{"id":19916,"date":"2011-03-22T16:49:27","date_gmt":"2011-03-22T20:49:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/?p=19916"},"modified":"2025-08-21T09:25:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T13:25:00","slug":"brooklyn-things-to-do-spring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/19916\/brooklyn-things-to-do-spring\/","title":{"rendered":"A Manhattanite’s Brooklyn: 6 Things to Do This Spring"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am a Manhattanite who regularly takes advantage of what lies off Manhattan. When I think about the best way to spend a relaxing spring afternoon in the city, I imagine myself sitting legs stretched out on the grass in Brooklyn Bridge Park<\/a><\/strong> next to my wife and daughter. We are all looking out at the holy-moly views of lower Manhattan. You could actually kill an hour staring at the three bridges, the harbor and circuit of boats, helicopters, and kayakers. Our city planners should be proud of this green oasis. And it\u2019s free.<\/p>\n

There is a certain, often justifiable, smugness among Manhattanites, suggesting that we are the cultural center of the universe. In fact, it\u2019s true, but there are superb venues outside the island that frequently offer the same virtuosities at prices that we haven\u2019t seen in Manhattan for a dozen years.<\/p>\n

Brooklyn Academy of Music<\/a><\/strong> and the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts<\/a><\/strong> at Brooklyn College are two of my favorite spots. Both offer first class performances in music, dance and theater in excellent facilities, and the subway lets you off just a few steps away from their front door. And if you insist on driving your hybrid to a performance, the parking at BAM is much less than half the cost in midtown and you can often get street parking at BCBC for free.<\/p>\n

If you like any kind of Middle Eastern food, and are in need of picnic fixings, then you will want to head to Sahadi\u2019s<\/a><\/strong> (187 Atlantic Ave.) just a half block west of Court Street. If the smells don\u2019t get you, the vast array of olives, nuts, dates, coffees, spices, and specialty foods will overwhelm you in the best way a person can be overwhelmed. Sahadis, home of the best babaghanouj in the United States, has been a fixture in the neighborhood for more than 50 years. They are often crowded, but lots of friendly and knowledgeable staff make the experience one you will want to repeat every time you are close by.<\/p>\n

\"Giando's

There is another Brooklyn establishment that deserves a call-out: Giando\u2019s on the Water<\/a><\/strong> in Williamsburg (400 Kent Ave.). Five people with sophisticated palates ordered five different entr\u00e9es (we shared three salads and two desserts) and were all delighted at the beautiful presentation, the superb flavors, and the generous portion size. This is a high-quality kitchen. Did I mention that the restaurant is perched thirty feet above the East River with unobstructed views of all<\/em> of New York City? The vistas alone would be worth the trip, but add the excellent food, outdoor riverside space, and smooth professional service, and you get a winner for anything from an intimate dinner for two to a bash for a couple of hundred people.<\/p>\n

Photo: Paul S<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am a Manhattanite who regularly takes advantage of what lies off Manhattan. When I think about the best way to spend a relaxing spring afternoon in the city, I imagine myself sitting legs stretched out on the grass in Brooklyn Bridge Park next to my wife and daughter. We are all looking out at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":20643,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[320,315,314],"tags":[1618,285,145,20,489,65,624,421,473],"class_list":{"0":"post-19916","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brooklyn-outer-boroughs-destination","8":"category-day-trips","9":"category-dining-nightlife","10":"tag-arts","11":"tag-cultural-activity","12":"tag-dining","13":"tag-music","14":"tag-new-restaurant","15":"tag-park","16":"tag-spring-fling","17":"tag-sustainable","18":"tag-views"},"acf":[],"mv":{"thumbnail_id":20643,"thumbnail_uri":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/3579910212_9d2a37fa51-300x212.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19916\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}