New York Magazine has put their judging caps again on and shared what they think the best anything and everything the city has to offer in their Best of NYC issue. Most exciting was the fact that we got handed the title for Best Ribs in the city, which can apparently be found at Carroll Gardens’ Dover. And while Brooklyn was certainly represented in the list, we weren’t all over it like we were last year. Was New York reasserting their love of Manhattan, or does Brooklyn’s embrace of dead-eyed branding ghouls selling you your own reflection truly mean we’re done? Eh, who cares, we’ve got New York City’s Best Carnival Ride apparently. Suck on that, haters. Full list of Brooklyn’s best below.
Best Ribs: Dover, Carroll Gardens
“charred to a perfect tenderness and topped in the Southeast Asian way with fish sauce, frizzled shallots, peanuts, and sprigs of coriander.”
Best Neighborhood Haunt: The Long Island Bar, Cobble Hill
“they kept the same Art Deco diner-booth look, gruff attitude (a sign in the back says NO DANCING), and even a bit of the old floral wallpaper.”
Best outré framer: Make-a-Frame, Cobble Hill
“Customers feel comfortable leaving prized, emotionally valuable objects at the store.”
Best Niche Scents: Twisted Lilly, Boerum Hill
“most of the city’s fragrance shops are in fact selling you a concoction that trickled down from Big Perfume. But Twisted Lily owners Eric Weiser and Stamatis Birsimijoglou (who co-launched e-tailer Parfum1.com back in 2001) emphasize hand-blended scents”
Best More-Affordable Custom Furniture: Recycled Brooklyn, Red Hook
“this reasonably priced furniture outfit, made up of brothers Matt and Steve Loftice and their crew of eight carpenters, specializes in rustic-modern coffee ($300) and dining ($700) tables from salvaged fir floor beams.”
Best Pop Tchotchkes: Alphaville, Brooklyn Flea
“Just don’t ask for any Backstreet Boys paraphernalia; the ’90s is one decade Alphaville doesn’t revere.”
Best Concert Venue: Baby’s All Right, Williamsburg
“proprietors Zachary Mexico and Billy Jones share the same anything-goes spirit as their new neighbors, with laid-back parties and live shows that cut across a wide spectrum of experimental (Pharmakon, Stephen O’Malley), guitar-guided (Nobunny, Sebadoh), and sample-spliced (Powell, the Range) sounds. ”
Best Secondhand Clothes: People of 2morrow, Williamsburg
“Some vintage stores make you work for your finds, rifling through bins of tatty rags. And the ones that do the sifting themselves charge you for it. This store is neither.”
Best Condiment: Battery Harris, Williamsburg
“The owners here proudly display on a chalkboard their jerk-sauce recipe (in proportions that reflect just how much the restaurant goes through: 15 pounds scallions, eight ounces house-secret jerk dust).”
Best Bread Pudding: Shalom Japan, Williamsburg
“Okochi soaks the challah in custard (which includes E. Guittard dark chocolate, ripened bananas, and Battenkill Valley Creamery milk and cream) overnight, and then bakes it ‘low and slow.'”
Best Women’s Boutique: Electric Nest, Williamsburg
“The clothing against both walls frames a vignette of home items, including Electric Feathers abstract-print silk pillows”
Best Romper Room: Twinkle Playspace, Williamsburg
“Thrill-seekers can put out pretend fires with real water at the Red Hot Fire House station, while the dress-up salon (equipped with styling chairs and primping mirrors) caters to more subdued play.”
Best Home Décor: Home of the Brave, Williamsburg
“Their assortment calls to mind Anthropologie’s home floor (with better prices): speckled cowhide rugs sourced straight from a Brazilian farmer ($225), indigo-dyed throw rugs that double as blankets ($138), hand-glazed ceramic mugs and planters by Williamsburg-based brand Small Spells (from $35).”
Best Carnival Ride: B&B Carousel, Coney Island
“The façade, painted with pastel horses and mounted with retro letters (the intentionally spelled “carousell” glows neon at night), is more The Jetsons than Boardwalk Empire.”
Best Bike Doctor: Harvest Cyclery, Bushwick
“The shop, which features a nearly floor-to-ceiling tool wall and dozens of ‘garage queens’ (refurbished ’cycles that were barely used and then stashed for years in sheds), specializes in bringing vintage bikes from the 1960s to 1990s back to life”
Best Playground: Donald and Barbara Zucker Natural Exploration Area, Prospect Park
“Toddlers play hide-and-seek in hollowed-out stumps, while older kids balance on long logs and count the rings.”
Best College Dance Party for Adults: “Oh Yes!” at Tutu’s, Bushwick
“One Friday a month (for future parties check tutusbrooklyn.com), the basement gets sweaty with Bedford Avenue exiles dancing like only their closest friends are watching.”
You can also see what New York called the best in the city in not Brooklyn, check it out.