brooklyn favorites
new york is the most overwhelming place on earth because of the sheer number of options everywhere, anytime. after almost a year and a half here, i've only hit up a fraction of my yelp bookmarks. it's tough to keep up when there's a new wine store/matcha bar/vegan donut shop/acro yoga studio opening every other week, but i have managed to find some favorites around my neighborhood. some of these are insta-famous hotspots, others are more hidden gems - and most all are around the bedstuy/clinton hill/park slope/williamsburg areas but i'm sure i'll be adding approximately a trillion more places to this list soon enough.
bagels: bagel pub
crown heights
- a zillion types of cream cheese (which is very important to me)
- i always order an everything bagel with zaatar cream cheese
pizza: speedy romeos
clinton hill
- must order:
the dick dale (béchamel, speck, pineapple, provel, grilled scallions)
the white album (béchamel, roasted garlic, ricotta, mozzarella, provel, pecorino, parm)
smores cake
tacos: swell dive
bedstuy
- small, chill bar with authentic filipino tacos
- the best queso in brooklyn and probably in the world
- really cool outdoor patio, surfing videos projected on the wall, overall excellent vibes
- breakfast tacos
bar: royal palms shuffleboard club
gowanus
- there's always a super long wait for a shuffleboard court on the weekends, but there's a ton of board games and other various fun stuff around so you can play and drink while you wait
- no need to be a pro, they'll give you a quick shuffleboard lesson
movies: nitehawk cinema
williamsburg
- you can order food/booze before or during movies (nitehawk actually changed the law in NY about drinking in movie theaters)
- classic films + film series events + midnight showings
- must order: nitehawk popcorn (truffle butter and citric salt), tater tots with queso, hibiscus lime soda
smoothies: juiceland
park slope
- bam bam smoothie
- tikal smoothie (has blue majik in it, very majikal)
ice cream: ample hills
prospect heights
- every flavor is insane and amazing ie: ooey gooey butter cake, salted crack caramel, the munchies, honeycomb - they don't mess around
- pretzel cones
date night: olea
fort greene
- reeeealllllly good tapas & mediterranean entrees
- the best pita bread and dips
- love their plants + tile + lanterns inside, plus outdoor seating too
nature: brooklyn botanic garden
flatbush/prospect heights
- cherry blossoms are insanely beautiful, they have a tracker online so you can make sure to visit when the trees are in full boom
- rose garden + desert conservatory + japanese garden and pond
hangover brunch: jimmy's diner
williamsburg
- really good hot toddies
- girl scout cookie milkshakes
- must order: crispy corn flake french toast, all the breakfast bowls, grits, cornbread
gifts: annie's blue ribbon general store
park slope
- the best place to find a gift for absolutely anyone, even your boyfriend's aunt's neighbor
- home decor, kitchen stuff, stationary stuff, kids stuff, chocolate stuff
bakery: mia's
boerum hill
- really cute patio out back
- horribly convienient location directly on my walk back from the gym