Williamsburg, aka Hipster Central, Brooklyn

After a fantastic few days in Manhattan it was time to venture into new territory - across the East River to Brooklyn.

There we were meeting up with my dear friend Richard and staying in a wonderful AirBandB find in Williamsburg near Bedford Avenue - a hot spot in this oh so happening area. Our host, Paul left a lovely basket of cereal, chocolate, coffee and snacks for us as well as almond milk in the fridge and permission to eat and drink what we liked from the fridge and pantry.

Richard and I enjoying the view of Manhattan

On our first night in Brooklyn we decided to check out "Champs" an amazing vegan diner - it was such fun - great atmosphere and food. A blast from the past.

Here's where we stayed:

I highly recommend you check out AirBandB - Richard said the previous place he stayed was also fabulous! His host Donald showed him around the neighbourhood.

On Saturdays down by the water where we were last night - near B......street is something called "Smorgasburg" - a cornucopia of food offerings - many vegan including the famous "Dun-well Donuts" - which lived up to the hype - F had a chocolate peanut butter pretzel one and I am ashamed to say I forget what I had save to say it was delicious! I also got yet more tea from Bellocq - Queen's Blend - with lovely roses and Hindu Holiday a spice filled rooiboos chai.  We also had yummy tempeh dish..further down the street on Sundays is a flea market which also has some artisans - I bought a very cute mug there from SKT ceramics...


If you're interested and you should be - head up to Greenpoint to visit the Dun-well Donuts shop and also have pizza at Paulie G's - I had the InagoddadaVegan one - with fennel sausage...even better the next day! Also check out Achillelle's Heel bar...

I really enjoyed the area - shopping at Meg - one of my faves here in Toronto, checking out the coffee shops, Mast Brothers chocolate - FREE SAMPLES! - pretending to be sophisticated and enjoying an absinthe cocktail at La Maison Premier, eating at Wild Ginger, Egg and more. We found a tea place on our last day called Tea Bar - must remember that for when we return.

I also got the opportunity to dine at Franchia in Manhattan on Saturday night as we were meeting up with Monique and Norma to go to the Kitano Hotel to hear Denny Zeitlin, Buster Williams and our favourite drummer Matt Wilson - fantastic, hot show! I just love watching Matt Wilson play.

Richard and I also got discount tickets at the Tkts booth in Seaport - much less busy that Times Square if you don't mind going off the beaten path to see Pippin thanks to the very helpful young information man outside the ticket booth. How can you go wrong with Bob Fosse choreography, Annie Potts, a great cast and a cirque du soleil influenced background?

Sadly our sojourn had to come to an end but I'm so glad I checked out Williamsburg - next time I could explore more the borough...it was just fun to walk around and check out all the shops. By the way there is a great kitchen ware store called "Whisk" on Bedford.

On Saturday, with the unexpected access to a vehicle we decided to check out a veg restaurant we were curious about in Markham called "Wu Tai". After being stuck in traffic and having to do a detour we had about half an hour before we had to return to Toronto to go and see Denzal Sinclaire and Kurt Elling in concert at Koerner Hall.

The staff were so lovely and accommodating, the venue is very glamourous and the food delicious - we will be back when we can have a more relaxed dining experience. In the meantime, we are enjoying the leftovers!

Yesterday we had the privilege of celebrating not only Mother's Day but Sophie's dedication (she is my great niece) or as my friend Richard calls it - "Gals Are Great Day" so no one feels left out. I am really mom to two furry someones - Lester and Billie. Here's a photo of Meredith and Sophie and also one with Meredith's mom - my sister in law Becky - she is on the left.