Dakota Kim is a writer and event producer. You can often find her buying wines at Dandelion, biking to Smorgasburg, shopping the farmers market in McGolrick, eating Van Leeuwen ice cream, and swimming in McCarren Pool.
Last summer, Greenpointers could be seen peering into the windows of Naked Dog, trying to guess when it would open. The restaurant been serving up delicious pastas to the neighborhood for several months now, but they’ve just started serving brunch, and it’s definitely crave-worthy and a little different from your usual brunch.
Owner Cecilia Di Paola is a wonderful, welcoming host and the kind of person you want to sit at the bar and chat with. Pop in to say hello to our new(ish) neighbor and dine in the beautifully-decorated, light-filled space this weekend.
Your first approach to the Box House Hotel, which holds the Brooklyn Lantern restaurant, is a bit confused. Box Street in North Greenpoint is so quiet that you wonder if you’re on the right street.
Soon enough, you stumble on a sixties-style taxi parked casually outside, as if the owner had gone inside for a martini and a smoke. This is just part of the intrigue of this spot on the northern fringe of Greenpoint.
As I entered, I was expecting a sparse North Brooklyn chic—dimly-lit Edison bulbs, reclaimed wood, perhaps a tasteful, unobtrusive abstract piece hanging from the wall. What I got instead intrigued me—if this was the décor, I was eager to try Brooklyn Lantern.
Made Real Vodka proclaims that it’s for the “the makers, the moonlighters, and the hustlers.” If their events are any barometer, Made Real gets that life — the life of the freelancer, the wanderluster, the foodie, the free-spirited fashionista.
The vodka company’s recent events include a superfun cheesemaking class with the chef of Humboldt & Jackson, a cocktail-making class with talented mixologist Rachel Kim of the NoMad, and an upcoming Thursday, March 24th Made Real Connections open bar, shopping event and fashion panel with Hannah Dilworth, the owner of Williamsburg store Concrete + Water.
We got to attend a Made Real event and taste-test the vodka, which is warm, spicy and a touch sweet from its honey distillation, rather than cool and aloof like some vodkas (we’re not naming any names here). It was smooth and didn’t bite when consumed neat, and fun and easy to mix with. After the event, we got to chat with Nicole Williams, Made Real’s Head of Brand (and formerly a marketing girlboss at big names like Nastygal and NYLON), to get the scoop on what’s behind this beautiful bottle.
Adelina’s is putting on another pop-up Meatless event, this time collaborating with Mississippi Vegan‘s Timothy Pakron for a truffle-themed dinner. Greenpointers chatted with Adelina’s Toby Buggiani about the mycological meal that he and Timothy have planned. Who doesn’t want truffles on everything, especially Italian food?
Rachel Effendy and Dakota Sica are the kind of fun couple who make their projects and collaborations seem effortless. Dakota, Director at The Java Project in East Greenpoint, and Rachel, fashion photographer and blogger at Rachel et Nicole, often step into one another’s worlds to photograph and support one another. When they’re not eating all the best food or flying around the world for art and fashion events, the pair can be found at Greenpoint’s galleries, restaurants and shops. Read more about Rachel and Dakota. Continue reading →
DAR 525 has opened its new location at 168 Driggs at Diamond, and it’s a hit with Greenpoint. The cozy, aromatic spot has been smartly decked out with décor from owner Johan Fabiano Dawood’s travels in the Middle East, and on a recent Friday night around 7:00 p.m., not a single table was empty. With its excellent prices and incredibly savory, well-spiced fare, it’s easy to see why.
Greenpointers sat down with owner Johan over an incredible spread of nutty muhammara, cheesy pistachio flatbread pizza, and tender lamb kibbeh to discuss his new venture. Johan is warm, friendly and knowledgeable about food. A passionate eater, he goes out and tries a new restaurant in Greenpoint every day, so say hello to him if you see him out sampling a new spot in the neighborhood.
Read on to find out the secret that most people don’t know about DAR 525’s culinary heritage.
Red Star, the host of the Best Wings in Brooklyn contest, has returned to its roots as a sports bar.
In the summer of 2015, after eight years as Red Star, the bar closed down for renovations. The corner spot reopened in October 2015 as Cozinha Latina, a Brazilian restaurant.
Now Red Star is back, and with it, its wings — including the raspberry barbecue wings that surprise the sweet skeptic and the rest of the wing flavors — sweet and sour, barbecue, hot, mild, and medium.
New chef Nick Porcelli, who has appeared on Chopped and studied under Gordon Ramsay, is at the helm of the new Red Star.
Read on for more about why Red Star returned to its origins. Continue reading →
The Regal (163 Hope St) bills itself as a diner, but the white brick facade and gold-hued bar are the first signs to indicate otherwise. Though its atmosphere is relaxed, this lovely restaurant’s roots lie in fine dining.
Run by the folks from the always-entertaining Hotel Chantelle, this 70-seat late-night spot features comforting, soak-up-the-scotch fat bombs like spicy fried chicken sandwiches, chicken and waffles, mac and cheese, juicy lucy-style meatballs, Manischewitz short ribs, schnitzel and reuben rolls — all until 2:00 a.m. on Wednesdays and until 5:00 a.m. during “The New Yorker Weekend” — a.k.a. Thursdays through Saturdays. Continue reading →
Syd Silver opened Roebling Tea Room in Williamsburg in 2005, and over a decade, it has weathered the storms of real estate around it. As bar after restaurant after concert venue around it came and fell, the beautiful, airy loft space stuck around, offering a delicious menu of tea, wine and food. There were so many times over the years that I’d climb those steps up to the refuge from busy, rainy Metropolitan, looking for a snack or a glass of wine or some tea. But RTR is so much less about tea, and more about cocktails and food these days.
In 2015, to celebrate its 10th anniversary, Silver redesigned the space, installing a 15-foot salvaged redwood table in the front for groups of up to 20, intimate seating in the back, and a small, semi-private room. The low lighting, inventive cocktails and updated menu make it a major contender for Valentine’s Day or just that perfect Friday night dinner where you linger for just one more drink. Continue reading →
Even our gondoliers have hats and facial hair. (Image courtesy of The Diamond)
Valentine’s Day is on a Sunday this year. Sunday is so much more relaxed than Saturday — no one is pregaming for anything, rushing to get to the theatre, or frantically texting friends to finalize their plans for “the best night of our lives.”
If you’re like most of the Greenpoint population, you’re so over the #WeekendWarrior. So why not apply that laidback Sunday philosophy to this year’s Valentine’s Day or Galentine’s Day, and keep it in the neighborhood?
Here are some of the spots offering Valentine’s specials in Greenpoint and Williamsburg this year. Some specials run all weekend and some prix fixes are only on V-day. Continue reading →
