Unpopular Opinion: I (Actually) Like Industry City
A recap of a fun afternoon that lingered well into the evening
Hey all, normally I send these emails on Monday but I’ve been a bit under the weather lately so I’m sending it out today, sorry about that.
Industry City gets a bad rap. Seems like a spot locals like to dislike. I visited for the first time last spring, while exploring Green-Wood Cemetery during cherry blossom season (photo below). We spent that blissful spring day walking way too much (clocked in 12 miles!) and were parched by the tail-end of the evening. So we routed ourselves to the nearest brewery, which happened to be Big aLICe Brewing in Industry City.
Up until that point, we never heard of Industry City before. So imagine our surprise when we stumbled upon the epic warehouse complex converted into public spaces and small businesses. We had no idea! We mostly hung out at the brewery but vowed to return during warmer weather. However, as with most things in life, we forget to get around to it.
Fast forward to this weekend. I’ve been hearing rumblings from friends that Industry City isn’t worth the detour. Intrigued, I asked Will (my husband) if he’d be interested to spend 2-3 hours exploring Industry City in earnest.
Luckily for me, he’s always up for a day out, so we made plans to visit Saturday. We planned to stay until the late afternoon, but — spoiler alert — ended up staying the whole day! All told, we spent 6 hours exploring Industry City and found ourselves completely smitten by everything on offer.
Without further ado, allow me to share some highlights from our Saturday in Industry City.
Hometown BBQ
I don’t think we’re worthy of the heavenly masterpiece that is Hometown BBQ. Ask any local about the best bbq joints in NYC and Hometown is bound to grace the top of the list. This is my second time visiting (I went to the original location in Red Hook a while ago) and it exceeded expectations.
I was worried it wouldn’t live up to the pleasant memories from last time, but was happy to be proven wrong. We opted for the brisket sandwich and goodness — just looking at this photo has me pulling up Google Maps to see which train to catch. I love this place and bet you will too!
Sake Tasting at Brooklyn Kura
We’ve done a few sake tastings in NYC (and some in Tokyo as well), so we’re not new to the rodeo. While we still have (so) much to learn about sake, we enjoy it enough to pop in for tastings whenever we’re near a brewery.
Relying on 1,000 years of traditional Japanese brewing methods, Brooklyn Kura aims to misidentify sake and make it more accessible to the average Joe. If you’re new to the world of sake, opt for a tasting flight to get a better grasp of the variety on offer.
The sake is served slightly chilled in a wine glass (no shot glasses here, folks), and the flight comes with three half-pours for $20. The rose-hued Occidental sake was out of this world! One of the best sakes I’ve had to date.
Japan Village
I knew to keep expectation low for Japan Village (based on things I’ve been told), so maybe this is a case of expectations being the name of the game. Who knows?
Anyways, Japan Village is a vibrant hub of Japanese culture and cuisine, featuring a food hall and small marketplace (the Sunrise Mart) chock-full of Japanese treats. The food hall within Japan Village houses multiple restaurants and stalls, serving everything from ramen and sushi to okonomiyaki (those famous Japanese egg pancakes). It’s a ton of fun to explore, and you don’t need to allocate much time to the area, which is nice.
cityFoundry
cityFoundry in Brooklyn is a treasure trove for those that love antiques and modern furniture (assuming price isn’t a hurdle). Meticulously curated, it’s too expensive for my tastes but even I’ll admit that it’s a pretty cool shop to explore for design inspiration. Their selection of antiques (the maps!) and modern furniture is very impressive.
For next time: Pétanque at the Carreau Club
We’ll be back to Industry City with friends soon and one of the things we’re most looking forward to is playing a round of pétanque at the Carreau Club ($25 per hour for 1-4 people).
What the hell is pétanque? Pétanque is a game that originated in Provence, France (it’s like bocce ball). The goal is to toss (or roll) hollow steel balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball while standing inside a starting circle with both feet on the ground.
You Might Enjoy Reading:
I enjoyed our time in Industry City so much, I drafted a quick write-up of the 10 best things to do in Industry City. Hope you enjoy!
Cheers!