Happy Monday and hello new subscribers! Welcomeeee to my newsletter where I map my favorite restaurants through very specific lists highlighting where to go, in what neighborhoods, for which occasions.
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On a Thursday afternoon in Greenpoint, the tables outside Pencil Factory are already full, Three’s Brewing has a wait for their sidewalk picnic tables, and Transmitter Park is full of dogs. Walking down Franklin, it is hard to imagine that anyone in the entire northern region of Brooklyn has a job. The street is lively—people are enjoying spritzes, carrying groceries home, or lounging in the sun, and that’s during the work week. Weekends bring long lines and longer waits for anything from an $8 matcha to a $4 taco.
Since about this time last year, Greenpoint has exploded with new businesses and buzzy restaurants and feels notably busy at all times, especially for a neighborhood with one train line. Proximity to the L and 7 makes this otherwise difficult-to-get-to neighborhood a worthwhile adventure for Manhattan-dwellers, while the quasi-functioning G train makes it a complete pain to get to for the rest of Brooklyn. Greenpoint has turned itself into a destination, but it doesn’t quite feel touristy. Instead, the buzz permeating the neighborhood’s streets seems to be produced by its own residents, eager to enjoy the ever-growing bounty of their surrounding blocks.
My sister, Hallie, and her boyfriend, Jonathan, have lived in Greenpoint for several years now and are always referring to it as “summer camp.” They’re so right—Greenpoint has become a haven of 25-45 year olds, young creatives and new parents who have set up shop in a neighborhood they are obsessed with never leaving. I love that about Greenpoint—no one who has found their way there ever wants to leave; they won’t admit that it’s because it is impossible to get to other neighborhoods, but I appreciate the devotion anyway.
Some of Greenpoint’s newer businesses have missed the mark, but a handful are key to upholding this summer-camp-feel. We all just want to lounge in the sun and drink with our friends—here is where you can do that, whether you are taking an extended lunch break or are…self-employed.
Achilles Heel
A perfect bar with a rotating menu of adventurous small plates supplement a really good wine list and amazing cocktails. Catching a table outside while the sun sets and enjoying some mezcal is a recipe for a perfect evening. Banchan by Sunny used to be cooking here and made the most perfect mochi cake… a testament to the quality of food regardless of who is executing the menu! Currently drooling over their jimmy nardellos with korean melon and whipped ricotta… that sounds insane.
Cecily
A months-old wine bar that you just might miss if you don’t know where to look. They’re doing really fun things with vegetables in a cozy bar with a great staff. Go for the wine, stay for the butter beans.
Pencil Factory
The busiest corner in Greenpoint is home to Pencil Factory’s many sidewalk tables full of 30-somethings smoking cigarettes and drinking beer at literally all hours of the day. When 10pm rolls around on a Friday night, it fills with a slightly younger crowd looking to dance to Abba. This is where you’ll see Matthew Grey Gubler hanging out with his friends next to a couple with their three month old baby. And it’s perfect.
See also: Bar Americano, El Pingüino
Taqueria Ramirez
The taco that hits every single time. The accolades here are that this is one place I will eat meat, gladly. My suggestion is to plan to be hungry at an odd hour, like 4pm, and stop in for two tacos to tide you over until dinner. A portion of perfect meat is served to you on a plastic plate over a fresh corn tortilla—its up to you to fill it with the green and very hot red salsa, onions, cilantro, and lime, and to then find a place to sit. No take out—get your plate, eat your tacos, and get moving.
Taku Sando
All I want in this life is unlimited, fresh shokupan (Japanese milk bread). Taku Sando is where you can find baking carts full of perfectly rectangular loaves, soon to be sold whole or sliced for a fresh katsu sandwich. It is so fluffy and a little bit sweet, perfect for a rich, crunchy sandwich. Plan to wait, and plan to share! This is what you want to pick up and take a block down to Transmitter to eat on a bench and stare at Manhattan.
Caffè Panna
I haven’t even been to the new Greenpoint location yet but it makes so much sense that it’s there. A Brooklyn outpost for the best ice cream in the city with, hopefully, a less atrocious wait. Don’t let anyone tell you that ice cream isn’t worth waiting in line for because it definitely is. The soft serve is insane—like yeah, I do want sungold tomatoes and olive oil on vanilla ice cream. How did they know? $10 ice cream sundaes for all!!!
See also: Radio Bakery, Bakeri, Paulie Gee’s
Three’s Brewing
Three’s is a staple of Greenpoint’s summer camp persona. Large benches and tables line the street and could comfortably fit a group of six, with more seats inside, though they don’t get the same breeze or people watching. A variety of cold craft beers are available for a little refreshment, and they host rotating long-term food pop-ups for easy dinners while you drink. For some time, Three’s hosted Greenpoint Fish and had the best fish sandwich and lobster rolls, which was a true summer treat. Now, it is home to the increasingly popular Gotham Burger which Hallie, newly not vegetarian, gave her stamp of approval. Everyone loves a smash burger, and I love anywhere that serves fried pickles and key lime pie.
Three Decker Diner
Another Greenpoint institution in its very own renaissance, Three Decker has been around for several decades but was purchased last year by the Variety Coffee guys. This makes sense as a move for them, serving every table notably good diner coffee and producing above average versions of everyones favorite foods, without needing an expensive executive chef or fancy ingredients. It’s a really good diner and they have cocktails, which means drinking at breakfast or breakfast for dinner… both of which sound good. They make a mean plate of sunny side up eggs but I would put my money on their grilled cheese being perfect.
ACRE
A cafe and restaurant with really good energy—mostly because the entire front section is a retail space with all of the chopsticks and Japanese cutlery you could ever dream of. Bento Boxes are a perfect meal and I am addicted to their lemon tea. For bar seating in front of an open window, sidewalk picnics, or a true seated lunch.
See also: Wenwen, Chez Ma Tante, Di An Di
I have done a really good job exploring Greenpoint but I can not keep up with the openings and get to the original hits… here’s where to next!
Stop that martini looks wild!!!
This was an explosion on my computer screen. So many options. Next, I need to know where to sleep, as I make my way from one place to another in my stretchy buffet pants.