Food Writer Hannah Berman Tells Us Where to Eat in Park Slope
Save this for the next time friends or family visit and you can’t decide where to eat!
Hi everyone! How’s your Friday going? A few weeks ago, I sent out a survey to all of you about Park Slope Times — what you like about it, what you dislike about it, who you want me to interview, and what you want to see more of this year. The top two suggestions for new content include more local news coverage and guest posts. I’m working on a few interesting — some might say juicy! — local news stories, and today, I’m thrilled to share the first guest post!
Hannah Berman is a freelance food and culture journalist and fiction writer; and she writes a smart, funny newsletter called Hannah is Eating, where she covers the best places to eat in NYC, restaurant culture, and cool food excursions.
Also, Hannah is a native Park Sloper. She moved to Sixth Avenue with her family when she was five and spent the next 13 years traipsing through the streets of Park Slope with her friends from Berkeley Carroll. Today, Hannah lives in Cobble Hill, but she’s often in the neighborhood checking out new restaurants for her next article.
In today’s newsletter, Hannah shares an itinerary featuring her favorite Park Slope restaurants to take visiting friends and family.
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Though I technically live in Cobble Hill, I adore showing off the places that I love most to the people I love most, which means that whenever friends or family visit from out of town, I insist on paying a visit to Park Slope, strolling down Fifth Ave to dart in and out of my favorite restaurants for quick bites.
Here’s my design for a perfect grub crawl — a curated list of quintessential Slope-y restaurants to show out-of-towners for every meal of the day, from breakfast to after-dinner drinks.
COFFEE: Café Regular, 158A Berkeley Place
Start the morning of your perfect Park Slope food day with a coffee at Café Regular. I used to sneak away to visit this cafe on lunch breaks during high school; back then, I didn’t drink caffeine yet, nor did I know how good I had it. Café Regular takes coffee seriously, using beans from La Colombe and gracing each latte with whimsical art.
Inside, there’s a massive, vaguely religious painting taking up an entire wall, replete with French flags, Jesus, and a very morose clown, with “L’enfer c’est les autres,” the iconic line from Sartre’s “No Exit,” painted across the top. The way the sun filters through the storefront’s gold lettering onto the ornate floor tiles makes the whole room feel Parisian, which is probably why I’ve always pronounced this cafe’s name “regul-AR,” with emphasis on the final syllable. It’s also one of the most laptop-phobic cafes I’ve ever seen, which makes it a great spot to sit and chat with visitors.
BREAKFAST: La Bagel Delight, 112 7th Ave
I know this choice is going to be controversial, but hear me out: La Bagel Delight is the ideal next stop on your food journey. Not only is it a historic Brooklyn bagel (the first La Bagel, further down Seventh Ave, opened in 1986!), but this location is also mere blocks from Café Regular.
I will concede that the recently-opened, decidedly-more-pleasant Bagel Pub has a better ambiance and that the nearby Bagel Market at least has communal seating. But I still think that La Bagel makes a technically better bagel. It’s fluffier and more bready than its cousins, with a crust that clearly has been boiled for a shorter time, and crisps up nicely when toasted.
LUNCH: Milk Bar, 204 6th Ave
After a quick pit stop at home, it’s time to hit the town again for lunch. The menu at Milk Bar’s idyllic Sixth Avenue location is simple yet dynamic, with the option to order half or full-portion sizes. If the kids get the half plain eggs — soft, pillowy scrambled eggs on sourdough toast — it’ll only set you back $5. For adults, the salmon eggs are surprisingly neat, served on more toast with a poached egg balanced on top, while the cheddar chive biscuit sandwich, topped with eggs, swiss cheese, aioli, and optional protein/avocado, is a messier, more decadent option.
Bonus: In warmer months, you can sit outside in the sunny front garden, where you’ll have a great view of comings and goings at the Park Slope Food Coop up Union Street, which I consider essential Park Slope tourism.
TEA: Brooklyn High Low’s The Parlour, 69 7th Ave
If you don’t pay close attention, you will miss Brooklyn High Low. This tea parlor occupies the ground floor of an ordinary-looking Seventh Ave brownstone a couple of blocks from Flatbush; because it’s so hard to find, owner Honey Moon (yes, that’s her real name!) calls the location her “speak-tea-sy.” Yet behind the nondescript exterior, there is no more transporting dining room in all of the Slope.
Before getting into the tea business, Moon was an antique collector, and evidence of her passion for the old and dainty is everywhere at Brooklyn High Low, from the vintage plates on the walls to the mismatched teapots. The cheapest tea service here gets you a pot of tea, scones with clotted cream, and four vegetarian tea sandwiches, all for $30 per person — a steal when it comes to high tea.
DINNER: LORE, 441 7th Ave
LORE’s owner Jay Kumar was born in Mangalore, India, and then operated a restaurant in Switzerland for 20 years before landing in Park Slope. He brings all those influences to the showstopping dishes on LORE’s menu. I think it’s great for out-of-towners because it’s a modern fusion on a level you can only get in New York, and the menu is very flexible for different palates, with robust vegetarian options.
My favorite bite at LORE was this delicate dosa. The crepe’s fermented shell is cooked to a fragile crisp, and the masala potatoes inside are more fragrant than spicy. The Michelin guide recently awarded the place a Bib Gourmand, but it’s still easy to get a table. Also, rumor has it that Kumar will be opening a follow-up cocktail bar named FOLK this Spring on 20th St, in the former Brooklyn Pub space, so keep an eye out for that.
DESSERT: Albero dei Gelati, 341 5th Ave
Take a crosstown walk post dinner to work up the appetite for dessert down on Fifth Ave at Albero dei Gelati, my favorite gelateria of all time. (This is saying something because I’ve lived in both Bologna and Rome.) The texture of this gelato is exactly right, thick and almost stretchy, while the flavors take contemporary spins on tradition, an innovation you rarely see at Italian gelateria.
Albero dei Gelati’s best flavor is “burro e sale,” or butter and salt; although flaky salt is making its way into desserts everywhere these days, Albero is one of the first places where I saw chefs embracing salt for the savory edge it adds to sweets. While burro e sale is fabulous on its own, I recommend cutting through the cream by pairing it with a tart, fruity flavor, and enjoying your cone while walking, on perhaps a warmer night than the ones we’re having these days. (Your in-laws won’t be here til the summer, right?)
DRINKS: High Dive, 243 Fifth Ave
For the final stop on your grub crawl, stop by High Dive, the most pleasant casual dive in town. At this vaguely-90’s-inspired taproom, you have your choice of 19 seasonally-rotating, mostly-local beers on tap. It’s the perfect place to host larger-than-usual groups of people — there are tons of tables you can shove together and a sweet backyard with a dog-friendly attitude. There’s also a popcorn machine, and some pinball machines in the corner. Need I say more?
Thank you so much, Hannah! Can’t wait to use this next time we have visitors in town! xo
Hannah Berman is a journalist and MFA student at the New School. Her work has appeared in Brooklyn Magazine, Hell Gate, BK Reader, and Chalkbeat. You can see more of her work in her newsletter Hannah is Eating — including her food tour of Park Slope’s Fifth Ave — and follow her on Instagram.
(All photos are courtesy of Hannah Berman.)
NYC’s Mulchfest hit a new record for chipped Christmas trees: About 6,000 Christmas trees were chipped in Prospect Park, contributing to the record setting 52,000 trees across the five boroughs.
01/31 DIY Fridays, 4PM-5PM 📍Central Library
01/031 Capturing Life's Rhythms: Photo Editing for Impact II, 4PM-5:45PM 📍Central Library
01/31 Free Craft Hour, 5PM-7PM 📍Mathilde
01/31 Upasna Barath 831 Stories Brooklyn Event for Comedic Timing, 7PM-8:45PM 📍The Ripped Bodice
01/31 Brooklyn Conservatory Chorale Presents “The Joy of Singing: A World in Harmony,” 7:30PM 📍St. John’s of Park Slope
01/31 Don't Tell Seth! An Evening With The Seth Meyers Writers, 7:30PM 📍The Bell House
01/31 Jazz Night, 8PM-10PM 📍Art Collective Cafe
01/31 RuPaul's Drag Race Screenings, 8PM-10PM 📍Parklife
10/31 An Evening with Kate Willett and friends, 10PM-11:30PM 📍Union Hall
01/31 Joyful Jumble - A Very Good Production, 10PM-11:30PM 📍The VSPOT
01/31 The Sandy Jack’s Birthday Roast of Mike, 10PM 📍Sandy Jack’s
02/01 FIDO Coffee Bark, 7:30AM-9AM 📍Prospect Park, Long Meadow
02/01 Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket, 8AM-4PM 📍Grand Army Plaza
02/01 & 02/02 BAMkids Film Festival 2025, Starting at 10AM 📍BAM Rose Cinemas
02/01 Chase Away the Winter Blues Tour, 11AM-12PM 📍Brooklyn Botanic Garden
02/02 Winter Warming Kits Giveaway, 11AM-3PM 📍Central Library
02/01 & 02/02 King Energy Only Candles and Vibes Event, 12PM-6PM 📍Leroy’s Place
02/01 Happily Never After, 12:30PM-2:30PM 📍Green-Wood Cemetery
02/01 Fam Jam with Our Pal Isaac, 2:30PM-4PM 📍Parklife
02/01 A Flurry Warm Up Double Dance, 3:30PM-11PM 📍Camp Friendship
02/01 Beer Release & Art Show, 5PM 📍Wild East Brewing
02/01 Brooklyn Pop-Up Market, 5PM-9:30PM 📍Brooklyn Museum
02/01 Curator Tour: Toward Joy, 5PM-6PM 📍Brooklyn Museum
02/01 Hands-On Art: Quilt Making, 5PM-7PM 📍Brooklyn Museum
02/01 Music: Avangelia, 5PM-6PM 📍Brooklyn Museum
02/01 Conversation: Kith Black History Month Creative Series Roundtable, 6:15PM-7PM 📍Brooklyn Museum
02/01 Music: Joy Guidry, 6:30PM-7:30PM 📍Brooklyn Museum
02/01 Music: Dj Mamoudou N’Diaye, 7PM-10PM 📍Brooklyn Museum
02/01 Music: Resistance Revival Chorus, 7PM-8PM 📍Brooklyn Museum
02/01 Teen Talks, 7PM-8PM 📍Brooklyn Museum
02/01 Film: Exhibiting Forgiveness, 7:30PM-9:30PM 📍Brooklyn Museum
02/01 Book Club: BLK MKT Vintage, 8PM-9PM📍Brooklyn Museum
02/01 The Scenario 90’s Dance Party, 8PM-1AM 📍Littlefield
02/01 Music: Classicnewwave, 8:30PM-10PM📍Brooklyn Museum
02/01 Party Like It's 1999 - Hey Ya, It’s OutKast Edition, 10PM-2AM 📍The Bell House
02/01 Picture This!: Live Animated Comedy, 10PM-11:30PM 📍Union Hall
02/02 Steve Martin Presents, 5PM-6:30PM 📍Union Hall
02/02 February Happily Everyone After Book Club, 7:15PM-8:30PM 📍The Ripped Bodice
02/02 Grammy Awards Watch Party, 8PM-11:30PM 📍Dram Shop
02/02 Grammys Viewing Party, 8PM-11PM 📍Good Judy
02/03 Adult Watercolor Class, 1PM-2:30PM 📍Windsor Terrace Library
02/03 Emma Grey & Jane Costello, 7PM-9:30PM 📍The Ripped Bodice
02/03 Frankenstein’s Baby, 7:30PM-9PM 📍Union Hall
02/04 Park Slope Storytime, 1:30PM-2:15PM 📍Park Slope Library
02/04 Slip Stitch Knitting Group, 5PM-6:30PM 📍Central Library
02/04 Living Laboratory: Green-Wood’s 2024 Environmental Research Fellows, 6:30PM-8PM 📍Green-Wood Cemetery
02/04 Janine Janssen Brooklyn Event for Les Normaux, 7PM-9PM 📍The Ripped Bodice
02/04 Matthew Goodman presents Paris Undercover, 7PM-8PM 📍Community Bookstore
02/05 Winter Corps, 10AM-1PM 📍Prospect Park
02/05 Wednesday Greenmarket, 8AM-2PM 📍Bartel-Pritchard Square
02/05 Kids Create, 3:30PM-4:15PM 📍Park Slope Library
02/05 Brooklyn Traditional Slow Jam, 6:30PM-9PM 📍Old Stone House
02/05 Amitava Kumar Discusses My Beloved Life with Katie Kitamura, 7PM-8:30PM 📍Central Library
02/05 Brooklyn Poetry Slam, 7PM-9PM 📍Brooklyn Museum
02/05 Peyton Corinne Brooklyn Event for Unloved, 7PM-9PM 📍The Ripped Bodice
02/05 Terrace Books Book Club: On the Calculation of Volume I, 7PM-8PM 📍Terrace Books
02/05 Brittany Carney: Duck D*cks, Other Spirals, 7:30PM-9PM 📍Union Hall
02/06 Jack and Friends Black History Month: Conroy Warren, 3:30PM-4:15PM 📍Park Slope Library
02/06 Salsa Party, 6PM-9:30PM 📍Brooklyn Museum
02/06 Tessa Bailey Brooklyn Event for Dream Girl Drama, 6PM-9PM 📍The Ripped Bodice
02/06 The Mary Show, 7:30PM-9PM 📍Union Hall
02/06 Thrive in 2025, 7:30PM-9PM 📍Annie’s Blue Ribbon
02/06 Jordan Show, 8PM-10PM 📍Littlefield
Thanks so much for reading! I hope liked this guest post, and I’m looking forward to more of these this year. Have a great weekend!
Kelley xo
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Thanks to PST and Hannah we now have a list of must visit eateries during our next Brooklyn visit. It’s also fun to read about the charm and personality of each place and what makes them unique and inviting.