Weekend Getaway to New York (2025)
A painstakingly restored 1879 oyster-and-chop house that feels grand yet personal, now run by Brooklyn restaurateurs Sohui Kim, Ben Schneider, and St. John Frizell. Frequently highlighted by Eater and Time Out for its seafood platters and historic room.
At 9 P.M. one recent Saturday I watched chef Brooks Headley ricochet around the dining room — the GQ profile that clocked him at about thirty-five thousand steps a night felt exactly right — after six years in the original three-hundred-square-foot location and a recent move into the much larger space that had housed Odessa. The original menu was famously tight (just six dishes plus specials and desserts), all vegetarian and often “accidentally vegan,” and despite the new room Headley has kept that focused approach: everything pops. There are cocktails now, expertly made though not what I’d call “craft” (I enjoyed a Cape Cod made with real cranberry juice and supremely carbonated seltzer from a high-end Japanese dispenser while I waited at the bar), and a cheeky menu note flags the $17 mixed drinks with a defensive “YIKES!” — yet compared with peers the food prices feel shockingly low for the obvious quality of the produce. The eponymous burger (quinoa, chickpeas, and walnuts) is $13; the most expensive dish, the spectacular Yuba-Verde ($19), layers griddled, slightly stretchy yuba with chickpeas, broccoli rabe, and mayo on a crusty Italian hero (menu marginalia even hedges that premium yuba costs as much per gram as American Wagyu). Holdovers like the Sloppy Dave (tofu chili, frizzled onions), the burnt-broccoli salad (eggplant purée, candied cashews), and the beets with cream cheese and pretzels remain wonderful, and new additions are few but powerful — a stuffed cabbage that nods to Odessa’s heritage is filled with sticky rice and oyster and button mushrooms in a sweet-and-sour tomato sauce with crunchy focaccia crumbs, while a plate of steamed vegetables one night was as deceptively simple as a Rothko: perfectly al dente asparagus, overwintered carrot, and broccolini with luscious lemon-tahini and a tart, fruity hot sauce. The market salad is a tower of Little Gem, arugula, and frisée with carrot, fennel, herbs, bread crumbs, and pickled bird’s-beak chilies; a special apricot panzanella — griddled apricot halves, focaccia croutons, torn mozzarella, cucumber, and Thai basil — felt almost dessert-adjacent. Desserts, overseen by pastry chefs Darcy Spence and Katie Toles, often walk the sweet-savory line: earthy coriander-banana gelato, a salty malted date shake, and the Pearl Pie (passion-fruit custard on a Ritz-cracker base, glossed with passion-fruit glaze, seeds, and iridescent tapioca pearls; on another visit dusted with li hing mui) were bright, a little defiant, and just right (desserts/dishes generally $9–$19).
Unapologetic Foods’ LES powerhouse serves bold, regionally focused Indian dishes that reframe expectations. Applauded by The New York Times and regularly cited by Condé Nast Traveler and Eater for its verve and ambition.
In Milk & Honey’s former LES space, bartenders craft bespoke cocktails—no menu, just conversation. Consistently cited by Time Out, Food & Wine, and global bar rankings for shaping NYC cocktail culture while staying intimate and neighborly.
Williamsburg’s beloved slice shop blends Italian technique with New York swagger—think burrata-topped slices and seasonal specials. Recognized by Food & Wine and Time Out in 2025 awards for best-in-class pizza.
Since 1935, this Greenwich Village basement room has hosted jazz’s giants and rising stars. Revered by New York Magazine and national arts writers; the calendar still swings hard, making an essential late-night stop.
Inside a former barbershop in Bed-Stuy, I found a small Nigerian tasting room centered on a single solid-oak communal table that monopolizes the floor; the walls are lined with outlets and ornamented with photographs of owner-chef Ayo Balogun’s relatives in Nigeria, the lighting is warm and dim, and an antique record player spins Fela Kuti and other seventies Afrobeat. In an open kitchen Balogun—bopping to protest songs—cooks every four-course, prix-fixe meal himself for about a dozen patrons per seating, creating the convivial, buka-like atmosphere he’s trying to conjure; for now the place is open only fourteen hours a week, by reservation in one of seven two-hour blocks. With minimal equipment (two induction burners, a blender, a food processor, a KitchenAid mixer, and a convection oven) he introduces each course and its provenance: a scorching fish pepper soup (often swordfish, sometimes catfish, red snapper, or tilapia) flavored with thyme, cilantro, and ata rodo and meant to be enjoyed with lager or stout; pounded yam and salty mackerel; wara made from discreetly sourced unpasteurized cow’s milk and dressed in obe ata, paired with gbegiri made with fermented locust beans; and a recurring suya reworked with octopus or trumpet mushrooms tossed in a yaji blend his mother brought from Nigeria, balanced by chilled cucumber slices. The menu morphs with what’s available at African markets (he even crosses state lines for certain ingredients), he offers complimentary South African wine and a B.Y.O.B. policy for everything else, and he has a ten-year lease with plans to expand the tasting menu to other Nigerian states and to host other Nigerian chefs as guests.
A Bushwick taproom for NYC’s pioneering meadery, pouring dry, foraged, small-batch meads and inventive cocktails. Covered by Bushwick Daily and Time Out; a relaxed, creative hang in an industrial pocket of the city.
A community-built indie since 2009, known for savvy curation and author events. Brooklyn Eagle regularly lists its readings, and Publishers Weekly has chronicled its neighborhood roots—perfect for a quiet browse between meals.
Hallie Meyer’s Italian-leaning ice cream shop spins flavors daily and tops them with imported panna. Named New York’s best ice cream by Time Out in 2025, and frequently praised by food editors for inventive sundaes.
