Applewood

Here’s some unsolicited advice, reader: if you want to enjoy a nice dinner out, don’t plan it. I think the unhappiest experiences people have eating out are cases where it’s overplanned–the expectations are so high that something’s bound to disappoint. But when you wander out of your apartment, as Craig and I did last week to enjoy the nice weather, and you stumble upon the well-regarded Park Slope restaurant Applewood on 7th Ave. and 11th Street, you’d do well to embrace this as an opportunity for a positive dining experience.

Factors that ensure it’ll be a positive experience:

* There are tables outside.

* There are no expectations.

* The menu looks good.

And sure enough, this was a really pleasant experience.

Here’s Craig at the table:

Here’s the bread they gave us:

And here’s lentil spread, butter and maybe hummus–the presentation, is, I think, unfortunate and reminiscent of dog poo:

Craig and I share a half-bottle of Malbec, an affordable choice that has surprising depth and flavor:

To start, we shared a serviceable salad–only notable for its charred garlic scrapes (hard to make out in the picture):