Best of Brooklyn: Food

By Brooklyn Magazine

eastwind5

From the best new burger to the best reason to keep eating gluten (if you can!), here’s what got us excited this year in the world of Brooklyn food.

Best Reason to Keep Eating Gluten: Faro
Yeah, we get it, we get it. Everyone’s gluten-free these days. And that’s fine! More amazing homemade pastas from this newbie Bushwick restaurant for us. Like, much more.
436 Jefferson Street, Bushwick

Best Basil Grown On a Rooftop in Brooklyn: Gotham Greens
gothamgreens.com

Best New-Old-School Dessert: Hong Kong Hot Cakes at East Wind Snack Shop
A callback to a prized dessert served at the Chinese tea shops that used to fill Chinatown (but are now few and far between), these sweet, lemony mini-pancakes are light as air and compulsively edible—easily our favorite treat in the borough.
471 16th Street, Windsor Terrace

This is the Dutch Crunch bun Bar Bolinas serves its burger on. Need we say more?
photo via Bar Bolinas Instagram

Best New Burger: Bar Bolinas
455 Myrtle Avenue, Clinton Hill

photo via Baba’s Pierogies

Best Single Concept Spot: Baba’s Pierogies
295 3rd Avenue, Gowanus

Best Bastardization of the Term “Sommelier”: Heatonist
Leave it to this sriracha-loving borough to have a spot solely devoted to all things hot sauce; there’s even a staff “sommelier” to guide you toward the best way to burn your tongue.
121 Wythe Avenue, Williamsburg

Red Hook Lobster Pound bathroom via, where else? Instagram

Best Restaurant Design Trend: Instagrammable Bathrooms
Check out the one at the Red Hook Lobster Pound and see what we mean.
284 Van Brunt Street, Red Hook

Best One-Stop Shop for Bringing Home Dinner: Brancaccio’s Food Shop
This cozy little shop has everything you’d want, from some of the best breakfast sandwiches around (try the broccoli rabe and roasted tomato on a croissant!) to tons of great dinner options, making it ideal in one of those oh-so-common meal-planning emergencies we’ve all experienced. Just be aware: The rotisserie chicken should be reserved in the morning. It’s that popular.
3011 Fort Hamilton Parkway, Windsor Terrace

Best New Ice Cream: MilkMade
204 Sackett Street, Carroll Gardens

Best General Environs for Street Meat and Sidewalk Tacos: Maria Hernandez Park
Knickerbocker Avenue, Bushwick

A sandwich from Hi Hello
photo via Instagram

Best Restaurateur Who Should Maybe Also Run for Borough President: Phillip Gilmour, of Momo, Moku Moku, and Hi Hello
Phil knows everyone; everyone knows Phil. His passion for serving great food is endearingly infectious, and his enthusiasm for culinary fun and newness is unrivaled. Also, his ubiquity and sincerity would make him a great Borough President. Then Gracie Mansion, why not?

Best Cozy Coffee Shop: Two-way Tie between Primrose Cafe and Urban Vintage
What’s better than a neighborhood coffee shop? A particularly cozy neighborhood coffee shop. And lucky for everyone who lives in Clinton Hill, there are two fine specimens for all your coffee-drinking, cozy-having needs. Each of these places boast excellent drinks and fine snacks, as well as warm, welcoming staff. What more could you need? Nothing.
Primrose Cafe: 147 Greene Avenue, Clinton Hill
Urban Vintage: 294 Grand Avenue, Clinton Hill