Brooklyn Charm: Part 1

Many thanks to those of you who sent your recommendations for my first ever visit to Brooklyn. We had a wonderful weekend in New York - a good portion of which was spent in Brooklyn. Though I always love observing the hustle and bustle of Manhattan, Brooklyn's pace feels more like my tempo.

On Saturday, we kicked the day off in Williamsburg with an incredible sunrise-colored beet and carrot juice, freshly made from Lokal. I have vowed to return and try their vegetarian pinto bean-mushroom burger. We then made our way down towards the Grand Army Plaza.

We took a little walk around Prospect Park. We saw plenty of kite flying, some serious barbeques and even a gladiator battle.

After so much excitement, we were hungry. Luckily the Wafels & Dinges Truck was just around the corner and we stuffed ourselves with Belgian wafel goodness. If you think Nutella is good, you must try Spekuloos. Spekuloos is a spread made out of cookies. Enough said.

On our way to the subway, we stopped by the Wolf & the Deer for drinks. They serve up the most refreshing cucumber mint cocktail and their menus are bound into old books with content sure to enliven conversation.

We returned to Manhattan for dinner. I'm not sure how the wolf theme came about, but we enjoyed the rustic intimacy and fresh flavors of Edi and the Wolf. Recommended to us by Pem's sister, this Austrian restaurant has a surprising number of vegetarian options. After a nightcap at a place called Mama's Bar, we called it a night. It was a day full of exploration punctuated by delicious food and wonderful company - it's a tough life, I know.

With visions of the Brooklyn Bridge and wafels in our heads, we planned to return to Brooklyn the next day.

To be continued...