Authentic New York
TRAVEL: Journey off the beaten path and across the river to Brooklyn, yes, Brooklyn
Story and photography by Gordon Bowness
In Toronto, March 2010
Why Brooklyn? It’s hard to imagine travellers would ever tire of Manhattan. There is always something more to do and see. So it’s not a question of Manhattan or Brooklyn. It’s a question of Manhattan and Brooklyn, adding the borough of 2.5 million residents to your list of choice world destinations. Not for nothing did GQ last fall name Brooklyn as the coolest city on the planet.
Brooklyn would be the fourth largest city in the US if it wasn’t part of NYC (and was its own city until 1898). Being in the shadow of its taller, brasher brother across the river means being overlooked. Brooklyn shares with Toronto and Chicago that second-city vibe — in a good way, not in a provincial-desperate-for-attention kind of way. Brooklynites aren’t so concerned with the next big thing, the hippest club, the most exclusive restaurant. They are more concerned with the here and now, more invested in the local scene.
And what a wonderful, eclectic scene it is for those willing to venture off the beaten path.
This place is big — a smidge smaller than Toronto, and just as varied and diverse.
So, that’s why Brooklyn.
Plus Brooklyn offers the best views of lower Manhattan. Its hotels are cheaper. And its bustling neighbourhoods open up to less crowded spaces and great parks. Then there’s the ocean — Coney Island is a must. And for those with cars, it’s much easier driving around Brooklyn than Manhattan. So if you bomb down I-95 to Florida, you should consider Brooklyn as a pit stop on the way back.
Even if you don’t stay in Brooklyn, plan some day trips from Manhattan. It’s easy to get to by subway… or ferry or water taxi, cool alternatives to getting around on either side of the Lower East River. But planning and maps (or apps) are key. There aren’t subway stops or taxis at every corner. This isn’t Manhattan. But that’s the point. Load in some car service numbers into your phone. Car services are a little pricier than taxis, but they will pick you up. And pity anyone trying to hail a cab in Brooklyn between 4pm and 5pm during cab shift changes. Fuggedaboudit.
Did I mention Brooklyn is huge? It’s comprised of dozens of distinct neighbourhoods, big and small. Here are just three focal points to pique your interest.
Let’s start with a perfect day near downtown. Begin with a fortifying brunch at Jack the Horse Tavern in Brooklyn Heights (66 Hicks St; jackthehorse.com), nestled among blocks and blocks of billionaire brownstones, and just a 20-minute walk from Nu Hotel (see below). Burritos and red flannel hash to perfect pancakes are served expertly in a pretty, sun-filled room. The sun glows more golden after a house Bloody Mary (with fennel- and rosemary-infused scotch, house-cured duck prosciutto and pickled cippolini onions, it sounds disgusting — it’s so not).
You can then wobble around the tony historic neighbourhood built on the hill overlooking the East River, or you can make your way down to the new Promenade Park. Stunning views of lower Manhattan abound.
By the river just between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges you’ll find the absolutely charming Jane’s Carousel (janescarousel.com), a restored merry-go-round now housed inside a sleek crystal pavilion designed by starchitect Jean Nouvel.
Next door is the River Café (therivercafe.com), a floating restaurant that is a bit of a take-your-mom kind of place but, again, you can’t buy a better view.
There are lots of art galleries and a great bookshop to explore nearby in DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass). Or you could head off to Wall Street (up twinkles!) across the river by walking the Brooklyn Bridge.
Not too far from downtown are Prospect Heights, Park Slope and the Brooklyn Museum (200 Eastern Pkwy; brooklynmuseum.org). This encyclopedic museum was a revelation and has muscled its way into my top tier of NYC’s cultural institutions. It’s massive. Don’t think you can just breeze in and out; it’ll hook you. The museum has a tradition of inserting new and contemporary works among existing, historical collections. So you find Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party next to dioramas of 18th-century homes next to Kehinde Wiley’s blackified Old Masters next to cool decorative arts galleries. There’s tons of gay programming, too. The just-closed portraiture survey Hide/Seek was amazing and saw galleries buzzing with stylish LGBT art-lovers both young and old. This spring sees shows on Keith Haring, Djuna Barnes, Rachel Kneebone, Hank Willis Thomas and Chris Johnson.
You can easily spend a whole weekend at the museum, especially with the Olmsted and Vaux-designed Prospect Park next door offering fresh air breaks. Check out the amazing central branch of the Brooklyn Public Library around the corner on the Grand Army Plaza. It’s an art deco marvel.
There is great shopping and carousing a few blocks away in the hip neighbourhood of Park Slope. Bar 4 (444 7th Ave; bar4brooklyn.com), a stylish, laid-back and very mixed gay and lesbian bar, offers the perfect respite.
To the north is Williamsburg with a vibe all its own. Instead of Victorian brownstones, the neighbourhood is packed with clapboard townhouses and reconfigured industrial sites. Italian, West Indian and Hasidic residents have made room for recent immigrants, trendy young couples from the big city. It’s like a giant Queen Street West, but with real money. The high street of Bedford Ave is crammed with big-booted, tight-jeaned, knitted cap-wearing couples, all very alternative-looking but sporting price tags in the thousands. There are great second-hand stores and a real love of analogue culture here. Even the fancy Hotel Williamsburg (see below) has Crosely record players in every room. If you are looking for a different kind of bargain, here’s a must: North America’s only Paul Smith Sale Shop (280 Grand St) offering a break on pricey but perfect UK style.
Great restos abound. Egg (135 North 5th St; pigandegg.com) for a yummy Southern breakfast. Ham and scrapple, anyone? El Amacen (557 Driggs Ave; elalmacennyc.com) is dark and cozy with a quaint little garden in the back. It’s Argentinian, so it’s all about the meat. But there’s great eggy things, enchiladas and avocado fries (!). Pies ’n’ Thighs (166 South 4th St; piesnthighs.com) offers more Southern-fried scrumptiousness. And Acqua Santa (556 Driggs Ave; acquasanta.com) has hearty Italian fare served up in a garden fantasia.
And who doesn’t want a dog fix when travelling? Lucky Dog (303 Bedford Ave; luckydogbrooklyn.com), understandably scrappy, is a neighbourhood bar that welcomes dogs.
Long a staple in the gay scene Metropolitan (559 Lorimer St) is a sprawling but comfortable complex that has a huge outdoor patio in the warmer months and two big fireplaces for the cooler ones.
End up here and you’ve “done” Brooklyn. Lucky dog.
WHERE TO STAY?
It seems new boutique and chain hotels are opening up in Brooklyn every month, at all price points. Here are two great options. On the inexpensive side is Nu Hotel downtown (85 Smith St; nuhotelbrooklyn.com). Its breezy, trendy décor might be a bit dinged up butt the rooms are well-appointed, clean and quirky (love the slate chalkboard wall in the bathroom). Affiliated with the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association, it's a welcoming hotel with great service. From $149 to $349, with an average of $199.
If you are looking for luxury, then check out the just opened Hotel Williamsburg in Williamsburg (160 North 13th St; hwbrooklyn.com). Great design, cool furnishings and a 40-foot outdoor swimming pool. Try finding that in Manhattan. The rooftop bar offers stunning views and is open to the public. An urban oasis like this doesn't come cheap: from $199 to $460 (the luxurious Treehouse suite can top $1,000 a night). But think of the money you'll save at Paul Smith. •
Story and photography by Gordon Bowness
In Toronto, March 2010
Why Brooklyn? It’s hard to imagine travellers would ever tire of Manhattan. There is always something more to do and see. So it’s not a question of Manhattan or Brooklyn. It’s a question of Manhattan and Brooklyn, adding the borough of 2.5 million residents to your list of choice world destinations. Not for nothing did GQ last fall name Brooklyn as the coolest city on the planet.
Brooklyn would be the fourth largest city in the US if it wasn’t part of NYC (and was its own city until 1898). Being in the shadow of its taller, brasher brother across the river means being overlooked. Brooklyn shares with Toronto and Chicago that second-city vibe — in a good way, not in a provincial-desperate-for-attention kind of way. Brooklynites aren’t so concerned with the next big thing, the hippest club, the most exclusive restaurant. They are more concerned with the here and now, more invested in the local scene.
And what a wonderful, eclectic scene it is for those willing to venture off the beaten path.
This place is big — a smidge smaller than Toronto, and just as varied and diverse.
So, that’s why Brooklyn.
Plus Brooklyn offers the best views of lower Manhattan. Its hotels are cheaper. And its bustling neighbourhoods open up to less crowded spaces and great parks. Then there’s the ocean — Coney Island is a must. And for those with cars, it’s much easier driving around Brooklyn than Manhattan. So if you bomb down I-95 to Florida, you should consider Brooklyn as a pit stop on the way back.
Even if you don’t stay in Brooklyn, plan some day trips from Manhattan. It’s easy to get to by subway… or ferry or water taxi, cool alternatives to getting around on either side of the Lower East River. But planning and maps (or apps) are key. There aren’t subway stops or taxis at every corner. This isn’t Manhattan. But that’s the point. Load in some car service numbers into your phone. Car services are a little pricier than taxis, but they will pick you up. And pity anyone trying to hail a cab in Brooklyn between 4pm and 5pm during cab shift changes. Fuggedaboudit.
Did I mention Brooklyn is huge? It’s comprised of dozens of distinct neighbourhoods, big and small. Here are just three focal points to pique your interest.
Let’s start with a perfect day near downtown. Begin with a fortifying brunch at Jack the Horse Tavern in Brooklyn Heights (66 Hicks St; jackthehorse.com), nestled among blocks and blocks of billionaire brownstones, and just a 20-minute walk from Nu Hotel (see below). Burritos and red flannel hash to perfect pancakes are served expertly in a pretty, sun-filled room. The sun glows more golden after a house Bloody Mary (with fennel- and rosemary-infused scotch, house-cured duck prosciutto and pickled cippolini onions, it sounds disgusting — it’s so not).
You can then wobble around the tony historic neighbourhood built on the hill overlooking the East River, or you can make your way down to the new Promenade Park. Stunning views of lower Manhattan abound.
By the river just between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges you’ll find the absolutely charming Jane’s Carousel (janescarousel.com), a restored merry-go-round now housed inside a sleek crystal pavilion designed by starchitect Jean Nouvel.
Next door is the River Café (therivercafe.com), a floating restaurant that is a bit of a take-your-mom kind of place but, again, you can’t buy a better view.
There are lots of art galleries and a great bookshop to explore nearby in DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass). Or you could head off to Wall Street (up twinkles!) across the river by walking the Brooklyn Bridge.
Not too far from downtown are Prospect Heights, Park Slope and the Brooklyn Museum (200 Eastern Pkwy; brooklynmuseum.org). This encyclopedic museum was a revelation and has muscled its way into my top tier of NYC’s cultural institutions. It’s massive. Don’t think you can just breeze in and out; it’ll hook you. The museum has a tradition of inserting new and contemporary works among existing, historical collections. So you find Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party next to dioramas of 18th-century homes next to Kehinde Wiley’s blackified Old Masters next to cool decorative arts galleries. There’s tons of gay programming, too. The just-closed portraiture survey Hide/Seek was amazing and saw galleries buzzing with stylish LGBT art-lovers both young and old. This spring sees shows on Keith Haring, Djuna Barnes, Rachel Kneebone, Hank Willis Thomas and Chris Johnson.
You can easily spend a whole weekend at the museum, especially with the Olmsted and Vaux-designed Prospect Park next door offering fresh air breaks. Check out the amazing central branch of the Brooklyn Public Library around the corner on the Grand Army Plaza. It’s an art deco marvel.
There is great shopping and carousing a few blocks away in the hip neighbourhood of Park Slope. Bar 4 (444 7th Ave; bar4brooklyn.com), a stylish, laid-back and very mixed gay and lesbian bar, offers the perfect respite.
To the north is Williamsburg with a vibe all its own. Instead of Victorian brownstones, the neighbourhood is packed with clapboard townhouses and reconfigured industrial sites. Italian, West Indian and Hasidic residents have made room for recent immigrants, trendy young couples from the big city. It’s like a giant Queen Street West, but with real money. The high street of Bedford Ave is crammed with big-booted, tight-jeaned, knitted cap-wearing couples, all very alternative-looking but sporting price tags in the thousands. There are great second-hand stores and a real love of analogue culture here. Even the fancy Hotel Williamsburg (see below) has Crosely record players in every room. If you are looking for a different kind of bargain, here’s a must: North America’s only Paul Smith Sale Shop (280 Grand St) offering a break on pricey but perfect UK style.
Great restos abound. Egg (135 North 5th St; pigandegg.com) for a yummy Southern breakfast. Ham and scrapple, anyone? El Amacen (557 Driggs Ave; elalmacennyc.com) is dark and cozy with a quaint little garden in the back. It’s Argentinian, so it’s all about the meat. But there’s great eggy things, enchiladas and avocado fries (!). Pies ’n’ Thighs (166 South 4th St; piesnthighs.com) offers more Southern-fried scrumptiousness. And Acqua Santa (556 Driggs Ave; acquasanta.com) has hearty Italian fare served up in a garden fantasia.
And who doesn’t want a dog fix when travelling? Lucky Dog (303 Bedford Ave; luckydogbrooklyn.com), understandably scrappy, is a neighbourhood bar that welcomes dogs.
Long a staple in the gay scene Metropolitan (559 Lorimer St) is a sprawling but comfortable complex that has a huge outdoor patio in the warmer months and two big fireplaces for the cooler ones.
End up here and you’ve “done” Brooklyn. Lucky dog.
WHERE TO STAY?
It seems new boutique and chain hotels are opening up in Brooklyn every month, at all price points. Here are two great options. On the inexpensive side is Nu Hotel downtown (85 Smith St; nuhotelbrooklyn.com). Its breezy, trendy décor might be a bit dinged up butt the rooms are well-appointed, clean and quirky (love the slate chalkboard wall in the bathroom). Affiliated with the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association, it's a welcoming hotel with great service. From $149 to $349, with an average of $199.
If you are looking for luxury, then check out the just opened Hotel Williamsburg in Williamsburg (160 North 13th St; hwbrooklyn.com). Great design, cool furnishings and a 40-foot outdoor swimming pool. Try finding that in Manhattan. The rooftop bar offers stunning views and is open to the public. An urban oasis like this doesn't come cheap: from $199 to $460 (the luxurious Treehouse suite can top $1,000 a night). But think of the money you'll save at Paul Smith. •