Sunday, November 25, 2007

The Polish Neighborhood of Greenpoint, Brooklyn

One of the best things about New York City is that practically every ethnic group on earth has its own enclave here. We recently discovered the Greenpoint area in Brooklyn, which is a big Polish district. Despite the fact that we are locals here and have lived in the area for 15 or so years, we never knew about this neighborhood at all. We had to learn about it from a woman who lived her whole life in Poland!

This is a very friendly area, with lots of very reasonably priced restaurants, and of course a Polish butcher shop on practically every corner. Keep in mind that Polish food is fundamentally meat-centered, so don’t go looking for vegetarian cuisine here. But being a ravenous meat-eater myself, I recently tried two restaurants here and loved them both.

Damis Polish American Restaurant is friendly, very reasonably priced and casual. Be sure to order their pierogi sampler for a starter. The trout entrée I ordered was one of the best pieces of fish I’ve ever eaten, and it's conclusive proof that you don’t have to go to one of the “Zagat Top 50” restaurants in New York to have an amazing culinary experience. Damis was better by far (and at about 1/3 the price by the way) than a similar trout dish I had a couple of years ago at Le Bernardin.

Johnny’s Café was also very friendly, with similarly reasonable prices. I had a pork cutlet there that was uncomplicated and exceptional. These two restaurants are perfect for New Yorkers who want to step out of their typical habits and try a cuisine that’s not so easy to find in Manhattan.

To get there: Take the G line subway (connect from Manhattan from either the E line in midtown or the 2/3 line downtown) to Greenpoint Ave in Brooklyn. This stop is on the corner of Greenpoint Avenue and Manhattan Avenue, which is pretty much the heart of the neighborhood.

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Damis Polish American Restaurant
931 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222
(718) 349-7501

Johnny’s Café
632 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222
(718) 349-7501

4 comments:

L Bell said...

Hello - just letting you know that I enjoyed reading your blog! never posted a comment before but wanted you to know that someone (and there are probably lots of others) reads it.

Daniel said...

Hi L Bell,
Why thank you! I really appreciate the feedback and I'm glad you're enjoying reading.

Best,
DK

Aleksandra Hawrasz said...

thank you, dziekuje!!!!

Daniel said...

You're welcome! Prosz!

DK