BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP FEBRUARY 24 - MARCH 2, 2017 35 DINING OUT Bridgeview Diner: The classics and so much more BY HELEN KLEIN HKLEINBROOKLYNREPORTER.COM On a recent Monday, the lunchtime crowd at the Bridgeview Diner was impressive. The L-shaped dining room was bustling but not frenetic. Customers fi lled the tables as wait sta darted into the kitchen, returning laden with bountiful plates on which sandwiches, salads and more extensive entrees were beautifully arranged. Yes, the Bridgeview is a diner – but it’s clearly not any ordinary diner. A longtime mainstay in Bay Ridge, the Bridgeview enjoyed a $1 million renovation, inside and out, a er its purchase two years ago by diner impresario Dimitrios Kaloidis, who also owns Brooklyn’s Floridian and Arch Diners, as well as the Georgia and Nevada Diners and Terrace on the Park in Queens. Besides the physical improvements, the menu was also revamped by General Manager and Executive Chef Chris Kyriacou, who said that coming soon were a new cocktail menu featuring exotic drinks as well as a new appetizer fi nger-food menu, with over 50 di erent items. My companion and I enjoyed several of the eatery’s specialties and were impressed by all we tasted. We started with Cappuccino ($4.75), which came out in clear glass footed mugs and which were as attractive to the eye as they were to the palate, piled high with whipped cream, a pair of cinnamon sticks artfully arranged on top, and a rock candy stirrer archly threaded through the handle. My companion feasted on the Sesame Crusted Salmon Salad ($16.95), one of the Bridgeview’s specialties. The fi sh was arranged in wedges atop a bed of mesclun, endive, tomatoes and shredded red cabbage, and was moist and delicate inside and perfectly crusted outside. It’s no surprise that it’s one of the diner’s most popular dishes. My deluxe hamburger ($10.95) was everything you’d expect this diner classic to be. The eight-ounce patty was prepared exactly as I ordered it and was served on a sesame-seed bun accompanied by piping hot, fresh and yummy steakhouse fries, a pair of fried onion rings and lettuce and tomato. BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photo by Helen Klein Bridgeview’s Sesame Crusted Salmon Salad. At the urging of Kyriacou, we also dug into another of the Bridgeview’s specialties, the Penne alla Vodka ($13.95; add $4.95 for chicken), which came to the table with a pinwheel of chicken fanned out atop the parsley fl ecked pasta. The sauce was sweet and creamy, and kept us eating, even when we knew we had had enough. The pasta also came with a basket of bread and a selection of snappy salads – cole slaw, chickpeas and beets, all of which were tasty and satisfying. Finally, we nibbled on the diner’s signature dessert, its Rainbow Cake ($6.50), whose multicolored slices were sandwiched with layers of raspberry preserves. As Kyriacou noted, many diners have fallen on hard times. “They’re dying out,” he acknowledged, “but for some miraculous reason, we’ve doubled in business. Our business is better than ever.” We weren’t surprised. Just a guess – but the combination of excellent food and stellar service might just be the Bridgeview’s recipe for success. THE BRIDGEVIEW DINER 9011 Third Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11209 718-680-9818 Fax: 718-680-1746 OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, 24 HOURS A DAY Oak Room for private parties seats 100 people comfortably FOR MORE NEWS, VISIT www.brooklynreporter.com J2T Enterprise is a sales distribution company functioning as an intermediary between Rexell Food manufacturers of their Pampango Food Brands and their supermarket and club warehouse clients (Costco and ShopRite). We provide delivery, credit, sales representation and distribution services of their Pampango Food Brand. The product can be shipped bulk quantity of pallets or cases depending on the order. Purchases range from local, specialty, and broad line food service distributions for daily, weekly or monthly order. In addition we can assist in restaurants, food vendors, food catering services, warehouse club memberships and supermarkets create their own private labels. For more information of our services email us at [email protected] or call 917 770 3964.
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