Harding Har Har

Brooklyn chef Alan Harding's Smith Street Vietnamese-French restaurant Uncle Pho and Carroll Garden corner cafe Red Rail folded, and he may have sold off Patios, but he still has plenty to crow about.

Schnack has been praised recently by New York magazine and the Village Voice. The Gowanus Yacht Club can still pack 'em in when it's balmy. And, having visited Pacifico this weekend - a fabulously ramshackle Cal-Mex courtyard restaurant - with one taste of the pork carnitas enchiladas, I can safely say that he's got another winner. (Mind you, he isn't "officially" involved, but he seemed quite the opposite the other day.)

And, I got a sneak peak of his newest venture - a gourmet pizzeria/trattoria, connected to Pacifico with an entrance on Smith Street. Personally, I think that Smith Street has enough by way of high-end pizza spots with Caserta Vecchia and Savoia. But, goodness knows, I'll probably line up to see what Alan has come up with this time around.