More Than Just Pizza at Franklin Avenue's Barboncino!

It has become very apparent that the border of the Crown Heights/Prospect Heights neighborhood is starved for something other than just take-out. In the past three weeks I have done my best to stay in the 'hood and check out the newest food offerings and in doing that have noticed that none of these new restaurants or bars have a slow night!

Having walked past and peeked into for the better part of a month now I chose to not go to in almost two and a half weeks and head to Franklin for dinner at Barboncino instead.

The storefront really does not do the restaurant justice, as you walk past the wood fired pizza oven and enter a two-leveled space surrounded by beautifully exposed brick walls, a tin ceiling and dim romantic lighting. It's intimate, homey, comfortable and oh so relaxing.

We sat down in the back near a large table perfect for groups or communal dining and got a big surprise when we checked out the menu. Perhaps I should have done my due diligence and scanned the menu all those times I looked inside because the menu features only pizza as an entree. 

See I chose to go gluten-free (my boyfriend has celiac and I wanted to see what it did to my body) from January 1-April 1st and by the time we sat down we couldn't turn back! Having been a passenger on the no-gluten train for the better part of two months now I have found that it's not as limiting as people may think when dining out. Menus around the city accomodate nearly every dining restriction and kitchens are more than happy to oblige in small omition requests from their dishes—in some cases even going so far as to create a special dish for me during this process!

So with all of the pizzas out for the two of us, we focused on the app section for the time being (the smell and sight of their fresh baked pizzas guaranteed a return trip come April 1st) and I found that Barboncino may be awash in praise for their signature item (pizza) but they offer so much more!

With a glass of wine in each hand we ordered and thoroughly enjoyed the following:

Fire Roasted Peppers with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Capers and Parsley: A great way to start your meal, don't forgoe the addition of burrata as it really jazzes up the flavor combinations going on here.

White Beans and Pesto: At first I was confused by this dish asking my server what else came with it. But this dish is exactly as it sounds- perfectly cooked gigante beans slathered in a rich pesto sauce.

Bibb Lettuce Salad with Gorgonzola, Toasted Walnuts and a Dried Cherry Vinaigrette: I usually steer clear of salads unless they have something new and different but my boyfriend insisted we try one of their salads. The cherry vinaigrette is outstanding and the mix of textures in the toasted walnuts, crisp lettuce and soft gorgonzola was heavenly. In short it kinda made me rethink my salad ban ;)

Salumi Board of Mortadella, Prosciutto de Parma, Soppresatta and Spicy Capicola: Served with Pizza Pane, we requested it be left on the plate and were left with a selection of cured meats good with or without the accompanying bread. It's hard to do cured meats wrong, in fact its nearly impossible if you are using quality ingredients, so this is just a classic and consistent dish perfect for sharing.

Early reviews say the pizza at Barboncino is top notch and some of the best in Brooklyn so I am eagerly awaiting April 1st! But if pizza isn't what you are feeling for dinner, Barboncino has some stand-outs going on in their appetizers! A meal here is a must for all foodies in the hood. Barboncino serves up great value and I love the fact that they don't feel entitled to charge ridiclious prices based on the quality of the food!

Barboncino, 781 Franklin Ave., between St. John's and Lincoln places, (718) 483-8834. Open Mon-Sun from 5pm-1am.

McKenzie Mahoney is the author of the NYC food blog MMMGuide and runs McKenzie Mahoney Media, a brand management/marketing and PR consultancy. (But she does not represent Barboncino.)