Easy Lover co-owner Aaron Koen (second from right) with staff and guests outside during the soft opening. (Photos: Nick McManus)
You couldn’t help but guffaw when it was announced that uber-hip media empire Vice was planning to launch a food court in New Jersey, but this one’s for the New Yorkers. And, ok, all the European tourists who flood Williamsburg. Smorgasburg just announced that it’s teaming with Vice to open a winter night market inside of Villain, the media company’s event space at 307 Kent Avenue. It’ll be one of two new indoor markets Smorg launches this season.
(Photo via @missionchinesefood on Instagram)
It’s been a little over a year since Danny Bowien announced in a TimesTalk with Anthony Bourdain that he was opening a new location of his wildly popular Lower East Side and San Francisco restaurant, Mission Chinese Food. Obviously, a lot has changed since then– among other things, chef Angela Dimayuga has moved on— but Mission Chinese has finally opened its doors in East Williamsburg.
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(Photos courtesy of Spiked Seltzer)
Spiked Seltzer is just one of the brands that have been using the L train shutdown as a marketing hook (you may have also noticed Stuy Town’s attempt to lure Williamsburgers over the bridge via its model-apartment truck). But the Connecticut-based alcopop brand gets extra points for just straight-up giving stuff away. And not just keychains or t-shirts– we’re talking [Price is Right voice] A NEW BICYCLE!
(Photo: Daniel Maurer)
First there was Fresh Kills, and now—right across the street—there’s Kill Devil. When it comes to ambitious cocktail bars, Williamsburg is killing it.
Kill Devil House of Dark Spirits takes its name from an old euphemism for rum, and it’s dead serious about the liquor. It offers a list of some 125 sipping rums from all over the world, and many of its cocktails employ it. You might assume this place is just riding the tiki trend, but you won’t find any thatch or bamboo in the onetime bank building at the corner of Grand and Bedford. Instead, the former Witlof space has gotten a dark, slightly devilish makeover.
Galatea Stone and Jon Corbett. (Photos courtesy of Eris)
If you’ve seen the Williamsburg episode of the satirical “What’s the 311?” web series, you know locals are bummed about all the venues that’ve closed: “Shea Stadium… Wreck Room… the White Castle on Metropolitan, when will it stop?” Well, here’s some good news: A pair of party promoters are putting down roots and opening a new multipurpose venue in East Williamsburg.
(Photo: Daniel Maurer)
Calling all members of the Rhythm Nation: Janet Jackson was seen filming a music video in Williamsburg yesterday, and the shoot continued today with none other than Daddy Yankee.
(Courtesy of Williamsburg Hotel)
It’s been three and a half years since we first brought news that the Williamsburg Hotel would feature a rooftop bar inside of a faux water tower, and now we hear from the hotel that its crowning gem will begin welcoming customers in the “coming weeks.” (Have a look at its current state, below.) In the meantime, the hotel has opened a rooftop pool with Insta-worthy views of Manhattan.
The BBQ Pulled Pork Burger. (Photos courtesy of Shake Shack)
Shake Shack has finally landed in Williamsburg, and that’s just the start of recent Shacktivity. Over at the Astor Place location, which opened in October, a new BBQ Pulled Pork Burger hit the menu today.
The Giglio Feast, a Williamsburg tradition since 1903, is going on now in the streets around Our Lady of Mount Carmel church on Havemeyer. And while most of Giglio will be familiar to anyone who’s ever been to any NYC Italian street feast–there are lots of cigars, fried sausages, zeppole, carnival rides, and sucker games–it’s the crazy spectacle of the highly ritualized “lifts” that makes the Williamsburg festival so special.