We’ve been in NYC for about a week and a half now (of our three week trip), and I would love to share some of our adventures and my travel picks with you.
First up is Fort Greene, the neighbourhood in Brooklyn where we’re staying. We LOVE it here. Residential tree-lined streets with gorgeous brownstones and old estate homes, great restaurants, Fort Greene Park and its green space, excellent access to subway lines, the only Target in Brooklyn, etc, etc. And everything is extremely family-friendly. You can’t throw a stone around here without hitting a baby stroller. When people say that Leslieville is the “Brooklyn of Toronto”, this is what they must be referring to. This area certainly feels like home, but better.
Our favourite spots in Fort Greene (so far):
The Smoke Joint and Not Ray’s Pizza for delivery – they’re both really fast, cheap, and delicious. The Greene Grape has amazing gourmet groceries and coffee. Habana Outpost offers crazy-good Cuban food in a family-friendly atmosphere. They have an outdoor courtyard with a cool fountain, where kids run around and people chill in hammocks. The beer list at the Brooklyn Public House is impressive, and they didn’t blink when we brought our baby to happy hour.
Butterfly Nail Plaza is a no-frills but clean NY-style nail bar, where I got a great inexpensive manicure. Fort Greene Park is a good spot for a picnic and people watching. There’s a farmers’ market there on Saturdays with fresh produce, dairy, breads, fish, and more. The independent Greenlight Bookstore has an excellent selection of books by local writers (including Nicole Krauss and Jonathan Safran Foer), lots of books about Brooklyn and NYC, and great cards.
I have a few more great spots to share with you, but I’ll save them for their own posts later in the week.
[pic of Dekalb St in Fort Greene taken by me]