Brooklyn Bakery Crawl, Ridgewood Pizza & Some Really Lovely Dinners
~*beautiful things I ate, march 2025~*
Hello friends!
The start of 2025 has been chaotic, to say the least; a lot of new beginnings and unexpected endings. I’m rolling with the punches as well as I can.
My favorite part of sharing meals with friends are the memories created. I spent a lot of time breaking bread (literal, and physical) with new & old companions in March. I always feel happy when a month ends, and I can scroll through my camera roll with a fondness for the time spent with the people I love.
Bakeries, in all their forms
On a random Sunday early in March, Bailey and I went on a breakfast crawl of our own making. We started at Peck's, a Clinton Hill cafe & bakery slinging soups & salads, sandwiches, baked goods, and prepared to-go foods. We ordered Bailey’s favorite breakfast sandwich, an egg and cheese with bacon on a Portuguese bun, and sat in their backyard, sharing bites; I added ketchup on my half, Bailey kept his plain.
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Paige met up with us and we all walked over to Fan Fan Donuts in Bed-Stuy. We both picked up a white coffee donut, I snagged a cinnamon sugar, and Paige ordered the Danny Boy (salted brown butter), and plain glazed.
Our next stop: For All Things Good, a mostly-vegetarian Mexican spot on the corner of Franklin and Greene. Bailey ordered an Iced Lachata (horchata with espresso) and an iced latte for Paige, then we all strolled to our final destination: Welcome Home, another corner bakery from 2 ex-L’Apartment 4f alums (aka my old coworkers—hiii Isa!). I had donated to their Kickstarter to help open shop, and I was there to claim my cookie pack: a mix of classic chocolate chip, and lemon corn, topped with a toasted marshmallow. I took the box home to split with friends later in the evening for our weekly White Lotus viewing party.
Later in the month, Cake Zine hosted a party for their newest release Daily Bread at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The event was very fun, with live readings from the issue, plus a party with bread-inspired pastries from Hani’s and Elbow Bread.
Downstairs in the church’s rec room, I split all three baked goods with friends: Hani’s PB&J inspired cake, plus a savory garlic star and a cinnamon sugar pretzel from Elbow Bread.
Everything was delicious, but I really loved the garlic star—so much so, that I took a trip to their Chinatown location later in the month.
Bailey and I hosted friends for a morning of coffee cupping and pastry tasting. I took the train to Elbow Bread’s brick & mortar and picked up a box of goodies: potato knish, a schmaltz scallion bun, clementine and sheep milk cheese pastry, a raspberry poppy seed & Meyer lemon hamantash, and a cinnamon sugar pretzel. I always favor savory pastries over sweet, and I wish I ordered a second potato knish, just for myself.
After a lamp building workshop with the sweeties at Craft Society, I stumbled in the ever iconic Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop. The vibe inside was chaotic; a number of tourists were milling around without any sense of a line formation, and the women behind the counter (rightfully) hated everyone inside.
My friend Anna chose a chocolate cake donut and a toasted coconut yeasted donut. Back at my apartment, we split both with a cup of tea. The chocolate was my favorite, to no surprise; I love chocolate, and always prefer a cake donut over yeasted.
(Mostly dine-in) lunch, and dinner
Anna had been craving deviled eggs for what seemed like a full month straight. I took her to Agi’s Counter, the petite cafe in Crown Heights with a Jewish and Eastern European-inspired menu.
Our primary reason for the visit were the Green Devils, jammy eggs piled high with silky mountains of egg mouse, pickles, dill, plus their homemade hot sauce, which is more aptly described as a very mild chili oil. We also ordered the dips & chips, (potato chips served with a caramelized onion sour cream & beet dip with herbs, and smoked trout roe), and their sweet & sour house pickles. Thankfully, the Green Devils’ fulfilled Anna’s cravings.
I had the pleasure of eating some of the best pizza in Ridgewood twice in March. I took the B38 to Mano’s Pizzeria on an unseasonably warm Friday night. I had only eaten take-out of Mano’s, and was not expecting the no-frills aesthetic: red & white checkered tablecloths, paper plates, fluorescent lights—I felt incredibly nostalgic for the Staten Island pizzeria I worked at in my youth. I arrived at 7pm and snagged a table, waiting for my groups arrival. By 7:15, half of us were in attendance, and we realized our crucial mistake: this place sells out, quick. In an attempt to order a few pies, the cashier explained we wouldn’t be served our pizza until closer to 9:15pm.
In a panic, I ordered the four lone slices in the case (three white slices, plus one Minucci with sausage, pepperoni, and Calabrian chilis), and asked when the next slices would be out. The cashier explained there was a cheese pizza about to be cut for slices, and we ordered the entire pie, plus a side of hot honey.
Mano’s serves a genuinely good New York slice. At a birthday party later in the month, I was incredibly excited to see their signature take-out boxes on the counter. Late to the party, the slices were just as delicious cold in the box.
Speaking of pizza—I visited L&B, an all-time favorite of mine, to celebrate my baby cousins’ christening. There was a ridiculous amount of food: their iconic pizza, sauce on top of cheese; plus antipasto, stuffed mushrooms, two types of pasta, chicken francese & parm, sausage & peppers, meatballs, arancini, and more. It was a never ending parade of food.
I couldn’t leave without grabbing a scoop of spumoni.
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I was able to check off a number of places on my ‘must-visit’ list in March. After a friend’s show in the LES, Bailey and I wanted a quick dinner. We popped into Carnitas Ramirez, the sister shop to Greenpoint’s Taqueria Ramirez. The East Village outpost differs from the OG location by focusing on a carnitas-only menu, dedicating their kitchen to ‘nose-to-tail’ cooking. You choose your cut of meat, then dress your taco with their self-serve salsa bar featuring a smoky salsa roja, a salsa verde with large cubes of avocado, a pickled vegetable mix called escabeche, and pickled onions. I ordered the carnudo (fried pork belly), barriga (another cut of pork belly), and cachete (juicy, lean cheeks), plus a side of nopales de mercado (cactus salad).
These were excellent; although the menu sticks to pork, each taco had it’s own unique texture and taste. The salad bar is both delicious and essential, breaking down the fatty cuts with a necessary acid; I wound up putting the salsa verde into a cup and eating it straight.
I finally had the chance to stop by Dinner Party’s new location in Clinton Hill. I had eaten at the original restaurant once a few years ago during a work event, and was excited to visit the new space.
The entire meal was lovely; the restaurant operates with a prix fixe menu, so Ari and I ordered one normal meal and one vegetarian to split. The dinner began with octopus carpaccio with sumac, pearl onion, and micro mustard greens; the veg option was a beet carpaccio with apple & cornichon. I loved how both options were equally delicious; as an ex-vegetarian, nothing’s worse than when a veg substitution feels like nothing more than a second thought.
The following course had no replacement, and we were both served a plate of caramelized fennel over a sweet potato emulsion with sharp cheese and mint. I love fennel, and had to control myself from licking the plate clean.
The final savory course featured ricotta agnolotti with lamb or eggplant ragù. I liked both, but as with the starter, preferred the veg option. It’s very important to me when a restaurant can cook a vegetable well.
The dessert was super interesting, an artichoke and sweet almond semifreddo with blackberry-cynar reduction and sunchoke chips. I’ll be honest—I was apprehensive at first, but I am happy to share my fears were unnecessarily wrought. This was delicious, and I left feeling happy, full, and inspired.
Earlier in the month, after a sunny day stuck in the office, I trekked from Midtown to the Lower East Side for dinner at Kisa, a Korean restaurant modeled after the laid back diners catering to taxi drivers in Korea. Kisa’s dinner menu is simple: you choose between four mains (bulgogi, spicy pork, spicy squid, and bibimbap) which is served alongside 8 banchan.
Arianna and I chose bulgogi and spicy pork to split. We were served the beef & radish soup, a mild sipping broth with scattered pieces of scallions, before our mains arrived swiftly after. Each platter is $32 a person, and absolutely stacked with food. My favorite banchan were the house-made kimchi, soy marinated salmon, popcorn chicken, and the egg jjim. It was a perfect meal to catch up and gossip over.
Casino, an Italian spot in the Lower East Side, had been on my to-visit list for a while now; I was entranced by the gorgeous interior shots on their Instagram. I met up with Sami and split the tuna carpaccio, chicories salad, procini tortelloni, branzino, and the chocolate cake. The vibe inside was very chic, and the meal was good—I especially loved the fresh chicory salad and the garlicky, creamy mushroom pasta—but I hadn’t expected to drop $75 on a casual Wednesday night dinner (no drinks!!), which is probably my bad. Could be a cute date night spot.
My family celebrated my brother’s birthday at Lita, an Iberian restaurant in Aberdeen Township, New Jersey. The restaurant features a multi-course mix-and-match prix fixe menu. The table ordered the sourdough bread, served alongside an herby cultured butter; for my own meal, I chose the patatas bravas, camarão alhinho (portugese shrimp), and the robalinho no brasa (branzino). I split with Bailey, who ordered the heuvos rellonos (deviled eggs), salada de pepino, and the paella do dia (paella for two, with pork belly and octopus), plus everyone at the table passed around bites of their own meal.
Lita is an interesting restaurant, serving captivating food with an open fire hearth oven in the center of the dining room. The kitchen operates under a unique team structure, too: all team members are cross-trained, rotating between front & back of house on a weekly basis, meaning your waiter intricately knows your dish, as they probably just prepared it the week prior.
I really enjoyed this meal, but the stand-outs were the garlic-heavy portugese shrimp, salada de pepino (tuna tartare with compressed cucumber, tahini, passionfruit and a lemon vinaigarette), the frango assada (incredibly succulent half chicken with fondant potatoes, and a honey piri-piri sauce) and the amêijoas “à bulhão pato” (clams in a garlic cilantro white wine sauce; perfect with large pieces of sourdough to sop up the brothy sauce).
Restaurants & cafes mentioned:
Brooklyn
Clinton Hill/Bed-stuy
Greenpoint
Crown Heights
Bensonhurst
Manhattan
Astor Place
Chinatown
The East Village
LES
Queens
Ridgewood
New Jersey
That’s it for March. Do you like this format? I feel like every time I write up my ~*beautiful things~*, it varies slightly. I’m expecting a lot less eating out in April, as I’m not working full-time at the moment, but still excited to share my best bites with you all.
Xoxo and lots of love,
Jars <3
Cinnamon pretzel is hands down the best new thing I had this year. Ill die on this hill
YAY! You went to Peter Pan Donuts!!! I haven't been there in probably 25 years, but definitely the best donuts in Greenpoint. My favorite which is always hard to get is the one with white cream frosting and chocolate sprinkles. They always sell out fast, that one.