Maybe it was just the lunchtime crowd, but the new Busy Chef on Court Street in Downtown Brooklyn was pretty busy when we stopped by.
The menu lists 13 different kinds of pizzas (pizza oven in the back room), including roasted red pepper goat cheese and kobe burger pizza (now where have we seen that before?), along with scads of sandwiches, sides, dinners and sweets.
Anybody eat there yet?
- Busy Chef Empire: Frozen Dinners or Homemade Cuisine?
- Busy Chef coming to Court Street
Photo by MK Metz
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Downtown Brooklyn Busy Chef Pretty Busy
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19 comments:
I'm not a Busy Chef hater like many who have commented on previous posts, but so far their Court St outpost fails to impress. I've been to the Henry St loc a few times and it's been ok. Not great, but never horrible. I've given them 3 chances since they opened and each meal was worse than the previous. The service is what makes it even more terrible, however.
The girl at the cash register the other night spoke no English. None at all. I was buying an eggplant parm and a veggie lasagna (which was pretty awful). I wanted a cup of black coffee and a cappuccino to go with it, plus an eclair (i'd never tried any of their pastries). When I requested the drinks and pastry I thought she was ignoring me. But she was shaking her head "yes" every time I said "1 black coffee, 1 cappuccino and an eclaire, please." She just rang up the entrees and kept shaking her head without actually getting what i asked for.
Finally another guy behind the counter heard me and he said something to her in another language and he made the coffee and cap. Again I asked for an eclair. She nodded again - it seemed like she understood me this time. I paid and waited for her to get the eclair, which I assumed she'd just rung up. Still no action. I directed her to the pastry case and pointed at it in the display but she grabbed something next to it. I was getting angry and I finally said - pretty loudly - "why do you have someone who speaks no english working the front register???" again, some guy said something to her and he got the eclair and handed it to me - didn't even put it in the bag. I grabbed it, put it in the bag myself and started to leave, admittedly in a huff. Then he said "hey, you didn't pay for that" (i thought it was rung up with everything else). That was the last straw. I didn't want to spend another 5 seconds (or dollars!) in there so I placed the eclair back on the counter and told them to keep it.
Still wanting to give them the benefit of the doubt, we heated up and tried to eat the other food I'd bought when we got home. The eggplant wasn't horrible, but it wasn't very good either. It was paper-thin, chewy and tasted like it came from a frozen tv dinner box. the veg lasagna was inedible. i threw it away after one bite. The coffee tasted bottom-of-the-pot burnt and the cap had a funky aftertaste and was kind of oily.
Yesterday I decided to stop in and see if their pizza was as bad as the rest has been. But I was informed that they had no slices, only full pies. No thanks. I'm done with Busy Chef for good. No more chances. The layout of the store is bad, the staff is incompetent and impossible to communicate with, and the food is just plain bad.
Sadly, this Busy Chef is even worse than the vacant storefront it replaced - at least with an empty storefront you have something to look forward to.
dude/Laurie, I'm Not A Hater Of Busy Chef Haters, but let's face it---you're a hater of the Busy Chef. Anyone spending 5 paragraphs to not hate, probably would've have gotten a full refund from owner if mentioned this interaction OR, the other scenario for you is that you're just making this sh-t up because you're a Busy Chef Hater.
I suggest you return to the brooklynheights blog where you came from, and which I stopped reading, sadly, because it was too full of hate for the busy chef.
ok to poke, but a turn off to always throw the buckets of hate. please don't pollute this blog.
Actually 4:25, laurie used six paragraphs to get her message out. And please don't knock the brooklyheightsblog.com, it's good.
Busy Chef on Court, and Busy Chef on Henry are both pretty good imho.
It's not rocket science people...
My vote is that "laurie" is a hater of Busy Chef, and anything about Busy Chef will be hated (in a non-hate attempt)by "laurie." Eventually you think as the reader: "laurie" what has the BC done to you?
Advice to "laurie": besides hating being unhealthy, in the future when you start a non-hate hate post don't say: "I'm not a Busy Chef hater like many who have commented on previous posts."
Perhaps like many who read this space we rarely if ever comment, but we do know if there are previous hate posts. And so far there have been none on the BC. And in fact, I can't remember the last hate post on mcbrooklyn. Perhaps like many other readers, that's kind of why I like it. Just a nice place to get some interesting news and voice. Not the hate, can get that at way too many places...
So "laurie" I pronounce you a drive-by superficial non-hater who at the core really does hate the BC for, as yet, unspoken reasons.
I encourage you to keep driving on and leave this space free of the that.
Wow, you guys are harsh. I do read brooklynheightsblog so I apologize if I confused previous "hater" posts there with being here. I have several hundred feeds in Google Reader and at least 10 of them are brooklyn-related. This is my home, after all. I have never commented on a brooklynheightsblog post - busychef-related or otherwise, that I can remember. I think I have replied to a forum post or two over there, offering advice on kitchen renovations and such. i've never said or typed a word at all about Busy Chef on any blog... until yesterday. Usually when I came across those busy chef blasting comments, I rolled my eyes and moved on. My 6 paragraphs here were meant to be a fair and honest evaluation of a place that I had great hopes for. Are honest opinions not welcome here? That is a shame. The "haters" I referred to not being one of, are the obvious trolls who seem to pop up with non-substantive "they suck" comments every time busy chef is mentioned. I don't "get" those people. I'm not one of those people. Those people seem to have a personal vendetta against the owners of busy chef. I don't even know who the owners are and I certainly wish them no harm. that doesn't change the fact that I feel that their establishment is being mismanaged. Smart business owners take constructive criticism and make positive changes based on that criticism. If you happen to be a busy chef fan - good for you! I am glad that they meet your needs. I hope that your business can sustain them. I have no interest in giving them anymore of /my/ business, however, unless I see or hear that substantial changes have been made.
You can disagree with me about the quality of busy chef or anything else I may choose to comment on in the future, good or bad, but the personal bashing is uncalled for.
BTW - "laurie" is my real name... no need to put "quotes" around it. I've lived in this neighborhood for 11 years and I care a great deal about the character and offerings of the neighborhood. We bought our apartment when people didn't even know where the heck Cobble Hill was (we're on Atlantic Ave, so technically we straddle the BH/CH border). We're not going anywhere, whether busy chef fails or succeeds is not really an issue for us in our daily lives.
Busy Chef is absolutely abysmal at both locations.
I am convinced it MUST be a money laudnering operation, since ALL of the food borders on inedible.
11:48 You are a transparent hater who can't even spell laundering right, and who no doubt has not tried ALL the food at Busy Chef, and most certianly is a migrant hater from the brooklyheights blog.
Pooof! Be gone, and you've just inspired me to goto Busy Chef here on Court for the first time.Arrrg!
I smell a person with a vested business interest in Busted Chef, 12:02.
Is that transperent enough for ya?
PS: Might be busy during the afternoon, but during dinner hours the story is empty. When I went in, the staff-to-patron ration must've been 8:1, at least. I even saw them outside the store handing out samples on Court Street the other day, ha!
to 126, 1202 and anyone else on the 8-1 staff client ratio: clearly (?) it's either a sign of no customers or a sign of excellent customer service. maybe depends on what you both want to see. i dont care (much) really, it's fun these internets.
it would seem on here if not the busy, then the busted or the bitter then perhaps the "battered" chef.
and i always thought that food makes people happier?
mcbrooklyn - now Chef Dan's playground. Well done.
Whatever laurie.
the busy chef is not for everyone. nor is mcdonalds or dunkin donuts. i enjoy because it's not expensive, and it's fast. there are allot places i do not like, but i wouldn't waste my energy one them. whatever laurie says, in order to spend so much time bashing them she must have other motives. imho
Laurie,
A "normal" person with an issue with a business, usually contacts the business directly.
Perhaps you should tell them what happend and they can make changes based upon your suggestions.
whats with this post? Will it not end? or will everyday be april 1st?
anonymous said...
"A "normal" person with an issue with a business, usually contacts the business directly.
Perhaps you should tell them what happend and they can make changes based upon your suggestions."
Why is it always the anonymous posters who suspect the not-anonymous posters of ulterior motives? That's a bit backwards, don't you think?
I often bring things to the attention of management when I feel it might actually make a difference and if I actually care about the outcome. In this case I do not care whether busy chef changes as I got along just fine prior to the opening of their court street outpost and will continue on just as well after they are gone or even if they stay. If you don't like hearing my opinions, don't read them. Your anonymous potshots at me are wasted since I assign no value to someone who can't even be bothered to be honest about who they are and what vested interest they seem to have in defending a place that some people don't like as much as they do.
Busy Chef has really good cookies.
Busy Chef in jail. Laurie wins.
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