LET'S STAY IN BROOKLYN DUMBO It sounded like a great idea when my college friend Dan suggested staying in Brooklyn for our annual road trip to watch our beloved Kentucky Wildcats play basketball. The game was in Manhattan, but it's an easy trip from the neighboring borough. But then he dropped the bomb! He excitedly suggested we "stay in one of those hotels where the rooms are pods. They are small, but we have individual rooms, and the location is perfect for restaurants, nightlife, and taking the ferry to Manhattan." I thought he had lost his mind as were accustomed to swankier hotels enveloped by skyscrapers. Despite my skepticism, I promised to investigate online. Then I swear he kept calling me "DUMBO," but you'll know why shortly. While a little cyber sleuthing presented The Pod Hotel (thepodhotel.com/podbrooklyn) as an ideally located boutique hotel, the small size was outside my comfort zone. But then I remembered that Dan snored and suddenly thought that a pod might actually be a good idea. In retrospect, it will be hard to get me to stay anywhere else in this increasingly popular borough that boasts spectacular views of some of the tallest buildings in the world.
Written by Chris Chase
It's hard to read a magazine, newspaper, or blog, or even watch a movie or show and not realize that Brooklyn has been a happening place for a while. When you first enter Brooklyn, it resembles the Village or one of the other non-sky scraper neighborhoods in Manhattan. But then you'll notice it sounds different, namely the lack of blaring horns from angry taxi drivers. Even though finding a parking spot looks impossible, heavy car traffic is absent for those who care to get behind the wheel. Instead, most ride bikes, scooters, or walk. So I had to wonder if I was in the correct city when automobile drivers patiently waited to let me cross the street. Pod Brooklyn's location in the vibrant and trendy Williamsburg neighborhood permitted me to blend in as a tourist while fantasizing that I lived in a city with
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a median real estate cost of $1,300 per square foot. By the time we checked in at 10pm, my stomach was starting to growl. A late-night pizza is always the correct answer for this unsuccessfully recovering pizzaholic. The options where many say the pizza was invented are bountiful. Luckily, Google Maps showed a highly rated location nearby. But the name— Ace's Pizza—was a red flag to me. In a borough rich in Italian heritage, is a place named Ace's Pizza highly rated, or did they buy a Google Ad.? Eric, the front desk clerk at the hotel, gave it two thumbs up. More red flags arose when I called to place my order when the person on the other end of the line asked if I wanted Detroit-style or Grandmastyle. By default, I picked Grandma. When the rectangle-shaped pizza arrived, I was still skeptical. However, as I took my first bite, I
was treated to an explosion of flavor unlike anything I've ever experienced. It was easily the best pizza I've had in the past five years. Accompanying my meal was a convivial conversation with Steve, who was working behind the counter at Ace's, and who educated me that Grandma Style "is a NY thing." Before I left, he asked me my name. A wine bar called Woodhul (woodhulwinebar.com) was our post-pizza stop. The wine was fantastic, as was the Woodhul Salad. Raphael, a native of Ecuador, was tending the bar. He said most of the clientele were people from the neighborhood and that most of those were newcomers since so many moved away during the pandemic. Returning to the hotel, I made a point of telling Eric at the front desk
that he was right about Ace's. His reply was, "yeah, and good luck not going back." Despite seemingly hundreds of fantastic restaurants within walking distance, a couple of days later, we found ourselves there again. There are plenty of articles about what to do and see in Brooklyn. Although I was pretending to live there, there are a few hard to resist touristy options. A walk across the Brooklyn Bridge is a must, but be prepared as a lot of people have the same idea. About this time I learned that my college friend wasn't insulting me when he said DUMBO. There is an iconic area called Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass. It's a striking juxtaposition to see the Manhattan Bridge in the distance between the local buildings. The iconic Peter Luger steakhouse (peterluger.com) has been on my bucket list for two decades. SOPHISTICATED TRAVEL
Founded in 1887, it has the old steakhouse feel all others strive to emulate. It's partially famous because you can't use a credit card. Until recently, you could only pay with cash, and lots of it, but now they accept debit cards. Don't expect suit set from Wall Street, even though they are likely regulars. This is a place where you go before a ball game, after a day of shopping, or to share a meal with good friends. I didn't need a menu because my mouth had been watering for a NY Strip Steak from Peter Luger since the 1990s. So imagine my surprise when their menu didn't feature any cuts of beef. You don't order a specific cut of beef; instead, you order by the number of people also eating steak with you. Perhaps, that is how they did it twenty years after the Civil War when they opened and didn't want to mess with success. You can easily exceed your 10,000 steps each day.
. The sidewalks along the East River provide striking views of the city. It very well may provide the best views of the Manhattan skyline. If you are active, it's a great place to walk or run. If a gym workout is your preference, be sure to check out Vital. They have most of the amenities of a high-end fitness facility, with the bonus of indoor rock wall climbing and large set of doors that serve as the outside walls. When the doors are open, you feel like doing yoga, CrossFit, and spinning al fresco. My favorite fitness place was Modo Yoga (modoyoga.com/nyc/). I hadn't participated in one of those 105degree hot yoga workouts since the onset of the pandemic. I was already formulating my exit plan while placing my yoga mat in the tightly allocated spot. The exit plan was elevated to DefCon 5 when the charismatic instructor began the class saying how challenging the
next hour would be. However, despite his accurate foreshadowing of the difficulty, I abandoned my escape plans due to his inspirational instruction. While walking through Brooklyn, there are constant reminders that you are still in one of the greatest cities on earth, from the banter of diverse languages to unique clothing combinations and the vibe of upand-coming professionals. But, you'll also feel like Netflix followed you outside, as I witnessed the filming of two NetFlix shows over four days spent in my adopted neighborhood. The first was "Uncoupled," starring Neil Patrick Harris. The second is "The Watcher" with Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale. I am particularly looking forward to watching the latter, as filming for the scene I watched took place on a beautiful, sunny afternoon, and the
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producers assembled a portable pipe system to make it appear as though it was raining. My last day in Brooklyn was filled by simply hanging outside, walking down the streets, and enjoying Brooklyn since the temperature was a rare 68 degrees in early November. Dan and I took a seat at a small table on the sidewalk near the door where my pizza odyssey began. In the middle of our conversation, I heard someone on the street say, "Hey Chris!" It was Steve from Ace's Pizza. He remembered my name.