Last Saturday saw swarms of hungry foodies pounding the pavements as the Bon Appétit Grub Crawl landed in Greenpoint. I’m not usually a huge fan of group tours but made an exception for this one because it involved so many amazing local bars and restaurants. And I’m mighty glad I did. The day was phenomenal, with such an incredible array of food and drink that it just went to confirm what most of us already know: Greenpoint is so hot right now!
Here’s what we learned as we did the rounds of the the five fantastic venues taking part:
1. COCO (68 Greenpoint Ave)
– DIY Bloody Marys are the future (especially when you can add all the bacon bits you want).
– It’s perfectly okay to start a Saturday with multiple Mimosas (so long as you pair them with something bulky like house-made banana bread with date butter or scrummy baked eggs with chorizo).
– We should have bought a bigger bag to carry more of the delicious FREE Ovenly Salted Choc Chip Cookies and Coco Cheddar Pennies that were being handed out by the bucket load.
2. THE DIAMOND (43 Franklin Street)
– A Red Hook Lobster Pound truck freely handing out Lobster Rolls comes pretty close to our idea of paradise (especially when said Lobster Rolls are paired with a chilled glass of dry, sparkling Cidre Bouche).
– There’s no such thing as too many oysters.
– Yummy Tuck Shop pies and shuffleboard is a combo that should be repeated as frequently as possible.
3. MANHATTAN INN (632 Manhattan Ave)
– Manhattan Inn make some killer cocktails (like The Caswell with Whiskey, Rosé Lillet, Chamomile Tea Syrup, Bitters and Basil).
– Getting into a whole-shelled Maryland crab is a lot harder than it looks.
– Drinking the salty fatty juices inside a boiled crab is actually pretty delicious.
4. ALAMEDA (195 Franklin Street)
– Alameda source their seasonal garden produce from Eagle Street Rooftop Farm.
– Their anchovy toast is the best summer snack in Greenpoint (and currently part of an awesome Tues-Fri happy hour deal for $10 with a glass of Rosé).
– Sage & Rum cocktails are the true taste of summer.
5. GLASSERIE (95 Commercial Street)
– You can turn your summer cocktails pink by adding dried rose petals (as so artfully demonstrated in Matt Fogarty’s delicious Rose Vodka Bee’s Knees concoction).
– Butchering a bunny yourself makes you care much more about the meat you consume.
– The exquisite food at Glasserie never, ever fails to impress.
And one final lesson: The key to drinking all day and not making a clumsy exit under the nearest table? Match every cocktail with a generous morsel of delicious food and you’ll be just fine.
Until next year…(by which time the grub crawl will no doubt be edging its way towards Bushwick)…Bon Appétit!