Union Street to Atlantic Avenue (Boerum Hill)
Between Union Street and Baltic Street, you can feel a distinct increase in the density of businesses, with both sides of the street now lined with shops, bars and restaurants.
Between Union Street and Sacket Street, check out Persons of Interest, a men’s barbershop that has avoided that played-out Prohibition/Boardwalk Empire aesthetic in favor of a more ’70s retro style. Before it was a barbershop, it was the former incarnation being a neighborhood relic whose staff and clientele were the older Italian-Americans that defined Carroll Gardens. There’s also the superb restaurant, The Grocery, that’s been in the neighborhood for over a decade run by a husband and wife duo. Don’t miss the great backyard in the summer.
- Persons of Interest
Rounding out the group of well-curated boutiques along Smith is By Brooklyn, which exclusively features food, clothing, and home decor made in the borough. Inside, you’ll find artisanal purveyors like Brooklyn Brine, Granola Lab, Mama O’s Homemade Kimchi, and Liddabit Sweets. Also look for La Casita Yarn Shop Cafe, where local knitting enthusiasts gather to “stitch ‘n’ bitch,” and the bench outside is usually wrapped in knitting or quilts.
- By Brooklyn
- La Casita Yarn Shop Cafe
The Grocery heralds the beginning of a restaurant and food row that stretches over the next few blocks. Look out for Dassara Brooklyn Ramen, with its funky decor and daring New York/Japanese fusion cuisine. (The ramen burger is a cult favorite.) Lovers of fine food wait patiently to get into Battersby, a tiny space which only takes reservations for its spectacular tasting menu. The chefs of Battersby rotate the menu a few times a week, and even make their own bread, an impressive accomplishment when the kitchen is about ten feet from most of the diners.
Right next door is neighborhood institution Shelsky’s Smoked Fish, with over ten varieties of salmon alone, and with humorously named sandwiches such as the Fancy Pants and the Dr. Goldstein Special. If it’s too late for brunch food, you can stop by nearby Stinky Brooklyn for an amazing selection of cheeses, charcuterie, and other high-end goodies.
For drinks, there’s the tiki-themed Zombie Hut, that screens The Walking Dead on Sundays after the football game, and Bar Great Harry with its craft beers, indie rock, and pinball machines. BGH has 20 draft beers on rotation at any given time along with bottled beers. For cocktails, step into Clover Club, named after the original–a regular gathering of journalists at the Bellevue Hotel in Philadelphia in the Gilded Age. Wine shop Smith & Vine has a colorful entrance, a friendly and knowledgable staff, and a section of New York State wines and liquors.
On Smith and Butler, the boutique Bird carries high end, urban brands like Band of Outsiders, Isabel Marant, 3.1 Phillip Lim and Rachel Comey.
- Bird
As you cross Baltic Street, there are more supermarkets, drug stores and banks, but if you look closely you can find staples like Los Paisanos Meat Market, a neighborhood butcher that has been around for 58 years. Across the street is another neighborhood institution: the Musician’s General Store, with its collection of new and used musical instruments and its “Rock’Scool” lessons on how to play in a rock band.
And there are even more treasures to be found on the side streets. Culinary and design highlights on Bergen Street include Van Leeuwen ice cream, making its home in a converted garage; the spacious gastropub 61 Local, built in a former townhouse and garage; and Homage Brooklyn, a skate/snowboard/shoe shop.
- 61 Local
On Dean Street, there’s the adorable One Girl Cookies, across from which are two wonderful wooden clapboard houses, built around 1915. And if you want to step right into a French bistro, try Bar Tabac on the corner of Dean Street.
- One Girl Cookies
For a fun and kitschy bar experience, there’s CAMP at 179 Smith Street with its log cabin interior design. You can play board games and Big Buck Hunter in front of a roaring fireplace and even make s’mores.
- Image via CAMP website
The mixed residential/commercial building at 169 Smith Street stands out as one of the tallest buildings on Smith Street. The four-floor building in green and white stone was built in 1931.
A final recommendation is the Micro Museum at 123 Smith Street, a non-profit founded in 1986 that supports interdisciplinary art. One claim to fame is the “longest running kinetic sculpture in the Tri-State Area.” Saturdays during museum hours, a live webcam streams goings-on from the museum on its website.
[sponsored_by action_blurb=”Presented By” name=”Douglas Elliman” url=”http://www.elliman.com/new-york-city/brooklyn” logo=”http://sub.brooklynbased.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/DE_logo_1XStack_120x60_Blue+Gray.jpg” attribution_action_blurb=”Created By” attribution_name=”BlankSlate” attribution_url=”http://blankslate.com/advertisers/”]The only way to truly understand Brooklyn is to walk its streets, see its homes, meet its people, and understand its ebb and flow. Never before, has looking for a home in Brooklyn been this exciting.
Stop by Elliman’s Carroll Gardens office located at 325 Court St.[/sponsored_by]
