New Year, New Restaurants: North Brooklyn’s Food and Drink Scene

From December and into the New Year, some major changes have come to the North Brooklyn bar and restaurant scene. Check out our roundup of openings and closings in Greenpoint, Williamsburg and Bushwick!

Today marks the opening of a new Super Burrito outpost, located at the Brooklyn Bazaar on Greenpoint Avenue. If you’re willing to brave the cold, doors will be open at 5:00 pm! Soft opening hours will be Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday 5:00 – 11:00  pm, and Friday, Saturday 5:00 pm – 1:00 am.

The burrito spot has found success selling it’s Northern California-style burritos at it’s location in Rockaway Beach on 97th Street, and hopes to become “Brooklyn’s go-to fast-casual burrito spot (with beer & margaritas of course)” according to a post on the restaurant’s Instagram.

According to the menu, the eponymous Super Burritos go for $12. We’ll have to follow up with a full review, but judging from the restaurant’s posts, this spot is going to be a must try for North Brooklyn denizens!

And on the topic of Mexican food… Friducha, a Mexican restaurant with a Frida Khalo theme, opened in December, quickly replacing Greenpoint’s Italian joint La Taverna, which closed up shop as the year ended. Friducha is serving up standard Mexican fare—tacos, burritos, enchiladas and fajitas—at a decent price point, with meals around $15. Located on Manhattan and Java, the restaurant but is currently waiting on a liquor license. Until the margaritas get the go ahead, it’s a BYOB situation.

Sadly, down the road at Manhattan and Driggs, Bar Matchless is going out of business, though they’ve been staying open until the building’s new owners lock the doors on them. A local institution that’s been around since 2003, the heavy metal bar celebrated its last New Year’s by ringing in 2018, even on their way out.

Both of Williamsburg’s Sizzle Pie locations both closed over the holidays, with the Portland-based pizza chain quietly shuttering its restaurants at 357 Bedford on the South side and 457 Graham near McCarren Park.

“We had a great year in New York and it was a blast. But the immense travel costs, a challenging labor pool and extremely high staff turnover in New York all combined to make for an unsustainable long term business for us,” said Matt Jacobson, the restaurants co-founder, in a statement.

The closure is a blow to lovers of vegetarian and vegan pizza options, who will have to make the trek to the West Coast, where Portland, Eugene and Seattle locations will remain open.

On the other hand, the adventurous can always trek out to Bushwick’s new Brooklyn Cider House, which is open for business at 1100 Flushing Ave, off the Jefferson L stop. The cidery is open Tuesday through Sunday from 5:00 – 11:00 pm, though full bar and brunch hours are promised soon.

The long awaited project seems like a great spin on the ubiquitous brewpub trends, offering a new kind of brewery experience.

Currently, dinner is a 2.5 hour prize fixe affair, which the restaurant describes as a “Basque-inspired feast” where “courses are served on shared platters and your bread is your plate.” Traditional and vegetarian menus are available for $37 and $32, respectively, and cider pairings are $15.

At the bar, snacks range from olives and anchovies to burgers and fries. Most importantly is the cider, with a range of offerings: Bone Dry, Kinda Dry, Half Sour and Raw. 8 oz draughts are $7 and flights are available for $9. Cheers to that!

Other long-awaited openings are still in the offing, as plans for late 2017 slipped into early 2018.

Last time we wrote about Greenpoint’s Ramen Mafia, it seemed like they were soon to open. According to their last post to Instagram, all they’re waiting on is inspections!

Impatient ramen-lovers have been commenting urgently for updates, hoping for something hot to offset the winter weather!

In other social media restaurant news, Paulie Gee’s pizza has been teasing a new slice shop in Greenpoint for some time. Now, it looks like everything is set for mid-March opening at 110 Franklin Street!

The slice shop will be a boon for those not ready to brave the often-crowded restaurant that makes some of the best pizza in North Brooklyn. The new shop will offer slices, squares, and whole pies for takeout and delivery, along with vegan options.