Rest assured family and friends, I have no plans to trade my Wall Street career to join the the 'world's oldest profession' (though one could probably argue that there are elements of 'service' that are similar in both, at least in the world of hedge funds!). Hooker is the brilliant moniker used by locals in the charming neighborhood of Red Hook, Brooklyn -- the location for my first AW80NY adventure. I will tell you, what started out as a modest search for Latin American delicacies morphed into one of my best travel days ever! Read on.
GETTING THERE -- Over the River and Through the 'Hood
Thanks to the good folks of IKEA, the trip to Red Hook turned out to be a breeze. This is because on the weekends, IKEA runs a free shuttle from Pier 11 (Wall Street) to IKEA Brooklyn every 20 minutes starting at 11am. It is a quick 10 minute boat ride with beautiful views of Lower Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge. You can also get there via the F/G trains to the Smith and 9th Street stop, but it is not nearly as atmospheric.
PART I: Red Hook Ball Fields -- In Search of Pupusas!
Ever since I returned from Central America in March, I have been craving El Salvadoran pupusas, which are delicious griddle cakes made of corn or rice masa, stuffed with a variety of delicious fillings including chicharron (pork), beans, and cheese, topped with a vinegary cabbage slaw and pepper sauce.
It turns out that the place to go for pupusas in Red Hook is the corner of Clinton and Bay streets in the midst of Red Hook Park, where Latin American food vendors of all stripes park their food trucks each weekend and offer up authentic specialties such as Mexican huaraches, Colombian arepas, Ecuadoran ceviche, and of course, pupusas! Eager beaver that I am, I got there early enough to avoid the infamous lines and to make sure that I would have enough time to digest between courses. I decided to try one pupusa revuelta (normally a combination of pork, beans and cheese) and one stuffed with loroco (an edible flower which is high in vitamins A,B,C, iron and calcium and is also purported to be natural aphrodisiac) from ElOmega, the original pupusa truck. The pupusa revuelta was insanely good. I will be dreaming about it for days to come! The cost: 2 pupusas for $5. Considering that the price in El Salvador was 3 for $2, not a bad deal at all.
My friend, Debbie, arrived in time to join me for my second course, a Mexican huarache (so named for its oblong sandal shape), which was comprised of a thin piece of masa, topped with meat, a green sauce and cheese. If you get overwhelmed by the choices as I did, follow the recommendation I received from the locals: get the pork huarache topped with the works. Simply delicious! Oh, and by the way, if you get the limonade, don't be alarmed by its neon green color. It still tastes like lemonade!
PART II: Red Hook Waterfront Arts Festival
Although both Debbie and I were salivating at the other foods on offer, there was simply no room left in our bellies, so we decided to waddle (I mean wander) over to the waterfront. Red Hook Fest, a local community arts festival was taking place a few blocks away. In a city like NY, where world-class dance, music and theater are always at your fingertips, it was fun to see a celebration that was truly local in flavor. The performers were neighborhood kids from Dance Theater Etcetera hip-hopping their hearts out to quick cut music mixes by Britney (I'm a Slave for You) and Beyonce. The emcee tried to teach the crowd some hip hop moves, but sadly I realized that my body was not designed for any manner of poppin', lockin', or crunkin'. Sigh. The kids threw us a bone by including the Electric Slide in the finale (which they invited the crowd to participate in), but before I could get my bootylicious arse up off the grass, the music had already changed. Sigh again. Time to move on.
PART III: Steve's Authentic Key Lime Pie -- The Serendipitous Beginning of an Unexpected Adventure
Well folks, Debbie and I thought our adventure was over after the arts festival. But then a funny thing happened on our way back to the ferry. There was a sign and we knew we were not yet done. It wasn't a sign from God per se. It was a sign for Steve's Authentic Key Lime Pie. Debbie, who is a child of the South, informed me that good Key Lime Pie is an experience not to be missed. So like Hansel and Gretel, we followed the graham cracker crumbs and found our little piece of heaven. Although we had the option to try a swingle (frozen key lime pie covered in chocolate on a stick), we decided that our hip hoppin' had shook loose only enough room to split a four inch pie. It was tart, sweet, tangy and delicious.
Again, you would think that this stop would have been the 'sweet ending' to our Red Hook expedition. Instead, it just piqued our curiosity for what other little gems might be hiding in the neighborhood. Our first find was Saipua, a fragrant little soap shop on Van Dyke Street. We ventured a little farther to the corner of Van Dyke and Van Brunt (can you tell that this neighborhood was originally settled by the Dutch?) and hit the motherload: Dry Dock Wine + Spirits. There we met Mary Dudine Kyle, one of the owners and a woman fantastically knowledgeable about the history and the hot spots in Red Hook. For example, she told us about:
Fort Defiance: A great little bar/restaurant a couple of blocks down Van Brunt Street. The owner, used to be a bartender at the swanky Pegu Club in Manhattan before opening this little joint about 15 months ago. Debbie and I stopped in for a drink and had our bevvies mixed by owner St. John Frizell (pronounced 'sinjin') himself! Debbie had a Breuckelen Corpse Reviver (the glass spritzed with Absinthe and made with local Breuckelen Gin) while I opted for an Elysian Nymph. Both were delicious.
Red Hook Lobster Pound: Fresh Maine lobster.. 'Nuff said. Fearing that she might not make it back to Red Hook any time soon, Debbie didn't want to leave without giving this place a try. She was right to suggest we stop here. Though I couldn't fathom any more food, I had a taste of Debbie's Connecticut-style lobster roll, warm and dripping with butter. It was heavenly.
Baked: Our last culinary stop in Red Hook was the locally famous bakery, aptly named Baked. We stopped in for a look and left with a sweet and salty brownie, one of the treats for which they are reknown. This was in case we got hungry on the ferry home, of course (yeah right!).
The Happy Ending: Eight hours after beginning my Red Hook adventure, I finally crawled back on the IKEA ferry back to Manhattan. Believe it or not, this blog post only covered a small fraction of the magical experience of Red Hook. There are so many beautiful and artsy little shops to browse in and such a relaxed, bohemian vibe. Of one thing I am sure: I will be back. Sorry Mom and Dad, maybe I will be a 'Hooker for life after all!
Thanks to the good folks of IKEA, the trip to Red Hook turned out to be a breeze. This is because on the weekends, IKEA runs a free shuttle from Pier 11 (Wall Street) to IKEA Brooklyn every 20 minutes starting at 11am. It is a quick 10 minute boat ride with beautiful views of Lower Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge. You can also get there via the F/G trains to the Smith and 9th Street stop, but it is not nearly as atmospheric.
PART I: Red Hook Ball Fields -- In Search of Pupusas!
Ever since I returned from Central America in March, I have been craving El Salvadoran pupusas, which are delicious griddle cakes made of corn or rice masa, stuffed with a variety of delicious fillings including chicharron (pork), beans, and cheese, topped with a vinegary cabbage slaw and pepper sauce.
It turns out that the place to go for pupusas in Red Hook is the corner of Clinton and Bay streets in the midst of Red Hook Park, where Latin American food vendors of all stripes park their food trucks each weekend and offer up authentic specialties such as Mexican huaraches, Colombian arepas, Ecuadoran ceviche, and of course, pupusas! Eager beaver that I am, I got there early enough to avoid the infamous lines and to make sure that I would have enough time to digest between courses. I decided to try one pupusa revuelta (normally a combination of pork, beans and cheese) and one stuffed with loroco (an edible flower which is high in vitamins A,B,C, iron and calcium and is also purported to be natural aphrodisiac) from ElOmega, the original pupusa truck. The pupusa revuelta was insanely good. I will be dreaming about it for days to come! The cost: 2 pupusas for $5. Considering that the price in El Salvador was 3 for $2, not a bad deal at all.
 |
| Pupusas! |
My friend, Debbie, arrived in time to join me for my second course, a Mexican huarache (so named for its oblong sandal shape), which was comprised of a thin piece of masa, topped with meat, a green sauce and cheese. If you get overwhelmed by the choices as I did, follow the recommendation I received from the locals: get the pork huarache topped with the works. Simply delicious! Oh, and by the way, if you get the limonade, don't be alarmed by its neon green color. It still tastes like lemonade!
 |
| Huaraches and Neon Limonade |
PART II: Red Hook Waterfront Arts Festival
Although both Debbie and I were salivating at the other foods on offer, there was simply no room left in our bellies, so we decided to waddle (I mean wander) over to the waterfront. Red Hook Fest, a local community arts festival was taking place a few blocks away. In a city like NY, where world-class dance, music and theater are always at your fingertips, it was fun to see a celebration that was truly local in flavor. The performers were neighborhood kids from Dance Theater Etcetera hip-hopping their hearts out to quick cut music mixes by Britney (I'm a Slave for You) and Beyonce. The emcee tried to teach the crowd some hip hop moves, but sadly I realized that my body was not designed for any manner of poppin', lockin', or crunkin'. Sigh. The kids threw us a bone by including the Electric Slide in the finale (which they invited the crowd to participate in), but before I could get my bootylicious arse up off the grass, the music had already changed. Sigh again. Time to move on.
PART III: Steve's Authentic Key Lime Pie -- The Serendipitous Beginning of an Unexpected Adventure
Well folks, Debbie and I thought our adventure was over after the arts festival. But then a funny thing happened on our way back to the ferry. There was a sign and we knew we were not yet done. It wasn't a sign from God per se. It was a sign for Steve's Authentic Key Lime Pie. Debbie, who is a child of the South, informed me that good Key Lime Pie is an experience not to be missed. So like Hansel and Gretel, we followed the graham cracker crumbs and found our little piece of heaven. Although we had the option to try a swingle (frozen key lime pie covered in chocolate on a stick), we decided that our hip hoppin' had shook loose only enough room to split a four inch pie. It was tart, sweet, tangy and delicious.
 |
| Mmm...pie! |
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| It's a sign! |
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| Mary and her colleague inside Dry Dock |
Fort Defiance: A great little bar/restaurant a couple of blocks down Van Brunt Street. The owner, used to be a bartender at the swanky Pegu Club in Manhattan before opening this little joint about 15 months ago. Debbie and I stopped in for a drink and had our bevvies mixed by owner St. John Frizell (pronounced 'sinjin') himself! Debbie had a Breuckelen Corpse Reviver (the glass spritzed with Absinthe and made with local Breuckelen Gin) while I opted for an Elysian Nymph. Both were delicious.
 |
| Enjoying happy hour at Fort Defiance |
Red Hook Lobster Pound: Fresh Maine lobster.. 'Nuff said. Fearing that she might not make it back to Red Hook any time soon, Debbie didn't want to leave without giving this place a try. She was right to suggest we stop here. Though I couldn't fathom any more food, I had a taste of Debbie's Connecticut-style lobster roll, warm and dripping with butter. It was heavenly.
Baked: Our last culinary stop in Red Hook was the locally famous bakery, aptly named Baked. We stopped in for a look and left with a sweet and salty brownie, one of the treats for which they are reknown. This was in case we got hungry on the ferry home, of course (yeah right!).
The Happy Ending: Eight hours after beginning my Red Hook adventure, I finally crawled back on the IKEA ferry back to Manhattan. Believe it or not, this blog post only covered a small fraction of the magical experience of Red Hook. There are so many beautiful and artsy little shops to browse in and such a relaxed, bohemian vibe. Of one thing I am sure: I will be back. Sorry Mom and Dad, maybe I will be a 'Hooker for life after all!
