Urban Foraging

There are things you expect from NY: traffic, noise, pigeons, rats, pizza, bagels, skyscrapers, the subway. Whether you're here for a day or a lifetime, those are all pretty much guaranteed. But there's another side to NY that's a little harder to find. It's not there all the time, and you have to know where to look, but if you pay attention the foraging opportunities are endless.

Truth be told, I barely dip a toe in the potential waters. I don't bother with mushrooms, ginkgo, black walnuts, elderflower, crab apples, nettles, dandelions, or any of the other myriad greens. But there are two things I will hunt down, and dedicate time to picking, and devour: mulberries (June) and raspberries (and blackberries) (June-July).

Mulberries are easy to spot because they're trees. You don't even have to work to identify the bark or leaves or whatever; just look at the ground. If it's covered with the dark splotches of crushed berries, you're in the right place. If the berries are black, they're ready to be picked. They're scattered all over the city, so keep an eye out, but sometimes the trees are too tall to easily harvest. The ones at Green-Wood though, pictured above, are perfect. The path just inside the 25th St entrance is lined with them, and they're within reach of anyone over a foot tall.

Raspberries and blackberries are trickier, because you have to know where to go. And I'm struggling here, with whether or not I should tell you. I want them all to myself. So we'll compromise, and I'll tell you about a patch I found years ago but never get a chance to visit: Riverside Drive, around Grant's Tomb. They're worth seeking out. The berries that grow wild (all over southern NY State, at least), are about ten times better than the ones you buy at the grocery store or farmers' market. I don't know what the deal is, but they're translucent and delicate, not matte, and they taste the way you imagine that difference should.

RECIPE: Pasta with Caramelized Cabbage, Anchovies, & Bread Crumbs. It's not the kind of thing you'd ever come up with on your own, but caramelizing cabbage and using anchovies and bread crumbs with pasta are all things you should be aware of.

Backyards

Just because it's a city doesn't mean we don't have backyards. They're just, well, in the back, which means you generally have to go through the front of the bar/restaurant/apartment in question to see them. The days I don't spend in my hammock this Spring/Summer/Fall, I intend to spend in a backyard somewhere.

Luckily L, one of my best friends has one. (In what is really an embarrassment of riches, she also has a ping pong table in her basement.) Many is the afternoon we've spent out there, eating steak tacos and guacamole, or lobster rolls and hot dogs, or kielbasa and pierogies. That backyard is where I learned to enjoy ice cubes in my wine, both for the chilling effect and the way it enables me to drink for ten straight hours.

If you are not also so lucky as to have a friend like this, never fear. Your life is of course the poorer for it, but you can still day-drink all you want and not have to do it from a brown bag in the park. Even with L's yard, we still sometimes go to a bar two blocks from her apartment and sit in its backyard. What the hell.

A few of my favourite backyard spots:

Sea Witch:
Aforementioned bar two blocks from L's apartment. Inside can be a bit dark, even with the massive fish tank, but outside has a stream with skulls in, lots of blonde wood, and occasional cats roaming by. They also generally have both Left Hand Milk Stout (one of my favourites) and a fine cider or two on tap.

Crown Vic:
The one drawback of L's pool table is that it is, as I said, in the basement. And when it's 75 degrees and sunny, the last thing you want to do is sit in a chilly, mildewy (sorry, L) basement. Crown Vic -- assuming you're willing to play on a table that's been warped to hell in the rain -- solves that problem. Also, in a city where space is so often at a premium, it's nice to have a place where you know you'll always be able to find a seat.

Not coincidentally, three of my other favorite backyards are also three of my favorite bars, period: Ice House, Hot Bird, and Tooker Alley. I have enjoyed each of their indoor spaces, but it's the outdoors that really puts them on the forever list.

Ice House is where you go for $2/$3 Miller High Lifes (always with a slice of lemon), an order of sweet potato fries, and two pulled pork baps ($5). Perfect for après-swimming at the Red Hook pool.

Hot Bird is where you go for good beer, a fire in the Winter, and whatever food you can find that will deliver.

And Tooker Alley is the best cocktails. Done.


...If you're still in Red Hook and want a cocktail though, and don't want to be cooped up in Fort Defiance, hie thee to Botanica. They don't actually have a backyard, and therefore shouldn't be included here, but their front wall pretty much opens completely, so it's like sitting outside, but with good shade.

MAP

RECIPE: Brown Butter Skillet Cornbread, because there are certain things you absolutely need one, decisive, go-to recipe for.

Red Hooking

I love my neighborhood. I love all of Brooklyn, really, although I don't put it into practice much out in Canarsie or whatever. But there's only one neighborhood I go to for no other reason than to sit, and be, and soak it all in: Red Hook.

Red Hook is the Land Time Forgot. Even as distilleries and raw chocolate artisans and cocktail bars continue to pop up, and even with the presence of Ikea and Fairway, the extremely limited public transportation keeps it just a little slower, a little more relaxed. It's like a tiny corner of New Orleans in NY. (Insofar as that's possible, which isn't very, but still. As close as we get.)

Half the time, all I do is ride to the end of Valentino Pier, or the one behind Fairway, and stare at the water. For cheap, very local thrills, you could do a lot worse. The waves lap, boats go by, the Statue of Liberty stands.

...That said, there's plenty to actually do, so long as you have an interest in food, drink, entertainment, or art.

Food

Every weekend, Spring, Summer, and Fall, the vendors park around the southeast corner of the Bay St/Clinton St intersection. There are tamales, pupusas, cemitas, tacos, fresh juices... All of the trucks are good; none are expensive. My personal favorite -- and one of the few things I actively, specifically crave, is the barbacoa de chivo cemita from the white truck furthest south on Clinton St. They do taco versions too, and a few other things, but something about this cemita is just so perfectly balanced. I can't resist. Though I will often accompany it with a watermelon juice from the truck furthest west on Bay, and then pick up some tamales from the somewhat shabbier truck furthest east. (They freeze and steam up very well.)

Hometown BBQ also deserves a mention, but be warned: The line can be long, and by the time you get to the front there may be very little meat left. This is especially worrisome because the beef rib is so good, and you don't want to have to settle for the smoked turkey -- which I guess is fine and all, as smoked turkey goes, but I just don't get very excited about cold cuts. If you've planned poorly though, you can always comfort yourself with the bloody mary, which comes garnished with crispy, carmelized bacon. As for the rest: sides are as expected, which is to say: good to have on the side, but uninspiring. The usual bbq story. Only Fette Sau's beans are worth it all by themselves.

The Good Fork. Full disclosure: I haven't been here in several years, but last I checked it was a very fine, intimate restaurant, worthy of a special date night.

Steve's Authentic Key Lime Pies: What is says. None of that meringue nonsense. Though I'd recommend skipping the regular ol' pie and going for a swingle. This is a chocolate-dipped, frozen pie, and it comes in three flavors, all of which balance each other well if you have enough people to share.

Thai. I've talked about the Thai places before. Either way, quality food that's not just pad thai with damp, tough chicken strips.

The Red Hook Lobster Pound. I'll admit, after eating lobster rolls in Connecticut and Maine, it's hard to get it up for rolls in NY; they're twice the price, with half the lobster. So usually what I do is buy the meat from RHLP, bring it over to my friend L's, and then we make our own damn lobster rolls. It's still not the cheapest meal in town, but it makes the experience cost-effective enough for our purposes. Which isn't to say that RHLP doesn't make good lobster rolls. I've also heard excellent things about their lobster mac n' cheese.

Baked! For all your coffeeshop, very-Brooklyny baked goods. (Think chocolate, salted caramel, pretzels, peanut butter.)

Drink

Fort Defiance serves the best Irish coffee I've ever had. Actually, until I had it here, I didn't really understand that Irish coffee could even be a thing. It's just coffee with some whiskey, right? If you, also, don't understand, then please go to Fort Defiance and drink until you do. They also have a Thursday tiki night.

If FD didn't cure your cocktail craving, or you're making a day of it, or you prefer airy to cosy, head to Botanica.

And then when you're tired of cocktails and it's hot and you just want to sit in someone's back yard and drink $2 Miller High Lifes (with lemon) and eat 2/$5 pulled pork sandwiches with sweet potato fries and chipotle mayo... Ice House was the first bar I ever went to in Red Hook, and I've been back innumerable times since. It's the definition of a lazy summer afternoon.

Brooklyn Crab. I'm putting this under drink, rather than food, because the food is crap. However. If you want a deck to watch the sun set over the water (and the Fairway parking lot), washed down with a few Narragansetts, it will serve. And the oysters are probably fine?

Whiskey & Chocolate

Widow Jane & Cacao Prieto: Whiskey, rye, bourbon, rum, liqueur, and chocolate. With some fancy chickens running around the courtyard.
Van Brunt Stillhouse: Whiskey, rum, grappa, and moonshine.
Raaka: Chocolate.

All offer tours and tastings. It is an extremely pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

Art
There's nothing better than taking in a bit of art when you're more than one sheet to the wind. Pioneer Works screens movies, hangs art on its walls, and puts on performance pieces. As with any contemporary gallery, this is all very hit and miss, but even the biggest miss can be very entertaining after a few whiskey tastings.

The Robotic Church is only open every once in a while. Sign up with Atlas Obscura, and they should keep you in the loop (with plenty of other things too). It's an odd, slightly scary performance, which they cap off with a tour of the space. An ideal event for weeding out potentially questionable dates.

Red Hook also has a variety of galleries and other art spaces. Stroll the length of Van Brunt (or at least from the Lobster Pound all the way down the pier) and you'll hit a good number.

Et cetera
Hope & Anchor does karaoke every Friday and Saturday, starting at 9. It's my second-favorite karaoke in the city (after Baby Grand). Unless it's taken over by one of those all-girl birthday parties where they never sing in groups smaller than five, usually to Katy Perry or whatever, it's a great scene. (I'm not saying you can't eat here, but why would you? I mean I have, several times, but only the breakfast items are not disappointing.)

During the summer, there's a film series at Valentino Park. Bring a blanket and bug spray, stock up on snacks at Fairway, and settle in. It's the Land Time Forgot, remember, so it never gets nearly as crowded as the other outdoor movies.

Rocky Sullivan's has a quiz night every Thursday at 8.

The pool is open every summer. Free.

MAP

RECIPE: Coconut Layer Cake, even though I've only ever made the cake part, not the frosting. It's my standard white cake recipe, because it doesn't taste strongly coconutty, just nicely sweet and moist.

To the Beach!

Another thing I will miss when we leave New York is the ability to hop on my bike and be at the beach in an hour. Granted, it's not up to (what I imagine are) Hawaii standards, but for a place I can get to from my apartment, taken together with all the other places I can get to from my apartment... it's pretty good.

Technically, you can also get to the Rockaway peninsula by train, bus, or car. None of these options allow you to explore much once you're there though, and none are quick. If you're not up for the full bike adventure though, you can always bike down and around, then hop on the subway back.

Aside from speed and convenience, the other nice thing about biking is it allows you to really appreciate your arrival at the seashore. My route goes straight down Bedford Ave until it ends at the water; from then on it's a breezy ride along the sand, hands off the handlebars and waving at the cars backed up on the Belt Parkway.

Your first item of interest, coming this way, is Floyd Bennett Field, NY's first municipal airport and now a part of Gateway National Recreation Area. I wouldn't call it thrilling, but there's something to be said for the wide-open emptiness of abandoned tarmac, dotted with occasional dilapidated hangars. There's also a campground, though you have to make a reservation and hammocks are prohibited. I have a friend who regularly spends Memorial and Labor Day down there, and apparently the proximity to the beach makes up for the lack of any real wilderness.

Across from FBF, down through the trees, is Dead Horse Bay. If you're looking for the detritus of the ages, this is the spot. Broken bottles, whole bottles, crockery, shoe leather, etc. all come burbling up from the old landfill. Etsy raw materials heaven.

Next up is the Marine Parkway Bridge. (Alternatively, you could stay on the greenway and continue to follow the Belt Parkway around to Cross Bay Boulevard, thence down to Rockaway Beach.) No matter how sticky and awful the day, crossing that bridge is a breath of fresh, salty air.

The view back towards Manhattan.

On the other side, you have a choice: left to Rockaway, straight to Jacob Riis, right to Fort Tilden. We'll get to that in a second though, because in front of you (come down off the bridge, cross the street, look right) is the unmissable milkshake truck. Sure, it serves hot dogs and whatnot, but the milkshakes are why they -- and I -- am here. $6, and you've got lunch. My personal recommendation is vanilla malt snickers, but feel free to change vanilla to chocolate and snickers to Reese's or whatever just don't leave out the malt. R has yet to take my advice on this, and it drives me nuts. He thinks the shakes are great without malt, and I think he's like someone who thinks candy corn is great because they've literally never had any other kind of candy.

Now. If you just want to sit on the beach and drink your shake and watch the ocean, carry on straight ahead and you'll be at Jacob Riis. Nothing wrong with this. As of last year they've even got a little Brooklyn Flea sort of thing and a selection of food vendors. Easy.

Hankering for that hipster haven you've heard so much about? Turn left and keep going. (To give you an idea of how far: Jacob Riis is at around 160th St; Rockaway is around 96th-86th. There's a bus that runs inland, but it's an easy flat bike ride. Or a serious trek on the sand.) Here you'll find surfers, Ripper's, and a host of other options. If you want to try some surfing, watch some surfing, sit around and drink micheladas on the boardwalk, Rockaway is where it's at. And if you did happen to take the train, this is where it drops you.

I have, however, saved the best for last: Fort Tilden. The edge of this beach is just next to Jacob Riis; you can sit there and still have access to the bathrooms and tacos. However. The best bits lie within. The beach itself offers no boardwalk, no toilets, no food, no direct access to public transportation. You might regard this as an inconvenience, until you realize that the further west you go, the emptier it gets. So if you do want to have the sand to yourself and your thoughts, Fort Tilden is perfect. If you also want to explore abandoned military buildings covered in vines and graffiti, it's even more so.

MAP

RECIPE: Tamale Pie, for those weeknight, I-don't-want-to-think-but-I-want-this-to-be-good-and-more-interesting-than-pasta meals.