Our favorite new coffee shop is conveniently located smack in the middle of Bandit HQ and the Bandit Store off West Street. Their coffee is as good as their gorgeous interior design. In collaboration with NYC floral studio fLover, walking into Rhythm Zero is like walking into a miniature museum that happens to have amazing coffee. Also, their croissants (apricot, chocolate, butter) are shipped in from Italy and baked in-house daily. They should be illegal. Go to Rhythm Zero and tell Alex and Ivana Bandit sent you.
2. BAR AMERICANO
Chef Vincent Iborra, who we first met during his time at the Williamsburg wine bar, Sauced, has found his way to Franklin Street with our new favorite dinner spot, Bar Americano. "A neighborhood cocktail destination inspired by the famed aperitif bars of Spain and Northern Italy, with a particular focus on fortified wines complimented by small/share plates from the same region." The chicken sandwich immediately is in the conversation for best in Brooklyn (yes, we're saying that) and the burger is candy-good. The caesar salad and the Mezcal Gimlet are two other favorites, but this menu doesn't miss overall. The music, the staff, the design... it's just all so damn good.
3. PANZÓN
Looking for an incredible Mexican spot for Cinco de Mayo? Well you're definitely too late to get a reservation for Panzón, because it's fire and they booked up weeks ago. The place is a GD vibe with amazing drinks and a menu that does not care how messy it gets. You can sit in the back where the tables are, but may we recommend taking a seat at the bar... Trust.
4. FAURSCHOU
On Greene Street between Franklin and Manhattan is one of the better kept exhibition secrets, Faurschou. Currently... "Highlighting works by Louise Bourgeois, Miles Greenberg, and Yoko Ono, the exhibition revolves around physical and metaphorical aspects of the embrace: From embrace as the merging together of bodies, to embrace as an act of acceptance and shelter or by contrast as claustrophobic smothering. Through performance, installation, and sculpture, myriad facets of the embrace are unfolded in three galleries, one dedicated to each artist."
5. ILIS (COMING SOON)
Okay, it's not open yet - but coming adjacent to the Faurschou Museum is Ilis, a new restaurant by Chef Mads Refslund of Noma, the former 4x #1 restaurant in the world. This is... a very big deal for the 'hood. Greenpoint is slowly but surely becoming a culinary powerhouse in not just NYC, but the world. *Sheds single tear*
