Brooklyn Bound You Can Take Manhattan—Peter Jon Lindberg Finds Attitude, Energy, and a Refreshing Counterpoint to That Other Borough Right in His Own Backyard
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Tony Manero—Travolta again—strutting through Bay Ridge in Saturday Night Fever. Egg creams, Ralph Kramden. And the Dodgers, the Dodgers, always with the Dodgers. Beyond that, not much. I knew friends who’d grown up there, but hardly anyone who’d stayed. Brooklyn was a place people left (Woody Allen, Mr. Kotter, the Dodgers). Manhattan was where people hoped to arrive. In the received wisdom of NYC, Brooklyn was the Old Country, and the East River a vast, roiling Atlantic. It’s said that one in seven Americans can trace roots back through Brooklyn. I can’t, but I live here now. I came seven years ago, for the quiet, a bigger apartment, and the novelty of open sky. I also came with LAUNCH SLIDESHOW the resignation of someone forced into the motel down the highway when every hotel in town is sold Photo: Hugh Stewart and David Nicolas out. It wasn’t an entirely happy move. Those early days in Carroll Gardens felt like exile... and Manhattan was right over there, taunting me, taunting all 2.5 million of us. GUIDE TO BROOKLYN I spent a lot of time plotting how to get back. Manhattan... it takes a while to get over a girl like that. I Where to Eat & Drink compared every new experience to what it was like "in the city." If Manhattan was the Sun, Carroll Al Di Là Unimpeachably authentic Northern Italian (braised Gardens seemed a far-flung, semi-inhabitable planet. Taxi drivers agreed. Utter the B-word, and they’d rabbit, stewed tripe), served in your Nonna’s homey parlor. You’ll wait an hour for a table, then be grateful practically hiss. "Hey, I’m not happy about it, either," I’d snap. you did. 248 Fifth Ave., Park Slope; 718/ 783-4565; www.aldilatrattoria.com; dinner for two $60. You can guess where this is going. At some point during that first spring, something clicked—and I Alma began falling for Brooklyn. Maybe it was the sudden blooming of a rosebush beside my stoop one Casual, ever popular spot serving nouvelle Mexican with a side of wow: the view of Manhattan from the morning. It might have been the amazing banh mi served at a Vietnamese café in Sunset Park. But I’d covered rooftop is breathtaking. 187 Columbia St., Columbia Waterfront District; wager it was the old Polish greengrocer who, when I asked about fresh mint, plucked me three sprigs 718/643-5400; www.almarestaurant.com; dinner for two from his window box. "Anytime you need, just take," he said. "Is for everybody." $65. Applewood A folksy, hearth-warmed room sets the scene for farm- Finally, I was seeing Brooklyn for what it was, not just what it wasn’t. I still went to Manhattan—for fresh cooking at this creative mom-and-pop op (literally —the owners’ toddler is usually in the house). work, Knicks games, dental appointments. But weekends I spent east of the river, uncovering the 501 11th St., Park Slope; 718/768-2044; mysteries of Williamsburg, Fort Greene, and Brighton Beach. www.applewoodny.com; dinner for two $75. Beast Brooklyn’s most inventive tapas bar, where the wild It wasn’t all spearmint and roses. If I was slow to embrace Brooklyn, Brooklyn was also slow to embrace things are on the walls (an odd mythological-monsters theme) and the plates (short ribs braised in Guinness, a me. Every morning I repaired to the corner café for a macchiato. The owner was a gruff Calabrian pickled fennel–and-feta salad). named Tony. (Everyone in Brooklyn is named Tony, unless he’s Tov or Tung or Tolya or Tariq.) I only 638 Bergen St., Prospect Heights; 718/399-6855; dinner for two $40. knew his name because regulars always walked in shouting "To-NAY!" Backs would be slapped, Blue Ribbon Brooklyn greetings exchanged. Roomier, friendlier, and better than the acclaimed SoHo Me, Tony scarcely acknowledged. Eventually he’d fix me with a look you might give a bug in your salad original, with a superb raw bar and a comically diverse menu of American comfort food (fried chicken, Caesar and say "Whattayavin." No matter that my order was always the same. Each day I hoped against hope salad, a pupu platter). A branch of the great Blue Ribbon Sushi (718/840-0408) is next door at No. 278. for a "Hey, guy! The usual?" But always the same ignominy: Whattayavin. 280 Fifth Ave., Park Slope; 718/840-0404; www.blueribbonrestaurants.com; dinner for two $60. Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory Finally, manna from heaven. I walked in. Tony tilted his chin. Managed a little smile. Said, The obsessives at BICF make only eight basic flavors "Howyadoin." I blurted out, "Fine, fine, excellent in fact!"—then savored my macchiato as never before. (hey, remember plain old "chocolate" and "vanilla"?)— but take the time to get each exactly right. Bonus: Grimaldi’s Pizzeria (718/858-4300) with its coal-oven pies is waiting just steps away. In Manhattan, you become a New Yorker within four hours of picking up your keys. No matter where Fulton Ferry Landing Pier, Dumbo; 718/246-3963. you’re from, the city takes you in. Across the river, membership comes harder. Through movies and Di Fara Pizza postcards and songs, Manhattan has always belonged to the world. Brooklyn always belonged to It’s everything I promise it is…I promise. Don’t come expecting silverware. Or speed. Brooklynites. 1424 Ave. J, Midwood; 718/258-1367; whole pizzas from $15. Dressler Well, surprise. In case you haven’t heard, Brooklyn has become a byword for cool, the epitomic local- The latest from the owner of Williamsburg’s beloved boy-makes-good—and suddenly, Brooklyn belongs to everyone. Dumont, this gorgeous bistro goes one better, with bold flavors (striped bass with chorizo, broccoli rabe, and cockles) and equally forceful design (Baroque-style chandeliers, ornately filigreed dark-wood paneling). It’s easy to say when a thing ends, harder to know when it begins. Most locals date the fall of the old 149 Broadway, Williamsburg; 718/384-6343; www.dresslernyc.com; dinner for two $60. Brooklyn to 1957, when you-know-who decamped for Los Angeles. (We can refer to the years since as Frankies 457 Spuntino "A.D.": After Dodgers.) But other pillars were vanishing, too—manufacturing, shipping, the white Brick walls, plain wood tables, sultry lighting, and the middle class—and the borough struggled through the second half of the century. occasional Hollywood star (Kate Hudson, Liv Tyler, Leo DiCaprio) set the rustic-yet-urbane vibe at CG’s hippest restaurant. It helps to have great food, from delectable greens to knockout salumi to a perfect cavatelli with When did the "new" Brooklyn emerge? Was it in the 1990’s, when artists transformed Williamsburg into sausage and sage butter. 457 Court St., Carroll Gardens; 718/403-0033; the city’s creative hub? Was it in 2003, when Zagat named the Grocery—a tiny room in Carroll Gardens www.frankiesspuntino.com; dinner for two $65. —the seventh-best restaurant in NYC? Or a year earlier, when Time Out New York ran a cover headlined Franny’s "Manhattan: The New Brooklyn"? Yes, the brick oven–fired pizza is fabulous (try the clams, chile, and parsley combo). But the secret weapon is the carefully sourced produce, like the delicate pea shoots served with braised squid, and an Whenever and however it happened, the Borough of Kings is back. (Welcome back, welcome back, unassuming salad laced with powerful herbs. welcome back.) 295 Flatbush Ave., Prospect Heights; 718/230-0221; www.frannysbrooklyn.com; dinner for two $50. The Good Fork It’s Korean-meets-French-bistro food (crispy sweetbreads; steak with kimchi, rice, and a fried egg) at this tiny, low-key room on Red Hook’s burgeoning foodie strip. 391 Van Brunt St., Red Hook; 718/643-6636; www.goodfork.com; dinner for two $60. The Grocery There’s no flash or attitude at this 30-seat, husband- and-wife-owned jewel in Smith Street’s crown—just assured, inspired, greenmarket-based cooking that would fetch twice these prices in Manhattan. 288 Smith St., Carroll Gardens; 718/596-3335; dinner for two $90. Jacques Torres Chocolate French expat Torres is New York’s best and most imaginative chocolate maker; this tiny shop attached to his waterfront factory sells—or, rather, exhibits?—his artful creations. 66 Water St., Dumbo; 718/875-9772; www.mrchocolate.com. Marlow & Sons Bracing Malpeques, hearty fish stew, and ethereal Spanish tortillas are highlights at this funky oyster bar/tapas joint/épicerie (there’s a shop in front selling featured ingredients). 81 Broadway, Williamsburg; 718/384-1441; www.marlowandsons.com; dinner for two $55.