Author Archives: David C

36 Hours on the Brooklyn Waterfront

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With beautiful clear skies, joggers will be seen jogging along the Brooklyn Bridge park, With their pets or by themselves, it’s a great place to relax and enjoy the scenery. The Brooklyn Waterfront is known to attract quite a handful amount of people during the weekends or just on a regular day with food fairs, music, and ferry rides, it is the place to be when you are visiting Brooklyn for the first time. City life can’t get any busier when your’re there.

Friday

1. A Cup of Joe | 1 p.m.

From the looks on the outside it looks like an old vintage building but take a step in and think again. The Brooklyn Roasting Company is a place where all the people connect and have a cup of coffee to go along with it. You might think what is so special about this particular coffee shop compared to a chain like Starbucks. Well, the Brooklyn Roasting Company does fair trade, which means the farmers that grew and picked the coffee beans gets a fair share of the money unlike other brands of coffee that people consume. If your wish to purchase a can of 12 oz. of high quality coffee beans, it goes for $13 or if you just want a cup of coffee, it goes for at least $4. Ranging from Costa Rica Naranjo to Sumatra Espresso coffee beans, it would take weeks to finish each type of coffee they offer.

2. 1.3 Miles of Green | 3 p.m.

Right under the Brooklyn Bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge park was only recently built not so long ago. This is a place where you will find photographers snapping away on their cameras and a hub for all the joggers around to finish their daily routines. Although it gets a little cold here, it’s worth it  so even if you go there alone, there are many things to keep you busy like taking pictures or enjoying the food on the park’s pier. Your will be right next to the water looking at the Manhattan skyline and I do recommend you to go there during the night time because the lights are just amazing.

3. The Arts | 5 p.m.

The Dumbo Galleries is on the second floor located at 111 Front Street, this is where the residents of Dumbo or anyone with loads of cash buy some fine art for their apartments. I suggest you only go there and take a long because the art there can cost a few thousand dollars depending on the artist. The Dumbo Galleries is a great place for for artists to showcase their magnificent talents and not to mention that just peaking in there is free of admission.

4. Brooklyn Bridge | 6 p.m.

The first bridge that held the title for being the longest suspension bridge in 1883 when it opened still stands strong providing millions of daily New Yorkers a way to travel between the residential borough of Brooklyn yo the busy business side of Manhattan. Millions of tourist come to the Brooklyn Waterfront annually to embrace the iconic structure of New York because it’s part of New York’s history. It took almost a decade and a half with the help of at least 600 workers to complete it. It was also designated as a historic landmark in the 1960’s. The method of traveling include walking, biking, driving, and even what most New Yorkers use, the MTA.

Saturday

5. Food Truck Galore | 1 p.m.

Within the Brooklyn Waterfront proximity there are many food trucks that will grab your attention but the one I chose was the Kimchi Taco food truck. They serve Korean BBQ, which is their specialty. The grilled Korean BBQ short rib which is served in a burrito and stuffed with their signature marinade along with red cabbage apple pear kimchi slaw which goes for $9. If you’re short on change, no need to worry because for $3 you can get a 4″ tortilla filled with spicy grilled chicken that will make your taste buds explode.

6. Provide a Helping Hand | 2 p.m.

Who wants to pick up garbage during their trip on the Brooklyn Waterfront? Although you don’t automatically get picked for signing up to volunteer at the Brooklyn Bridge park, you can still pitch in and help keep the park clean by throwing garbage in where they belong. During your stay on the Brooklyn Bridge park you might encounter a group of volunteers that tends the green fields or planting saplings so don’t be afraid to ask them questions about the park, you might leave with a handful of interesting facts.

7. High-End | 7 p.m.

Nothing is better than eating something delicious after some volunteer work on the Brooklyn Bridge park. The One Front Street is a fancy little restaurant that provides you high-end quality dishes that will make you want more. They cater foods like the shrimp cocktail for $9.95 and if you want to get a taste of New York, get the New York Strip Steak with mashed potatoes and asparagus for $17.95. After the main course, finish it with a slice of cheesecake for dessert.

8. Sleep Tight | 9 p.m.

A long day deserves a long and comfortable sleep and the best place for that is the Aloft Hotel. Unlike other hotels, the Aloft hotel provide a hip feel to it with their signature plush bedding. If you don’t want to sleep right away, there is a bar on the rooftop so you can have fun and drink away with others. Start a conversation and make new friends and tell them about your accomplishments on the Brooklyn Waterfront so far. But don’t drink too much because on Sunday there is still more to do.

Sunday

9. Ever Heard of Smorgasburg? 11 a.m.

Forget about the food truck, Smorgasburg is the place to be. Every Sunday, people from all over New York come to the Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier to experience a massive mix of cultures with food everywhere you look. From freshly made cookies, to Asian style dumplings. to many homemade recipes that are trying to get their name out. Hundreds of unique one-of-a-kind foods, you wish to never leave this place. Hundreds of food vendors and thousands of visitors equals Smorgasburg so do try as much as you possibly can.

10. St. Ann’s Warehouse | 2 p.m.

The St. Ann’s Warehouse is not a warehouse but a theater that’s literally right next to the Brooklyn Roasting Company. It’s like Brooklyn’s own Broadway and it’s $20 person and normally there’s lots of people. They do their own kind of performances unlike the typical Broadway musical plays. There is a 2 p.m. performance, Tristan & Yseult so you’re just in time.

11. Natural Ice Cream | 5 p.m.

An Ice cream ship called the Broklyn Ice Cream Factory is located on Water Street and Old Fulton that was opened in the early 2000’s. Unlike store bought ice cream, their ice cream are produced freshly and homemade. Flavors include strawberry, butter pecan, chocolate, peaches and cream, and vanilla. Old fashion light-creamy texture that will just melt in your mouth because it’s made with less butter and not eggs needed. It’s quite a tourist trap because there’s nothing like it.

12. The Ale House | 6 p.m.

The Waterfront Ale House might just be the perfect place to finish your exploring on the Brooklyn Waterfront becasue their menu is descrubed as one of the best by New York Magazine. Their menu consist of spicy chicken wings drizzled with the chef’s famous hot sauce, ale battered shrimp, and even the Texas Style, which is pork and beef simmered with tomatoes, spices and beer for $10.95.

References

(n.d.). Retrieved December 8, 2014, from http://www.brooklynroasting.com/coffees

(n.d.). Retrieved December 8, 2014, from http://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/

(n.d.). Retrieved December 8, 2014, from http://twotreesny.com/arts-culture/dumbo-galleries

(n.d.). Retrieved December 8, 2014, from http://www.history.com/topics/brooklyn-bridge

(n.d.). Retrieved December 8, 2014, from http://kimchitacotruck.com/KimchiTaco.html

(n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2014, from http://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/activities/volunteer

(n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2014, from http://www.torofusion.com/menu.html

(n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2014, from http://www.aloftnewyorkbrooklyn.com/

(n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2014, from http://www.smorgasburg.com/

(n.d.). Retrieved December 10, 2014, from http://stannswarehouse.org/calendar.php

(n.d.). Retrieved December 10, 2014, from http://www.brooklynicecreamfactory.com/menu.html

(n.d.). Retrieved December 10, 2014, from http://www.waterfrontalehouse.com/about-bk    

The Brooklyn Waterfront

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Prof. Goodlad                                                                                                             10/5/14

Culinary Tourism by Jessica Pineda, Holly Ye, Irina Kupershteyn, and David Chen-He

An ice cream shop called the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory is located on Water Street and old Fulton that was opened in the early 2000’s, with the owner being Mark Thompson. Unlike the ice cream people buy from the stores, Mark’s ice creams are produced freshly and homemade. The flavors include strawberry, butter pecan, chocolate, peaches and cream, and vanilla. Holding the title of freshly made ice cream, it has a light-creamy texture that just melts into one’s mouth. Being old fashion ice cream, it has less butterfat and no eggs needed. Not only do they sell ice cream, they also bell banana splits, sundaes, and milkshakes. Although the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory is not as famous as other ice cream makers, they still gather quite an amount of people, especially tourists.

Another fact about the Brooklyn Waterfront is that it holds the Brooklyn flea market called Smorgasburg. Every Sundays, people gather in an announced pier near the Brooklyn Bridge park along with the hundred plus food vendors. Thousands can have a little taste of everything they want, from freshly made cookies, to Asian style dumplings, to many homemade recipes, and hundreds of unique one of a kind foods. It’s a place to try new and exciting foods, perfect for friends and families. After living in Brooklyn for so long, this is my first time hearing about the weekly flea and it really makes me want to go and try all the possible different foods located there.

Within the Brooklyn Waterfront proximity, there are clusters of restaurants. One of many being the One Front Street restaurant which caters pretty expensive foods like a chicken sandwich which sells for $8.95 along with your choice of fries. Pub named Waterfront Ale House serves a wide section of beer and also a variety of different dishes like spicy chicken wings. Some people reviewed these restaurants as the best ones in Brooklyn, or maybe even the whole New York itself. After eating/drinking, you would have a great view of the Manhattan skyline just a few blocks away and it’s even extraordinary when you’re there at night with all the city lights on. The Brooklyn Waterfront is the place to be, especially when you’re a tourist and you step foot in Brooklyn for the first time. You might just say it’s almost equivalent to Manhattan’s Time Square.

David Chen

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My academic experiences were the joy of learning new things and also meeting new people. During the past few years of schooling, the amounts of work might have piled up but that’s only a fraction of what I don’t like about school. Spending time in a class full of students and teachers increased my social skills and my knowledge of the world. My academic goals are to find something fit and comfortable that I don’t mind doing in the near future. It doesn’t have to be anything related to my major, just anything in general but most of all, I would really love to finish college and take some time off and travel to places that I’ve been eager to go since I was a little kid.

One of my personal strengths is that I try to give it all when something really intirigues me and no matter how much amount of work I’ll need to do I try to endure it as much as possible and try to do it to the best of my abilities. My personal interests are food and how they’re made because when I’m bored I tend to watch food network and these chefs with their magicals hands can turn something ugly into something so appetizing and that really makes me want to learn how to cook and impress everyone.