A day walking around Williamsburg, NY; Coffee, Chocolate, Beer, Tacos, Wine and more...


Last weekend we decided to take a walk in Williamsburg. It was a perfect day to do some walking and visiting some local shops. We took the L train from 14th Street to Bedford Street in Willamsburg. There are so many great restaurants, bars and shopping in Williamsburg that I even thought about moving here. There are all these new developments rising up by the water with a great view of Manhattan skyline. Locals are concerned with all these new high-rises and I don't blame that. I like Williamsburg just the way it is...reminds me so much of the original East Village before real estate prices went sky high in the last ten to fifteen years. With rents getting higher most of the locals either moved to Alphabet City or Williamsburg and started to create the same look and feel or their original neighborhood.

After doing some sightseeing we decided to make our first stop at the Second Stop Cafe for some great coffee and lattes. It's one of those old fashion coffee shops with quality coffee and drinks. It's a small place and all the tables were occupied with people on their notebooks. We picked up our coffee and latte with the daily sandwich and headed out.

Second Stop Cafe: 524 Lorimer Street @ Ainslie / (718) 486.6850
http://www.secondstopcafe.com/

Our next stop was the Mast Brother Chocolate on North 3rd street between Berry and Wythe streets. They sell their high grade chocolate bars (75% or higher!) for $7. They also sell bar chocolate and crispy cocoa nibs for toppings, etc. You can see the machines actually making and blending chocolate in the back of the shop.

Mast Brothers Chocolate: 105A North 3rd Street (Betw. Berry and Wythe Streets) / (718) 388-2625
http://www.mastbrotherschocolate.com

After getting our chocolate we felt a little parched walking around under the sun. Thanks to a recommendation from a local we headed to the Radegast Hall Biergarten. It was around 3pm on a Saturday so they were still serving their brunch menu. We ordered two of the Radeberger Royal Pilsner then noticed that besides the limited brunch menu there is actually a separate grill in the back of the beer garden where you can order sausages, fries, burgers, etc. When sitting on a communal table you'll get to see what your neighbors are eating so we decided to get some as well. We finished our beers with a grilled venison sausage on fries and sauerkraut for $11 and bbq pulled pork shoulder sandwich on fries for $8. There is a variety of mustards to go with your food. The main menu looks very promising for a future visit. They also have live music events. Remember no reservations, first come - first served.

Radegast Hall & Biergarten: 113 N 3rd Street @ Berry Street / (718) 963.3973
http://www.radegasthall.com

After relaxing at the beer garden we did some more walking and came to Bedford street and North 7th where we walked in to the Trojanowski Wines for couple of bottles of wine before heading back to Manhattan. Dan was very helpful letting us pick a bottle of 2008 Domaine Jean-Paul Brun - Beaujolais Rosé d'folie for $16 and a bottle of Mas de Gourgonnier Les Baux-De-Provence 2006 also for $16. 

Trojanowski Wines:  181 Bedford Avenue @ North 7th Street / (718) 388-8488
http://north7wines.net

Right front of the wine store there was the famous taco and burrito truck; Endless Summer Tacos. When ever we passed there was always a line of people waiting to get their tacos, burritos, etc. So we decided to give it a try considering that the line was pretty short. After a ten minute wait we got our fish and seitan tacos and enjoy them with squeezed lime juice.

Endless Summer Tacos: On Bedford Avenue between N 6th and N 7th Streets / (347) 400-8128
http://www.endlesssummertacos.com/

Before walking down to the subway station we thought that one more beer wouldn't hurt so we walked in to the Spike Hill Brew Pub on 184 Bedford. It's one of those neighborhood bars that you have a large selection of beer, bottles and tab but also an impressive selection of Single Malt Scotch and Blended Whiskies. We ordered the same beer we had at the beer garden Radeberger Royal Pilsner but this time it was only for $5 each rather than $7 at the Radegast.

Spike Hill: 184 & 186 Bedford Avenue / (718) 218-9737
http://www.spikehill.com/

We finished our beers, watched some Red Sox game and decided to call it a day and left Williamsburg.

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