the shrewdness of apes

good news for Brooklynite fans of good, cheap Cuban food and renewable energy: Soho's Cafe Habana is opening a solar-powered outpost next weekend on Fulton Street in Fort Greene. according to the press release, the space will be multi-functional, with indoor and outdoor areas, a flea market, outdoor movie screenings, DJs, etc. and the word i got from someone involved in the project is that this is a temporary endeavor that will act as a placeholder for the site while a bigger project (also designed with sustainability in mind) is developed. i'll probably try to get the wife to come along for some grilled meats and corn if any current or former area residents are inerested in joining us.

***UPDATE*** Habana Outpost: Brooklyn got a writeup in the free Brooklyn 24/7 paper over the weekend (under the terrible headline "Filet O' Sol" - what the hell does that mean? it's not a fish joint, nor Irish), which led me to the restaurant's website which has much more detail about the project.

meantime, a posting on eGullet about a weekly, A to Z restaurant tour of Manhattan got me thinking about an equivalent tour in Brooklyn. what restaurants should be included? while not economically feasible in reality, here's a selection that i would be very happy with (with some 2nd choices in parentheses) that includes a variety of cuisines, a few cheap eats, and at least a modicum of geographical diversity. have i missed anything obvious? i couldn't come up with anything better than Nathan's for N, but at least that's an institution, while the only U i could come up with is the long-closed Uncle Pho. X is just a lost cause.

Al di La (Alma)
Blue Ribbon
Convivium Osteria
Diner (Di Fara)