Williamsburg is dead
A decade ago, the first hipsters came to Buschwick in search of lofts and large spaces at much cheaper prices than those in Manhattan, of course, and than those that were beginning to exist in Williamsburg. Around the L Line subway stops, Morgan Avenue (considered Bushwick, though still East Williamsburg) and Jefferson Ave. , a jumble of young people, students and artists began to form, which in recent years have turned the area into the height of hipsterism that now attracts new hipsters who are hated by old hipsters. A mess .
And, if not, ask Spike Lee: when you leave the subway at one of those stops, the feeling is one of desolation: wide streets full of old warehouses, factories . You feel lost and wondering where is that modernity that they talk so much about. Therefore, here is a list of basic addresses.
The Mominette bistro
TO EAT AND DRINK
Long gone is the time when you only came to Bushwick **for Roberta's pizza for lunch or dinner**, although your waits of between one and two hours confirm that it is still one of the most visited places in the area and still a essential. If you are not willing to wait two hours, turn the corner and enter another classic in the neighborhood, Momo Sushi Shack , make room for yourself at its only three tables in a row and let its owner recommend you or go for tempura, Japanese-style fried chicken, or pork belly.
Robertas Pizzeria, in Bushwyck, Brooklyn
Not far away is King Noodle , a spin-off of two of Roberta's chefs, with a delicious menu of noodles and rice . Or the Hop and Hocks, with a menu of more than 140 beers (the official hipster drink, only if it's craft) and a Serrano ham bar! They are modern, but not stupid. And also the French menu of the bistro Mominette.
1 Knickerbocker has recently joined this long list of recommendable restaurants. Occupying a large venue that was a speakeasy and cabaret in the 1930s, it has maintained that art deco decoration behind a facade that does not announce what you will find inside, a common strategy in the neighborhood. But don't let appearances fool you: behind garage doors, old laundromat or warehouse windows, inside industrial warehouses, there are some of the best gastronomic experiences from the city.
Mominette, a French-inspired venue
ARTISTIC ROUTE
The young artists in search of spaces to create and exhibit were the first to arrive in Bushwick and those who have done the most for its conversion. In the last 10 years, it has gone from being artist residency A new route of galleries that rivals that of Chelsea, Soho or the Lower East Side. Events like Beat Nite, where some of the area's galleries stay open late on a Friday night They are the proof, they prove it. And Studio 10, 56 Bogart, Airplane or Botanic Gallery are some of those galleries to visit. But in recent years the neighborhood has been famous, above all, for attracting graffiti artists who respond to the call of The Bushwick Collective. Pick up the baton of the missing 5 Pointz, and has turned the area around Troutman and Saint Nicholas streets into a veritable open-air art museum.
Street Art in Bushwick
SHOPPING'
Because not everything is about filling our stomachs and satisfying our artistic curiosity, in Bushwick, as a good 'it' neighborhood, there are also nice shops, especially vintage clothing . This is the case of Vice Versa or Mary Meyer Clothing. There's even a hipster mall: Shops at the Loom.
COFFEE AND SOMETHING ELSE
The cafeterias that you don't go to just for coffee are the first symptom of the hipsterization of a neighborhood (then there are the bike shops and second-hand clothes shops...). And in Bushwick, of course, there is something to give and take, each with something different to offer. There's Owl Juice Pub, Ben Stiller's neighborhood favorite , they say, famous for its juices and smoothies. Also Cafeteria La Mejor, with a Cuban style and menu (Cuban from Miami, yes); Café Ghia, a Bushwick brunch must-have; and the bright AP Café.
The Owl Juice Pub Cafe
THE NIGHT
Girls put us on the track: New York's best parties la nuit now take place in Bushwick . If there isn't a rave going on in some abandoned warehouse, you can always go to The Rookery , where you can start with a good cocktail and end up dancing the night away at the Bossa Nova Civic Club . And in summer, one more reason to return to Roberta's, her Tiki Disco on Sundays.
The night begins at The Rookery