Maggie Brown (CLOSED)

The menu at this charming Clinton Hill restaurant—a spot appointed with gorgeous wood tables and a crystal chandelier—boasts a roll call of Southern, Latin and Italian dishes, but only a few transcend mediocrity. Pasta shells blanketed with a runny three-cheese sauce and topped with bacon and crisp-fried onions has great potential, but it really needs salt and sharper cheese. It’s hard to complain, though, when a half-portion of tender braised short ribs, chard and exceptional mashed potatoes can be had for $7. So what if the meat is fatty and the accompanying biscuit is dry? Good, rich gravy rights all wrongs.