(718) 260–2500 Brooklyn Paper’s essential guide to the Borough of Kings August 2–8, 2019
Parkside
platters
Bistro and bakery opening at
Brooklyn Bridge Park marina
By Bill Roundy
Brooklyn Paper
He’s a big fish in a little park.
A pair of new eateries, helmed by
a renowned French chef, dropped anchor
in Brooklyn Bridge Park last week, as
part of the new marina at the base of Pier
Five. The bistro Estuary and the bakery
Ebb and Flow occupy neighboring spaces
in the Park-side corner of the One Brooklyn
Bridge building. The culinary director
of both spaces, James Beard award-winning
chef Francois Payard, wants his new
restaurant to be a welcoming spot for the
Brooklyn Heights community.
“We don’t want it to be pretentious,”
said Payard. “We want to be a neighborhood
brasserie, with a lot of fresh fish
and seafood.”
The bistro features a raw bar, tuna tartare,
and a seared Scottish salmon on the
menu, along with a selection of steaks, salads,
burgers, and other entrees, with prices
that mostly range from $14 to $29.
“The menu — I think it is affordable,”
said the acclaimed pastry chef. “It’s not
cheap — we’re not a diner — but it’s not
ridiculous.”
The bistro has 150 seats inside, with an
additional 48 spots available on the outdoor
patio, which offers fantastic views
of downtown Manhattan, as well as the
volleyball courts nearby.
It also features a wrap-around cocktail
bar, serving Brooklyn-made spirits and
beers, along with an affordable wine list.
Helping Payard to run the kitchen is
executive chef Danny Brown, who previously
worked at Circa Brewing Downtown,
and who earned a Michelin star for
his Danny Brown Wine Bar and Kitchen
in Queens. Brown, who said he is excited
to show off his savory seafoood tarts, sees
the brasserie as a mid-point between the
park’s ice cream stands and the high-end
River Cafe.
“What Estuary does is bridge the gap
between casual and finer dining, so there’s
DINING
something for everyone in the community,”
he said.
Next door is Ebb and Flow, a grab-andgo
bakery that sells coffee, soft drinks, pastries,
sandwiches, and pre-made full meal
boxes. It may remind people of another
well-known chain store, said Payard.
“We’re like a Starbucks, but better!”
he quipped.
The French pastry chef’s touch is clear
— for instance, the breakfast sandwiches
use fluffy croissants as bread, and can be
quickly heated in a toaster oven. Serving
a bacon and egg sandwich is a new development
for Payard, who was named
“Pastry Chef of the Year” by Bon Appetit
magazine.
“It is the first time I have been so Americanized,”
he said.
The space, which has only two seats
inside, is designed so that visitors to the
Park can grab whatever they need for a
picnic, and Payard makes it clear that Estuary
and Ebb & Flow are two different
spaces.
“One is take out, the other is sit-down,”
he said.
The only thing the two share are Payard’s
DINING
DRINKING
Bottle battle
THEATER
fabulous layer cakes, which can be
purchased by the slice at either spot. Social ‘Medea’
Get them to the Greek tragedy!
A star-filled production of a bloody Greek
play will sail into Fort Greene at the beginning
of 2020. This version of
the Euripedes tragedy
“Medea,” starring Rose
Byrne (pictured) in the
title role, and Byrne’s
real life partner Bobby
Cannavale as Medea’s
straying husband Jason,
will open at the Brooklyn
Academy of Music
in January of next year,
the Fort Greene arts organization announced
this week.
Byrne may be best known for her comedic
roles in films “Spy,” “Bridesmaids” and “Get
Him To The Greek,” along with a villainous role
in “X-Men: First Class” and “X-Men: Apocalypse.”
Cannavale is a two-time Emmy winner
for his recurring roles on “Will & Grace” and
“Boardwalk Empire.”
The pair of actors have two children together,
which may add a new dynamic to the story, in
which Medea famously kills her own children
in order to punish her husband, when he leaves
her for another woman.
The show’s director, Simon Stone, updated
the play to the modern era, with Medea portrayed
as a successful doctor instead of a barbarian
queen. He first debuted this “Medea,”
with a different cast, at the International Theater
Amsterdam in 2014, where the play earned rave
reviews. The Academy will announce the full
cast, ticket prices, and showtimes at a later date.
Members of the arts group will have first dibs
on tickets when they become available.
“Medea” at BAM Harvey Theater 651 Fulton
St. at Rockwell Place in Fort Greene, (718)
636–4100, www.bam.org. January, 2020.
— Elizabeth Winn
Estuary in Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 5
159 Bridge Park Dr. at Joralemon Street
in Brooklyn Heights, (718) 521–6744, ext.
1, www.estuarybrooklyn.com. Open
Tue–Thu, noon–3 pm and 5:30–10 p.m.;
Fri, noon–3 pm; Sat, 11:30 a.m.–3:30
p.m.; Fri–Sat, 5:30–10:30 p.m.
Ebb & Flow at the same address, (718)
618–9775, www.ebbandfl owbrooklyn.
com. Open daily 8 a.m.–6 p.m.
By Aidan Graham
Brooklyn Paper
It’s a dish best served cold.
A beloved Dumbo ice cream
shop recently forced out of the
neighborhood is making a sweet
comeback. Brooklyn Ice Cream
Factory — which operated out of
the historic fireboat house at Fulton
Ferry Landing for 17 years before
closing last December — will
open a new storefront just steps from
its old shop, facing off against the rival
that scooped it out, said the Factory’s
co-founder.
“The Ice Cream Factory was a
fixture in the neighborhood,” said
Mark Thompson. “We were forced
out of the space, and I left gracefully
— but I couldn’t get ice cream out
of my blood.”
Thompson hopes to open his new
space, at 14A Old Fulton Street, in
October. The location will be a walkup
window based in a hollowed-out
cargo container, near the entrance to
Brooklyn Bridge Park.
“We wanted to keep it simple, because
DINING
it’s all about making great ice
cream,” said Thomson. “And it’s perfect
with the park right there. People
can walk up, get their ice cream, and
enjoy a day in the park.”
The new location sets up a showdown
with fellow Brooklyn-based
sweet treat chain Ample Hills Creamery,
which took over the Ferry Landing
space after outbidding the Brooklyn
Ice Cream Factory for a contract
on the space, which is operated by
Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy.
“Now I’m forced to look at the building
every day,” said Thompson. “It’s
a hard pill to swallow.”
Thompson insists he harbors no
ill will, but could not resist taking
an ice-cold jab at his new next-door
neighbors.
“Whether they want to admit it or
not — their ice cream is mass produced,”
he said. “We make our ice
cream as fresh as possible. It’s a tale
of two types of businesses.”
Thompson’s most pointed critique
came for the management at Brooklyn
Bridge Park — the landlords that
forced him out after nearly two decades
— saying they failed to respect the
lasting character of the borough.
Photo by Aidan Graham
“Brooklyn has always been built on
long-term commitment — but that’s
not there with them,” he said. “They’ll
be out there next week painting the
Brooklyn Bridge blue — without any
care for the history there.”
Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory
14A Old Fulton St. between Furman
and Everit streets in Dumbo,
(718) 349–2506, www.brooklynicecreamfactory.
com. Opening
in October.
Italian slice
Call it a Roman hideaway!
A new Roman-style pizza joint and Italian eatery
will take over a historic Red Hook warehouse this
weekend. Hoek, which opens on Aug. 2, takes its
name from both the neighborhood’s Dutch roots,
and from its location at the
end of Red Hook, said one
of its co-owners.
“Hoek means point
or corner, and that’s why
we named our restaurant
Hoek, because it’s on the
corner of Red Hook,” said
Anna Solomon.
She and her husband
and co-owner, Kenny
Solomon (pictured), live just a few blocks from
their new pizza spot, and most of their staff also
lives in the neighborhood.
Kenny Solomon grew up in Rome, Italy, and
felt that his new neighborhood could use a taste
of his homeland, said his wife.
“Kenny has worked in the industry his whole
life, but this is his first venture in opening his own
place, and feels like Red Hook reminded him of
home. He knew that it was the right spot to open
up and dedicate a place to serving authentic Roman
food and pizza,” said Anna Solomon.
Roman style pizzas have a thin crust, with toppings
that extend to the edge. Hoek uses a special
“double zero” flour for its dough, which means
that diners will not feel bloated after devouring
the gooey slices, said Anna Solomon.
Hoek (177 Ferris St. at Van Dyke Street in Red
Hook, www.hoekbrooklyn.com). Open Sun,
Tue–Thu, noon–11 p.m. Fri–Sat, noon–midnight.
Closed on Mondays. — Chandler Kidd
Talk about double-hopped!
A pair of beer festival will pour into Brooklyn
next weekend, going foamy head-to-head
on Aug. 10.
First up is the Beers Without Beards festival,
opening at noon in the vast backyard of the Well
in Bushwick. This laidback
fest has a simple focus:
celebrating women
who brew beer. For its
second annual event, 24
breweries either owned
or led by women — including
the Fifth Hammer
Brewing Company
in Queens, Stone Brewing,
and ironically, Moustache
Brewing Company — will be on hand to
pour and discuss their suds. Your $55 ticket will
get you a tasting glass and a chance for unlimited
samples.
Across town is the bigger and broader selection
of the Tap + Cork Brooklyn Beer & Wine
Festival, in the lobby and courtyard of the Kings
Theatre in Flatbush. This seventh annual event
will feature more than 65 beverage producers, including
beer, wine, and — for the first time this
year — spirits. The fest focuses on local craft producers,
including the Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn
Winery, and Kings County Distillery, along
with an international selection of brands owned
by people of color, with a special focus on drinks
from the Caribbean. Your $35 ticket get you a
souvenir glass and tickets for 15 samples (more
tickets will be available for purchase), and bands
and disk jockeys will play all day.
Beers With(out) Beards at the Well 272 Meserole
St. between Waterbury Street and Bushwick
Place in Bushwick, (347) 338–3612, www.
hopculture.com/events. Aug. 10; noon–4 p.m.
$55 ($20 designated driver ticket).
Tap + Cork: Brooklyn Beer & Wine Festival
at Kings Theatre (1027 Flatbush Ave. between
Tilden Avenue and Duryea Place in Flatbush,
tapcorkfest.com). Aug. 10; 3–8 p.m. $35.
— Bill Roundy
Bistro by the sea: Award-winning chefs Francois Payard and Danny Brown
helm the new brasserie Estuary, now open in Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier
Five. Estuary focuses on seafood, and includes a full raw bar.
Estuary
Photo by Caroline Ourso
Game of cones
Evicted Brooklyn Ice Cream
Factory plots return to Dumbo
Ice cream with a view: Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory plans to open a new location near their previous
locale in Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Photo by Caleb Caldwell
Photo by Caroline Ourso
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