EAT LOCAL

When you think New York, you might think,

"A place for foodies,"

or

"Michelin Star Chefs."

But that's not every neighborhood. I live in East Williamsburg. You might be familiar with Williamsburg, but it's important to add the "East" so you know I live on the side of town with bars that don't sell food.

That is until Governor Cuomo (or "Daddy Cuomo" as my local bars call him) insisted that the only way for bars to be opened during the Covid-19 pandemic is to sell food.

And did that cause a culinary explosion!

What delicacies haven't I eaten in the past year?

If you're missing your childhood fave, Wonder Bread, my neighborhood is here for you. Head on down to Our Wicked Lady for the best Pickle and Cheese sandwich of your life.

Remember hot dog day in elementary school? Well now EVERY day is hot dog day! The Gibson is a reasonable $2, which is actually what I paid in Grade 4. What a deal!

I grew up in Canada, so I'm scared that reference might not hit with everyone. But since I lived in Toronto for 9 years, you know I'm a fan of Ontario Bar on Grand Street. As a spicy food lover, I'm very happy they have Jalapeno chips on the menu. Too be fair, I've always been that girl who orders a bag of chips off the wall for supper. Fancy restaurants mean a $40 meal, but if you're into chips and/or you put a Clif bar in your purse, you save so much money.

I'm also blessed to live around some top notch breweries. Finding fresh draught beer is a rare find these days, especially after so many bars were closed for multiple months. You do NOT want to know what a dirty lager tastes like when a bar doesn't clean their lines. (And you do NOT want to know what it does to your body the next morning.) It's quite possible that's why so many places do "beer and a shot" specials- to steer you towards the bottled beer. Oh, but the whole point of this paragraph was to praise Interboro Spirits & Ales. My dinners here usually consist of pints of IPA's and popcorn. (I know, I know... that's what I usually make at home. A little redundant, eh?) Make sure you buy something from the local art vending machine on the way out the door. I personally love my Lucky Little Unicorn.

But my fave is definitely The Anchored Inn. Last summer they had obligatory mozzarella sticks for their Daddy Cuomo food. One stick for a dollar. Kind of perfect, because even if you're not hungry, you'll eat deep fried cheese. Most nights I'd be a baller and order three. They're delish. Compliments to the deep fryer.

A special shout out goes to the Pine Box Rock Shop. Their mandatory food is a fresh salad! I mean that. When you've eaten as many hot dogs as I have this past year, a cucumber will blow your mind.

Oh and one friendly reminder if you're heading to East Willy: If you're going on a bar crawl, bring an appetite. That's a smorgasbord now. Because as per the law, you must buy food if you're ordering alcohol. (Yes, even White Claws.)

But all these dirty "meals" actually serve a purpose. They're helping these small businesses stay alive. This year has been incredibly hard on them, and the ones that survived hopped more hurdles than an Olympic athlete.

You don't always go to your local watering hole for a culinary experience. It's often more for a sense of community. You love the staff, the regulars, and they might actually be like a family if you moved to a big city by yourself.

It's these people who deserve the Michelin stars.

I mean sure, I ate more wieners in 2020 than I did when I was ten.

But guess what?

I kind of enjoyed it.