5 Brooklyn Foods to Eat Before Summer Ends

We’re getting down to the last few weeks of summer, so it’s about time you started your Summer 2014 Brooklyn Food (and Drink) Bucket List. But where to begin? I have a few suggestions. Here are my top five picks.

1. Hay Rosie Ice Cream

Hay Rosie recently opened in Carroll Gardens, offering up unique ice cream flavors from Sriracha Popcorn, to Lemon Bar, and Sage Chocolate Chip. The tiny tasting room is worth a visit, and you can even stock up your freezer with their ice cream “cubes” instead of pints. I suggest the Malted Chocolate with Honeyed Peanut Butter Swirl if you’re into that kind of thing.

The infamous Sriracha Popcorn ice cream

2. The Pines’ Yard Menu

One f my favorite Gowanus hot spots, The Pines, created a “Yard Menu” for summer, served in their charming backyard. Head over on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays for items like blistered shishito peppers, lobster rolls with bloody mary mayo, and free DIY s’mores.

3. Four & Twenty Blackbirds’ Blueberry Pie

Fresh blueberries are one of the best things to come out of summer. Four & Twenty Blackbirds has managed to elevate the blueberry pie while keeping it simple– with a crisp, buttery crust and sweet blueberry filling that oozes onto the plate with each forkful.

4. Lobster Joint’s Lobster Bloody Mary

True, you can enjoy a bloody mary anytime of year, but I prefer The Lobster Joint in Greenpoint in the summer, when I can sit in the back picnic tables with a lobster roll and lobster roll bloody mary. The spicy, horseradish-filled cocktail is topped with a giant chunk of lobster claw. Ah-mazing.

5. Alma’s Fish Tacos

Alma makes this list not only for the fish tacos (read: crispy battered fish with crunchy cabbage and radishes in a soft corn tortilla), but also for the gorgeous rooftop views of the city and the sweet frozen margaritas. It’s the ultimate summer dinner destination.

 

 

Sunday at Sea with The Greenpoint Fish & Lobster Co.

Last Sunday, I spent the day aboard The Jewel, dining on lobster rolls, whoopie pies, ceviche, and oysters, whilst boating along the harbor. It was all thanks to the Greenpoint Fish & Lobster Co., a sustainable seafood market, raw bar, and cafe opening this October. The star of the show was obviously the lobster roll– a hot buttered bun overflowing with fresh lobster meat. The boat also had an open bar (with plenty of Sixpoint) and dessert from Cookie Fairy Sweets, one of my favorite BK bakers.

The best part of the event: they never ran out of food. Usually big events with 300+ people don’t prepare enough food for the crowd, but the Greenpoint Fish & Lobster Co. did it right. The sea views weren’t bad either. Check out my photos from the event below.

 

Spend Your Sunday at Sea

If there are two things that make summer awesome, they are:

1. Fresh fish

2. Boat rides

That’s why I’m excited about the “Sunday at Sea” event from Greenpoint Fish & Lobster Co. on August 18th from 2-5pm. For $60, you can spend the day aboard “The Jewel” taking off from the India Street Pier in Greenpoint, plus indulge in a Jumbo Lobster Roll, Ahi & Watermelon Ceviche, East & West Coast Oysters and Whoopie Pies. To pair with your meal, there will be an open bar filled with beer and wine, along with live music.

All proceeds from this event will go toward Greenpoint Fish & Lobster Co.’s (GFLC) official opening this Fall (projected opening date: October 2013, and I can’t wait). The first of its kind facility in Brooklyn’s burgeoning Greenpoint neighborhood, GFLC is a specialty sustainable seafood market, raw bar, and cafe. The facility will include a fresh seafood market, display butchering area, a grocery/sundries area, raw bar, beer and wine, along with a communal seating area. In addition to fresh seafood and packaged prepared foods, Greenpoint Fish & Lobster Co. will also feature daily ready-to-eat hot food specials.

To learn more about Greenpoint Fish & Lobster Co.’s mission and to hear co-owners Adam and Vinny discuss the upcoming event, you can listen to their recent interview with Nathaniel Coburn on Heritage Radio’s Community Sessions. 

Get your tickets to the event here. The boat begins boarding at 1:30pm. See you there.

The Perfect Summer Sandwich

Advice: Don't let the summer end without grabbing a lobster roll from the Red Hook Lobster Pound.

Fish Tales: The Ultimate Seafood Shop

Because I’m from New England, seafood is very important to me. And if I’m cooking up a seafood dish– whether it’s lobster rolls, sushi, shrimp stir fry, or baked haddock– I’m going to make sure I’m using the freshest ingredients possible. That means there’s only one place to shop, Fish Tales at 191 Court Street in Cobble Hill. You’ve probably heard of them before, maybe you saw them on Throwdown with Bobby Flay or raved about in Zagat, but you can’t comprehend the quality of the seafood until you’ve tried it.

The little shop serves up plenty of fish, lobsters, crab, and shrimp for cooking, but also prepared seafood dishes if you’re not a chef (or just hungry!). Make sure to pick up some of their New England Clam Chowder AND Manhattan Fish Chowder, but also pick from the other entrees on the menu, like Louisiana Shrimp Creole, Fish Tales Crab Cakes, and Maine Lobster Roll.