Sasha's Kitchen: Restaurant Review of The Jakewalk

I wasn't planning on writing a restaurant review when my husband went out for dinner on Valentine's Day at the Jakewalk in Cobble Hill.  Mostly, we were just looking for a romantic and relaxing night out, some good fondue and a low key, chill atmosphere without leaving Brooklyn.  We found all of those things at the Jakewalk, a local restaurant and wine bar, plus a great Brooklyn vibe, fantastic food, cocktails and wine. No doubt, my husband and I will be back very soon.

We arrived on Valentine's Day Eve around 7 PM to discover a small and cozy, yet buzzing restaurant.  Although the Jakewalk does not take reservations for a party of two, we did not have to wait for a table, even thought most of the tables were taken.  We were greeted by our friendly and helpful waitress, who presented us with an out of this world wine and cocktail list.  The Jackwalk cocktail menu featured a number of different cocktails, all expertly mixed in that prohibition era speakeasy style that I have grown to be so fond of at a number of other Brooklyn and Manhattan bars.  My husband ordered the "Diamond As Big As The Ritz", a drink that was prepared as a "flip" meaning that it contains egg whites, in addition to whiskey, lemon juice, bitters and club soda.   He was quite impressed with the quality of the drink and enjoyed every last drop immensely.

I decided to order one of the Jakewalk's "Flight's of Wine," which include three good sized (half glass) portions of three different wines.  This is such a fabulous idea, and I am not sure why more restaurants don't offer wine in flights like the Jakewalk.  It's such a great opportunity to taste and enjoy three different wines, and I love having small portions of a variety of food and wines, rather than a large portion of only one thing.  I selected the "White Aromatics" flight which offered a Riesling, Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc.  All three were fabulous, but I especially enjoyed the Riesling and Chardonnay.  I was impressed with the sizable portions for only $14 for all three.

For our dinner, my husband ordered the Macaroni & Cheese with the duck Rilette, while I selected a different duck dish, the duck breast special with scalloped potatoes that was on the menu for Valentine's day.  Both dishes were delicious but the duck rilette in the macaroni and cheese was an amazing combination, and my husband savored every last bite (side from giving me a small taste).  I can't  say enough about the macaroni and cheese and duck rilette.  It was probably one of the best, and certainly the most memorable, macaroni and cheese I have had out in a long time, and had was made with a wonderful spicy jack cheese.

For dessert we ordered the chocolate fondue, which was such a fun and delicious way to enjoy dessert in this wonderful, chill environment.  The fondue came with graham crackers, strawberries, bananas, marshmallows and plenty of chocolate and was a nice, romantic way to end the perfect (and budget) Valentine's Day meal.  This would have been a great meal any night of the week, and we plan on returning soon to try the cheese fondue.