WILLIAMSBURG NYC

BROOKLYN NYC

NEW IN!!! Hottest New Restaurants to Visit in Brooklyn...go to: http://ny.eater.com/archives/2013/05/the_brooklyn_heatmap_where_to_eat_right_now

The last time I visited BROOKLYN was twenty years ago when I was asked to dinner on my first date with my now husband to 
THE RIVER CAFE. 

river cafe

On a recent trip to NYC, I made my way over to Brooklyn hearing it was a mecca for upcoming artisans, in the hope I would find a ceramicist for our ELK&MAPLE housewares range SYRUP. What an adventure! In the three or so years I lived in NYC, Brooklyn was not somewhere I frequented. I lived in NYC pre-Giuliani when the Meatpacking District was a complete no go zone (unless there was a promoter hosting some ultra cool New york party and then you had no choice!) littered with working girls and drugs, and Brooklyn was a step further than that!

Brooklyn is vast. It is one of the five Boroughs of NY but the largest in population, Actually, if Brooklyn was still an independent city, it would be the fourth largest city in all of the US, over Manhattan. 

Williamsburg, Brooklyn is literally only a ten minute cab ride from downtown Manhattan but feels like another world when you arrive. The pockets of stores carrying bespoke items, antiques, and organic food and the likes are scattered within abandoned sites and streets filled with building after building displaying graffiti art.

blocks and blocks of abandoned buildings

I was expecting the area to have a more village like atmosphere comparable to The West Village in Manhattan but I was totally wrong. Even though the area has been well established for many years, it feels like a developing community. Williamsburg is emerging as a trend and it houses many artisans and cool restaurants, but still seems very disjointed and widespread. It's probably not somewhere you would feel totally comfortable on your own in parts just yet. (Actually a few of my girlfriends joined me on my expedition and spent most of the time locked inside the car!)


When passing by the famous PETER LUGERS steak house I wandered about the earlier years of Mafia Crime Brooklyn is also remembered for. In the early 1900's a Neapolitan family called The Camorra's claimed the area as theirs. Their opposing crime family, the Morello's claimed parts of Harlem and the Lower parts of Manhattan such as Mulberry Street. The two families went about their business amicably until rivalry occurred over greed for trades such as gambling, drugs and artichokes! By the mid 1930's the Camorra family had been wiped out as the opposing family helped them turn on each other eventually. 
I wandered if they had all sat with the walls of the famous steak house at some point. I remember my first time to Peter Lugers and even then it was an epic adventure to travel to Brooklyn and eat there.

Peter Lugers established in the late 1800's
A NY institution

As I set about ticking off my 'must see' list, one of the places I really wanted to visit was a tea store called 

Bellocq Tea Atellier.  The store, like many in Williamsburg, was extremely difficult to find and situated behind a door marked with a simple "B" amidst graffiti buildings. Actually when I asked a local for directions, he said "you aren't actually going over there are you?" He explained not even the locals step that way. It was only two blocks away from where we were. Off I went anyway and I am so glad I did. 

Bellocq Tea Atellier has been written up in Vogue Living and such and I can see why. What a little gem of a store. 

Bellocq tea Atellier
www.bellocq.com

When I was waiting for my tea, I met a young man who had ventured over from Manhattan for the day. He has lived in NYC all his life and that was the very first time he had ever been to Brooklyn! 
Give you an indication of the great divide?

The way Brooklyn is emerging no (particularly Williamsburg) is appealing to lovers of organic produce, markets, rare finds and artisan products. (I was tres happy) I could sense a future though of many  many outlets and restaurants that could possibly be contending with waiting lists in the future. Anyone who is excited by Haute Couture or big brand names would find the area confusing. A lost cause really on anyone who does not value a beautiful hand crafted jewel, beer, chocolate or tea etc. The list of curiosities is endless. 

Mast Brothers Chocolate
www.mastbrothers.com

Brooklyn Flea is a treat. Loved it. The architecture of the building they host the weekend markets in is spectacular and houses a wealth of history in itself. The original bank was intended to impress the community with visions of wealth and security. Built in 1929, the clock tower was the tallest building in Brooklyn and the 27 foot clock was the largest in the world. The masonry, ironwork, mosaic tiling and artistry could not be replicated in our modern times. The original vault is still in tact, even after the War. As you wander through the markets you actually step through the vault to enter another room filled with market stands. It's incredible. 

Brooklyn Flea Venue for Winter

Brooklyn has enticed me and I cannot wait to spend more time exploring her charms. The architecture, history and now artisan product available, has put Brooklyn on the top of my list for places to visit when in NYC. My time there filled every molecule of my soul. I adore its hipster culture. 

Having just popped my head in, I will most definitely be making my way over to Brooklyn on my next NYC visit, without a doubt. I am also happy to have taken away with me my own little piece of Brooklyn in the form of our new ELK&MAPLE ceramicist, Susannah. Cannot wait to show you what my visions and Susannah's craftsmanship united bring to the new SYRUP range launching soon.