David Stark on Home Entertaining and Design
One of the things that I love about my hoods—Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, and Boerum Hill—is that, here, we can shop the old fashioned way. Residents can easily go to the butcher for meat, the green grocer for produce, the bakery for bread . . . it’s like the neighborhood itself is a supermarket! There are truly exceptional food options abounding.
Here are some of my picks for food and more for a dinner with friends at home.
1) Staubitz Market is an iconic butcher’s shop. It carries exceptional cuts and the staff is amazingly helpful.
Staubitz Market; 222 Court Street, Carroll Gardens
2) Sahadi’s is the famous Middle Eastern specialty store on Atlantic Avenue that opened in 1948, long before there were fancy food shops like Dean & Deluca.This is an incredible place for snack foods—their olives, nuts, dried fruits, and candy sections are unparalleled. They also have an incredible cheese section. If I don’t have time to cook, this is one of my go-to spots because their prepared foods are so good. Everything from the hummus to grape leaves and spinach and other vegetable pies are so amazing that you can totally pull off a fabulous dinner or cocktail party in a one-stop shop and it all tastes home-made, because it is.
Sahadi’s; 187 Atlantic Ave, Boerum Hill
3) In a neighborhood filled with fine Italian grocery establishments, who has the best fresh mozzarella? Caputo’s Fine Foods. They also have fantastic fresh and dried homemade pastas and biscotti.
Caputo’s Fine Foods; 460 Court St, Carroll Gardens
4) Smith & Vine is a friendly neighborhood wine shop that really knows its stuff and has plenty of affordable options as well as those special occasion splurge choices. I buy cases here for parties at my house and always ask their advice on what to get. They’re always right.
Smith & Vine; 268 Smith Street, Cobble Hill
5) GRDN is a chic shop and garden center that has fantastic plants as well as excellent tableware and napkins. I often grab potted flowering plants and herbs for the table instead of cut flowers so that after the dinner party I can keep enjoying the plants as they grow. They also have excellent containers at GRDN.
GRDN; 103 Hoyt Street, Boerum Hill
6) Red Hook has many quirky charms, one of them being Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pies. That’s what they make: Key Lime Pies, and they are an instant hit for dessert.
Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pie; 204 Van Dyke St, Red Hook
7) We are also blessed with a very fine and fun bakery in Red Hood, BAKED. Martha Stewart and I share the same favorite cake, their sweet and salty chocolate, caramel, sea salt number.
BAKED; 359 Van Brunt Street, Red Hook
8) Where do I get my table cloths? Mazzone True Value Hardware! Canvas paint drop cloths are ALSO the perfect dining table cloth.
Mazzone Hardware; 470 Court Street, Carroll Gardens
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