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Free Williamsburg

The Williamsburg Brooklyn-based culture guide to New York and beyond.

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Annicka

May 10, 2018 By Free Williamsburg

Annicka

Annicka is the city’s first restaurant with a farm brewery license, which means since it’s owned by the people behind Greenpoint Beer & Ale, it doesn’t need a seperate license to sell beer. This Greenpoint farm-to-table spot focusues on hyper-local fare, sourcing (when available) from North Brooklyn Farms. The menu will please vegetarians with lots of fresh options including Trumpet Mushrooms (with turmeric coconut milk broth, shaved spring vegetables & walnut chili oil) and Spring Lettuces (with cashew ranch, pickled beets & “all the crispy things.” Carnivores can choose from a Pork Chop, Market Fish, or a Steak with charred carrot, dandelion & black olive, to name a few dishes. The setting is quintessential new Brooklyn with outdoor seating available. Annicka is one of the best spots in the neighborhood, so be sure to give it a try!

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  • the food is excellent, sometimes excitingly so. In the last gasps of winter, addictively sour, salty lemongrass chicken sausage, laced with Treviso and white kimchi, was fresh proof of the power of hearty lettuces and preserves. Wedding rice, a spin on the Persian dish tachin, a kind of crunchy-edged, savory cake, felt worthy of celebration: topped with cucumber raita, chopped almonds, and sliced chili, it hid sweet, juicy scallops and mussels within its densely packed grains. The nut-milk butter, served with flaky sea salt and sourdough, was a profoundly convincing substitute for the real thing, as was the macadamia ricotta. There was plenty for hard-core carnivores, too: a whole ham steak with eggs at brunch; pork chops; lamb ragu. But as I finished my braised beef over grits, I thought only of the unusual garnish, a thick but tender leaf that tasted vaguely of licorice. 

  • A significant and unusual feature of this airy yet intimate new spot is that all the beers, wines, ciders and spirits served are produced in New York State, often using ingredients grown in the state. That’s because the owner, Ed Raven, who also owns Greenpoint Beer & Ale nearby, is running the restaurant under a farm brewery license from the state. It permits him to serve beer by the glass without a separate license and, as a brewery owner, to open an off-premises restaurant or retail establishment. Mr. Raven has also collaborated with North Brooklyn Farms in Williamsburg for many of the ingredients used by the three chefs, each of whom has a specialty. Christian Perkins, who worked at Marlow & Daughters, is the butcher. Emma Jane Gonzalez, a vegan, and the omnivorous Kenneth Monroe come from North Brooklyn Farms. Their menu features seafood, steaks, sausages and vegetable specialties like charred sweet potatoes with kale and tahini, celery root with apples and crispy nori, and a green chile stew. Seats are at marble tables and a long, circular bar

  • the menu… ranges from fully-vegan dishes to steak (with plenty of vegetarian and fish options in the middle), and should be able to make most people happy. We tried a charred sweet potato with black tahini, and a black rice with squid and clams, and both of them were interesting and very good. The space is also big and well-designed, with a circular bar in the middle, and an open kitchen at the back, which generally contributes to the impression that there’s a lot going on here. Luckily, most of it seems to work.

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Filed Under: American (New), Brunch, Date Night, Fancy Cocktails, Good for Groups, Greenpoint Biz, Outdoor Seating, Rave, Recently Opened, Restaurants, Vegetarians Welcome Tagged With: Annicka

Arepera Guacuco

December 18, 2016 By Free Williamsburg

Arepera Guacuco

The arepas are divine in this family-run restaurant. We like the pork, but vegetarians will be happy too. The Vegetariana is a corn arepa filled with cheeses, plantains, avocado, and tomato.

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  • It’s easy to forget Bushwick’s Latin American influence when surrounded by yoga studios and artisanal coffee shops. But if you want food that speaks to the neighborhood’s history, head to Arepera Guacuco, a lively, family-run Venezuelan restaurant serving food so fresh and flavorful you’ll think you’ve just traveled to South America — all without leaving Brooklyn. You’re here for the arepas, of course, which are small patties made from ground corn and stuffed with fillings like sweet plantains, black beans, and different kinds of meat. The dish dates back to the indigenous people of Venezuela, and even though Arepera Guacuco hasn’t been around for decades, the arepas don’t taste like some Bushwick-ified, ready-for-Instagram take on the traditional — these are real arepas.

  • Like Le Garage, Arepera Guacuco is an intergenerational affair. This time it was the son, Leonard Molina, who convinced his mother, Carmen, to move from Margarita Island, off the coast of Venezuela, to New York and to bring her traditional recipes along. Among them is the arepa pabellón, an old chestnut of Venezuelan cooking; here the pabellón has reached ideal form, the crust crunchy, the beef inside soft, the plantains sweet, and the beans touched by vinegar. The arepas are served fast and fresh at the crowded and slightly chaotic restaurant, but the rest of the menu – including B-sides like pabellón oriental, in which fish stands for beef, and a grilled garlicky king fish — is worth exploration too.

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Filed Under: Bushwick Biz, Cheap Eats, Delivery, Good for Groups, Jefferson, Rave, Restaurants, Vegetarians Welcome, Venezualan

Bunna

January 3, 2017 By Free Williamsburg

Bunna

Located in Bushwick, beween the Jefferson and Morgan stops is one of the city’s best Ethiopian restaurants, Bunna. The menu is vegan but even the strictest carnivores will be won over by their Lentil Sambusas and Shiro (Chickpeas simmered with garlic, ginger and herbs). We recommend the Feast for Two — a shareable sampler of nine dishes that really is a feast. (There will be leftovers.) All entrees are served with their homemade Injera – a spongy, sourdough-risen flatbread. Check their calendar for live music events.

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  • Theere are some New York restaurants that you can mention in any social setting and someone will invariably nod and intone, sagely, “Oh, yes, I go there all the time.” Somewhat remarkably for a vegan Ethiopian spot—in Bushwick, no less—Bunna Café is one of them. What’s more, Bunna is well, and rightly, loved. It’s one of those vegan restaurants where the absence of meat and dairy isn’t obvious while you’re there, but when you venture out the door your step has a new spring in it.

  • Soulful, vibrant, surprising vegan Ethiopian fare… There’s a pronounced emphasis on freshness in Bunna’s stews and salads: raw vegetables are mixed with cooked, bringing lightness to the meal, and sharp notes of garlic, ginger and onion punctuate the softer flavors of curry powder and sunflower-seed milk. Bunna has a focused menu of three appetizers and nine mains. In the Feast for Two ($28), you can sample all nine mains arranged on one heaping platter lined with injera, that spongy teff-flour flatbread that acts as your serving utensil throughout the meal. Bunna’s version is soft, nicely seasoned and tangy but not too tangy, a flavor that can sometimes turn people off of injera.

  • The brick-walled joint honors Ethiopia—widely hailed as the birthplace of coffee—with traditional coffee ceremonies and live Abyssinian music. Java is made in a jebena pot and infused with cloves and cardamom, served with snacks like ambasha bread or cooked barley. Those looking for heartier options can dig into vegetarian plates, served on a bed of injera bread, like misir wot (red lentils in berbere sauce), keysir selata (sautéed and chilled beets) and shiro (garlicky ground chickpeas). Along with pureed juices (mango-avocado-papaya), beverages include Ethiopian beers (Castel, Harar), tej (honey wine) and cocktails, such as a whiskey-spiked Shai spiced tea.

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Filed Under: Bushwick Biz, East Williamsburg, Ethiopian, Good for Groups, Rave, Restaurants, Vegetarians Welcome

Cafe Mogador

April 24, 2017 By Free Williamsburg

Cafe Mogador

An American cafe on the quieter end of Bedford Ave great for a casual, low-key meal. Rabbithole is not a “destination” restaurant and that’s a good thing when you want a reliably good brunch or an unpretentious dinner spot. The Lamb Burger is popular as is the Homemade Potato Gnocci with Wild Mushrooms. They have a small garden for outdoor dining in the warmer months.

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  • “Everything is delicious” at these “popular” Moroccan “standbys” that are especially known for their “unbeatable” brunches; “tight seating” and “long waits” are part of the deal, but “gentle prices” help, and Williamsburg’s “cute indoor garden” is especially “charming.”

  • It’s a casual place serving Moroccan/Israeli food, although they do a more-or-less standard breakfast and brunch. Weekends get slammed, however, so expect a wait for brunch and dinner. And try to sit in the greenhouse-like area out back. It’s a good place to eat a chicken stew with couscous.

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Filed Under: Bedford, Breakfast, Brunch, Middle Eastern, Moroccan, Outdoor Seating, Restaurants, Smile, Vegetarians Welcome, Williamsburg Biz

Carthage Must Be Destroyed

April 9, 2017 By Free Williamsburg

Carthage Must Be Destroyed

Tucked away down an alley, hidden from view in East Williamsburg is a gorgeous, pink Australian cafe that’s destined to become the neighborhood’s next buzz restaurant. As lovely as a Thiebaud painting, the curiously named Carthage Must Be Destroyed, is situated in an old industrial warehouse which has been transformed into an enchanting homage to the color pink. The espresso machine is pink. The dishes, saucers and and cups are pink. Even the pipes and exhaust system have been painted pink.

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Filed Under: American (Traditional), Australian, Breakfast, Brunch, Bushwick Biz, East Williamsburg, Good for Groups, Outdoor Seating, Rave, Restaurants, Vegetarians Welcome Tagged With: Carthage Must Be Destroyed, pink cafe

Lucy’s Vietnamese Kitchen

March 8, 2017 By Free Williamsburg

Lucy’s Vietnamese Kitchen

They only serve Pho and Banh Mi, but simplicity is a beautiful thing at Lucy’s. Their pho comes in a mushroom broth, but meat eaters can always add brisket or chicken. We recommend the latter. The place is tiny, with one long table, perfect for communal slurping. Chicken thigh, smoked brisket and tofu Banh Mi are available.

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  • The broth is as crystalline as consommé, with long leaves of bok choy still on the stalk and bobbing thimbles of green onion. It’s lovely in its pristine state, but even better besmirched by brisket. The meat is rubbed with salt and pepper, smoked for 14 hours over mesquite and apple wood, and carved and seared to order. It lands in the bowl with dark fringes, the bark just shy of scorched, and its juices leach into the pho along with a trace of smoke. 

  • Purists may balk at the notion of a vegetable-based pho that shines among the meaty regulars, but the lone offering of noodle soup at chef-owner Johnny Huynh’s Bushwick kitchen is just that. A savory, yet light broth is simmered for three hours with mushrooms, star anise, charred shallots and ginger, and built with unorthodox fixings like shiitake and bok choy. Beef is available as a topping in thick, hand-carved strips of brisket that’s been smoked for 14 hours over mesquite and applewood. Diners tuck into the piping hot bowls as well as sandwiches (pho banh mi, lemongrass chicken) at the shop’s singular red-painted, wooden communal table.

  • Believe it or not, one of the city’s best bowls of pho is… vegetarian. That’s right. Instead of the usual meats and marrow, Chef Johnny Huynh uses mushrooms, star anise, cinnamon, charred shallots, and ginger to tease out a broth that’s both hearty and light, brimming with fresh rice noodles, shiitakes, and bok choy. Hardcore carnivores, fear not. You have the option to add tender slabs of smoked beef brisket, which add yet another layer of flavor to this already complex noodle soup.

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Filed Under: Bushwick Biz, Delivery, Restaurants, Smile, Vegetarians Welcome, Vietnamese

Zenkichi

March 12, 2017 By Free Williamsburg

Zenkichi

An insanely romantic Japanese izakaya with an eight course tasting menu of small plates. Zenkichi is our first choice in the neighborhood for best place to take a date. Diners are all treated to their own cozy, dimly-lit booths, with bamboo shades for extra privacy. Shadowy and filled with flickering candlelight and disorienting mirrors on the walls, you’ll feel like you’ve stepped into a 1940s film noir. The tasting menu ($75 per person) is updated seasonally — though signature dishes like Silky Tofu, Black Cod in a Miso Marinade, and an assortment of Sashima are routinely included. Vegetarian and wheat-free tastings are available as well. The food is not as rave-worthy as the ambiance, but you’ll not leave disappointed, especially if you sample the fantastic Frozen Black Sesame Mousse for dessert.

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  • A curtain encases each mahogany booth: Some are cozy versions with L-shaped benches; others are more group-friendly. Dim lanterns and mirrors play up the mazelike atmospherics across three stories of walkways littered with pebbles and bamboo stalks. After an initial greeting, the waiter disappears. He reappears only when summoned by a discretionary buzzer. This tactic leaves ample time for relishing the deftly executed seasonal small plates presented on speckled ceramic dishes.

  • Though this Japanese standby might have seemed more novel a few years ago, Zenkichi still retains plenty of magic. The atmosphere is relaxed but focused, and the omakase is surprisingly well-priced for this neighborhood. Secluded booths offer a sexy vibe for date night, where couples can ring a bell for service… In addition to the à la carte and dessert menus, this kitchen also offers three variations on omakase: traditional, vegetarian, and wheat-free. But unlike the typical omakase, there’s something here for everyone, and the pre-determined dishes may unveil Saikyo miso cod or a heap of summer vegetables in Tosazu gelée.

  • The small plates and extensive sake selection may recall an izakaya, but the similarities end there. It’s not a lively setting, but a triple-decker labyrinth of a restaurant, where, upon entrance, you’ll be spirited away to a curtained-off booth, left to your dining companions.* (Let’s call it a good third-date restaurant. You’d better know you enjoy each other’s company.)

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Filed Under: Bedford, Date Night, Japanese, Restaurants, Small Plates, Smile, Special Occassions, Sushi, Vegetarians Welcome, Williamsburg Biz



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