and its makers:
Many Ditmas Parkers have developed a problem….a bad addiction to Alcyone Tannat Dessert Wine. Now we are hosting the maker of this “medicine” at The Castello Plan on Wednesday, April 27th from 7:30 to 9:30pm. Also, enjoy 2 glasses of his wines (including one glass of Alcyone) and some of our Belgian Chocolate for $25. Perfect Spring Evening at The Castello Plan!!!
The Castello Plan
1213 Cortelyou Road
718-856-8888
Wednesday, April 6th, 2011
Scottish Egg by carryboo.
It’s a little bit of an unfair tease since you can’t get this until the weekend, but this Scottish egg was recently added to the menu at The Castello Plan. The soft-boiled egg wrapped in sausage, breaded, and deep-fried is available during brunch, Saturday and Sunday from 11:30am-4pm.
Tuesday, March 29th, 2011
Today the Brooklyn Paper points us to Tasting Brooklyn, an event produced by Brooklyn Exposed to celebrate the website’s first anniversary. As the name suggests, the event is all about Brooklyn food and drink, and it will include two locals:
With that, there’ll be stewed mushroom crostini from The Castello Plan in Flatbush, lamb sliders from Cobble Hill’s Clover Club, braised short rib ravioli from Fornino and Park Slope, and chicken and pork adobo from Ditmas Park’s Purple Yam.
Tasting Brooklyn
Tuesday, April 5
DUMBO Loft, 155 Water St. at Anchorage Place
6:30 pm
Tickets are $45 and can be purchased on Tasting Brooklyn.
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Monday, March 28th, 2011
Stop by The Castello Plan this Wednesday 3/30 for all-you-can-eat steamed mussels & 2 Ommegang Hennepin Saison beers for $25. Not a bad deal, and it’s supposed to be around 50 degrees, so maybe the garden’ll be open.
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Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011
The Castello Plan is hosting Erika DeJulia, world-renowned Flamenco dancer, to perform live Flamenco Dancing with live Spanish Guitar accompaniment this Thursday at 8pm.
Monday, March 7th, 2011
Neighborhood musician Michaela Anne is performing at The Castello Plan from 8 – 10pm tonight. The video above is a little preview–it was filmed recently at Ditmas Acoustic @ The Sanctuary.
She’ll also be playing at Rockwood Music Hall on Tuesday, March 8 at 11pm, in case anyone is a Lower East Side night owl.
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Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011
Hard to believe it’s only been a year. Celebrate The Castello Plan’s one-year anniversary this Saturday night with an eight-course feast, half a bottle of wine, live music, and a champagne toast. Call 718-856-8888 for reservations.
Sunday, February 20th, 2011
Live Classical Music at The Castello Plan, Monday, February 21st, 8pm.
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Wednesday, January 12th, 2011
Whats better on a snowy, cold winter’s night than … a bowl of chili and a glass of red wine for $10! Tonight at The Castello Plan from 6pm-midnight.
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Friday, November 19th, 2010
The Castello Plan is unveiling a new late night food menu to be served nightly until 1am, which includes their famous scallion grilled cheese and bacon sandwich with fried egg; shrimp and potato stew; chicken and veal sandwich with mustard seed mayo and fried egg; as well as all of our cheeses, cured meats, crostini & desserts …
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Thursday, November 4th, 2010
From Ben at the Castello Plan:
3-course Prix Fixe Wine Dinner for $30 Daily from 5-8pm!!!
Everyday Chef Natasha Pogrebinsky will create a feast that will include an appetizer, entree, and dessert; each will be served with a carfully selected wine pairing. We are excited to offer this $30 prix fixe daily from 5-8pm as the perfect Castello Plan Happy Hour!!!
Attached picture is of sample prix fixe menu: Cabbage Borscht paired with a Cabernet Franc; Potato, Carrot, & Okra Beef Stew paired with a Majorican Red; and an Apple Tart for dessert!!!
Castello Plan is on Cortelyou at Argyle.
Thursday, October 7th, 2010
Here is the plan for music for October. They have also changed the hours so that if you’d like to listen to some bluegrass, head over at 8pm, not 9pm tonight:
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Monday, September 27th, 2010
According to Crain’s:
Thus far, the jobs in the city’s recovery have come in places like Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, where Ben Heemskerk signed a lease for a new wine and tapas bar in March 2009. Headlines at the time screamed economic disaster. No matter. Taking advantage of discounts on rents and wine during the depths of the downturn, his venture, The Costello Plan, opened its doors last February.
“People still want to go out to eat, and they realize they don’t have to spend $100 per head to have a great experience,” Mr. Heemskerk says. “It’s part of the culture of New York.”
Similar bets throughout the city have helped lift restaurant employment well above even prerecession levels. The 10,700 restaurant jobs added from August 2009 through last month marked the largest over-the-year increase in the city’s history, raising the question of whether it’s a blip or sustained growth.
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Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010
Jeff Hudgins will be playing at the Castello Plan tomorrow night at 9PM, along with Timothy Quigley on percussion and guitar, and Ian Riggs on bass. Music from Greece, Macedonia, Romania, some old time and folk from the US, plus a few surprises.
venue: The Castello Plan, 1213 Cortelyou Rd, Bklyn, Q/B to Cortelyou Rd.
time: thursday september 23 at 9PM
Friday, August 6th, 2010
Brooklyn Exposed particularly liked the sprats and the duck:
…When brought to my table I eyed [the sprats] suspiciously, but low and behold, they were delicious. The fish were a little oily, but not too salty or “fishy” tasting. Together with the bread and egg it was unexpectedly but delightfully yummy.
My main course was an amazing duck confit with perfectly roasted fingerling potatoes and a sharply flavored cabbage slaw. The duck was light, flavorful and soft enough to melt in my mouth.
Tuesday, July 20th, 2010
Congratulations to Ben and Natasha for the very well deserved love from the New York Times:
Jacques Cortelyou, the 17th-century creator of Manhattan’s first map, called the Castello Plan, was also a real estate developer. He would be pleased with the attractive dining scene that has evolved along the street bearing his name. One of Cortelyou Road’s most appealing additions is this wine bar named after his famous survey.
The menu guides you through a series of delicious small plates. Start with a bright seasonal salad: sweet, chive-strewn potatoes ($5); cucumbers in crème-fraîche dill dressing ($5); or shredded cabbage, tossed in sesame oil and pickled ginger ($7).
A meander through the very good Italian charcuterie includes fiery coppa, earthy wild boar cacciatorini and a fennel-enriched soppressata (1 for $6; 3 for $15; 5 for $24).
Except for the lusty rabbit and truffled yam open-faced sandwich ($12), most of the entrees are petite and carefully composed: a stack of duck confit with tart apples would be an improvement on Thanksgiving’s main course ($11); a “cake” of chilled crab meat is nearly overwhelmed by its sweet-salty tobiko topping ($9).
Even better are the crostini ($7 each), particularly the fat smoked sprats and boiled quail eggs on toasts slathered in turmeric mayonnaise. Greasy, bold and comforting, it is great food for the quirky, fun wine list on which a dangerously quaffable txakoli and an oaky, chilled blend of carignan and grenache share billing with an Austrian rosé that is steely and as green as wheat-grass juice….
Lusty rabbit!
Thursday, July 15th, 2010
on the menu at the Castello Plan – Now Serving Dinner!
Starting tonight, the Castello Plan will be serving dinner sized portions of customer favorites like rabbit and sweet potato, says their amazing Chef Natasha Pogrebinsky. What kind of food? “New European” is her response, and that just sums it up perfectly – a bit French, a bit Ukrainian, a bit Scandinavian. For all of those who enjoy the New American way of cooking (think the Farm on Adderly ), check it out.
The new menu is not on their website yet, but from what we saw the entree prices are in the $11-13 range. Hours are 5pm-2am, 1213 Cortelyou Road, off Argyle. Will update.
Monday, July 12th, 2010
Tonight, at 9pm, come out and hear Johnathan Kresiberg, one of the best jazz players in the neighborhood (and way, way beyond – see what folks who review this stuff professionally say here). It is this or you may have to follow him on his seemingly never ending tours around the world.
Monday, July 12, 9pm at the Castello Plan, 1213 Cortelyou Road.
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Friday, June 4th, 2010
It is perfect weather for lazy, decadent brunches … and The Castello Plan has a new menu of weekend offerings.
Wednesday, May 26th, 2010
Chow write up of Castello:
The newest addition to the block is shaping up as a cozy hangout for drinks and small plates that lean Mediterranean with hints of Eastern Europe. Westminstress recommends stewed mushrooms (with sour cream and dill), a beet salad with pickles and farmer’s cheese, potato salad with sunflower oil, and rabbit and duck bruschette. gnosh recounts a lovely brunch highlighted by an apricot mimosa and scallion grilled cheese with butter-poached egg. The wine list is idiosyncratic and well chosen, hounds say, featuring small producers from Morocco, Uruguay, and Croatia, among other places.
Some hounds find the portions skimpy, though Westminstress thinks they’ve grown a bit since the place opened. “Worth trying, for sure,” says chorosch, “but if you go hungry you will most likely spend more than you were planning.”
The Castello Plan
1213 Cortelyou Road (between Argyle & Westminster)
718-856-8888
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