Brooklyn Food Tour

           This past 6 months I have been living in Park Slope Brooklyn. I am so glad I decided to live outside of Manhattan. First because it is nice to escape from the craziness of it all, and second because Brooklyn is amazing for so many reasons! For anyone that has never visited Brooklyn you are missing out. There are so many wonderful restaurant, places to visit, and areas to shop at with nowhere close to as many people on the streets as Manhattan.

            I have had the pleasure of getting to dine out at some great restaurants while I’ve been here in Brooklyn. Since my brother lives so close to me, and my parents were nervous about letting me move to New York by myself my brother and me convinced/tricked them to give us a monthly dining allowance to ensure we saw each other over the weekends. My brother being the foodie that he is had the idea that every other weekend we should get together and pick a neighborhood to explore and then eat in. We are coming to the end of our food adventures but here is where we have been so far and are planning on going for our last month:

Boerum Hill:

            Rucola- This was our favorite place by far!! We came back here twice after because of its vibrant atmosphere, rustic décor, and the mouth watering good Italian food. The everyday menu is killer, but the specials are always spectacular!

South Slope:

            Oliver Bistro- This was the cutest French Bistro! The restaurant is small, but they have live music and it is filled with locals. The dinner is great, but the brunch is even better!

Park Slope:

            Al Di La Trattoria- We stumbled upon this place and it was such a gem. We are suckers for great Italian food and wine, and this place did not disappoint. The place was packed until it closed, and they even let dogs in (which was kind of weird, but cute).

Williamsburg:

            Salt and Charcoal- I’m not going to lie, this was not our favorite and we probably would not recommend it to anyone, but they had to most unique food presentation as well as cooking methods. It was a Japanese restaurant and the main thing to order was different types of skewers that were cooked over a mini bonfire on the stove, and we also ordered a meatball dish that came out to us cooked on a wooden spoon, very odd but cool.

Greenpoint:

            Fanfare: I talked about this place a few weeks ago, and the atmosphere is wonderful with the live jazz band playing in the back, and they have delicious cocktails.

Red Hook:

            Baked- We did not have dinner here, but it was said to have the best hot chocolate in Brooklyn so we check it out. It was very over priced ($5 for a small), but it came with the most delicious and largest marshmallow I have ever seen. The marshmallow is what makes it special, and they have seasonal flavors so you can change it up.

Bushwick:

            Mominette- All I have to say about this place is go there and order 5 orders of the potato gnocchi, so good!

Prospect Heights:

            Ample Hill Creamery- We had to get dessert, so we headed here since they make all the ice cream right on site. They had flavors I have never seen before and their menu changes daily. So creamy!!

Gowanus:

            Royal Palms- This place is very unique! It is a bar/shuffle board place that has food trucks pull into the space every night. This is the best place to go to with a group of friends. You can get pitchers of margaritas, hang out under a cabana, and play shuffle board all night.

           On top of all of the wonderful restaurants I got the pleasure of dining in, Brooklyn also hosts the amazing even called Smorgasburg. This takes place while the weather is still nice out and it pretty much is a giant flea market but for food. All different types of local restaurants, bakeries, cafes, etc. come and have little servings of their dishes. I highly recommend going to one for lunch and getting a nice tasting of a few different places.