Since the original post focussed on pizza I did not consider other things.
Our daughter used to live in Brooklyn so we’ve bought a lot of meals there. There is a lot of good food. This is only the tip of the iceberg, and is based on personal favorites.
If you are in Dumbo for the weekend you really should consider the River Cafe for Saturday lunch. It’s $47 for two courses at a one star Michelin with what may be one of the best views of Manhattan in the city. Same food is $ 200 at night. Afterwards you can hit the waterfront park and carousel. I garantee it will be the highlight of your trip. Need res, so if you’re interested make one now.
In Park Slope you should consider Al di La. It’s a neighborhood kind of place, like eating in somebody’s house, but the food is excellent and it won’t break the bank. No res, so get there early.
If you are looking for the old school experience close to Coney Island I would consider Randazzos over L & B Spumoni Gardens. Randazzos has gotten a little touristy since Bourdain lit it up, but the gravy is good and I like clams. L & B is fun too, but as SR notes the “slice” there is a lot of dough even if it’s not expensive.
For cheap eats around the Barclays/Boerum Hill we like Mile End for Deli (Montreal smoked meat, chicken soup), Halal Kitchen fried chicken & chinese (don’t worry about how the restaurant looks), and Artichoke Basilles for a slice (try the artichoke). In Brooklyn Heights close to Dumbo try Heights Falafel for falafel or shawarma. And in Coney Island you should bite the bullet and get a Nathan’s with kraut, and take a picture while you’re at it.
For dessert, ice cream at Ample Hills, or something baked from Blue Stove. If you like cheesecake, Juniors is famous and is actually pretty good.
Finally places like Fascatis, Luigis and Sals that serve old style Brooklyn pies are pretty much counterserve. I think Sals has a sit down place next door. For us that’s ok because we are usually ordering pies to go. To get something like the Di Faras pie you should order the fresh moozerell. Personally I can’t tell the difference between Luigis and Di Faras, but I’m not a snob.
