Hi, I’m Jessica, and I live in Park Slope, Brooklyn. We’re close to Prospect Park which is good for running but more importantly I live in a neighborhood with so many good options for food and bars. It’s both uppity and laid back at the time same (laughs). Like sometimes you’ll see people bring their babies in very fancy strollers to dive bars which is sort of strange but hey, everyone’s pretty friendly about it. The spots I’m going to show you are all in Park Slope, and I’d suggest always checking their menus before you go. What’s great about the places here is that a lot of the restaurants cook seasonally. The ingredients they work with are always fresh and local. The downside is you might love one dish and then never get it again (laughs). Okay, let’s start. 

OUR ROUTE 

Dram Shop has a great beer selection and they freeze their beer glasses for serving. Order their buffalo chicken wings, they’re so good. They also have games: buck hunter, ski ball, and pool. Everything here: their fries, nachos, wings, are fried so well they they’re perfectly crunchy. It’s not great for your heart but it’s great for your soul. 

Ha Noi Vietnamese Kitchen is my go to for dinner. Yes, they have banh mi but it’s their ga nuong, that’s my favorite order. It’s a grilled chicken dinner with the best sauce. I order mine with vegetables on the side. 

Hugo and Sons was an accidental discovery when I once made a reservation at a restaurant that was 20 blocks away from my apartment. Walking there was a trek and we gave up halfway and ducked into the first restaurant we saw— Hugo and Sons. It was the best thing that could have happened that night because this restaurant is just so good. They’re seasonal, so their menu is always changing. You never know what you’re going to get. When I was here last I ordered their burrata which I recommend. I don’t like beets but they have a very good roasted golden beets salad. So if you like beets you’ll definitely like this (laughs). My other favorites here are their squash ravioli in a sage butter sauce, their homemade pappardelle, and their ricotta and spinach agnolotti. 

Next we’ve got Bricolage. It’s a gastropub. I don’t exactly know what that means but their food is amazing and their drinks are amazing so I’m not going to question it any further. Their portions are small, so its good to go with a lot of friends and order a bunch of stuff to taste and share. This place is basically all about fancy Vietnamese food, but first start with a good cocktail. Order their smoke and mirror, it’s really good but you obviously have to like dark liquor. I don’t usually like vodka but their Emerald City is also a must order. One thing on their menu you should definitely good are the deviled eggs. They transcend breakfast. Also order their fresh summer rolls, the papaya salad, and their sriracha butter chicken wings. 

Sushi Katsuei is another good spot for sharing small plates with friends. The best thing here is their miso cod, so maybe order one just for yourself.  

For a really good drink I’d go to Parish Cocktail Bar, they’ve got lighting that’s dimmed just so and a fun backyard. Another excellent backyard spot is Song Thai. They have a really big restaurant that’s fun and nicely decorated but if you can get a table in their backyard, and order their red curry. Calexico is a Mexican restaurant that has great margaritas, and if you go often enough they’ll give you tokens for free drinks. I think they appreciate it when you’re friendly, working in the service industry is really hard and they have to deal with so many personalities. Calexico’s food is also so, so good. When you order make sure you get anything that comes with their crack sauce, and order extra crack sauce on the side. And of course, you can’t talk about Park Slope, or any neighborhood in Brooklyn, without talking about pizza. I’m not going to say this is the best pizza in Brooklyn but Joe’s Pizza is the best pizza in Park Slope. 

I also can’t talk about Brooklyn without talking about bagels. Everyday I go to La Bagel Delight. This place is perfect. They put more cream cheese than bagel and they have so many cream cheese flavors, like chipotle. My order is either a sesame bagel with scallion cream cheese, or an onion bagel with spinach and artichoke cream cheese. They’ve also got really good flavored coffees, some of the flavors are wild. They’ve got raspberry chocolate, cookies and cream, even cinnamon toast crunch. It’s wild, but good. And if you’re nice to them, they’ll give you a free cookie.