Gentrification patterns often astonish. How, for example, did Avenue B become the most hopping restaurant strip in the East Village? Or Smith Street in Brooklyn accumulate dozens of upscale bistros? In a similar fashion, Williamsburg's Grand Street has gone from being a sleepy backwater of bodegas and small industrial shops that ends ingloriously in a BQE abutment into the hot zone where many of the newest bars, clubs, and restaurants seem to be landing. Allioli might sound like a French or Italian place, but the name is a misspelling of the Spanish word for garlic mayonnaise. As a reminder, the first thing that hits the table is a free plate of boiled potatoes, still firm in their red jackets and inundated with gooey homemade ali-oli. Coarser, oilier, and more garlicky than aioli, it's... More >>>