A new Star-Revue feature

Hi, I am Alexa Tietjen Dornagon and I am very excited to welcome you to my new space here at the Red Hook Star-Revue!

Just when you think winter will never quit, spring arrives and Carroll Gardens earns its name once more. If the number of new awnings across this part of Brooklyn is any indication, the season is bringing with it a fresh crop of openings.

One much-anticipated newcomer is Trudie’s Tavern, the third restaurant from Nate Adler, who also runs Gertie and Gertrude’s in Prospect Heights. Trudie’s is expected to open the third week in May at 524 Court Street, formerly home to Buttermilk Channel. The menu will include a raw bar, a burger, and (like many new restaurants) a rotisserie chicken, as well as nods to the “Jewish New York vibe that is our brand ethos,” Adler says. Think shmaltz and latkes, maybe a veal Wiener schnitzel, and, since Buttermilk Channel left behind an ice cream machine, sundaes for dessert.

“The general concept is an upscale American tavern. It’s our homage to a Keith McNally-style restaurant,” says Adler, a New York native who names The Odeon among his former haunts. To start, Trudie’s will serve dinner, with weekend brunch and lunch to come. The drink menu will consist of 10 rotating classics, with a twist.

Further down Court Street and further up Smith Street, a pair of dispensaries are worth a look, as each offers something the average vape shop wishes it had: a point of view.
The Garden Club, located at 227 Smith Street, specializes in small-batch bud grown and harvested in New York. The interior has a retro modern vibe. “Our whole theme was ‘1950s Gen Z.’ Bold with bright colors, but also, kind of classic,” says Erica Diener, who oversees marketing.

Founder Alexandria Acalá also brought on Danny Danko, former cultivation editor at High Times Magazine, to lead menu curation and inventory management. “One of the things we love about Carroll Gardens is it’s a real neighborhood where people go to the butcher for their meat, the bakery for their bread, and the cheese shop for their cheese. We’re the cannabis shop.”

The Emerald Dispensary, which first started as a magazine more than a decade ago, now occupies 548 Court Street (once Santo Brúklin). Founder Christina de Giovanni says reimagining the former Brazilian hotspot into The Emerald’s third brick-and-mortar required “intention, patience and a lot of design work.”

The Emerald will use its spacious backyard for community events, not all of which will center around cannabis. “We already work with a host of creatives who hold a variety of events in Bushwick so we’re looking forward to continuing the tradition.” de Giovanni says.

If you’re hankering for a good mole sauce, give the new one at Bar Bruno — you know the one — a try. Greenpoint Fish & Lobster Co. has taken over Bruno’s Carroll Gardens and Williamsburg locations, appointing in the former a chef from Oaxaca who makes his mother’s mole from scratch and presses tortillas by hand.

“The ceviche has been a massive hit. Our whole fish comes out stunning, it’s an homage to Mexico City and Contramar, and the mole sauce I can’t get enough of,” Orion Russell, chef and managing partner, says of Bar Bruno’s entirely new menu. Fun fact: Russell was a food stylist for a few seasons on And Just Like That, the Sex and the City reboot.

Further up Henry Street is Harris Home, Katherine Foster’s new antique shop and interior design studio, which carries the aesthetic of her hometown — Shaker Heights, Ohio, former home of the North Union Shaker community.

While Harris Home features Northeastern American pieces from one to two centuries ago, Foster sees value in including present-day items, too. “I lean towards curiosity and connection with a piece when selecting for the shop rather than strict provenance.”

Have you tried Bar Ferdinando, Sal Lamboglia’s revamp of the 122-year-old Ferdinando’s Focacceria? There’s a reason Francesco Buffa hand-selected Lamboglia (who also runs Cafe Spaghetti, Swoony’s and Sal Tang’s nearby) to pick up where he left off. Go and, when you do, order the pane e panelle and the gamberi all’aglio e peperoncini. And don’t forget the cheesecake for dessert.

While in search of the great American burger, Ramblin’ Chick, a new concept at 512 Court Street from the Ample Hills Creamery founders, has created their version of the chicken nugget. Real chicken is marinated in-house and double-fried.

Michelin-starred Chef Eric McCarthy, who owns and runs Indian Table in Cobble Hill, brings his coastal Indian concept Malvan to Carroll Gardens (550 Court St.).

Unsurprisingly, early reviews suggest it’s worth a trip. Prince Street Pizza has claimed its stake in Brooklyn’s pie capital with a Smith Street outpost. And Li-Lac Chocolates, the oldest chocolatier in the city, now has a permanent counter inside of Sahadi’s on Atlantic Avenue.

There is no excuse not to eat, shop — and smoke — well this spring.

Liked what you just read? There’s more where this came from.
Follow Court Street Journal on Substack.