CUISINE: Seafood (blending flavors from Latin America, Asia and Africa)
ADDRESS: 229 South 4th Street, Brooklyn NY 11211
(between Haveymeyer & Roebling)
PHONE: 718.384.8014
HOURS: Tues-Sat 5pm-11pm, Sun 5pm-10pm
ENTREES: $10-$14
CARDS: Visa, MC, Amex
BOOZE: Wine and Beer only, Happy Hour specials on beers from 3pm-7pm
MENU: Click Here
SUBWAY: L to Bedford or JMZ to Marcy
MAP: Click Here
WEBSITE: www.ashayrestaurant.com
THE OWNERS SAY: Just steps from the Williamsburg Bridge, A'shay Restaurant spices up Brooklyn with a fresh style of seafood fusion. Drawing culinary influences from almost every continent, the cozy establishment serves its cosmopolitan fare underneath a romantic lighting scheme and surrounded by a minimalist garden decor. Depending on the season, patrons can enjoy their meal indoors or in the outdoor garden. While they wait, guests can sip a drink at the wine bar, which features an extensive collection of contemporary varietals, clams and oysters on the half-shell and a revolving platter of artisanal cheeses. Popular dishes include Camarones con Ajo, large tiger shrimp served over a bed of plantains smothered in a spicy garlic sauce; Wild Citrus Glazed Salmon accompanied by coconut and mint basmati rice; and Chicken Picatta, cooked in a white wine sauce with capers and sun dried tomatoes.

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image c/o Eater

20 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11211 (nr. Kent Ave)
PHONE: 718.384.2800
HOURS: Wed-Sun, noon-midnight; Mon-Tue, closed
MENU: Click Here
CUISINE: mainly a wine bar but Italian & Spanish Tapas are available
SUBWAY: J, M, Z at Marcy Ave.; L at Bedford Ave.
MAP: Click Here
WEBSITE: http://www.bridgevineyards.com
WINE PRICES: $6-$12
CARDS: American Express, MasterCard, Visa
BOOZE: Beer and Wine Only
RESERVATIONS: Not Accepted
NY TIMES SAYS: Greg Sandor and Paul Wegimont, the owners, have opened Bridge Vineyards Urban Winery and Tasting Room, an industrial, brick-walled space nudging the Williamsburg Bridge. Their wines and others are available for tasting with small plates of wine-friendly food ($4 to $10). Come fall, they hope to start using the stainless steel tank on the premises for blending wines and bottling, too.

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American Fare
85 Broadway, beneath W-burg Bridge
PHONE: (718) 486-3077
CARDS: MasterCard, Visa
BOOZE: Full bar
HOURS: Mon-Fri, lunch and dinner; Sat, Sun, brunch and dinner
AVERAGE ENTREE: $13
MENU: Click Here
MAP: Click Here
SUBWAY: JMZ to Marcy or L to Bedford

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American Nouveau
149 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11211
between Driggs and Bedford Aves.
PHONE: 718-384-6343
AVERAGE ENTREE: $20
BOOZE: Full bar
CARDS: American Express, MasterCard, Visa
HOURS: Mon-Thu, 6pm-11pm; Fri-Sat, 6pm-midnight; Sun, 5pm-11pm
DIRECTIONS: J, M, Z at Marcy Ave.
MAP: Click Here
MENU: Click Here
Dressler recently received a Michelin star!

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Seafood/Italian
412 Kent Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11211
(Btwn Broadway & S 8th St)
PHONE:(718) 387-7000
AVERAGE ENTREE: $18-$45
BOOZE: Full Bar
HOURS: Mon-Fri: 12pm-11pm; Sat & Sun: 4pm-12am
CARDS: All Major
SUBWAY: J, M, Z at Marcy Ave
MAP: Click Here
MENU: Click Here
Reservations are required
WE SAY: Old school Italian. With a beautiful view of the city, Giando is the fanciest place around (if you went to high school in Greenpoint).

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photo from NY Magazine

81 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11211
(Berry & Wythe Sts.)
PHONE: 718.384.1441
HOURS: Mon-Fri, 5pm-midnight; Sat-Sun, noon-midnight
CARDS: American Express, MasterCard, Visa
PRICES: $14-$18
RESERVATIONS: Not accepted
BOOZE: Full Bar
MENU: Click Here
WE SAY: The best damn oysters in New York
MAP: Click Here
SUBWAY: L at Bedford Ave. ; J, M, Z at Marcy Ave. - close to the Williamsburg Bridge

Continue reading "* Marlow & Sons" »

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image c/o Flickr

Nuevo American
349 Broadway, Brooklyn NY 11211 (Corner of Hooper)
PHONE: 718.599.6895
CARDS: American Express, MasterCard, Visa
HOURS: Mon-Fri, 6pm-2am; Sat-Sun, 6pm-3am
SUBWAY: J, M at Hewes St.
MAP: Click Here
WEBSITE: Click Here

South Williamsburg's hidden surprise. There is no sign on the door so hopefully this jewel will remain hidden from the masses. See some pictures on their website. This place is beautiful and affordable. The food is unique with French flair and the drinks are cheap!

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image c/o NY Mag

CUISINE: Soup & Sandwich
ADDRESS: 362 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11211
at South 4th Street
PHONE: 718.218.7720
HOURS: Mon-Sat, 9am-11pm; Sun, 11am-11pm
CARDS: American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa
BOOZE: None
AVERAGE ENTREE: $5-$12
MENU: Click Here
SUBWAY: J, M, Z at Marcy Ave.
MAP: Click Here
DELIVERY: Yes, S. 6th St. to N. 10th St., Lorimer St. to White St.
NY MAG SAYS: A collegiate brush with sandwich greatness at foodie mecca Zingerman's while studying at the University of Michigan spoiled Pete Levin for just about everything else he found when he returned to New York. So, Levin--who also runs Professor Thom's sports bar in the East Village and works as a cue-card man for Saturday Night Live--decided to take matters into his own hands. The result is this southside sandwich shop that smartly bridges the gap between the once great but now rare old-school Italian hero style and the more modern raised-pinkie panini parlor. All the produce comes from Greenmarket, the breads from Tom Cat Bakery, and the mortadella on the toothsome Jones Road hero from boutique salumi maker Fra' Mani. The Evil Reuben (smoked turkey, provolone, coleslaw, and Russian dressing on marble rye) is first-rate, too, but Levin's personal fave is the Pablo Honey, a turkey-and-potato-chip sandwich with a side of dipping gravy that he concocted at the NBC commissary.

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CUISINE: Steak
ADDRESS: 178 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11211
between Bedford and Driggs Aves.
PHONE: 718.387.7400
HOURS: Mon-Thu, 11:45am-9:45pm; Fri-Sat, 11:45am-10:45pm; Sun, 12:45pm-9:45pm
CARDS: Cash Only
BOOZE: Full Bar
AVERAGE ENTREE: $60-$80
MENU: Click Here
SUBWAY: J, M, Z at Marcy Ave; L Train to Bedford
MAP: Click Here
DELIVERY: No
RESERVATIONS: Required
WEBSITE: http://peterluger.com
NEW YORK MAG SAYS: "The room isn't handsome, street-slick, or even particularly welcoming. It recalls the kind of establishment that sports a banner running from beam to beam every year proclaiming !oktoberfest! The patrons may have come here straight from their booths at the Javits Center. The staff goes about its nonstop business with cordial if mechanical efficiency, serving onion-and-tomato salads, creamed spinach, and pasty fried potatoes. So why is it always more crowded than Toys 'R' Us on the weekend before Christmas? Because there are few gastronomic sensations that confirm the good life better than a hunk of a spectacular steak. And Peter Luger can broil and deliver one magnificently aged and marbleized two-finger-thick porterhouse after another with the unfailing certainty of Dustin Hoffman adenoidally reciting baseball scores. So don't even ask for a menu. Get big. Eat beef. Recommended Dishes: Steak for two, $77; steak for three, $115.50; steak for four, $154; creamed spinach, $7.50; sizzling canadian bacon, $2.50/slice."

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image c/o Noah Kalina

CUISINE: Southern/Soul Food
ADDRESS: MOVING TO A NEW LOCATION - STAY TUNED
PHONE: 347.282.6005
HOURS: Tue-Sun, 11am-9pm; Mon, closed
CARDS: Cash only
BOOZE: BYOB
AVERAGE ENTREE: $8
MENU: Dinner | Brunch
BRUNCH: Yes, Sat & Sun
SUBWAY: L Train to Bedford, J, M, Z at Marcy Ave.
MAP: Click Here
EXTRA: Outdoor Dining
DELIVERY: Yes, S. 8th St. to N. 13th St., Union Ave. to Kent Ave.
WEBSITE: http://piesandthighs.com
NY MAG SAYS: It's usually not a promising sign when a restaurant's outdoor patio is enclosed by a fifteen-foot-high barbed-wire fence. At Pies-N-Thighs, though, you might say it's part of the charm. The makeshift southern-style kitchen that operates out the back of Williamsburg's Rock Star Bar has an air of what might politely be called a rough, postindustrial outer-borough chic. In other words, it's a dive, but a dive in the best sense of the word. Stephen Tanner and Sarah Buck, two refugees from nearby Diner, cook the kind of honest home-style vittles you might hope to stumble upon while tootling along some southern backroad. He oversees the pit-smoked pulled pork, the fried chicken, the juicy burgers, and the spicy macaroni and cheese. She bakes the breads, the biscuits, and the type of picture-perfect double-crusted pies that, when customarily placed atop a windowsill to cool, hoboes find hard to resist. All of it can be gulped down at a slim counter inside the greasy kitchen nook that formerly served as a beer closet. But down-home cooking of this caliber is best enjoyed amidst the barbed wire and weedy plants, or what the locals cheerfully refer to as “out back in the prison yard."

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image c/o Flickr

CUISINE: Cafe/Japanese tapas bar
ADDRESS: 305 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11211
between South First and South Second
PHONE: 718.302.1629
HOURS: Mon-Fri 8:30am-2am, Sat-Sun 9:30am-2am
CARDS: Cash Only
BOOZE: Wine, Beer, Sake, Sangria
AVERAGE ENTREE:
MENU: Click Here
SUBWAY: L at Bedford Ave; J, M, Z at Marcy Ave.
MAP: Click Here
DELIVERY: No
EXTRAS: Live jazz on Sunday afternoons
CITY SEARCH SAYS: "In understated fashion, this Japanese tapas bar unites the sensibilities of two capitals of hipness—Tokyo and Williamsburg. It has a warm, clean decor of square wood panels and paper lanterns, plus the cute touch of dolls spinning on turntables in the windows. Tricked-out jazz, pop and electronica play most nights, while progressive DJs such as John Davis spin on weekends. Pleasant bartenders serve a range of $3 and $4 Japanese home cooking-style dishes, all presented in artful ceramics. The distinctive offerings include sake-simmered sardines with ginger—salty, yet tempered with light flavors—and the refreshing burdock in sesame sauce; an underseasoned beef stew and bland rice balls are better skipped. The one sake available by the glass, Onigoroshi, is delectably smooth and dry. Other drink options include beer, sangria, prosecco and in chilly weather, a fragrant, comforting mulled wine."

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image c/o Noah Kalina

CUISINE: Latin American
ADDRESS: 109 South 6th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211
(next to the base of the Williamsburg bridge)
PHONE: 718.782.2333
CARDS: All major
HOURS: Sun-Thu, 5pm-11pm; Fri-Sat, 5pm-midnight
BOOZE: Full bar
SUBWAY: J, M, Z at Marcy Ave.; L at Bedford Ave.
MAP: Click Here
MENU: Click Here
WEB: www.vinascuisine.com
METROMIX SAYS: Named after the Spanish word for "vineyard," Viñas is an inspired pan-Latin eatery with a rusted adobe atmosphere in Williamsburg. The Spanish and South American wine list itself is actually not that interesting--which is fine because the rest of the candle-and-lantern-lit restaurant is, with its farmhouse-style wooden tables, colorful counter tiles, tin and iron work. The menu has many worthy highlights that require repeat visits (or lots of sharing and sampling with friends), including Andalusian meatballs in garlic saffron sauce, quail a la piancha drizzled with chipotle, espresso bean and honey reduction, Ecuadorian shrimp, and truffled honey-glazed pork belly.

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CUISINE: Mexican
ADDRESS: 295 Broadway (between Havemeyer St & Marcy Ave), Brooklyn NY 11211
PHONE: 718.388.2161
CARDS: All major
BOOZE: Full bar
AVERAGE ENTREE: $7
WEBSITE: Click Here
MENU: Click Here
SUBWAY: JMZ to Marcy
MAP: Click Here
DELIVERY: Yes

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