The third of Zeb Stewart aka Mr. Williamsburg’s impressive drinking and feeding hole portfolio, (think Union Pool and Hotel Delmano), Cafe Colette is the perfect mix of a polished yet informal aesthetic. The bistro, which adopts a mix of French inspired American cuisine, combines painted floors with cement tables and brightly colored walls adorned with quirky black and white photographs, to create a space that feels equally appropriate for lunch, brunch, dinner or drinks.
Brooklyn Flea’s Smorgasburg must’ve brought out the spring weather when they set up for the first day of the weekend food market. This past Saturday kicked off the Smorgasburg season at the new Saturday location, an empty gravel lot next to the East River State Park in Williamsburg. Due to the move, SmorgasBAR won’t be returning on Satrudays until at least June because since it’s a new location, Brooklyn Flea organizers need to reapply for a their liquor license. Annoying, right?
St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner, meaning it's time to whip out all your green, stock up on beers, and snag some luck o' the Irish. Since St. Paddy's is the ultimate drinking holiday, we've rounded up some of the best bar crawls happening in the city -- even the non-Irish may participate!
St. Paddy's Kick-Off Party: For just five bucks, you can attend the St. Patrick's Day Kick-Off Party, taking place at Midtown favorite, Public House. The party will take place on March 15th from 5pm until 4am. All sorts of debauchery will ensue.You can purchase your tickets here.
It’s always nice to see a business grow, especially when that business is brewing beers.
Long Island City’s Rockaway Brewing Company, a microbrewery which opened in June, is now expanding its distribution to cover the LES and Williamsburg.
Formerly, the brewery only sold their ESB and Summer Ale to Low Tide Bar on 96th and the Boardwalk on Rockaway Beach, literally on a bicycle built by Recycle-A-Bicycle.
Sweetleaf Williamsburg opened back in May after the success of its sister location in Long Island City --a bean lover's staple since 2008.
The new Sweetleaf is located on the corner of Kent Avenue and North 6th Street, a fine location for people to stroll down, window shop, pick up a coffee and then head down to the water. If they want a coffee to stay, the interior of Sweetleaf is quite spacious and relaxing. They have decorated this café with antiques, such as aged scales and fans, along with old doors used to support many of the wooden structures, like the counters and tables. Customers can relax in one of the lounge chairs, small tables or stools set up on counters. If they have not carried their own reading material, Sweetleaf provides a basket full of magazines and newspapers they can access.
Ever sipped on some red wine and looked in the mirror an hour later, horrified at your creepy stained mouth? Kimberly Walker knows the feeling and that's why she created Wine Wipes, the perfect solution to wine-stained teeth.
Borracha Wine Wipes were created four years ago and now they have a sleek new look. Carefully concealed in a black 12 wipe compact, complete with mirror, this handy product is small enough to carry around in a pocket or purse. Kimberly worked with dentists and sommeliers to come up with the perfect combination of stain removing, teeth protecting, and flavors that don't compete with your wine.
On June 16th, head to the Brooklyn waterfront for the summer installment of Hand Crafted Tasting’s Co.’s beer tasting festival. Held in Williamsburg, overlooking the East River, The Brooklyn Waterfront Beer Festival will feature summer seasonals and specialty beers from across the United States as well as from international breweries. Similar to their event, the NYC Craft Beer Festival, held in March, there will be two separate sessions (12:30 p.m.‑4 p.m. and 6 p.m.‑9:30 p.m.) to ensure that everyone in attendance gets the maximum beer tasting experience possible. Different level ticket packages are also available in order to enhance the festival for true beer aficionados.
Never stale, New York’s atmosphere is always changing. Clubs, restaurants, and venues are evolving, revolving and dissolving at such a fast pace, sometimes you need a little held pinning down what’s actually going on. Here to help, browse this list of newly opened and soon to be opened hot spots within the Five Burroughs.
From Paris to London and now, to New York, the long awaited Experimental Cocktail Lounge is now open and serving up inventive cocktails garnished with a New York twist. The Parisian bar modeled like a speakeasy is in the old Kush location on Chrystie Street, in lower Manhattan.
Tickets are now available for Bon Appétit’s three day, pub-inspired grub crawl through Brooklyn. During the first weekend in June, grub enthusiasts will have a chance to get up close and personal with Brooklyn’s most buzz-worthy chefs. Eat and drink your way through three Brooklyn neighborhoods while taking a peek inside the kitchens that have create the delicious foods that have put the borough on the culinary hotspot map. On Saturday night, stick around after the food stops for a concert and DJ performance at Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory starting at 9 p.m.
The Bedford (110 Bedford Avenue, Williamsburg) held a special sneak preview of their newly appointed Executive Chef Jason Michael Giordano’s forthcoming Tavern Menu last night in their I-Beam barroom. Jason’s new contemporary American pub snack menu was inspired by the dinner served at the White House during President Lincoln’s inaugural dinner. With such an original concept a lot of research had to be done to recreate these dishes that time had forgotten. The Tavern Menu uses old world techniques with classic American ingredients to create dishes such as arancini (risotto balls), fried duck rillette (similar to pâté), devils on horseback (bacon-wrapped dates filled with cheese), and others. Diners also enjoyed a basket of delicately fried kale chips while snacking on the Tavern Menu sampler.