We have our favorite posts of 2015, and looking at the numbers, these are yours.
It was a big year for photo essays, hidden gems in Crown Heights and boozy concoctions. Street food is ever-popular while made-from-scratch vinegar and free fruit trees, whether or not we embrace them, inspire us to take our DIY sensibilities to the next level. Oysters top the charts though, showing off their wide range of shapes and sizes.
Have a favorite story that didn’t make the cut? Got a story idea that you’d like us to explore in 2016? Let us know by leaving a comment or tweeting to us. We’ll see you in the new year!
1. “A Brief Guide to Oysters and Their Shells” by Jessica Chou
We grabbed eight oysters and asked two connoisseurs at Greenpoint Fish & Lobster Co. and Maison Premiere what they could tell us, based only on the shell.
2. “Inside the Cheese Caves Beneath the Streets of Crown Heights” by Claire Brown
The team invested in state-of-the-art equipment and converted one of three underground tunnels in Crown Heights into a licensed New York State dairy plant.
3. “8 Different Ways to Make the Brooklyn Cocktail, Spanning From 1883-1945” by Gabrielle Langholtz
Not only did the country’s most esteemed drinks historian, a Brooklyn native, write us a thoroughly researched history of the Brooklyn Cocktail, he also furnished not one but eight historical recipes for variations of the theme.
4. “A Marriage of Taiwanese and Mexican Street Food Specialties in Greenpoint” by Cathy Erway
Lucky Luna proudly serves a smorgasbord of street foods that are inspired by its married co-owners’ heritages.
5. “A Secret Chicken Window in Crown Heights” by Jesse Hirsch
Sometimes it feels impossible to separate a fleeting sense of coolness from a meal’s actual quality.
6. “How Etsy Eats” by Chelsey Simpson
True to the website’s mission, the food program hopes to scale up without losing its crafty spirit.
7. “This New-Old Drink at Montana’s Trail House Takes Four Months to Make” by Rachel Wharton
Chef Nate Courtland makes the cocktail’s cider vinegar from scratch.
8. “At Other Half Brewing, Fresh, Funky Beers Are Here Today, Gone Tomorrow” by Elizabeth Bradley
Much of this start-up’s beer is consumed the day it’s kegged.
9. “Get a Free Fruit Tree Thanks to the New York Restoration Project” by Claire Brown
From American persimmons to Shinko Asian pears, their free selection offers promises of future seasons of abundance.
10. “A Day in Ditmas Park” by Tove Danovich
Expect made-from-scratch tamales, a flower shop with a whiskey bar alter ego and a late night haunt dishing dumplings.
