Road Trip: Brooklyn

We spent a few days with our daughter in Brooklyn this past weekend, doing what we usually do when we’re there: equal parts sightseeing and eating, with lots of walking in between. Brooklyn is a real mixed bag of neighborhoods, from the picturesque tree-lined streets of historic brownstones (the kind you see in the movies set in New York) to the gritty neighborhoods filled with graffiti and litter. Here are a few of the highlights.

My daughter lives in a 4th-floor walkup in Prospect Heights. This is the view from the roof:

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is just a few blocks from my daughter's apartment. The cherry trees, lilacs and tulips were in full bloom:

We had lunch in this tiny Mexican place, Chavella's. Great authentic dishes, and an awesomely chunky guacamole:



Sampling the artisan beers on tap at the Brooklyn Brewery:



On Saturday morning, we stopped at the greenmarket at Grand Army Plaza. Regional produce (I won't say local, because the farms aren't actually in Brooklyn), fruits, fish, meats, breads, baked goods, flowers, pickles, jams, and this sprout farmer:



Here is a traditional "pork store" selling meats, sausages, salami and Italian specialties. You don't find these in Virginia.



Haven't seen a bread bakery around these parts, either.



I've eaten in a lot of ethnic restaurants, but this is the first time I've seen the "Chinese-Latina" combo:

We went into Manhattan to visit the "Design and the Elastic Mind" exhibit at MoMA, and passed by Rockefeller Center:

More Brooklyn to come!