Celebrate Honey Week with These 5 Sweet and Sticky Brooklyn Treats
Held from September 8-14th this year, NYC Honey Week (the brainchild of urban agriculture trailblazers, Brooklyn Grange), celebrates the profound ecological significance of the honeybee, through apiary tours, beekeeping classes, honey-themed dinners and more. And it’s also an excellent time to take stock of the impact the magnificent elixir has on restaurant menus year-round, when showcased in a number of especially delicious, finger-licking dishes.
The Hellboy at Paulie Gee’s: Long before Clinton Hill newbie, Emily, started paving their pies with the sweet stuff, forward-thinking Greenpoint pizzaiolo, Paulie Gee, began a game-changing collaboration with staffer Mike Kurtz. And thus, the best-selling Hellboy was born — a Berkshire soppressata-topped pie shellacked with Mike’s own chili-spiked hot honey — eventually followed by the Hellified Porkpie White (with Italian fennel sausage), the Cherry Jones (made with orange blossom honey and dried bing cherries), and the Mike’s Hot Honey Sundae; Van Leeuwen vanilla ice cream smothered with spicy, honey-doused pecans.
60 Greenpoint Avenue, Greenpoint
The Biscuits at The Commodore: Amaretto-slicked piña coladas and ethereal, bite-sized, honey butter-slathered biscuits? That’s what we call lunch at our favorite Williamsburg wonder-dive, The Commodore. Although if you’d prefer to up the protein quotient, you could do a heck of a lot worse than a plate of their fantastic, deep-fried chicken thighs (which, incidentally, make excellent vehicles for mopping up remnants of that insanely delish honey butter).
366 Metropolitan Avenue, Williamsburg
The Salty Honey Pie at Four and Twenty Blackbirds: Peach, Lemon Chess and Stone Fruit Crumble may be more obviously seasonal options, but for us, summer marks the triumphant return of the Salty Honey Pie, an unapologetically dense and giddily sweet wheel of honey, sugar, vanilla, eggs and cream, finished with a generous dusting of Maldon’s sea salt.
439 3rd Avenue, Gowanus
The Hunny at Whiskey Soda Lounge: What really sets the Pok Pok cocktail program apart is its line of appealingly tart, tonic-esque drinking vinegars. And the honey-infused version is delightfully utilized in the froth-headed, grapefruit wedge-crowned, aptly-named Hunny, along with fiery tequila, red grapefruit juice and lime.
115 Columbia Street, Columbia Street Waterfront District
The Grilled Arepas at Colonia Verde: This Latin American spot, from the owners of SoHo favorite, Comodo, specializes in dishes cooked over an open flame. So before you move on to larger feeds, such as whole, pistachio-stuffed trout, or smoky, salt-crusted beef tenderloin, kick off your meal with the grilled, Colombian-styled arepas; small hominy flatbreads topped with honey-glazed shrimp and leek-ricotta cream.
219 Dekalb Avenue, Fort Greene