Brooklyn Mini-Guide
Brooklyn Flea
Contents
1 Upright Coffee 2 Four and Twenty Blackbirds 3 Baked 4 Ted & Honey 5 Red Hook Ball Fields 6 Brooklyn Flea 7 Manhattan Avenue Meat Shops 8 Brooklyn Social 9 Black Mountain Winehouse 10 Rye 11 Frankies 457 Spuntino 12 Dumont Credits About In this Mini-Guide Front cover: Frankies 457 Spuntino Back cover: Brooklyn Social
Coffee
Mornings at Upright Coffee feel like coming home … only with the addition of the best latte in the world. There, I said it. After moving from London, I spent months and months looking for that perfect coffee. At first I thought I left it in London. Then, I thought it could be Intelligentsia coffee as brewed by Van Leuween, or maybe Vergnano at Eataly, only to go back to London and be disappointed. Good thing for us, the coffee maniacs at Upright Coffee chose our beloved Greenpoint, Brooklyn, to open their first coffee shop. Their coffee is just right. It’s rich. It’s light. It’s flavorful. Their latte is the perfectly balanced cup you didn’t know even existed until you realized you were hooked for life. Now, when on vacation, I roam the streets of London and Saigon (and Manhattan!!) craving Upright’s delicious latte … and the amazingly friendly atmosphere. These guys know their coffee, but they’re definitely not coffee snobs. — Chloe 860 Manhattan Avenue, Greenpoint
UPRIGHT COFFEE
Four and Twenty Blackbirds
Pie and Muffins
Bite into a muffin at Four And Twenty Blackbirds and you will step back in time to a pleasant Sunday morning at your grandmother’s kitchen table (if your grandmother was a wonderful baker like mine anyway). These muffins remind you of just how many sad, pathetic ones there are elsewhere. They are fluffy and buttery and come in varieties that change with the seasons like ginger pear and blueberry rhubarb. The bakery — on a stretch of Gowanus that is lined with auto repair shops but getting cooler by the day — is best known for pie. The pie is incredible, a buttery flaky crust filled with fruits, berries and custards and often with a savory twist (strawberry balsamic or salted caramel apple). As good as the pie is, Four And Twenty Blackbirds has become a regular stop on my morning walks with my two-year old daughter because we both love muffins, and once you have one here it is hard to enjoy them as much elsewhere. — Jessica 439 Third Avenue, Gowanus
Brownies and Baked Treats
I’ve had a thing for brownies … always. I’d choose a really good chewy brownie over cake or cookies or pie. Well, I’m lucky I live in Brooklyn because Brooklyn is home to Baked, a bakery on a funky stretch of Red Hook that just happens to make the very best brownies. These are dense, moist and chewy, the way a brownie is meant to be. Really, when you hold one, it feels like a candle pin bowling ball. That’s how serious these brownies are. If I was forced to choose between Baked’s Blondie Brownie (a dark blondie made with brewer’s malt, chocolate chips and pecans) or the Sweet & Salty Brownie (dark chocolate swirled with caramel and flecks of fleur de sel), it would be like choosing between salt or pepper to season my dinner. That’s why whenever I stop in at Baked, I get both, one to devour immediately and one to savor later. Sometimes, I also get a warm cinnamon bun because the other things they make at Baked are pretty delicious too. — Jessica 359 Van Brunt Street, Red Hook
Baked
Ted & Honey
Casual Lunch
What I love most about this cozy café in Cobble Hill is the setting: a leafy residential block of brownstone Brooklyn, the red storefront, a sweet little park next door and a few café tables out front. Ted & Honey is the kind of place you stumble upon and sigh with pleasure when you do because it is such a joy to find a place so utterly charming and unexpected tucked away on a quiet side street. Inside, there is always a crowd but there is always a seat. It is a jovial neighborhood place that strikes the balance: boisterous but not bewildering. A wall of shelves is stocked with Ted’s homemade sauces and pickles, and the menu is scrawled on a chalkboard. Everything is made from scratch down to the ketchup and mustard. Sometimes I get the meatloaf sandwich with cheddar cheese, coleslaw and BBQ sauce, and sometimes I get the Fidel, slow-roasted pork, prosciutto and gruyere. I’m always happy. — Jessica 264 Clinton Street, Cobble Hill
Latin American Street Food
The Latin American street food at the Red Hook ball fields used to be something of an insider secret. That’s not really the case anymore, but the fact that it’s off the beaten track and requires the equivalent of a foodie pilgrimage to get there means this is one food vendor scene that retains its authentic charm. On summer weekends, Latin American food vendors set up food carts around the perimeter of the soccer fields, and serve up everything from quesadillas, papusas and arepas to ceviche, plantain chips and melon juice. Once upon a time, it was just for the players and their fans; now it is also for families like mine who come just for the food. Don’t expect any trendy food trucks helmed by hipsters. This is real deal Latin American food. Mexican huaraches, quesadillas and tacos are piled with meat, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro and fresh salsas; papusas are made to order on a griddle and stuffed with chiles and cheese. The cantaloupe juice and lemonade are fresh. Mexican music is blaring on an old-school transistor radio. A few picnic tables are set in the shade of the trees. Ahhhhhh. — Jessica Corner of Bay and Clinton Streets, Red Hook
Red Hook ball fields
Brooklyn Flea
Unique Finds and Food
I enjoy shopping, especially when I can find something original and a good bargain to boot. But let’s be clear, I go to the Brooklyn Flea for the food, not the artisan jewelry, old-school records, antique furniture and knick knacks (though those are all cool too). The market — held outdoors on summer weekends and indoors in the winter — was started in 2008 by two enterprising Brooklynites, and has evolved into the place to sample some of Brooklyn’s best artisan food. (The craze over the food got so big it even spawned the opening of a food-only market called Smorgasbord on Saturdays in Williamsburg). The food vendors are so tempting that I have to go regularly, or I would surely eat everything all at once. My jaw literally drops open whenever I see the puffy, frosting-drenched donuts by the bakery Dough, but on a sweltering July day, I can’t resist a fruity homemade ice pop from People’s Pops. If it’s lunch time then I’m probably torn between a hot dog with Asian slaw at Asia Dog, a lobster roll from the Red Hook Lobster Pound or delicate pork dumplings from the Good Fork. Last time I stopped by I left with an earl grey chocolate-frosted donut the size of my face and a set of vintage cocktail tumblers that would make Don Draper proud. I was a very happy girl. — Jessica 176 Lafayette Avenue, Fort Green
Meat
Shopping As hip as Greenpoint might seem, venture up on Manhattan Avenue north of Greenpoint Avenue, and you’ll feel like you’ve been dropped off in a different country. Settled by the Polish community as recently as in the 1990s, Greenpoint is the largest American Polish enclave outside of Chicago, and it shows. Most family-run butcher shop on Manhattan Avenue (we’re talking two per block, on each side of the street) make the hipsters nervous. What makes them so intimidating? The fact that these locals know their meat and there’s a lot of it, there are no signs, it’s busy, and English is rarely spoken. Think Chinatown, with a downto-business, Eastern-European twist. It’s intimidating, but amazing. So pick a butcher shop, walk in, look around at the vast array of homemade cured meats, point, pay, and repeat. A few good ones to try: Mazur Meat Market (922 Manhattan Avenue) and Kiszka Meat Market (915 Manhattan Avenue) to bring home your meats. If you can’t wait, try Happy End (924 Manhattan Avenue) or Karzma (136 Greenpoint Avenue) restaurants for a pork and pirogues extravaganza — and don’t skip the soup! — Chloe Manhattan Avenue north of Greenpoint Avenue, Greenpoint
Manhattan Avenue Meat Shops
Brooklyn Social
Old Fashioned and Classic Cocktails
If I had my druthers, I’d drink a bourbon cocktail at least once a day, and six out of seven nights a week it would probably be the ginger old-fashioned at Brooklyn Social. Their old fashioned, which is a blend of bourbon, sugar, cherries, orange and ginger is spot on — and stiff. I usually have to let the ice melt some before I can do much more than savor the smell. But part of the reason the drink tastes so darn good is because of the bar’s really cool — though not too cool for school — vibe. Brooklyn Social isn’t the newest or hippest bar in Brooklyn, but it is my favorite. It has all the retro pre-Prohibition-era touches that are in vogue, but not to the point that men don’t fit in without a waxed mustache. Duke Ellington is playing in the background, but not so loudly you can’t have a conversation and catch up with a friend. The cocktails are fantastic, but the drink list isn’t the length of Anna Karenina. It’s just a great bar that makes great drinks and that is, well, great. — Jessica 335 Smith Street, Carroll Gardens
Wine Bar
The first time I drove by the Black Mountain Winehouse I thought, “Those poor souls should just move upstate.” It’s on a residential block and there’s no sign out front, but there are Adirondack chairs and fresh cut wood. I thought it was someone’s home, but when I found out it was actually a wine bar I couldn’t wait to check it out. Cozy, cabin-like atmosphere brings me straight back to my Vermont roots. I finally got there on a snowy winter night having trekked several very long blocks in about a foot of snow. The smell of wood smoke — that intoxicating wintery smell you just don’t get living in the city — drifted down the block. Inside, the stone fireplace, hardwood floors and snug bar clinched my love of the place. We stomped the snow off our boots, grabbed a stool and let the wine work its magic. The list of wines by the glass is eclectic and affordable; there is a short menu of cheeses and charcuterie. But boy, that fireplace is hard to beat. — Jessica 415 Union Street, Cobble Hill
Black Mountain Winehouse
RYE
Happy Hour
For a late afternoon snack, nothing beats oysters and cocktails at the bar of Rye restaurant in Williamsburg. The 100-year-old oak bar is gorgeous in the late afternoon light, and the suspender-clad bartenders are too. While the bar isn’t original to the room (the restaurant used to be a factory), the walls, floors, and the amazing tin ceiling are, giving the place a cozy speakeasy atmosphere. Cocktails, just like the oysters, are seasonal, but we are partial to the Old Fashioned on the Rock (singular, but don’t be fooled, the ice cube is huge) and if you like it enough to stay for dinner, try the meatloaf sandwich. Served with string onion fries, it’ll turn your worst childhood meatloaf nightmares into ridiculous cravings. Consider yourself warned. — Chloe 247 South 1st Street, South Williamsburg
Neighborhood Italian
Frankies 457 Spuntino isn’t a hidden neighborhood spot (the last time I ate there, Michelle Williams was at the next table). And the two Franks behind it have gone pretty big time, with multiple restaurants and now a cookbook. But despite its notoriety, Frankies still feels like a neighborhood gem. Maybe it is because the dining room has only a handful of tables, or because the pebbled back garden strung with lights is so welcoming on a summer evening. Maybe it is the well-priced carafes of wine, or the food: fresh, simplistic seasonal Italian fare. I would happily devour anything — or everything — on the menu, from crostini slathered with fresh ricotta to house-made cavatelli with spicy sausage and brown butter. The meatballs are light and studded with raisins and covered in marinara. There are a lot of Italian joints in Brooklyn. There is only one Frankies. — Jessica 457 Court Street, Carroll Gardens
Frankies 457 Spuntino
Dumont
Neighborhood Gem
Dumont is the low key yet amazing neighborhood gem you hope to discover every time you visit a new city. Delicious local, seasonal food, relaxed atmosphere, ultra-Brooklyn décor (tin ceiling, wooden bar, chandeliers) and a gorgeous, romantic garden. Dinner is my favorite. I prefer the cozy front room in the winter and the flowery, covered garden when temperature rises. The appetizer specials never disappoint. Think maple-bacon Brussels sprouts in the fall and lemony, pan fried baby artichokes in the spring, followed by a brick roasted half chicken … year-round, really (it’s so delicious, you won’t be inclined to venture much further on the menu). The one constant every time I visit? I just don’t want to leave! Owned by the same people as the Michelinstarred Dressler, Dumont’s menu is a slightly homier version of the North Brooklyn classic, for half the price. — Chloe 432 Union Avenue, Williamsburg
Credits
Founder & Editor Maggie Battista Writers Chloe Mathieu Phillips Jessica Merrill Photographer Kumi Hayase Designer Todd Nocera Editorial & Business Inquiries: maggie@eatboutique.com 617-752-1105
UPRIGHT COFFEE
Four and Twenty Blackbirds
About About Eat Boutique Eat Boutique is a magazine and market that discovers and celebrates the best small batch foods by boutique food makers. We curate seasonal and regional homespun gift boxes as gifts for food fans, and also sell our amazing discoveries individually for the home cook. With a team of global friends who also love food, we share easy recipes, inspiring food maker stories and guides to eating boutique in our favorite cities. We host intimate tasting events and convivial local markets for our favorite food makers, cookbook authors and small batch food fans, and hope to meet you at an event soon. About Eat Boutique’s Mini-Guides At Eat Boutique, we live and travel to eat. Cooking or sharing meals made on a small batch, handcrafted scale around our own neighborhoods and in far-flung destinations is how we experience the world and make memories. We believe a great meal is worth driving an extra mile (or thousands), especially if the host pops out to say hello or the cook shares a secret recipe. We eat boutique, which means we eat small, local and independent. We wrote this guide to pass along hidden gems that will sustain you morning ‘til night in our favorite cities.
In this
Mini-Guide 1 Upright Coffee 860 Manhattan Avenue, Greenpoint 2 Four and Twenty Blackbirds 439 Third Avenue, Gowanus 3 Baked 359 Van Brunt Street, Red Hook 4 Ted & Honey 264 Clinton Street, Cobble Hill 5 Red Hook Ball Fields Corner of Bay and Clinton Streets, Red Hook 6 Brooklyn Flea 176 Lafayette Avenue, Fort Green 7 Manhattan Avenue Meat Shops Manhattan Avenue north of Greenpoint Avenue, Greenpoint 8 Brooklyn Social 335 Smith Street, Carroll Gardens 9 Black Mountain Winehouse 415 Union Street, Cobble Hill 10 Rye 247 South 1st Street, South Williamsburg 11 Frankies 457 Spuntino 457 Court Street, Carroll Gardens 12 Dumont 432 Union Avenue, Williamsburg
Dumont
Brooklyn Mini-Guide