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    A Food And Drink Tour Of Bushwick's 'Jefftown'

    by Rebecca Fishbein
    Published May 2, 2014
    Modified May 3, 2014
    Gallery
    15 Photos
    When the area surrounding the Morgan L stop started receiving some hip spillover from Williamsburg, some area residents dubbed the neighborhood "Morgantown," a sobriquet applied both pejoratively and with a hint of pride. And as the barstaurantification of Bushwick has creeped further east, so too have the nicknames: several years ago, a few entrepreneurial souls off the Jefferson stop started making "Jefftown" stickers, coinciding with a major boom in business along Wyckoff, Troutman and St. Nicholas Aves. Now, the Jefferson L stop's dining and eating scene more than rivals that of its Morgantown neighbors to the West, boasting some seriously delectable restaurants, happening bars and even the odd sleek lounge or two. Some of the shinier offerings in the neighborhood don't bode well for what's left of Bushwick's low rents, but that's a different story, for now. Here are some of the top spots around the Jefferson L stop. Please do not actually call this area "Jefftown." We can't include everything so be sure to tell us what we missed in the comments. All photographs by Sai Mokhtari. Previously: Food and Drink tours of South Slope, Crown Heights, Astoria, Bed-Stuy, Chinatown, the Lower East Side,  Greenpoint,, City Island, Harlem, Spanish Harlem, and Ridgewood, Queens.

    <br/><br/>When the area surrounding the Morgan L stop started receiving some hip spillover from Williamsburg, some area residents dubbed the neighborhood "Morgantown," a sobriquet applied both pejoratively and with a hint of pride. And as the barstaurantification of Bushwick has creeped further east, so too have the nicknames: several years ago, a few entrepreneurial souls off the Jefferson stop started making "Jefftown" stickers, coinciding with a major boom in business along Wyckoff, Troutman and St. Nicholas Aves. <br/><br/>Now, the Jefferson L stop's dining and eating scene more than rivals that of its Morgantown neighbors to the West, boasting some seriously delectable restaurants, happening bars and even the odd sleek lounge or two. Some of the shinier offerings in the neighborhood don't bode well for what's left of Bushwick's low rents, but that's a different story, for now. Here are some of the top spots around the Jefferson L stop. Please do not actually call this area "Jefftown." <br/><br/><em>We can't include everything so be sure to tell us what we missed in the comments. All photographs by <a href="http://saimokhtari.com/#/id/i7629404">Sai Mokhtari.</a><p> <br/><br/><em>Previously: Food and Drink tours of <a href="http://gothamist.com/2012/01/31/a_food_wine_tour_of_south_park_slop.php#photo-1">South Slope,</a> <a href="http://gothamist.com/2012/04/04/a_food_drink_tour_of_crown_heights.php#photo-1">Crown Heights,</a> <a href="http://gothamist.com/2012/03/28/adam_kubans_food_drink_tour_of_asto.php#photo-1">Astoria,</a> <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/12/07/bed-stuy_food_tour.php">Bed-Stuy,</a> <a href="http://gothamist.com/2012/04/25/a_food_drink_tour_of_manhattans_chi.php">Chinatown,</a> the <a href="http://gothamist.com/2012/03/01/get_cultured_stuffed_and_loaded_on.php#photo-1">Lower East Side, </a> <a href="http://gothamist.com/2012/05/30/a_food_drink_tour_of_greenpoint.php">Greenpoint,</a>, <a href="http://gothamist.com/2012/06/21/eat_seafood_where_it.php#photo-1">City Island</a>, <a href="http://gothamist.com/2012/07/24/a_food_drink_tour_of_harlem.php#photo-1">Harlem</a>, <a href="http://gothamist.com/2013/08/12/a_food_drink_tour_of_spanish_harlem.php#photo-1">Spanish Harlem</a>, and <a href="http://gothamist.com/2013/11/20/ridgewood_food_drink_tour.php">Ridgewood, Queens</a>. </em></p></em>

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    <br/><br/>When the area surrounding the Morgan L stop started receiving some hip spillover from Williamsburg, some area residents dubbed the neighborhood "Morgantown," a sobriquet applied both pejoratively and with a hint of pride. And as the barstaurantification of Bushwick has creeped further east, so too have the nicknames: several years ago, a few entrepreneurial souls off the Jefferson stop started making "Jefftown" stickers, coinciding with a major boom in business along Wyckoff, Troutman and St. Nicholas Aves. <br/><br/>Now, the Jefferson L stop's dining and eating scene more than rivals that of its Morgantown neighbors to the West, boasting some seriously delectable restaurants, happening bars and even the odd sleek lounge or two. Some of the shinier offerings in the neighborhood don't bode well for what's left of Bushwick's low rents, but that's a different story, for now. Here are some of the top spots around the Jefferson L stop. Please do not actually call this area "Jefftown." <br/><br/><em>We can't include everything so be sure to tell us what we missed in the comments. All photographs by <a href="http://saimokhtari.com/#/id/i7629404">Sai Mokhtari.</a><p> <br/><br/><em>Previously: Food and Drink tours of <a href="http://gothamist.com/2012/01/31/a_food_wine_tour_of_south_park_slop.php#photo-1">South Slope,</a> <a href="http://gothamist.com/2012/04/04/a_food_drink_tour_of_crown_heights.php#photo-1">Crown Heights,</a> <a href="http://gothamist.com/2012/03/28/adam_kubans_food_drink_tour_of_asto.php#photo-1">Astoria,</a> <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/12/07/bed-stuy_food_tour.php">Bed-Stuy,</a> <a href="http://gothamist.com/2012/04/25/a_food_drink_tour_of_manhattans_chi.php">Chinatown,</a> the <a href="http://gothamist.com/2012/03/01/get_cultured_stuffed_and_loaded_on.php#photo-1">Lower East Side, </a> <a href="http://gothamist.com/2012/05/30/a_food_drink_tour_of_greenpoint.php">Greenpoint,</a>, <a href="http://gothamist.com/2012/06/21/eat_seafood_where_it.php#photo-1">City Island</a>, <a href="http://gothamist.com/2012/07/24/a_food_drink_tour_of_harlem.php#photo-1">Harlem</a>, <a href="http://gothamist.com/2013/08/12/a_food_drink_tour_of_spanish_harlem.php#photo-1">Spanish Harlem</a>, and <a href="http://gothamist.com/2013/11/20/ridgewood_food_drink_tour.php">Ridgewood, Queens</a>. </em></p></em>
    Gothamist
    When the area surrounding the Morgan L stop started receiving some hip spillover from Williamsburg, some area residents dubbed the neighborhood "Morgantown," a sobriquet applied both pejoratively and with a hint of pride. And as the barstaurantification of Bushwick has creeped further east, so too have the nicknames: several years ago, a few entrepreneurial souls off the Jefferson stop started making "Jefftown" stickers, coinciding with a major boom in business along Wyckoff, Troutman and St. Nicholas Aves. Now, the Jefferson L stop's dining and eating scene more than rivals that of its Morgantown neighbors to the West, boasting some seriously delectable restaurants, happening bars and even the odd sleek lounge or two. Some of the shinier offerings in the neighborhood don't bode well for what's left of Bushwick's low rents, but that's a different story, for now. Here are some of the top spots around the Jefferson L stop. Please do not actually call this area "Jefftown." We can't include everything so be sure to tell us what we missed in the comments. All photographs by Sai Mokhtari. Previously: Food and Drink tours of South Slope, Crown Heights, Astoria, Bed-Stuy, Chinatown, the Lower East Side,  Greenpoint,, City Island, Harlem, Spanish Harlem, and Ridgewood, Queens.
    Tandem: Once upon a time, Tandem was THE neighborhood bar, over yonder by the lonely Jefferson L stop. They had amazing Dark and Stormy's ($9) and $2-$3 PBR tallboys, plus they did brunch food on the weekends, so you could soak up said Dark and Stormy's/tallboys with french toast and kale salad on a Sunday morning. Blessedly, Tandem still has all these things (although the PBR has been swapped out for Narragansett beer, for some reason).But approximately 46 million other drinking holes have moved into the area since its early hipster heyday, so it's not the bar anymore, just a bar. In addition to weekend brunch, Tandem serves dinner, with highlights including the aforementioned lemon-and-parmesan-doused kale salad ($8), a kale and avocado sandwich ($11) and mac and cheese ($11).There's also a room in the back for dance parties, and you may find yourself there at around 3 a.m. after partaking in an unintentional bar crawl around the neighborhood. I have heard no fewer than four couples break up outside Tandem, so attend at your own risk, Young Lovers.236 Troutman Street between Wilson and Knickerbocker Aves (718-386-2369).
    Strangeways: Bushwick's booming with coffee shops nowadays, and the Jefferson stop's standby, Wyckoff Starr, is still a solid spot for a morning pick-me-up. But Strangeways, which opened on St. Nicholas over the summer, gives them a run for their money. It's run by a former manager and roaster at beloved Williamsburg coffee shop Oslo, for one thing, and they still roast their single-origin brews over there. They will not sully your java with decaffeinated beans, there are lovely benches outside the shop for warm-weather espresso-sipping and there's no WiFi inside, so you may be forced to suffer through that near-extinct experience of talking to another human's face while enjoying your latte. Cash only.87 St. Nicholas Ave between Hart and Suydam Streets (strangewayscoffee.com).
    Radio Bushwick: Radio Bushwick is one of the Jefferson stop's sleekest newcomers, and one of the most diverse, at that. A jack-of-all-trades, it's at once a bar, a music venue and a for-hire events space; it even hosts a pop-up church on Sundays. And the space itself, a former warehouse jazzed up to the nines, is exquisite, boasting an elegant bar with a dozen brews on tap, a high-ceilinged, 280-capacity room with a stage and all the glittering lights and street art-esque decor a space that close to Bushwick Five Points should have. 22 Wyckoff Ave between Troutman and Starr Streets (917-893-8935, radiobushwick.com).
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