Vinegar Hill House is Both Cool & Good...

... in fact, it is definitely cooler than I am. A stunning feat in itself.

Somewhere near the York F stop dwells this new, charming restaurant, apparently brought to the good people of Brooklyn by former employees of Freeman's. The food is very similar - both in selection and quality. I.e. it is really good MEAT. My friend and I ate sausage, chicken, etc. And while my photos are funnier than they are illustrative of the grandness of the place or the food, please take my word for it. It's really good. And will be a superb place to go when it's freezing and snowing outside. Actually, it's kind of a perfect spot for a holiday dinner.

They are getting their liquor license on Tuesday, December 16, but you can BYO or call a nearby liquor store to deliver wine to your table in the meantime. Which is what we did.

And even though the crowd was so damn hip that they could have shot a movie or an ad campaign in there without changing a thing, the vibe was welcoming and the staff down to earth and attentive - from the hostess, to the waiter, to the always affable bartender (Ryan from Hotel Delmano).

Oh and it's pretty cheap too! We had an appetizer, two entrees and dessert (an amazing spice cake that was to die for, by the way), and it ran around $47. Once the liquor license is in effect, I'm sure this average bill will expand, however.

I Should Go To LOOPY MANGO in Dumbo

I read this yesterday in the New York Times' "Urban Eye" daily email. It certainly sounds loopy. I shall have to visit soon, for inspiration...

SHOPPING
Dumbo and Friends
“If one store best represents Front Street in Dumbo,” Alex Kuczynski says, “it is Loopy Mango,” which has a suitably Brooklyn mix of vintage and new clothing, antiques and jewelry. “A denim utility suit by Deener, brand-new and stiff, was $275 and just the thing someone might need for a Devo reunion party. Next to it, a dusty framed photograph of kittens cost $75.” Plus, Waejong Kim, an owner, is a crochet artist, so the shop has become “something of a destination for crochet fetishists.” Witness the pink-and-green-yarn bathing suit (future Pam Anderson wedding garb?), the crocheted cherry earrings, the dog caftan with matching human outfit. “In the shadow of the Manhattan Bridge,” Kuczynski says, “it all made sense.”

Loopy Mango, 117 Front Street, at Adams Street, Dumbo, Brooklyn; (718) 858-5930.