Palo Santo. Latin Market Cooking. South American Wine Bar.
Very inviting. Yes, we thought so too.

Don't these look good? Our entrees: bean & cheese pupusas, $9.
And the last remaining bit of the cornbread.

On the way to the Brooklyn Zine Fest the other week, we found Palo Santo, a small quiet restaurant on an otherwise residential block. Union Street to be exact, close to 4th Avenue in Park Slope. Perhaps the Park Slopers call this the Lower Slope.

Anyway, the sandwich board at Palo Santo said "Brunch," and we obeyed. Happy we were that we did. Atmosphere: very relaxed, as if you are on vacation. Food: very tasty. Service: excellent. Freebies: yes, some sweet corn bread. Brunch menu: beyond plain old eggs and French Toast. We had pupusas, pictured above. Very tasty. All in all, a hidden gem.

Palo Santo
652 Union Street (above 4th Avenue)
Park Slope
Brooklyn
718.636.6311

The interior of Palo Santo. Small but not cramped. Lots of levels.

The backyard. A nice view.


The sandwich board says...Brunch!
You'd never notice this place if not for the sandwich board.

Cookie Road on Oak Street in Greenpoint is now open for cookies!


We walked by these paintings for many months, fantasizing about
what the cookies would be like.


Cookie Road, located at the corner of Oak and Franklin Street
in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Entrance on Oak.


hooray!

If you live in Greenpoint, or on Franklin Street, and have walked by the mysterious hand-painted signs on the stone and concrete facade of a once-residential corner building for the past number of months, you will be extremely excited to know that today, Cookie Road -- yes a cookie shop -- opened! I could not wait to get home and run right over with my camera to confirm it with my own lens (and eyes). So of course, I had to buy a cookie to celebrate their opening. Spanish Peanut or Chocolate Marshmallow? I will have to try the Spanish Peanut next! The Chocolate Marshmallow cookie is definitely for the cakey-cookie lovers. Soft, rich, delicious. Very delicious. Two dollars. Very reasonable.

Cookie Road will be open this evening until around 7 or 8. The proprietors will be testing some opening and closing times for the next few weeks; but you can bet they will be open 6 days a week, Tuesday-Sunday (closed Monday). The hours will be around 8:30am - 7pm, give or take an hour or so, depending on traffic to their new spot. Cookie Road also has special iced cookies in various shapes, as well as savory treats like quiche and all sorts of coffee (including iced) and espresso. Prices are good old reasonable Greenpoint prices. Amen to that. Cookie and coffee fans, show your support for Cookie Road!

A new awning, and a very neigborhoody spot.


Taste of the case. My Chocolate Marshmallow cookie front and center.


Chocolate Marshmallow cookie, lit by the setting sun off the East River.

This post is featured on Greenpointers for June 19, 2009

This Cornichon wants you to come have fun with him.
Such a cute jaunty beret.

How could you resist such a jolly pickle?



Photographed in front of Cafe Cornichon at 251 Grand Street in Williamsburg. Sunday, March 15, 2008.

It's true! Cafecito Bogota's arepa brunch is amazing.

The sandwich boards at Cafecito Bogota spoke, and we listened. Tune in tomorrow for a full Sunday Brunch report. Right now, I am too busy digesting. If you read this during brunch time, go! Eat! You will be so happy you tried this place.



Photographed in front of Cafecito Bogota at 1015 Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint. Sunday, August 3, 2008.

Exhibit A: corner of 6th Avenue and 40th Street, right near Bryant Park

The battle for advertising space continues in every marketable square foot of the Big Apple. See Exhibit A, above. Do you think it is right for the Subway sandwich board to encroach on Mister Softee's retail frontage like this? I think not. Mister Softee should learn to assert himself a bit. Don't you think?

I like a sandwich board that doesn't mince words. Hey, I Martini Brooklyn too.



Photographed in front of Jack O'Neills on Franklin Street in Greenpoint. Saturday, July 19, 2008.


The Sandwich Board Says... is a new regular feature on this blog. Walk around Brooklyn and Manhattan. Have you noticed sandwich boards telling you all sorts of interesting things? I have. It seems funny (and pleasingly low-tech) that businesses in this day and age still opt for simple advertising: chalk on a sandwich board. Mmmm sandwiches... Anyway, I have been thinking about this idea for a long time, and thought, hey, Brooklyn sandwich boards deserve some featured attention right here. Stay tuned for more.

The sign lured me in. How could a resist a cappuccino
with heart-shaped foam saying hi to me? I couldn't.
And I'm glad I didn't.

New cafe on the block: El Beit opened earlier this month
on 158 Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg

I was dazzled by the decor as soon as I walked in, particularly
the striped chairs. There is such fine attention to detail here.

Does that say 'cutting table'?? You've got my attention.

After my bag-purchasing trip to Brooklyn Industries, I passed an appealing sandwich board in front of the newest cafe on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg: El Beit. I've been eager to check out the decor of this place. And a cappuccino with heart-shaped foam was just what I was in the mood for. It will sound trite to say that as soon as I walked in, I was dazzled. But I was. The striped chairs, the minimalist space, the textures. Wow. Williamsburg is rapidly changing.

Coffee master, Dan Griffin who manages El Beit and (I don't want to say curates but) curates the coffee offerings, was kind enough to talk with me about the underlying details of the place. We discussed everything from decor to design to materials to coffee nuances. El Beit which means 'home' in Arabic and Hebrew, is owned by three brothers, one of whom, Bassam Ali currently works as a designer for Coach. The cafe tables that are stamped 'cutting table' are indeed cut from actual butcher block fabric cutting tables. Aha.

Bassam was largely responsible for the design and build-out of the space. Its centerpiece is a striking shingled coffee bar which was constructed from the facade of a barn. The shingles are oak. The surface is steel. The walls and ceiling of the cafe have been re-plastered and re-bricked to incorporate soothing curves. In fact, the flow of the entire space is pleasing. And yes, that was on purpose, Dan pointed out. The front door was relocated to be in line with the back door (also taken from the old barn), thus creating a better flow of traffic to an outdoor patio space that will be completed in the coming months.

The coffee menu is for the serious connoisseur. No super-sized 20 ounce cups dripping with peppermint syrup here. Thank goodness. On my next trip to El Beit, I will opt for a brewed-to-order cup from The Clover, a machine made in Seattle. As Dan explains, the dose, grind and brew time must be adjusted to bring out the particular flavors of each varietal. The resulting cup has a similar body to that of French press coffee. But you really have to try it. And so I will. Is it gauche to add milk? I'm not sure. Meet me for coffee!


El Beit Coffee
158 Bedford Avenue
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
718.302.1810
Wi-Fi: yes
(no Website)

El Beit to go.

The classic tulip-bulb-shaped espresso and cappuccino cups, offers Dan,
are best for experiencing the full aroma and flavor of the espresso.
Like the wine glass does for wine. Dan is the sommelier of coffee.

The curves of the exposed ductwork mirror the curves of the ceiling.
You will enjoy examining every design detail of El Beit, each
thoughtfully considered. Very architectonic indeed.

The space is used so economically. And I love the choice of seating.
B-Pop Striped Chairs and Onda Counter Stools, both from DWR.

Attention coffee connoisseurs: have you ever heard of The Clover?
(The machine is made in Seattle!)
The dose, grind, and brew time must be adjusted for each varietal.
You must try an individually brewed-to-order cup on your next trip
to El Beit. I will join you.

Meet me for coffee (I say that a lot), this time in the neighborhood! Champion Coffee in Greenpoint, which opened this past May, has a lovely outdoor patio in the back, complete with lots of greenery. Greenery! In Brooklyn!! (A little starved for some trees of late, I am.) The patio is a hidden gem.

We just found this lovely spot last weekend, and sampled the menu. I can strongly recommend the Iced Americano (I had mine with soy milk) and the madeleine. At $2 and 55 cents, respectively, the prices are quite nice. Both were delicious, made more so by the lovely surroundings. For winter, try the cozy tables in back and a cappucino. There is no name on the place; so look for the funny sandwich board out front. Okay, now I want to go get an Iced Americano. See you there!


Champion Coffee
1108 Manhattan Avenue (between Clay & Dupont)
Greenpoint, Brooklyn
718.383.5195
open 7-7, 7 days, that's nice



Hidden Gems is a new featured regular column for the blog. gee
To see more findings, click here.