The Hottest Restaurants in Brooklyn Right Now, December 2014

by Marguerite Preston Dec 5, 2014, 1:00pm EST

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by Marguerite Preston Dec 5, 2014, 1:00pm EST

Does Brooklyn have its own unique culinary identity apart from Manhattan? Are all the young, ambitious chefs and restaurateurs opening in Brooklyn these days? And are any Brooklyn restaurants worth the train/cab/boat/helicopter ride from the Upper East Side? These are all questions that can be debated, endlessly. But one thing's for certain: There are a lot of terrific new restaurants in Brooklyn right now. Here they are, in map form.

Restaurants are listed based on opening date. Some of these establishments recently reopened after complete revamps:

04/05/13: Added: Xixa, Mama Joy's, OTB
05/03/13: Added: Alameda, Franny's, Fritzl's Lunch Box
06/07/13: Added: River Styx, The Grand, The Bounty, Old School Brooklyn
07/12/13: Added: The Elm, Glasserie, King Noodle, Motorino
08/02/13: Added: Atrium Dumbo, Luksus, Court Street Grocers Hero Shop, Home/Made
09/06/13: Added: Whiskey Soda Lounge NY, Fitzcarraldo, Mile End, Shalom Japan.
10/05/13: Added: Marco's, Hometown, La Botaneria, Onomea, Morgan's.
11/08/13: Added: Saul, Bergen Hill, The Randolph Brooklyn, Ethiopian Lunch Box at Mama Joy's.
12/07/13: Added: Dover, Grindhaus, Martha.
01/03/14: Added: 1 Knickerbocker, Luzzo's, Black Forest Brooklyn
02/07/14: Added: Lachlan, Emily, El Born, River Cafe, Hill Country, Union Pizza Works.
03/07/14: Added: French Louie, The Runner, Egg, Colonia Verde.
04/04/14: Added: Docklands, Max, Lucky Luna.
05/02/14: Added: Glady's, Okonomi, Dotory, Dziupla.
06/06/14: Added: Meat Hook Sandwich, Delaware and Hudson, Montana's Trail House.
07/03/14: Added: Meadowsweet, Pacifico's Fine Foods, Shake Shack Dumbo, Bar Chuko, Donna, Ganso Ramen.
08/08/14: Added: Littleneck Outpost, Wilma Jean, Humboldt & Jackson, The Gorbals.
09/05/14: Added: Berg'n, Orleans, 2 Duck Goose.
10/03/14: Added: Kao Soy, Luke's Lobster, Le Fond
11/07/14: Added: Arrogant Swine, Semilla, Hunger Pang 12/05/14: Added: Sisters, Boomwich, The Finch

The Finch

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Gabe McMackin, a vet of Roberta's, Gramercy Tavern, and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, is behind this big new Clinton Hill restaurant. His menu is forward-thinking New American, with dishes like shaved pork tongue salad with roasted celery juice, skirt steak and beef cheek wrapped in grape leaves, and trout with two kinds of winter squash. The space also includes a large open kitchen. [Photo]

212 Greene Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238

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Boomwich

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Peter Entner, a vet of No. 7 Sub and the chef behind bizarro Crown Heights pizzeria Pete Zaaz (which is currently preparing for its comeback) recently opened this sandwich shop on Atlantic Avenue. The sandwiches here are the kind of riffs on classics that one would expect from someone with Entner's resume. There's a falafel sandwich with red pepper sauce and lemon gelee, a cheesesteak with pickled jalapenos, pineapple, and hot Cheetos, and a chili con carne sub topped with "Frito gremolata." [Facebook]

311 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11201

(718) 643-9229

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Sisters

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Damon Gorton and chef Chris Nichols, the duo behind neighborhood favorite Flatbush Farm, recently opened this Clinton Hill restaurant and music venue. The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and the menu includes dishes like duck cassoulet, fried artichoke hearts, and Scotch eggs. The space, designed by hOmE, is also a real stunner — particularly the wood-paneled stage in the back. [Photo]

900 Fulton St, Brooklyn, NY 11238

(347) 763-2537

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Hunger Pang

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When neighborhood favorite The Dogwood shuttered suddenly in September, the owners chose Hunger Pang's chef Medwin Pang to take it over. Now he's opened this "new American-Asian" restaurant, where the menu ranges from a classic Buddha's delight to a grilled hanger steak with miso butter fries. [Yelp]

1021 Church Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11218

Semilla

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After many months of operating his vegetable-heavy pop-up, Chez Jose, in the old Lake Trout space, José Ramírez-Ruiz has now taken the place over to open this permanent version of it. There are only 18 seats, and the $75 prix fixe menu changes regularly, but dishes are along the lines of things like grilled matsutakes with charred pear and kabocha-anchovy puree. Partner Pam Yung also makes bread from house-milled grains. [Instagram]

160 Havemeyer St., Brooklyn, NY 11211

(718) 782-3474

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Arrogant Swine

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Barbecue aficionado Tyson Ho, who got his start doing a whole hog pop-up, has now opened what he describes as a "church of pork." The restaurant specializes in Carolina-style whole hog barbecue, which is a rarity among New York's many Texas-style barbecue restaurants. From an early meal there, Robert Sietsema recommends the pork shoulder and the sausages. The bar centers on beer and whiskey, because isn't that what always goes with barbecue? [Nick Solares]

173 Morgan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11101

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Le Fond

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[Facebook]

105 Norman Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222

(718) 389-6859

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Kao Soy

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[Yelp]

283 Van Brunt St, Brooklyn, NY 11231

(718) 875-1155

Berg'n

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Smorgasburg founders Eric Demby and Jonathan Butler have finally opened their massive food and beer hall in Crown Heights. Inside the former garage are food counters from Mighty Quinn's, Asia Dog, Ramen Burger, and Pizza Moto, plus a well-stocked beer bar and plenty of picnic tables. There's also a coffee bar in the morning, oyster happy hours, weekend brunch, and the occasional DJ set. [Bess Adler]

899 Bergen St, Brooklyn, NY 11238

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Orleans

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This po' boy joint from a Roberta's vet is little more than a truck surrounded by a fence and some picnic tables, but Robert Sietsema reports that its New Orleans-style sandwiches are the real deal. The biggest hit is the French fry po' boy, which comes doused in a beef gravy that Sietsema describes as being "like someone who went to cooking school might make." [Robert Sietsema]

603 Hart Street, Brooklyn, NY 11221

(718) 574-1000

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Also featured in:

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2 Duck Goose

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[Photo Credit]

400 4th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215

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Wilma Jean

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Wilma Jean is the casual spinoff of Rob Newton and Kerry Diamond's hit Southern restaurant Seersucker, which they closed down last month in order to relocate their Vietnamese restaurant, Nightingale 9, into the larger space. Now Wilma Jean occupies the former Nightingale 9 space, offering a menu of dishes like fried chicken, braised collards, tater tots, and a fried bologna sandwich. [Daniel Krieger]

345 Smith St, Brooklyn, NY 11231