Cornelius Introduces New Chef and Wine on Tap

Cornelius’ new chef Chris Caracciolo hopes dollar oysters attract a hungry crowd that will drink and slurp, then move on to charcuterie plates of wild boar salami, surf and turf burgers, a duck Rueben with aged Gruyere and daily specials designed to pair well with spirits.

The same February day Caracciolo started behind the stove, Cornelius started serving wine on tap.  Besides 10 drafts beers (from the Northeast to the Left Coast to Europe), there’s now German riesling and Long Island merlot stored in this modern way that prevents oxidation.  On their unusual liquor list: independent, artisanal whiskey distilleries, vodka from Slovakia, Sweden and Austin, Texas (no Belvedere here), $9-flights of moonshine, beer flights from $4 to $17 and Brooklyn gin. It’s a heady mix of creative cocktails and serious booze, small and bigger bites to keep the sophisticated yet economical clientele content.

Caracciolo, 42, has high hopes for the pubby restaurant that reigns over this calm corner of Vanderbilt and Pacific.  He has worked at Blue Ribbon Bakery and Babbo, did a corporate cheffing gig in Battery Park City, helped a friend open a restaurant in Jamaica (not Queens) and was executive sous chef at the mother of all international eateries, the United Nations. He’s also a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America.

Raised on Long Island, Caracciolo moved back to the city 20 years ago, making pit stops in various nearby neighborhoods before his current home in Crown Heights.  “I love Brooklyn. It’s one of the greatest places in the world ... the pizza, the water, the bagels and cannoli. There’s only one other place I might trade it for, and that’s Italy.”

Located across from the future Barclays Center, this handsome, brick-walled hangout with French doors and old-timey tin and curved wooden ceiling boasts an inviting, glass-covered bar and comfy red banquette facing marble-topped tables. A small, raised dining area decorated with a mirror and vase of pussy willows is far enough away from the action for quiet conversation.

Unlike trendier places, people actually talk and mingle here; gadgets and television does not dominate.  “A more grown-up bar that’s light on the wallet,” is co-owner Cathy Palm’s mantra.

Staff hug regulars in knit hats, fashionably tattered tweeds and messenger bags, tables are pushed together for gregarious groups, while cozy couples at two-tops dip into fries, cheese plates, crostini, arancini and olives.

Daily specials ($17 to $22) range from Berkshire Farms pork chops smothered with apple ragout to creative grass-fed lamb, prime beef and high-quality chicken dishes.  Although Caracciolo will not be able to indulge his passion for North Carolina-style barbecue (his own enormous 250-gallon smoker is currently parked in New Jersey), he plans on cold smoking with wood chips in the kitchen.  

Even if his tendencies are carnivorous, this is a chef who can fuss over a pretty, walnut-studded beet salad with greens and warm goat cheese, tweak the mac and cheese for vegetarians or delicately poach an oyster with leeks and fennel.

Bartenders enthusiastically suggest the best bubbly (Champagne or Cava), white wine (a dry Sancerre or Sauvignon Blanc) and cocktail (something citrusy like the Cornelius which is lime, honey and sage muddled together with gin) to pair with oysters, which rye excels with steak, and if the “very small batch” or four grain bourbon goes with Caracciolo’s latest suckling pig recipe.

Oysters get center stage (a half dozen bushels shucked a night) and change frequently so check the chalkboard for Blue Points, Malpeques, Hog Islands, Kumamotos and Kusshis.

History buffs know all about rich family patriarch Cornelius Vanderbilt; and connoisseurs of aged, esoteric whiskey and West Coast bivalves find their way to Cornelius on Vanderbilt.