Arden opens on Franklin Avenue with a global menu and local vibes
The co-owners of the new place, where Glady's used to be, worked together for years at Mermaid Inn
Scott Dansby and Mark Mata have enjoyed good careers at established New York hospitality brands — they met while working at the Mermaid Inn mini-chain, and Dansby also opened a couple of JG Melons — but like a lot of people, the pandemic made them rethink what they really wanted to do with their lives.
“I just can’t work for anybody else anymore,” Dansby remembers thinking when the pandemic was still in the early stages. “I just want to do my own thing. And so I talked with Mark and he was like, ‘yeah me too.'” The pair looked at a number of newly-vacant places in Crown Heights, where Danby lives, but in the end there was really only one choice, the corner spot on Franklin Avenue and Lincoln Place neighborhood favorite Glady’s stood for seven years.
“I loved Glady’s. I mourned it.” Dansby tells Brooklyn Magazine. “I would sit in the window seat in the summer and eat and people watch and get drinks … We really liked this space for Arden, though, because of the wood-fired grill and the open kitchen. Plus I live like a block away.”
So what has Mata cooked up to feed Dansby’s neighbors? “The name Arden represents a bountiful gathering place,” the chef tells us. “So we wanted a menu that was globally inspired. We have Moroccan chicken, we have hamachi crudo, we have a pork chop with molasses and peppers done Italian style … you get to go all around the world on one menu, which is something new for the neighborhood.”
That pork chop is very good, just a nice slab of fatty pig, sticky with mustard and molasses, the vinegary sweet peppers adding some extra acid, and a wedge of wood-grilled cabbage smoothing it all out.
Amish pork chop, $30 (Scott Lynch)
Even better in the entree section of the Arden menu is Mata’s skate, which is crispy as advertised — crackling, even — thanks to the rice-flour coating. It sits in a puddle of excellent gribiche, which functions here as tartar sauce.
Crispy skate, $25 (Scott Lynch)
There are several shellfish starters (broiled oysters with a Ritz cracker crumble, seared shrimp on country bread, Hollander mussels from Maine), but we went the fruit-and-vegetable route. Each block of the refreshing, architecturally-plated watermelon salad is topped with whipped feta.
Watermelon salad; $12 (Scott Lynch)
The charred asparagus, meanwhile, gets some added oomph from the miso aioli and a runny, six-minute egg.
Charred asparagus, $14 (Scott Lynch)
Dessert is limited to two choices for now, but the insanely rich and buttery lemon curd tart is so good you’d have hard time convincing us to ever order anything else. There’s a full cocktail program thanks to super-consultant Shannon Mustipher, who used to work at Glady’s and wrote a whole book about booze, called Tiki, as well as a beer, cider, and a wine list that Dansby calls “well thought-out and not too expensive.”
Lemon curd tart, $12 (Scott Lynch)
Arden is very much a neighborhood restaurant, with a chill, drop-in vibe. The eye-catching exterior was created by Crown Heights local Jessie Mordine, who teaches at Parsons. Dansby spins records from his own collection throughout the night and they plan on hosting pop-ups for up-and-coming chefs from the area who don’t yet have their own kitchen.
“Outside is fun and playful, because that’s how we’re approaching the food,” says Dansby. “We’re excited about the space and the opportunities we have to be a part of the community here.”
Arden is located at 788 Franklin Avenue, at the corner of Lincoln Place, and is currently open for dinner on Tuesday through Thursday from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., and on Friday and Saturday from 5:00 to 11:00. On all nights the bar stays open an hour or so later. (718-484-3266)
