In Bed-Stuy, go to Wadadli Jerk for the jerk pork (Antiguan). Very serious.
In Flushing, go to:
Dong Bei Da Pai Dang for the cilantro salad and chicken skeleton salad. (dongbei cuisine)
Sin Kee for the SK Bacon Bites and the Chai tow kueh (Singaporean)
Big shout out to the bihari beef kabob at Kabab King in Jackson Heights. I doubt you can find Bihari dishes in LA…
There may very well be lots of great, exciting choices in Crown Heights. I would be tempted to eat at many places there just from looking at the food photos on Google Maps. A lot of food media outright neglects entire cuisines and neighborhoods. Probably not hipster enough.
The lists you linked to have what I would call a standard round up of Brooklyn places. The problem is that Brooklyn is huge and the restaurants are all over the place. I’ve been to many of the places on the Timeout list but I’m not familiar with Crown Heights or Bed Stuy. If you’re close to Prospect Heights or the Fort Greene area, there are lots of great options.
For an interesting take on Japanese speakeasy, try Karasu. Its a tiny place in the back of another restaurant, Walter’s. You walk in to what looks like a nice neighborhood casual restaurant, go all the way to the back and through a dark door in the back wall past the kitchen and you step into a different world.
If you have a chance, head to Hometown for BBQ or Red Hook Tavern for a great take on a wedge salad and burger with an impressive wine list or La Vara for really good tapas.
If you are in Dumbo, Em for the best Vietnamese food I’ve ever had (though frankly I don’t have a lot of experience with the cuisine). For home style Italian American, Cafe Spaghetti.
I’ve found the chicken wings at take out Chinese restaurants to be indifferent. If you want Chinese head to the Chinatown in Sunset Park.
BTW, I do not live in the NYC area, so I can’t consider myself to be all that knowledgeable, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night…
The patties at Tower Isles look serious, and I see they package them and sell boxes of frozen patties for home consumption. In all my attempts at eating ‘housemade’ patties in the DC area, I am sad to report that I’ve never found anything special, so I look forward to a report back.
From photos alone, I would be tempted to eat at Lakou (Haitian), Wakkys (Nigerian), Savannah Spiced, Mama’s Kitchen (Israeli) and Agi’s Counter (Hungarian). Some of the breads at Gombo’s Heimishe Bakery look fantastic.
Honestly, there are too many places to mention that look tantalizing, but none are personal recs.
Steve, you did good. I havent been to any of the places you pointed out, but Lakou, Wakkys & Savannah Spiced all look good & are all are under a 30 minute walk (down Atlantic to Utica Ave) from where shrinkrap seems to be. And, unless Dave Cook (Mr. “Eatingintranslation”) has already been to any of them (I havent checked the blog yet), I feel some spring adventure coming on.
That being said, shrinkrap’s location may not yield much else that’s nearby, but her Atlantic Ave location puts her a bus ride down Atlantic to many food rich areas. All the way down Atlantic Ave (toward the water, around Court St.) is Al Badawi, shopping at Sahadi’s, Damascus Bakery & other middle Eastern places, French Louie (French Canadian), Colony, etc. Halfway down Atlantic is Barclay Center (Flatbush Ave), where there are food halls close by, as well as walkable good restaurants in Ft. Greene. Also off Atlantic, even closer to shrinkrap’s location, are both Washington Ave & Vanderbilt Ave restaurants. And, of course, Gage & Tollner is close as well.
Thanks all! Agi’s Kitchen (closed Mondays) will definitely be added to the list, along with Lakou and others. Certainly there are some tempting pictures available near by, but I am trying to make some choices based on a few current dietary and time limitations.
This one is also high on the list. Anyone have experience with this one?
Plant-based Ethiopian in Crown Heights, haven’t been! (Since we both like that Samuelsson black-eyed pea with Berbere spice recipe)
No idea what it’s like, I Googled Ethiopian and Crown Heights.
If you don’t mind sharing, which dietary constraints do you have right now? I’ve been adding more veg and fibre, and avoiding sugar and most deep-fried foods lately.
Good recommendation. I’m still pissed that it replaced one of my favorite informal places (“Dean St.”), where Simon Glenn (of Tchoup Shop fame) prepared lots of great N. Orleans food & the bar was one of the friendliest around. Hard for me to sit there and not feel the loss. No fault of Leland’s owners of course.
Well enough. I didnt have the mussels & it was awhile ago, soon after they opened. I was impressed that it seemed like earnest cooking, not pretentious. That alone sets it apart from quite a few other Brooklyn trendy places. Worth another look - I like mussels.
Hang on for Sofreh, it’s top notch. Prospect heights not crown heights though. My daughter recommended Ras Plants. West Indian food is still a strength in crown heights notwithstanding gentrification and if you’re going toward prospect Park, the botanic garden or the Brooklyn museum, the islands on Washington is an excellent Jamaican restaurant; there is also peppa for jerk and a couple of Trinidadian places which would be great for Rotis or doubles, etc. . Rangoon has really good Burmese food. on Vanderbilt, Nuah Table for a modern take on Thai and Alta Calidad for stylish and a bit pricy Mexican and Amorina for pizza pasta and good salads, a real neighborhood place.
And yes there are terrific non-trendy options all over the city and Eating in Translation is a terrific source for ideas on these.