The counterman slid a bowl of beef gravy my way, as if the brisket might be too dry. Fat chance.
The fellow ahead of me asked for all the fat on his brisket to be trimmed away, and I called out that I'd take his. Whatever the fate of that surplusage, I requested and received a "moist" version of the brisket (in the massive "regular" size; $8); fatty had suited me fine at Hill Country and Picnick Smoked. David's roast brisket doesn't have that long-smoked character, just a little color around the edges, but to me, spooning on gravy would be painting the lily. (I tried it anyway, and I prefer without.) Pickles were too timid; the house lemonade (not shown) arrived in a container barely smaller than a child's beach bucket.
Also note: After a change in ownership circa 2007-8, the revised takeout menu moves up the closing time from 9:00 to 7:00, deletes a section of the menu that listed oxtail, stew chicken, and the like, and removes the words "soul food" from the front page.
David's Brisket House
533 Nostrand Ave. (Herkimer St.-Atlantic Ave.), Crown Heights, Brooklyn
718-789-1155
Closed after 7:00 and on Sunday
