Checking In On (The Restaurant Formerly Known As) M. Helen

It's been a little while since we broke the news that a new restaurant from Greg Yerman, the owner of Burrito Bar, would be coming to the corner of Park and Flatbush Avenues, and Patch got its hands on a few more details about what we can expect.

First, and most importantly, Its no longer called M. Helen, which was Yerman's grandmother's name. It's now called Carlton Park, which (no offense to his grandma) is a much better choice, in my opinion. It's a classy, pleasant-sounding name, and the fact that it's also the names of two of the streets it abuts makes it a no-brainer.

Second, it looks like they're going full-steam ahead with the farm-to-table, fresh, seasonal approach. Some examples: salt-roasted red-and-yellow beet salad with toasted hazel nuts and burrata to start, and Long Island duck breast with port wine reduction, caramelized Brussels sprouts and sautéed spaetzle as a main. Entrees will average $15-22. Breakfast will also be served (with some grab and go items to pick up on your way to the subway), and a juice bar is in the works.

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Blueprint Launches Brunch Menu

Since opening in July, Blueprint, the cocktail bar on Fifth Avenue near Union Street, has quietly become one of the best spots in the neighborhood for a well-crafted cocktail. The brainchild of owners Rory Dwyer (High Dive, Sharlene's, Commonwealth) and Regina Christiansen (Long Tan), it's a really elegant space, and has that "classic cocktail bar" look that doesn't really exist elsewhere in the neighborhood.

They've been slowly expanding their food menu ever since opening, and have recently added brunch to their offerings, available Saturdays and Sundays from 12-5. Here's the menu:

Well-thought-out, and surprisingly affordable. There are also several brunch-centric cocktails available, like three takes on the bloody mary (one classic, one with basil vodka, and one with chipotle tequila), the Kickstarter (rum, espresso, turbinado sugar, and coffee bitters) and the classic Corpse Reviver #2, a potent mix of gin, Cointreau, Cocci Americano, lemon, and Ricard.

Blueprint, 196 Fifth Avenue Brooklyn NY 11215. Phone: 718-622-6644.

Friday Foodporn: Sweetwolf's, 492 Sixth Avenue

The highly-anticipated Sweetwolf's restaurant opened last weekend on the corner of Sixth Avenue and 12th Street, and has been packed to the brim every night since. I stopped by last night to sample the menu of rustic American comfort food, and walked away very impressed.

The main goal of owners Tim Judge and Eric Wolf was to create a true neighborhood hangout, and they reached out to the community for menu suggestions via Facebook. The tables are communal to facilitate conversation, and Judge and Wolf themselves are gregarious presences. In the morning hours, it's a coffee shop run by Forty Weight Roasters, lunch and brunch should begin within a week or so, and by night the bar and tables are filled by 8 PM, and a 700-degree custom-built wood-burning oven becomes the main attraction, glowing from the open kitchen.

Many of the menu's offerings are cooked in this oven, including the standout bacon fat infused wagyu beef burger (top), seared in a cast iron skillet and finished in the oven, topped with a melted hunk of aged gouda and Jameson soaked caramelized onions, and served on a brioche bun with homemade ketchup. Thanks to the cast iron, it stays supremely juicy and develops one of the most serious crusts I've ever seen on a burger. Even in this crowded playing field, it instantly enters the pantheon of The Neighborhood's Best Burgers.

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Timboo's Bar to Close December 31st

Some sad news from the old-school bar front: Timboo's, the ancient, classic dive bar on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 11th Street, has been leased, and will be closing at the end of the month. A tipster overheard an owner discussing the December 31st closure date, and longtime bartender Betty Collins confirmed that the bar indeed will soon have a new owner.

"It's been leased to someone else," said Collins, who's spent the past ten years as the daytime bartender. "Whether it'll become a bar and grill, or something else, I don't know. But it won't be Timboo's anymore."

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A Peek Inside Beauty Bar, Under Construction on Fifth Avenue

The intriguing news that some of the space belonging to Ozzie's Coffee, on Fifth Avenue between Garfield and Carroll, would be handed over to Beauty Bar broke about a month ago, and work inside the space seems to be progressing very nicely.

A full half of the formerly huge coffee shop will be taken over by the female-oriented bar, which got its start in the East Village and has since expanded to include 10 more locations all across the country. It's essentially a bar/salon hybrid, but I don't think many customers will go there to just get their nails done, if you know what I mean.

The space is starting to take shape, and it looks like the bar itself will be oval, or horseshoe-shaped.