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. 

Don’t be fooled by the daytime highs; fall is here. And if they haven’t already, the sweater/hoodie/jacket combos will be coming in handy on those commutes to and from the office in the days ahead. Which is to say, you might soon find yourself in need of some supplemental sources of heat and comfort as the nights grow crisper, cooler, and more centered on the cozier proclivities of transitional NYC weather. And, for that, we have just the thing(s). Namely, a trio of regionally varied curry dishes from some of our favorite (relatively) recent openings.

The latest to enter rotation is the kathirikai adaippu, a gorgeous meatless, soul-soothing miracle from Mythily, the South Indian stunner from Top Chef star Rasika Venkatesa that just opened on Havemeyer in Williamsburg. However, those looking for a proper blast of Scovillian heat need not look beyond the crispy catfish and red curry just down the street at Ugly Baby, where local sultan of spice, Sirichai Sreparplarn, has revived his legacy under a new roof. And finally, for a brighter, fuller hit only the Caribbean can provide, head to TriniJam in Canarsie for the curry goat, which can (and should) be eaten with an insanely large slab of roti, prepared buss-up-style by a union carpenter and his wife who have been keeping the block fed (and returning regularly) for six-plus years now.

See where to eat this week in Brooklyn below, and check back for more recommendations every Monday.

Photo by Scott Lynch

The Kathirikkai Adaippu Curry from Mythily 

Growing up in Chennai, a city in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, it never occurred to Rasika Venkatesa that she could turn her love of cooking into any sort of career.

“I didn’t really think much of my teenage escapades in the kitchen at the time. I didn’t know that it was something I was genuinely able to do as a job,” she told Brooklyn Magazine. “I didn’t know anyone in Chennai doing that. Everyone was focused on things like computer engineering and medicine.” Fortunately for all of us who enjoy eating delicious food, Venkatesa has a grandmother named Mythily, who practically lived in the family kitchen back then and taught the young chef everything she knows. “For seven years, we ate her cooking every day for every meal,” Venkatesa said. “She’s truly been the biggest inspiration for me.”

Equally important, her parents also encouraged her to pursue her passion. So Venkatesa became a pro chef, got jobs in some of the world’s finest kitchens (French Laundry, Mourad), became a TV star on Season 21 of Top Chef (which she claimed felt like “some kind of weird simulation”), did a bunch of popups and a residency at Fulgurances in Greenpoint, and then—all while still in her 20s, by the way—opened her own restaurant, the charming and exciting Mythily in Williamsburg, easily one of my favorite new spots of the year.

Photo by Scott Lynch

The Crispy Catfish and Red Curry from Ugly Baby 

Ugly Baby opened in Carroll Gardens in 2017, and, thanks to its unapologetically spicy Thai food, very quickly became one of the toughest tables in town. Then, at the end of 2024, that run came to an end, as all great things do, because, basically, chef Sirichai Sreparplarn needed a break (relatable). But it has since given us two excellent sequels.

The first one came just a few weeks after the closure, when, with Sreparplarn’s blessing, a team of former Ugly Baby staffers opened Hungry Thirsty in that same extremely orange space on Smith Street. The second sequel arrived just last week, when Sreparplarn and longtime business partner Som Kharazmi unveiled an all-new restaurant in Williamsburg called, simply and obviously, Ugly Baby.

The name might be the same, as is Sreparplarn’s commitment to sending out fiery, authentic Northern Thai cooking from his kitchen, but pretty much everything else here at the end of Grand Street, in the former location of Emmy Squared, is different than what you might remember from its Carroll Gardens days. On opening night, per a note attached to our menu citing “terribly unexpected short staffing,” the offerings were an abbreviated version of Sreparplarn’s vision. Still though, it seems clear that this “new wild take” on the original Ugly Baby is going to be a hit, as the place was filled with fans gleefully burning their faces off to eat chef’s food again.

Photo by Scott Lynch

The Curry Goat at TriniJam

Calvin and Latoya Sennon have lived in Canarsie for almost 30 years. They met in high school here, they fell in love here, they raised their kids here. Their roots are planted deep in this community, and it means a lot to them.

Also important to the Sennons? Their heritage. He’s Trinidadian, she’s Jamaican, and though neither of them had any experience running a restaurant, every time they walked past the old Anna Napoli building on the corner of Flatlands and 95th—which was a lot of times, since their home is just a few blocks way—they fantasized about turning the space into some sort of celebration of their beloved Island cuisines.

Then about six years ago, after a series of happy coincidences and a big leap of faith, the Sennons bought the building. And on August 8, 2020, TriniJam BK was born. “I am not a professional chef,” Calvin Sennon told Brooklyn Magazine. “I’m a union carpenter. Local 608. But I love cooking, and food has always been our passion, and at TriniJam, we serve Caribbean comfort food. We really try not to chef it up too much. We’ll give you a nice plate, a nice presentation, but we really want you to taste the dishes we grew up with.”