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eginning in the late ’90s, Smith Street was the original restaurant row for what New York Magazine’s Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld—former stewards of the Underground Gourmet mantle—called “New Brooklyn Cuisine.” Anchored by restaurants and bars like Patois, Saul—which earned Brooklyn one of its first Michelin stars—The Grocery, and Char No. 4, the strip, that runs from Fulton Street to Halleck Street, announced the arrival of the borough as a globally recognized fine-dining destination. By the mid-2010s, its reputation had changed from restaurant destination to restaurant graveyard, with…
