In Brooklyn, we live summertime outdoors. Our apartments are small, we don’t have central air, and we lack backyards with grills and patios and privacy. While the rest of America comfortably closes up windows and doors from June to September, we linger on fire escapes and front stoops.
Instead of escaping to country club swimming pools and sprawling malls, we bike to McCarren Park with old sheets stuffed into tote bags, haul coolers packed with quickly warming beer and farmers’ market sandwiches, and stream well thought playlists from ipod docks. In Brooklyn, when the temperature levels around 90 degrees in the shade, as it’s done the past few weeks of July, we start to once again live our lives publically, we live summertime outdoors.
We find ourselves drinking Prosecco at tiny tables on crowded sidewalks, eating salty oysters in tucked away gardens dressed with paper lanterns, and on rooftops catching what breezes we can find. We picnic in Prospect Park, we eat Cuban sandwiches from brightly painted food trucks, and we slurp mango from tiny pushcarts with salt and cayenne.
We sweat well into the evening with mint juleps pressed to our foreheads and share cold Brooklyn beers in packed gardens from Williamsburg to Fort Greene to Park Slope. We don’t bat eye when overworked restaurant air conditioners suddenly quit midcourse, and we find our backs stuck to banquettes as windows and doors are opened to the sirens and laughter and street music outside. Just pour more champagne. Pass the gazpacho, please.
We arrive in herds to watch black and white movies under the stars while sharing local cheeses and crusty baguettes with wine poured into plastic cups. Restaurants serve fresh, local salads, well flavored chilled soups, and bright citrus cocktails alongside cheap PBRs. Summertime in Brooklyn is nothing short of a celebration.
A Small Sampling of Brooklyn’s Favorite Outdoor Dining 2010:
67 Burger
67 Lafayette Ave., nr. Fulton St., Fort Greene
Flavorful burgers in a garage like space just a few blocks from the deliciously air-conditioned Brooklyn Academy of Music movie theater. Try the blue burger with or the French brie and save room for an oreo or beer milkshake. No joke.
Alma
187 Columbia St., at Degraw St., Carroll Gardens/Columbia St. Waterfront District
A breezy Mexican restaurant with a stunning rooftop eating area worth your walk for the view alone. Try the Cucumber Margarita and the homemade guacamole.
Anella
222 Franklin St., nr. Green St, Greenpoint
Quickly becoming a neighborhood favorite, this homey restaurant opens to an airy back patio. Try the brick oven arugula pizza or tangy short ribs with a frosty signature cocktail.
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Bar Tabac
128 Smith St., at Dean St., Cobble Hill
Win the envy of passersby on the sidewalk seating of Cobble Hill’s favorite Parisian eatery. Pair the steak or moules frites with a bottle from the impressive all-French wine list.
Brooklyn Fish Camp
162 Fifth Ave., nr. Degraw St., Park Slope
Well loved seafood in the informal and slightly theme-y version of Mary’s Fish Camp in the heart of Park Slope. Try the lobster roll and salt-crusted shrimp.
DuMont
432 Union Ave., nr. Devoe St., Williamsburg
Inviting, affordable, and very young, this Williamsburg favorite offers hearty portions of well prepared comfort food in a cleverly thought raised back garden. Try the DuMont burger or the lardon-studded Mac-and-Cheese.
Frankies 457 Spuntino
457 Court St., nr. Luquer St., Carroll Gardens
A true neighborhood favorite under the hearty, passionate ownership chefs Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo. The historic stable and back garden are a stunning backdrop for a long dinner of fresh and simple Italian fare. Even in this heat, the pork braciola cannot be missed, with the lemony fennel salad and a glass of the house Montepulciano.
Hot Bird
546 Clinton Ave between Fulton St & Atlantic Ave, Clinton Hill/Prospect Heights
A nice alternative to the ever popular and over crowded Habana Outpost, this newly open outdoor bar is rumored to soon be serving food via food truck. Try any of the Brooklyn brewed beers under the famed ‘Hot Bird’ yellow signed that have graced Atlantic Avenue for years and serve as the clever namesake.
Papacitos
999 Manhattan Ave., nr Huron St., Greenpoint
Mexican street food in a colorful setting that opens to a spacious patio dressed with picnic tables and an outdoor bar. Try the fish tacos and share the super nachos with a round of Mexican beers.
Robin des Bois Sherwood Cafe
195 Smith Street, Carroll Gardens
A cheeky themed restaurant with a seemingly thrown together back garden overgrown with junk antiques and chandeliers dangling from tree branches. Share the open-face poached-egg-and-ratatouille sandwich, and the Sherwood Special, a charcuterie-and-cheese assortment served on a handmade rustic board.
Sarah Butler is a freelance writer based out of Brooklyn, New York. You can read her personal blog here.
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