Where to Eat in Brooklyn This Week

By Brooklyn Magazine

Keeping up with the culinary action in Brooklyn is almost futile. Even with our help, there aren’t nearly enough meals or minutes in the day to hit them all, which is why we’ve been trying something new these last few weeks, sending some suggested destinations directly to your inbox, so you always know where to eat, no matter which corner of Kings County you might be exploring. 

The tourists are out, the flags are flying, and, although it’s just begun, the World Cup is moving steadily toward its decisive final. There are plenty of options for catching games in the borough, at least one of which, Iguazu, will show matches from teams representing rival countries: Brazil and Argentina.

We trekked to Iguazu last week and sampled some of the best steaks in the city. The picanha and Kate (named for a beloved dog who passed away recently) offerings were both incredible, which, as we compiled this week’s Where to Eat column, led us to more beef options. Notably: the skirt steak at Good Days and the burger at Tavern Next Door.

Here’s why, World Cup or not, these are the spots to check out this week.

Photo by Scott Lynch

The Brazilian-Argentinian Mash-Up With Some of the Best Steaks in Brooklyn

There’s almost nothing Brazilians and Argentinians won’t compete over. Soccer, most famously, but also food, like whether empanadas should be baked (Argentina) or fried (Brazil), or the best vehicle for eating a bunch of cheese (fugazzeta vs. pao de queijo), or how to sauce and, even more contentiously, how to slice a steak.

Rafaela Negrao and chef Leo Motta are from Brazil (she’s from the countryside outside of São Paulo, while he’s from Rio), so when they opened Saravá Bistro together 11 years ago, on 69th Street in Bay Ridge, the obvious move was to go full Brazilian, with both the menu and the vibe.

For their second restaurant, though, located just about a mile away, the couple knew they couldn’t simply repeat themselves. And so they brought dishes from their (good-naturedly) arch rivals from Argentina into the mix, and we get Iguazu, a bright and spacious corner spot that ingeniously, deliciously, gives equal weight to both cuisines.

Photo by Scott Lynch

A Dark, Moody Cocktail Bar With the Best Burger in Town

Let’s get this out of the way quick and early: Billy Durney’s cocktail bar Tavern Next Door serves the exact same burger—huge, juicy, dry-aged, beefy, blanketed with melted American, bottomed with a thick slice of onion—as his famously line-plagued Red Hook Tavern, which is located, as the name of the new spot suggests, right next door.

In fact, the two places share the same kitchen, so precisely the same people will cook your burger (a non-negotiable medium-rare, obviously), no matter which side of the wall you’re sitting on. And my buddy Mike and I sidled into our comfy banquette at Tavern Next Door, we were surrounded by multiple empty seats even as the usual line ran down the block at the OG Tavern.

Photo by Scott Lynch

Good Days Is an Irresistible Gem in South Williamsburg

I fell hard for Good Days with my very first bite.

That’s not entirely true. I actually already liked Good Days before I even walked in, as soon as I clocked that it was in the old Fatty ‘Cue/Loosie Rouge space, on a South 6th Street block that still feels a little like the Williamsburg of yore. “Everybody who lived around here before Covid has a Loosie Rouge story,” Good Days’ co-owner Amanda Norton tells BKMAG, and she’s not wrong.

And I started crushing hard on the place during a quick walk-through, making my way from the low-ceilinged front room, with its beach-y tiled bar, up a couple of steps into the soaring back dining area starring a very rad, very red, faceless portrait, until finally emerging onto a pretty, soon-to-be-winterized back patio, complete with wood-burning stove and fairy lights. Good Days is cozy. It’s cute. It’s filled with homey touches. It’s clearly been created with a whole lot of love.