Bistro and bakery open at new marina
36 COURIER LIFE, AUG. 2-8, 2019 24-7
By Aidan Graham 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 walk-up window based in a
hollowed-out cargo container, near
Brooklyn Bridge Park.
“We wanted to keep it simple,
because 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 Brooklynbased
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.”
Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory
(14A Old Fulton St. between Furman
and Everit streets in Dumbo, www.
brooklynicecreamfactory.com).
Opening in October.
By Bill Roundy Talk about double-hopped!
A pair of beer festivals
will pour into Brooklyn
next weekend, going foamy headto
head on Aug. 10.
The Beers Without Beards
festival is a laid-back event that
celebrates women who brew beer.
Its second annual event features
24 breweries either owned or led
by women. 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, which will feature more
than 65 beverage producers,
including beer, wine, and — for
the first time this year — spirits,
with a focus on brands owned by
people of color.
Beers With(out) Beards at the
Well (272 Meserole St. between
Waterbury Street and Bushwick
Place in Bushwick, www.
hopculture.com/events). Aug. 10;
noon–4 p.m. $55.
Tap + Cork at Kings Theatre
(1027 Flatbush Ave. between
Tilden Avenue and Duryea Place
in Flatbush, tapcorkfest.com).
Aug. 10; 3–8 p.m. $35.
HBy Bill Roundy e’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 Brooklynmade
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 something for
everyone in the community,” he
said.
Next door is Ebb and Flow, a
grab-and-go bakery that sells coffee,
soft drinks, pastries, sandwiches,
and pre-made full meal boxes. It
may remind people of another wellknown
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 are placed inside fluffy
croissants, which 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 sitdown,”
he said.
The only thing the two share
are Payard’s fabulous layer cakes,
which can be purchased by the slice
at either spot.
Estuary in Brooklyn Bridge
Park’s Pier 5 159 Bridge Park Dr.
at Joralemon Street in Brooklyn
Heights, (718) 521–6744, 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 pm; Fri–Sat, 5:30–10:30 pm;
Ebb and Flow at the same
address, (718) 618–9775, www.
ebbandflowbrooklyn.com. Open
daily 8 a.m.–6 p.m.
PARK PLATTER
A game of cones!
Tale of two beer festivals
Ice Cream Factory plots return to Dumbo
Thrown for a loop: Award-winning pastry
chef Francois Payard combined American
ingredients and French techniques to
create this White Chocolate, Strawberry,
and Froot Loops layer cake.
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. Photo by Caroline Ourso
Coming soon: Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory co-owner Mark Thompson poses in front
of a temporary ice cream truck to mark the upcoming opening of the newest ice
cream shop in Dumbo. Photo by Aidan Graham
Sip sister: Grace Weitz, of Hop Culture magazine, organized the Beers Without
Beards Festival in Bushwick on Aug. 10. Photo by Caleb Caldwell
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