Brooklyn- Bedford Stuyvesant

[ChrisZ]

I'll be visiting New York in a few weeks, staying in Brooklyn's Bedford Stuyvesant area. I'd love any suggestions for family-friendly eating around there.  Open to all sorts of advice - breakfast, lunch and dinner - just be nice to get some local knowledge.  Thanks in advance 🙂 

[heidih]

Personally I would look to Eater NY or GrubStreet as more au courant. Also NY centered reliable blogs. If this is work related travel  ask the locals.    If you can get to Red Rooster in Harlem (Marcus Samuelson's place) even just for the vibe - I would. Happy eating. Do report back. 

[KennethT]

1 hour ago, heidih said:

Personally I would look to Eater NY or GrubStreet as more au courant. Also NY centered reliable blogs. If this is work related travel  ask the locals.    If you can get to Red Rooster in Harlem (Marcus Samuelson's place) even just for the vibe - I would. Happy eating. Do report back. 

Red Rooster is basically on the other side of the world compared to Bed-Stuy... it'd probably be faster to get to Boston (via Amtrak)... haha...

 

Unfortunately, I can't help - I don't think I've ever been in Bed-Stuy and know little about it other than it being the focus of Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing which was about the racial problems in that area back in the '80s.  As @heidih recommended, this is what Eater has about Bed-Stuy...
https://ny.eater.com/neighborhood/1333/bed-stuy

Note that it's not very recent - but there's not a lot of action in that neighborhood...

 

[Alex]

Williamsburg, near Bed-Stuy, is more of a restaurant destination. Just for a start, take a look at Sunday in Brooklyn, Diner (in an old railroad dining car), and, for pizza, Roberta's (East Williamsburg) and Emmy Squared (Detroit-style).

[weinoo]

Depending on how far from one you are, the subway will be your friend. And people who don't live here are sending you to, let's say, not the most convenient locations, unless you use Uber a lot. And while there might not be a lot of action in Bed-Stuy itself (though that's changing), the surrounding neighborhoods have plenty going on.

 

In Bed-Stuy itself, Hart's might be a good option, and their sister restaurant, The Fly could be to your liking. Peaches serves classic American southern comfort food, and many call it the best in the city. Peaches Hothouse, same restaurant group, serves Nashville fried chicken. For Jewish sorta comfort food, David's Brisket House has one of the best brisket or pastrami sandwiches around.

 

In Clinton Hill, one neighborhood over from Bed-Stuy, you might find Mekelburg's to your liking.  In the same area, Speedy Romeo has its original location.  A bit further afield, Shelsky's makes great bagel, and appetizing to go along with.

 

You say you want breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc., but tell us a little more. Budget; are there kids, you know, the important stuff.

Edited September 9, 2019 by weinoo (log)

[eugenep]

Bed-Stuy used to be called "Bed-Sty Do or Die" and is where a lot of artists like Mike Tyson, Lil Kim, and maybe Biggie (2 Pac's nemesis) grew up as kids. 

 

Williams burg should be close if you want to go to a family friendly place 

 

But just be careful not to be surprised if you dine in Do or Die  

[weinoo]

2 hours ago, eugenep said:

But just be careful not to be surprised if you dine in Do or Die  

 

Can you explain exactly what you mean by this?

 

I'd be more worried about Willams burg, as you put it.

[ChrisZ]

Thanks for the replies.  Yes, I realise Bed Sty is not exactly a foodie destination 🙂  I'll be staying there as part of a larger party travelling for a wedding.  As part of a larger group I'm not sure how much I'll get out to do my own exploring, and the location was chosen for it's proximity to the celebrations not tourist attractions.  But still, looking to make the most of the trip so if there's somewhere good that I can walk to then I'll try it out.  I'm already up for the chicken sandwich at The Fly (thanks for the link) and we're just around the corner from Peaches Hothouse, so that will get a visit too, even if it's only out of convenience.  So the trip wasn't really my choice, and the location wasn't my decision, but hoping to get a few good meals while I'm travelling. Thanks again!

[SLB]

I'm there pretty frequently because my best friend lives there.  We often grab Haitian food from Grandchamps on Patchen.  It's hearty and seasoned if unevenly executed, and won't touch the wonder of Haitian home food.  But for when you want things like oxtail . . .  Totally kid friendly cafe=style place, good for takeout.  Expect to wait a long time for the food.  Honestly I have no idea whether there is alcohol (which means probably not, it's not a feature I'm prone to really miss).  But you could probably bring your own beer in.  

 

[cinghiale]

On 9/9/2019 at 12:47 PM, eugenep said:

But just be careful not to be surprised if you dine in Do or Die  

 

On 9/9/2019 at 3:01 PM, weinoo said:

 

Can you explain exactly what you mean by this?

 

I'd be more worried about Willams burg, as you put it.

 

Maybe he means Bed-Stuy's long-shuttered Do or Dine - their foie gras donuts were indeed surprising (and delicious!).

[cdh]

A friend has been living over there for a while... he gets to Roberta's from there pretty regularly.  He's also a fan of L'antagonist on Malcom X blvd, and I'd concur with that.  

[eugenep]

There are a lot of Latin-am immigrants and African-Caribbean communities in Do or Die. It's everyday people food that they eat and not fine dining at about $8 to $10 a plate:

 

sour onions with mashed yucca (sort of like mashed potatoes) 

 

orange colored rice 

 

tripe soup 

 

carribean oxtail with peas and rice and steamed cabbage and this sweet subtle sauce 

 

boiled pig ears and blood sausages 

 

etc. 

 

It's like food of the immigrants and local people that live there  

 

You can walk around and look through the window and see it and the risk to you is like $8 to $10 if you decide to try it 

 

 

Edited September 23, 2019 by eugenep (log)

[weinoo]

Probably after the fact, but:

 

Where to Eat and Drink in Bed-Stuy via eater.

[ChrisZ]

Ha, wish I had that two weeks ago!

Out of gratitude to everyone's posts here are a couple of notes, after the fact.  Firstly, I was pretty naive.  Get a bunch of tourists who've never been to New York before, and of course even though we're sleeping in Bed Stuy we end up spending most of our time in Manhattan.  So we weren't really around Bed Stuy to eat anyway...

 

We arrived about 7pm on a Saturday night and wandered up the road looking for somewhere to eat.  Only a few steps from our front door we saw a huge group of people waiting for pizza's at Saraghina.  They were fully booked and even the wait for takeout was over an hour, so we moved on.  The interesting thing to note was that 3 seperate people waiting in the queue came up to tell us that Peaches Hothouse was fantastic and we should try there.  We never made it to Peaches but it evidently has a great reputation with the locals.

 

We did book and eat at Saraghina another night, and the pizza's were great.  Personally I found the service erratic and it took a long time to get our meal (doesn't a Naples-style pizza cook in only 90 seconds?) but everyone was really happy with their meal.  I wanted to order a pasta dish but they'd sold out.  The attached bakery sells all of the ingredients they use too, eg fresh sheeps ricotta, buratta and so on.  Because it was so close, I ended up walking there every morning to get a coffee and pastry.

 

The best meal we had in New York was at the boathouse in Central Park.  It was also the most expensive.  I've always been slightly suspicious of restaurants that occupy such an obviously touristy location, but the scallops and seafood pasta dishes were absolutely sublime.

 

 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

On 9/23/2019 at 10:37 AM, eugenep said:

There are a lot of Latin-am immigrants and African-Caribbean communities in Do or Die. It's everyday people food that they eat and not fine dining at about $8 to $10 a plate:

 

sour onions with mashed yucca (sort of like mashed potatoes) 

 

orange colored rice 

 

tripe soup 

 

carribean oxtail with peas and rice and steamed cabbage and this sweet subtle sauce 

 

boiled pig ears and blood sausages 

 

etc. 

 

It's like food of the immigrants and local people that live there  

 

You can walk around and look through the window and see it and the risk to you is like $8 to $10 if you decide to try it 

 

 

 

 

This all sounds interesting.    Our bane when traveling is when our host sizes us up and sends us to some frou-frou restaurant that could be anywhere instead of a place with local food and culture.