Years before foraging became a buzzword, husband-and-wife team Paris Smeraldo and Meg Lipke were scouring Hudson Valley forests for ingredients to showcase at their farm-to-table restaurant. Along with locavore eats—fiddleheads in early spring, strawberries in late summer—the Vermont-bred couple conjure their love of the great outdoors, with floral wallpaper and mini stag heads rusticating the 44-seat spot. In 2009, the pair also gave the ’hood its first high-profile bar, taking a chain saw to the floor in order to open a now-shuttered live music venue in the basement. 18 Wyckoff Ave at Troutman St (718-386-3864, north-eastkingdom.com)
Once a no-man’s-land of warehouses and parking lots, Bushwick has quickly established itself as a cool-kid hub, thanks to the skyrocketing rents of nearby Williamsburg pushing artsy denizens—and their retail comforts—farther afield. We trace the neighborhood’s transformation since game changer Northeast Kingdom opened eight years ago. Here’s what you’ll find down the L line.
RECOMMENDED: See the full Bushwick, Brooklyn guide
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