Sunday was beautiful. One of those September days that make you forget the excitement of snow storms and wonderment at each blossoming spring and wish those crisp blue skies would last forever. Tugging between summer and fall; a bit cool in the shade, a little too hot in the sun.
We had dropped off Leo at a birthday party and were unusually left with just two children and a few hours to kill.
We drove to Williamsburg with no clear plan in mind; stopped at La Esquina, though I think our initial thought was Radegast. It was the perfect spot for brunch outside on that particular morning. The carnitas tacos were very good as were the ‘hamburgesa’ with chipotle mayo. Washed down with coffee and guava juice. And freshly pressed watermelon.
We ambled on.
We walked toward Bedford in search of ice cream and fell upon Whisk, a well curated treasure trove of kitchen wares. I barely had time to grab a long-coveted, medium-sized Lodge pan before the pull of a two-year-old drew us along.
Farther on Bedford we found the Van Leeuwen ice cream truck. While the pistachio was too faint, too unpistachio-y, subtle was the key of the Earl Grey ice cream, which was quite a revelation in fact. There were no complaints from Balthasar and his classic strawberry/vanilla cup. Louise had to share and wasn’t thrilled about that.
Turning the corner I eyed Northside Bakery with its irresistible subhead — division of Old Polish Foods. In my constant search for stout Eastern European-style bread I felt compelled to go in. Sure enough there were a few pure ryes on offer. I bought one seeded rye and a quarter of the plain one that, whole, is a very large square. Both were excellent; the plain rye is out of this world, just the right amount of chewy, and wants nothing more than a minute in the toaster and a generous amount of really good butter.
We might have walked to the waterfront, to the Brooklyn flea, and been tempted by a myriad other delicious foods. We didn’t even stop by Blue Bottle for coffee! Sometimes things are best left unplanned and unintentional. And it was time to pick up Leo.
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A few stops in Williamsburg
La Esquina | 225 Wythe Avenue | Tues-Wed-Thu-Sun 12pm-12am, Fri-Sat 12pm-1am, Mon closed
Whisk | 231 Bedford Avenue | Mon-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 11am-7pm
Van Leeuwen ice cream truck | Bedford @ North 8th Street | Daily from 12pm til late
Northside Bakery, division of Old Poland Foods | 149 North 8th Street
Nettle and Quince 