A Night in Billyburg

Most people know that New York is comprised of five boroughs: Manhattan; Brooklyn; Queens; The Bronx; and Staten Island.  While I've lived in Manhattan for a little over three years, I've only been to Brooklyn maybe 3 or 4 times.  I've visited Queens only to fly out of it (JFK and La Guardia airports are both there), and I have never once set foot in The Bronx or on Staten Island.  Seriously, what have I been doing with my time?

Last night, in an attempt to redress this imbalance and to broaden my horizons, I took off after work to Williamsburg ("Billyburg"), in Brooklyn.

One thing that always strikes me when I come to Brooklyn is the irrational fear that I am not now, nor will ever be, cool enough to be here.  Brooklyn, and Williamsburg in particular, has that reputation of being hipster headquarters and I am about as far removed from a hipster as it is possible to get.  But that insecurity is all in my head because in reality, Williamsburg is one of the most accessible and approachable neighbourhoods.

Sure, the streets are quieter than in Manhattan, and the architecture is very different, but every block is jam-packed with stores and restaurants that seem so interesting.  They're shops you actually want to go into - vintage bookstores sit next to dive bars, across the street from pierogi vendors and top-shelf coffee shops.  The stores are characters in themselves, to say nothing about the cheery people who run them.

As I walked along North 7th Street last night, shop owners and their customers were milling around on the footpath (sidewalk), taking full advantage of the mild weather.  There was real community there, far from Manhattan's yellow cabs and honking horns.  I felt comfortable there - not like a trespasser at all.

Random exploration would have to wait for another day though, as I had made reservations for dinner at a lovely little restaurant called Fat Goose.  Of all the restaurants in the area - and they are many and varied - I chose this one because the online reviews were excellent, but also because it is located halfway between the Bedford Avenue train station and the East River, a location I felt fairly confident I could find on my own.  Indeed I got to the restaurant very easily and was very pleased to realise that its online reputation is entirely justified.

I had a starter of braised octopus cassoulet, and a main dish of NY strip steak with roasted vegetables.  Is it just me, or does everything taste better when someone else cooks it for you?  Our server had the most fantastic curly moustache, and he was a kind and attentive host who took very good care of us.

Another reason I chose Fat Goose is because it is only a couple of blocks away from the Brooklyn Winery, a wonderful urban oasis that is producing some delicious products.  The winery has only been open for 3 years, and I had purchased a couple of tickets to do a behind-the-scenes winery tour starting at 9pm.

Now if you're like me and you don't know Brooklyn very well, you would nevertheless be aware that in a concrete jungle like New York City, vineyards are not exactly plentiful.  In fact, they're bloody non-existent.  We don't have any space for vineyards here!  So the grapes that Brooklyn Winery uses for its red wines come from sunny California, but its white wine grapes are sourced more locally.  They come from the Finger Lakes region of New York and the North Fork of Long Island, where I had enjoyed a wonderful grape-grazing weekend in June.

As we learned about the wine-making techniques employed at the most urban winery I've ever visited, we got to sip some really tasty wines.  I surprised myself by really enjoying their chardonnay, which I normally avoid.  This one is fermented in stainless steel tanks (like the ones in this picture), so it doesn't have that buttery taste from the oak barrels that a lot of people like about Chardonnay, but which I cannot stomach.  The Brooklyn Winery's chardonnay is crisp and fresh, and much more reminiscent of a pinot grigio really.

Being from South Australia, I am also quite partial to those robust red wines that punch you in the face (you know the ones I mean).  The Brooklyn Winery makes a Petit Syrah, and their running joke is that there's nothing petit about it.  Sure enough, the rich red wine is full-bodied, powerful and quite frankly, really tasty.  These are fermented in barrels onsite.


The winery has a fantastic bar just as you walk in, and the wines they serve there are poured from kegs rather than from bottles.  The winery figures there isn't much point bottling the wine out the back, only to pour it into glasses in the very next room.  But they do bottle the wine they intend to sell, and each batch is numbered.  My friend and I certainly came home with some bottles, and our souvenir wine tour glass.  An excellent haul.

Williamsburg is just one of the great places to explore in Brooklyn.  It's easy to get there as well - the first stop off Manhattan on the L train, and even if you only have time to walk along Bedford Avenue (and the few blocks either side of it) you'll be amazed at the number and diversity of the treats on offer.  They shouldn't be missed.