Read the restaurant reviews of “Kulushkat” and “Masten Lake” which can be found in the NYT>Dining & Wine RSS feeds to the right of this page.
Post a blog entry [by selecting “comment” on the bottom of the page] that describes which restaurant you would dine at based on the review.
Be sure to mention; type of cuisine, location, ambiance, price/value and at least one of the menu items described in the review to support your choice of restaurant.
I choose kulushkat, mainly because I have not been eating meat this month and I was recently introduce to falafel this summer. The prices are just up my alley too. I took two friends with me neither of which are big veggie eaters. This place is in an ideal spot, just across the street is the building of the big stadium.The place is small but clean not crowed for the mid afternoon. The high stool may be great for regular size folk but one of my friend was a bit shorter and rounder than the average size person so she stood.
The flavors of the spices are great evenly distributed. I also like the fact that there was different types of falafel to chose from ranging from mushroom and spinach, spicy and original. They also had chicken for my meat eating friends. I heard that the egg plant with the pita was really great too. For dessert we all had a baklava which I must tell you it is and excellent way to close your appetite. Just the right amount of sweetness layered in nuts and spices to send your taste buds singing.
My major problem with this place is, no restrooms. It is a cozy little place but you should eat in a hurry, you never know when u might have to go!
The place is clean and the cashier welcomes you and explained every thing for you as needed. So what does Kuluskat mean? The delivery guy turns to me and says,”shot up and eat”…
I personally liked the ideals behind Kulushkat and the price but I’m not a falafel kind of person; guess I wouldn’t mind trying the chicken one. Those apple slices in sheeps milk cheese, sprinkled with sesame seeds at Masten Lake sounds interesting to me but thats just an appetizer. The rest of the items mentioned don’t interest me but the atmosphere sounds like SoHo. Thats a cool vibe that I like but don’t want to spend the money on. A new restaurant is always better in my opinion since they will want repeat guests but they lack experience and variety till the customer tells them what they really desire.
I would dine at Kulushkat, the Middle Eastern gourmet falafel restaurant, located in Park Slope. It seems to be a casual restaurant and looking at the menu on their website, it’s affordable. What I would definitely try is the Falafel sampler because it’s $4 and there’s a positive review on it and also a nice picture of the plate too. Judging from what the critic is implying, I would get my money’s worth. There was not one complaint about that restaurant compared to the restaurant review on Masten Lake.
Hello! 🙂
Well from the two restaurants, I would rather go to the Kulushkat. I think its more of a to-g0 style restaurant. It’s located at 446C Dean Street(5th AVE), Park Slope, Brooklyn. I’ve tried Falafel once, at Saint Marks. I ate this wrap, pita with falafel and green lettuce. It was quite good, i enjoyed it very much. But mostly, it has a decent price value, range from 5-10 dollars. From the menu, I would love to try the spicy version with the pita wrap.
I would have to agree with everyone so far on this and would prefer to go to Kulushkat in Park Slope over Masten Lake. It seems to me that Kulushkat is the place to go for good food at a great affordable price. Who can beat a $4 sampler? And being college students I’m sure most of us can agree on that. Overall if you compare this review to the one on Masten Lake there is no criticism from the critic on the food and service alike. So I would definitely choose Kulushkat and would like to visit in the near future.
As i was reading the two restaurant reviews, i decided i would like to go to Kulushkat. I am not a fan of falafel because the main ingredients are chickpeas and fava beans which i do not love but since the restaurant offers different variations, i would like to try the Mediterranean Chicken Falafel. It contains all-natural kosher ground chicken, caramelized onions and seasonings served inside of a pita bread accompanied with lettuce, tomatoes and eggplants. The prices are between $5 and $10 which are affordable.
I have lived with food allergies since i was 17 years old. For the ingredients that the pita bread have, i am allergic to tomatoes and eggplants. I am aware of my food allergies and i always have to keep them in mind whenever i go out to eat. If as a guest i can ask for the ingredients to be excluded, it would be a pleasure to go out and eat at the Kulushkat restaurant.
After reading these two article, I will like to try the Kulushkat restaurant because the price sound very reasonable and the image on the left side look very delicious. The author describe the dish very “crisp yet moist, airy yet creamy. Deep-fried until dark gold, it betrays not a glimmer of oil. Fluffiness is all, and these, buoyed by cilantro and spiked with paprika, have bounce (Mishan, 2011).” If I visit the restaurant, I will like to try the eggplant à la Yafa ($5.50) because i love the taste of eggplant. I choose this restaurant over the other restaurant because the price is 2 time more than Kulushkat. Also the author describe the restaurant is dirty with sticky counter. I like to eat in a clean place. The way how the author describe the food doeskin sound appealing and it sound very odd to me. For example, like the apple slices, freckled with black sesame seeds, comes in a shallow bath of sheep’s milk cheese thinned with sheep’s milk.
I have to disagree with everyone else. I would rather go to Masten Lake then Kulushkat. Service can always be chaI have to disagree with everyone else. I would rather go to Masten Lake then Kulushkat. Service can be changed and improved on but the concept and food cannot. Also after reading the review for Kulushkat, I really felt I wanted those five minutes, the time it took to find and read the article, of my life back. Ligaya Mishan just brought something I guess from the beginning of the article that just left me wanting to try this place out regardless of the service issues. The menu for Masten Lake I feel is better because I actually want to try everything on the menu whereas Kulushkat I scan it and am not drawn towards anything in particular. The difference of price also does not change my opinion I would just save up. When it comes to food and travel, for me at least, money is not an issue because I will sacrifice anything to try new foods and see new thins.. nged but the concept and food can not.
I agree with you that service can be changed, and it could have been just that moment that service was bad. And the menu does look better than Kulushkat, but I think Kulushkat have a interesting menu. Kulushkat might be a takeout joint, but it have it’s perks of their menu like their falafel described as a “bundle of contradictions: crisp yet moist, airy yet creamy. Deep-fried until dark gold, it betrays not a glimmer of oil. Fluffiness is all, and these, buoyed by cilantro and spiked with paprika, have bounce.” That sounds really interesting to me.
I don’t know if it is because of the way that the restaurants are presented in the reviews or it is just me, but I am not really drawn to either one of the restaurants. Kulushkat seems so simple with the falafels, I guess that if you are not into falafels this is not the place for you because that is all they have. Pricing is good if you are on a tight budget, but then again I wouldn’t expect to pay more for a falafel at “a takeout joint” either. If I found myself in the neighborhood really hungry I would probably stop by to try the chicken falafel since I have read about the place in New York Times itself. Masten Lake has a nice ring to it, but with service not being up to part, I have a feeling I wont be visiting it anytime soon. Afterall the quote by Ubar Gulbenkian “the best number for a dinner party is two – myself and a damn good head waiter” holds pretty true for me. They do seem to have a pretty nice selection of menu items, however the review doesn’t present them as being too enjoyable either. “Dry – aged strip loin, imposing and bloody” for $32 doesn’t exactly scream out at me, eat me, eat me. Bad food, bad service that is enough for me and yes let’s not forget about the pricing, I sure hope that the atmosphere is worth it.
ring to it, but with the service not being up to part I have a feeling I won’t be visiting that one anytime soon. After all the quote by
ubar
Even though I live in parkslope area, I would dine at Masten Lake in Williamsburg. I passed by Kulushkat several times, but the way of laying out the restaurant was never appealing to me. I understand sometimes it can be convienient just to pick up the food, but I still prefer to have full dining service at nice places when I go out eating. As I was reading the review of Masten Lake, I really wanted to try their appetizer of apple slices. I like the combination of fruit taste and intense cheese. Entree menus seems to be a bit pricey, but there should be some other menus that I want to try, or I would be just satisfied with their appetizers. Also the author said in the article that the menu changes nightly which I found it interesting too. It has some turn-offs in that restaurant,but I would choose Masten Lake because of their some of interesting menu.
Good Evening,
I would rather dine at Masten Lake. The prices at Masten Lake and Kulushkat is not an issue for me. If you want great quality and great food, and to be wined and dined go to Masten Lake. If you want quick service take out go to Kulushkat. The food at both restaurants clientel attract both meat and vegetarian eaters. I am a seafood lover and would love to try the lobster mushroom at Masten Lake but I had second thoughts on that. The menu description slightly turned my appetite away for the “Lobster mushroom (really a white mushroom colonized by another fungus, gaudy and sunset-hued) is served with cream and Asian flourishes of ginger and dragon beans.” Gross who wants to know that they will be eating another fungus set a side from the mushrooms that comes with the dish. I feel that the atmosphere at Masten Lake seems more inviting and has more of a variety of food than Kulushkat
I think during these hard economic times price should be a major issue on everyone’s mind. With that being said, i rather choose the quality of the dish rather than paying for a dish that is expensive and don’t taste good 🙂
If I had to choose between the two, I would take Masten Lake over the Kulushkat. Just the description on the reviews alone seem more appealing to me. “Lobster Mushroom” who wouldn’t want to try that? Masten Lake seems more of an upscale restaurant with a higher price range then Kulushkat. Kulushkat does seem alot cheaper, but Kulushkat’s signature dish is the falafel. I’ve tried falafel before and I’m just not a fan of falafel. A lot of other dishes described on the review just didn’t seem to appetizing to me either.
Two young entreprenuers, with artistic backgrounds, have blessed my neighborhood, Parkslope, with classic and flavorful falafels. I had the privilege of eating at Kulushkat yesterday right after reading the NY Times article. The first few blocks along 5th ave has a lot of good restaurants, Melt and Osteria Convivium to name a few, and Kulushkat joins the small enclave as the new, much needed falafel joint. Yagil and Andrew have a great business in the works here. The prices are great, at $4 for eight hummus orbs, or the $6 spicy pita.
More appealing is the fact that you may spot a mother cooking in the kitchen, and we all know that nothing beats mom’s cooking. I do not believe that Masten Lake has any moms in the kitchen…
In my personal opinion I would go to Masten Lake, because I like to dine while sitting down and enjoying the atmosphere. From the photo of the restaurant it seems like a nice atmosphere going on with everyone talking and the layout of the restaurant looks nice to dine in. The menu for Masten Lake intrigues me especially the dry-aged loin. Being dry-aged means they use higher grade of meat, so that’s pretty interesting to try. The prices are a bit overpriced, but I wouldn’t mind trying it out someday.
I would take Masten Lake over the Kulushkat any-day, anytime. The vivid description of the dish made my mouth water. I am a big fan of sea food, the Lobster mushroom is worth trying. In addition, the ambiance may not be that of the four seasons restaurant, but it is good enough for any individual that likes it simple and chic. Masten Lake has a hint of elegance 🙂
I actually have eaten at one shake shack. It was located at 366 Columbus Avenue. I actually applied for a job there as well, and got a interview. Unfortunately i did not get the job, but they were kind enough to call me and tell me so. sadly i never ate at the shake shack and Brooklyn, but after reading this article I’m kind of glad i didn’t. i love my burgers well done, and i would of been slight upset if my burger was brown on side and pink on another, especially after eating such a tasty juicy burger on Columbus. I don’t think this article will hurt their business, because the Shake Shack name is legendary, because of their reputation. They are clean, friendly, and quick, plus their burgers are amazing. With a boss like Danny Myers, I’m sure they”ll come back from this very soon.
I’ll let you know which restaurant I would dine at and why in Monday’s class.
I choose kulushkat, mainly because I have not been eating meat this month and I was recently introduce to falafel this summer. The prices are just up my alley too. I took two friends with me neither of which are big veggie eaters. This place is in an ideal spot, just across the street is the building of the big stadium.The place is small but clean not crowed for the mid afternoon. The high stool may be great for regular size folk but one of my friend was a bit shorter and rounder than the average size person so she stood.
The flavors of the spices are great evenly distributed. I also like the fact that there was different types of falafel to chose from ranging from mushroom and spinach, spicy and original. They also had chicken for my meat eating friends. I heard that the egg plant with the pita was really great too. For dessert we all had a baklava which I must tell you it is and excellent way to close your appetite. Just the right amount of sweetness layered in nuts and spices to send your taste buds singing.
My major problem with this place is, no restrooms. It is a cozy little place but you should eat in a hurry, you never know when u might have to go!
The place is clean and the cashier welcomes you and explained every thing for you as needed. So what does Kuluskat mean? The delivery guy turns to me and says,”shot up and eat”…
I personally liked the ideals behind Kulushkat and the price but I’m not a falafel kind of person; guess I wouldn’t mind trying the chicken one. Those apple slices in sheeps milk cheese, sprinkled with sesame seeds at Masten Lake sounds interesting to me but thats just an appetizer. The rest of the items mentioned don’t interest me but the atmosphere sounds like SoHo. Thats a cool vibe that I like but don’t want to spend the money on. A new restaurant is always better in my opinion since they will want repeat guests but they lack experience and variety till the customer tells them what they really desire.
I would dine at Kulushkat, the Middle Eastern gourmet falafel restaurant, located in Park Slope. It seems to be a casual restaurant and looking at the menu on their website, it’s affordable. What I would definitely try is the Falafel sampler because it’s $4 and there’s a positive review on it and also a nice picture of the plate too. Judging from what the critic is implying, I would get my money’s worth. There was not one complaint about that restaurant compared to the restaurant review on Masten Lake.
Hello! 🙂
Well from the two restaurants, I would rather go to the Kulushkat. I think its more of a to-g0 style restaurant. It’s located at 446C Dean Street(5th AVE), Park Slope, Brooklyn. I’ve tried Falafel once, at Saint Marks. I ate this wrap, pita with falafel and green lettuce. It was quite good, i enjoyed it very much. But mostly, it has a decent price value, range from 5-10 dollars. From the menu, I would love to try the spicy version with the pita wrap.
I would have to agree with everyone so far on this and would prefer to go to Kulushkat in Park Slope over Masten Lake. It seems to me that Kulushkat is the place to go for good food at a great affordable price. Who can beat a $4 sampler? And being college students I’m sure most of us can agree on that. Overall if you compare this review to the one on Masten Lake there is no criticism from the critic on the food and service alike. So I would definitely choose Kulushkat and would like to visit in the near future.
As i was reading the two restaurant reviews, i decided i would like to go to Kulushkat. I am not a fan of falafel because the main ingredients are chickpeas and fava beans which i do not love but since the restaurant offers different variations, i would like to try the Mediterranean Chicken Falafel. It contains all-natural kosher ground chicken, caramelized onions and seasonings served inside of a pita bread accompanied with lettuce, tomatoes and eggplants. The prices are between $5 and $10 which are affordable.
I have lived with food allergies since i was 17 years old. For the ingredients that the pita bread have, i am allergic to tomatoes and eggplants. I am aware of my food allergies and i always have to keep them in mind whenever i go out to eat. If as a guest i can ask for the ingredients to be excluded, it would be a pleasure to go out and eat at the Kulushkat restaurant.
After reading these two article, I will like to try the Kulushkat restaurant because the price sound very reasonable and the image on the left side look very delicious. The author describe the dish very “crisp yet moist, airy yet creamy. Deep-fried until dark gold, it betrays not a glimmer of oil. Fluffiness is all, and these, buoyed by cilantro and spiked with paprika, have bounce (Mishan, 2011).” If I visit the restaurant, I will like to try the eggplant à la Yafa ($5.50) because i love the taste of eggplant. I choose this restaurant over the other restaurant because the price is 2 time more than Kulushkat. Also the author describe the restaurant is dirty with sticky counter. I like to eat in a clean place. The way how the author describe the food doeskin sound appealing and it sound very odd to me. For example, like the apple slices, freckled with black sesame seeds, comes in a shallow bath of sheep’s milk cheese thinned with sheep’s milk.
I have to disagree with everyone else. I would rather go to Masten Lake then Kulushkat. Service can always be chaI have to disagree with everyone else. I would rather go to Masten Lake then Kulushkat. Service can be changed and improved on but the concept and food cannot. Also after reading the review for Kulushkat, I really felt I wanted those five minutes, the time it took to find and read the article, of my life back. Ligaya Mishan just brought something I guess from the beginning of the article that just left me wanting to try this place out regardless of the service issues. The menu for Masten Lake I feel is better because I actually want to try everything on the menu whereas Kulushkat I scan it and am not drawn towards anything in particular. The difference of price also does not change my opinion I would just save up. When it comes to food and travel, for me at least, money is not an issue because I will sacrifice anything to try new foods and see new thins.. nged but the concept and food can not.
I agree with you that service can be changed, and it could have been just that moment that service was bad. And the menu does look better than Kulushkat, but I think Kulushkat have a interesting menu. Kulushkat might be a takeout joint, but it have it’s perks of their menu like their falafel described as a “bundle of contradictions: crisp yet moist, airy yet creamy. Deep-fried until dark gold, it betrays not a glimmer of oil. Fluffiness is all, and these, buoyed by cilantro and spiked with paprika, have bounce.” That sounds really interesting to me.
I don’t know if it is because of the way that the restaurants are presented in the reviews or it is just me, but I am not really drawn to either one of the restaurants. Kulushkat seems so simple with the falafels, I guess that if you are not into falafels this is not the place for you because that is all they have. Pricing is good if you are on a tight budget, but then again I wouldn’t expect to pay more for a falafel at “a takeout joint” either. If I found myself in the neighborhood really hungry I would probably stop by to try the chicken falafel since I have read about the place in New York Times itself. Masten Lake has a nice ring to it, but with service not being up to part, I have a feeling I wont be visiting it anytime soon. Afterall the quote by Ubar Gulbenkian “the best number for a dinner party is two – myself and a damn good head waiter” holds pretty true for me. They do seem to have a pretty nice selection of menu items, however the review doesn’t present them as being too enjoyable either. “Dry – aged strip loin, imposing and bloody” for $32 doesn’t exactly scream out at me, eat me, eat me. Bad food, bad service that is enough for me and yes let’s not forget about the pricing, I sure hope that the atmosphere is worth it.
ring to it, but with the service not being up to part I have a feeling I won’t be visiting that one anytime soon. After all the quote by
ubar
Even though I live in parkslope area, I would dine at Masten Lake in Williamsburg. I passed by Kulushkat several times, but the way of laying out the restaurant was never appealing to me. I understand sometimes it can be convienient just to pick up the food, but I still prefer to have full dining service at nice places when I go out eating. As I was reading the review of Masten Lake, I really wanted to try their appetizer of apple slices. I like the combination of fruit taste and intense cheese. Entree menus seems to be a bit pricey, but there should be some other menus that I want to try, or I would be just satisfied with their appetizers. Also the author said in the article that the menu changes nightly which I found it interesting too. It has some turn-offs in that restaurant,but I would choose Masten Lake because of their some of interesting menu.
Good Evening,
I would rather dine at Masten Lake. The prices at Masten Lake and Kulushkat is not an issue for me. If you want great quality and great food, and to be wined and dined go to Masten Lake. If you want quick service take out go to Kulushkat. The food at both restaurants clientel attract both meat and vegetarian eaters. I am a seafood lover and would love to try the lobster mushroom at Masten Lake but I had second thoughts on that. The menu description slightly turned my appetite away for the “Lobster mushroom (really a white mushroom colonized by another fungus, gaudy and sunset-hued) is served with cream and Asian flourishes of ginger and dragon beans.” Gross who wants to know that they will be eating another fungus set a side from the mushrooms that comes with the dish. I feel that the atmosphere at Masten Lake seems more inviting and has more of a variety of food than Kulushkat
I think during these hard economic times price should be a major issue on everyone’s mind. With that being said, i rather choose the quality of the dish rather than paying for a dish that is expensive and don’t taste good 🙂
If I had to choose between the two, I would take Masten Lake over the Kulushkat. Just the description on the reviews alone seem more appealing to me. “Lobster Mushroom” who wouldn’t want to try that? Masten Lake seems more of an upscale restaurant with a higher price range then Kulushkat. Kulushkat does seem alot cheaper, but Kulushkat’s signature dish is the falafel. I’ve tried falafel before and I’m just not a fan of falafel. A lot of other dishes described on the review just didn’t seem to appetizing to me either.
Two young entreprenuers, with artistic backgrounds, have blessed my neighborhood, Parkslope, with classic and flavorful falafels. I had the privilege of eating at Kulushkat yesterday right after reading the NY Times article. The first few blocks along 5th ave has a lot of good restaurants, Melt and Osteria Convivium to name a few, and Kulushkat joins the small enclave as the new, much needed falafel joint. Yagil and Andrew have a great business in the works here. The prices are great, at $4 for eight hummus orbs, or the $6 spicy pita.
More appealing is the fact that you may spot a mother cooking in the kitchen, and we all know that nothing beats mom’s cooking. I do not believe that Masten Lake has any moms in the kitchen…
In my personal opinion I would go to Masten Lake, because I like to dine while sitting down and enjoying the atmosphere. From the photo of the restaurant it seems like a nice atmosphere going on with everyone talking and the layout of the restaurant looks nice to dine in. The menu for Masten Lake intrigues me especially the dry-aged loin. Being dry-aged means they use higher grade of meat, so that’s pretty interesting to try. The prices are a bit overpriced, but I wouldn’t mind trying it out someday.
I would take Masten Lake over the Kulushkat any-day, anytime. The vivid description of the dish made my mouth water. I am a big fan of sea food, the Lobster mushroom is worth trying. In addition, the ambiance may not be that of the four seasons restaurant, but it is good enough for any individual that likes it simple and chic. Masten Lake has a hint of elegance 🙂
I actually have eaten at one shake shack. It was located at 366 Columbus Avenue. I actually applied for a job there as well, and got a interview. Unfortunately i did not get the job, but they were kind enough to call me and tell me so. sadly i never ate at the shake shack and Brooklyn, but after reading this article I’m kind of glad i didn’t. i love my burgers well done, and i would of been slight upset if my burger was brown on side and pink on another, especially after eating such a tasty juicy burger on Columbus. I don’t think this article will hurt their business, because the Shake Shack name is legendary, because of their reputation. They are clean, friendly, and quick, plus their burgers are amazing. With a boss like Danny Myers, I’m sure they”ll come back from this very soon.