Brooklyn; give me your lunches, your breakfasts, your dinners and your cocktails. Give me your artisanal pickles and your small batch bourbons. Give me your pierogies and your tacos, your burgers and your tapas. Your cappuccinos and your espressos, your bagels and your doughnuts. Give me indigestion and trousers that won't close.
I have one week and I want to eat and drink the whole of Brooklyn and maybe a little of Manhattan too.
Please can you share your best of the above with me? I know Manhattan well enough but Brooklyn is a mystery to me. I'll be staying in Park Slope but I'll be willing to wander in the pursuit of gastronomic satisfaction.
That and yarn shops. Thanks.
Do not blame me if your pants pop (in any way shape or form) read on
ReplyDeleteSeersucker
Frankies Sputino
Colonie
Flatbush Farm
Vinegar Hill House
I could go on but this should keep you going in Brooklyn at least. Have a ball!
I recommend heading to Williamsburg for a day. There I loved - (shopping) Bird, Spoonbill and Sugartown, In God We Trust... actually just go for a walk around Bedford Ave, from South 1st up to North 10th (North and South of Metropolitan Ave.) Lots of good cafes/bars around here too; Diner, Walter Foods, Rye. Have fun!
ReplyDeleteI think my comment disappeared, so I'm reposting. Sorry if this is a duplicate.
ReplyDeleteFrankies 457
Vinegar Hill House (ask if Brett is in the kitchen, tell him Kyli sent you)
The Clover Club
Chuko
Franny's
Marlow & Sons
Also, hooray that you're staying in my neighborhood. I fully reserve the right to geek out a bit if I happen to run into you.
ReplyDeleteCommodore in Williamsburg has the BEST burger. It's a dive bar with no indication that they would have great food, but it does. Seriously, check out the burger there. Also, in that same area you should check out:
ReplyDelete-Fette Sau (great bbq and atmosphere)
-Roebling Tea Room
-Pies N Thighs (great pie and fried chicken, catfish)
In Brooklyn Heights I'd check out Buidling on Bond they have board games, great food, coffee, desserts, and atmosphere.
Man, I miss Brooklyn :)
Please don't miss the farm to table options. My three favorites are Applewood (http://www.applewoodny.com), Palo Santo (http://www.palosanto.us/), and The Stone Park Cafe (http://stoneparkcafe.com). You cannot go wrong with any of them and depending on where you are staying they are probably walking distance.
ReplyDeleteFor Yarn Shops I highly recommend Brooklyn General Store. It is a hike from the subway but worth it! (http://brooklyngeneral.com)
And my favorite yarn shop in Manhattan is Knitty City. They have a local dyer that sells under the brand "Nooch." Her colors are inspiring. They have forced me out of my comfort zone. (http://www.knittycity.com/blog/home)
Have a great trip. Park Slope was my home for 10+ years. Check out the Brooklyn Museum and the Egyptian exhibit if you have time.
Some Park Slope recommendations, since that is where I live now:
ReplyDeleteCoffee: Cafe Grumpy (the only place my husband will get coffee from)
Bagels:According to the mayor, who used to live in Park Slope, Bagel Hole is the best place for bagels
Muffins: Blue Sky Bakery
Pie: Four and Twenty Blackbirds in nearby Gowanus
Ice Cream: Ample Hills in Gowanus
Shopping: There are a million women's boutiques along Fifth Avenue between Carroll and St Marks
Beers: Owl Farm or Mission Dolores
My favorites from our years in Brooklyn: Roberta's in Bushwick for pizza, Crop to Cup in Gowanus for coffee, Egg in Williamsburg for brunch, Dutch Kills for cocktails in Long Island City (technically in Queens but worth the stroll from Greene Point). Enjoy!
ReplyDeletealso, Blue Bottle in Williamsburg for coffee.
DeleteIn Park Slope:
ReplyDeleteCoffee: Cafe Martin - 5th avenue between 4th and 5th
Beers: The Gate 5th ave and 3rd st and Owl Farm 9th street below 5th ave
Fancy Drinks and snacks: Wolf and Deer 5th ave between St Marks and Prospect place
Brunch: Rosewater Union St and 6th ave
Fancy Mexican: Fonda 7th ave between 14th and 15th
Cheap Mexican: Rachel's Taqueria 5th ave between 7th and 8th
Korean: Moim Garfield Place above 7th ave
Bagels: Bagel Hole 7th ave between 12th and 13th - the bagels are small get at least 2
Pizza: Franny's Flatbush ave
Yarn: Argyle Yarn Shop Prospect Park West and 18th st
Also be sure to check out the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, it is my favorite place.
Sounds like such a wonderful trip! I haven't lived there in more than a decade, and things change so fast... But if you want OLD school Brooklyn, stop at the original location of Juniors. The food is just so-so, but the cheesecake is famous and the restaurant has been there for ever and ever. And definitely be sure to visit the Promenade (walking area) in Brooklyn Heights -- best views of Manhattan. Even though it might sound like a cliche tourist move, it's memorable to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge between Brooklyn Heights and Manhattan, too.
ReplyDeleteThe boy child says:
ReplyDelete"If she's looking for classic haute hipster fine dining she should go to Diner. Otherwise she should go to Locanda :)"
Interesting there is so much love for Bagel Hole here in Park Slope. I'm partial to Terrace Bagels myself.
ReplyDeleteBrucie on Court St. in Cobble Hill is great. Lucali in Carol Gardens or his brother's place is Guiseppina's in South Slope/Greenwood Heights and has way less of a wait and supposedly tastes the same (but be prepared to pay way more than pizza should cost, even though it is totally delicious - and it's a pie place, not a slice place). I will second Vinegar Hill because that's probably my favorite dinner in the past year or so, just try to get there early and you might not have to wait.
For tacos, down here in south slope there are a couple of good spots. Fatty Daddy has a surprisingly good fish taco (and their others are good too), and if you want an incredible, fresh, simple as-good-as-in-Mexico chorizo or chicken taco, go to the taco bar inside the bodega called Reyes on 4th Ave and 14th-ish. I've heard there are other bodegas around here that also have great taco bars but haven't ever branched out from that one. They sell Mexican coke there to wash it down (aka coke with real sugar instead of corn syrup).
Talde is interesting asian fusion. Amazing fried chicken at either Thistle Hill or Sidecar (but other stuff at Sidecar is more hit or miss in my opinion). The other Park Slope restaurant owned by the Talde/Thistle Hill folks is Pork Slope, which is fun and you should definitely get the tater tots with some kind of yummy meat on top of them (and I don't even normally like tator tots). Zitos is good for a great meatball or eggplant parm sandwich.
Little Cupcake Bakeshop in Bay Ridge if you like the Magnolia-style of moist cake and buttercream frosting without the lines (which oh my god I so do and want one right now).
There are a couple of giant dim sum places in Sunset Park that are pretty fun and yummy. I've been to East Harbor Seafood Palace. J King is another large one that is supposed to be great.
The Farm on Adderley in Ditmas Park is yum and the neighborhood is really beautiful (beware of a wait for a table though).
This is making me very hungry.
I cannot remember if meat is your thing but the very best steak I ever ever ever had was in Peter Luger in Brooklyn. Hope you are having a wonderful time x
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