Brooklyn: Apr 23 to May 1 — Brooklyn, NY
We've been to Manhattan a few times and have never really made it out to Brooklyn. With more and more restaurants in the media from this side of the bridge, we decided to set up home base here. This trip and previous trips to New York have been sensory overload for me and I'm not a true city person but the eats are fantastic. Plus, most of the people aren't that mean and scary so I will continue to return. The afternoon flight from SFO to JFK arrives at a terrible time of 12:45am which I must remember to never book again because they are almost as tiring as red eye flights, and standing in the long taxi line at that hour is not fun.
This time we did some touristy things because we were there longer. I'm glad we got it over with because the experiences were disappointing. The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island were full of ignorant tourists and rude staff. The TSA-style screening was perhaps run by ex-TSA'ers who thought those who still worked for the TSA were pansies. Or perhaps all TSA agents are born in New York. Sorry, I'm sure there are well-meaning people employed by the TSA but they are few and far between. The 9/11 memorial was sobering and heart-wrenching once you also got through the harassment of screening and security personnel.
Accommodations:
- Best Western Plus Prospect Park. The location is relatively convenient being close to a subway stop and grocery store. We didn't really explore this neighborhood except to use the laundromat about a block south. This hotel is popular with European tourists and we had the very unfortunate experience of staying on the same floor as a group of French teenagers who didn't sleep, whisper or close doors without slamming. After several appeals to the staff and management who barely even tried to care, we were finally moved to another floor. One other thing, during the weekend the MTA tends to not stop at this subway stop so you can expect to take a very circuitous and long route to get anywhere. And make sure to go down the right street entrance because you cannot cross to the other track once you go through the turnstile. (We were too spoiled by the common sense approach of the subway system in Japan and Hong Kong.)
Eats: Definitely Return
- Peter Luger in Brooklyn. This cash-only, old-school steakhouse was so good that we ate there twice. The steak for two was huge and excellent. The sizzling bacon is indulgent. The creamed spinach was the best I've had, funny that you can actually taste the spinach in the creamed spinach. The servers are direct and frank and some of them are really funny. Btw, I just have to say that I hate it when people use the clichéd phrase "frankly speaking" because they are just doing the opposite. So in that context, I hate the word and you'll have to believe that I'm telling the truth (and hopefully you don't think I'm a douchebag, or at least frankly tell me I'm not.)
- Shake Shack (multiple locations). Both of us love Shack Shake. Their burgers are probably better than In-n-Out, their french fries are good, and the Purple Cow (grape soda float) is yummy.
- Wafels and Dinges Truck. I love their liege waffle with speculoos (graham cracker butter topping). Sooooooo good. If you see this truck or one of its satellite trailers, stop and try a waffle.
- Talde in Brooklyn. This is run by Dale Talde, a contestant on Top Chef whom Brian really liked. The food was Asian fusion and actually quite good.
- Katz's Deli in the Lower East Side. We love the knoblewurst (garlic sausage), pastrami, and pickles. This time we tried the matzo ball soup and a chocolate egg cream and these were delicious too. We ate lunch here so late that we got cold tongue and bologna sandwiches to go for a late dinner. These were so delicious for dinner and we still had enough to eat for lunch the next day!
- Smorgasburg in Brooklyn on Saturdays. This is a very large weekend food market and we were overall impressed with the selection of vendors. Our favorite was the fried anchovies (heads on please!) at BonChovie. We saw so many adorable dogs and enjoyed sitting near the pier and people-watching.
- Buttermilk Channel in Brooklyn. A very popular hip restaurant for brunch (and probably whenever they are open). We heard the fried chicken dinner is really good - it better be, don't you think? Brian loved his pork chop and my eggs huntington (i.e., benedict) was good.
- Brooklyn Farmacy in Brooklyn. The resurrected soda shoppe was a great place to stop for a chocolate egg cream float and a cherry vanilla shake. (We recommend trying the cherry vanilla ice cream at Fenton's in Oakland when it's in season during the summer. It's so simple yet delicious!)
- Ippudo. We didn't have much planned that day so we walked the 2 miles or so down 5th avenue and arrived at Ippudo at 5pm, at which time we were informed there was a 45min wait. We found a seat and thankfully the hostess wasn't too skilled at time estimates (or really good at scaring people off) and we were seated in 15min. Dinner was boisterous and noisy, but very delicious with efficient service. The appetizers were great and the ramen was good, although not as good as the one we tried at Ippudo in Kyoto.
Eats: Probably Will Return
- Frankie's 457 in Brooklyn. This Italian restaurant had pretty good food and the gnocchi was good. Definitely go early because it fills up with hipsters and yuppies pretty quickly.
- Milk Bar. One of the shops of Momofuku and Christine Tosi fame was next to a subway stop and we picked up a few cookies. The compost cookie was pretty good and met my expectations.
Eats: Try It Once
- Junior's in Brooklyn. We picked up a slice of cheesecake and coconut macaroons to go. It was okay.
- Totonno's Pizza in Coney Island. We tried the pizza based on the recommendation of a Brooklynite. The pizza was good but not mind-blowing.
- Nathan's Hot Dog in Coney Island. Brian got a hot dog and I got fried clam strips. It was okay but trying to have a meal amongst the panhandlers was not so great.
- Hester Street Fair in the Lower East Side on Saturdays. This is a very tiny food market but crammed with vendors.
- Delkab Market in Brooklyn. It's a collection of vendors and cafes in shipping containers. Not a great selection but interesting concept. I read recently that they're shutting this down.
- La Birera at Eataly in Manhattan. We thought we would try one of the restaurants at Eataly. It is located on the rooftop. Aside from the hostess who should probably find a job at the TSA for her linear thinking, we did have a very good meal.