Restaurants and Cafes

Manhattan, Restaurants and Cafes

Greenmarket to Gotham Lunch at Gotham Bar & Grill

Gotham Bar & Grill is one of those classic New York restaurants where it feels great just to walk into, with its soaring ceilings and polished decor. I had gone there once for dinner last spring and left stuffed and very satisfied (and dreaming of their signature chocolate cake for a week!) So it was great to head back there yesterday for the launch of“Greenmarket to Gotham 2012″, a seasonal lunch that runs for twelve weeks and supports both Greenmarket farms and the Grow to Learn NYC initiative.

Cobble Hill, Columbia Waterfront District, Red Hook, Restaurants and Cafes

Pok Pok NY, Opening Night

Ever since reading about Pok Pok in Portland several years ago, I had wanted to try their take on Thai street food. The Brooklyn location opened last night and I went with two other food-obsessed friends. Pok Pok NY is on Columbia St., in that vague area that some might call Red Hook and others call Cobble Hill. As we expected, people in the surrounding area showed up in full force, and the wait was over an hour, but wow, was the trip worth it!

Here are a few snapshots from opening night:

Park Slope, Restaurants and Cafes

Burger at Thistle Hill Tavern

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My friends Barb and Max, who moved to New York a few years ago from Los Angeles, often lament that back in L.A. it was hard to find places to dine outside. For a city with almost perfect weather year round, it has surprisingly few restaurants or bars with outdoor seating. So they were happy to find, upon moving here, that New Yorkers are pretty hardcore when it comes to dining al fresco, even in the midst of garbage cans, bus fumes, sirens, and the occasional crazy person.

Fortunately, Park Slope offers much less of a sensory overload than almost anywhere in Manhattan. I walk by Thistle Hill Tavern at least a few times a week and noticed that since Saturday the outdoor tables have been filled, even when it was in the low 50s.

So yesterday, on the last day of winter, which felt like the first day of summer, we took the opportunity to have dinner outside. (In March!) And what better food to have while celebrating the start of outdoor eating season than a nice juicy grassfed burger?  The big fat salt and pepper fries don't hurt either, or the happy hour price of $15 for a beer and a burger.

P.S. Thistle Hill also has a beautiful newly renovated bar that seats about 3 times more people than before. After closing down for maybe 3 days to renovate. Everything in New York should get built this quickly.

Thistle Hill Tavern
441 7th Ave. (at 15th St.)
Brooklyn, NY
Neighborhood: Park Slope
(347) 599-1262
Map