'Brooklyn Chow' To Offer American Classics With A 'Southern' and 'European' Twist

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — A new take-out cafe offering American classics with "European influences" and a "Southern twist" will be opening at 1301 Bergen St. by the end of February, owner Emily Campbell said Thursday.

While "Brooklyn Chow" will be her first restaurant, Campbell described herself as a "serial entrepreneur" who comes from a family that ran multiple restaurants in the south after emigrating from Europe (Campbell herself is from Georgia, but said she's lived in New York since 1992).

Campbell said she, "wanted a business model where we could do simplified but healthy and fun food," a place that serves serves classics in a way that will "make people feel like they got a meal."

The restaurant, which won't have any seating inside, will initially be open on Tuesday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Breakfast will include high-quality bagels and polenta grits, as well as hard-boiled eggs and oatmeal. In a nod to the neighborhood's Carribean heritage, Chow will be brewing Jamaican Blue Mountain blended coffee (though her spot doesn't have room for an espresso machine, she said with a laugh).

The main courses currently include a suite of seven sandwiches, all served with olives and quality potato chips on the side. Campbell said her sandwiches will also be garnished with fresh herbs. Among those on the still to-be-finalized menu: a cheese sandwich; BLTs made with maple-accented beef bacon (the restaurant isn't halal or kosher, but won't serve pork); a veggie sandwich; a "French-influence" egg salad sandwich; and a tuna sandwich "which has a European flavor to it," though Campbell said she couldn't reveal more secrets about its ingredients.

There will also be beef hot dogs and tofu dogs served on potato buns, and accented with a variety of toppings, including a "melting pot" version topped with scallions and a special sauce.

And as for milk shakes, Campbell said her signature offering will be a peanut butter and jelly shake, though there will be others as well, including chocolate chip and coconut flavors.

The shakes will range from $2.75 to $4.75, while the sandwiches will run from $4.50 to $6.50, she said.

Campbell said the restaurant will deliver through GrubHub and Seamless, and that she's always open to considering new people with a food service certification for a job. She suggested keeping an eye on her Facebook page for news about when Brooklyn Chow officially opens.

Pictured at top: Brooklyn Chow. Photo by John V. Santore