If you happen to be in the Slope for dinner, you certainly won’t be at a dearth of food options. And truth be told, most will be quite satisfactory. So let me point you in the right direction. Peeking around the corner onto 5th Avenue from 2nd Street, Benchmark (a former ice house from the 1920s) is fairly small: think 40 people in a cozy shoe box with exposed brick walls and dim lighting. Couples are awkwardly grazing their converse against one another under the tables, candles lit between them. And here I am, entourage of 10, gallivanting in for my birthday dinner. You’d think we’d get dragged out by our lapels, but no. The chatty waitress was more than happy to describe her favorites and play along with the birthday girl farce.

We ordered the run of the menu, starting from mouthwatering foie gras (on brioche with caramelized peaches), the trio of beef short ribs (with truffled sauerkraut), the curried quinoa with wild mushrooms, which comes inside half a roasted acorn squash (!), and capped it off with the American Kobe steak (I know, paradox, but you’ll just have to wait and see for yourself), and a dizzying selection of sides. The sparkling wine was flowing and the reaction was positive on all fronts; I can’t say that this is the pinnacle of culinary art, but it was consistent and represented New American flavor at its most concentrated, with local, organic ingredients like pasture-raised meat and vegetables that didn’t travel far until they hit your taste buds. And, when it gets warm out, their foliage-canopied patio is fair game.

EAT

WHERE: 339A 2nd Street & 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11215

WHAT: American Kobe Culotte Steak with goat cheese mashed potatoes, creamed spinach and caramelized onion soubise

WHEN: Half-price bottles of wine on Mondays – just sayin’..

WHY: Friendly staff, reasonable prices and romance, romance, romance