We spent the weekend in Brooklyn shopping for the holidays,
and although the markets and stores were stocked with a surplus of amazing
items, we are nowhere near the finish line. Thankfully we have several more resources
to cover and a month of delivery time still left for our online orders. For
more information on proof brands visit www.proofbrands.com
prospect park sour 2 oz proof whisky • ½ oz fresh lemon • ½
oz fresh orange • ¼ oz maple syrup • ¼ oz Amaro Lucano
Pour all ingredients into a shaker with ice. Shake and
strain into a sour glass. Garnich with an orange twist.
the royal tannenbaum 2 oz proof whisky • 3/4 oz grapefruit
juice • 1/2 oz Cynar • 1/4 fresh lemon juice • 3 dash pine
tincture*
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with
ice, shake and strain into a rocks or sour glass. (*pine tincture can be purchased
at the Big Carrot dispensary in Toronto)
Because gift buying can be quite exhausting, frequent breaks are always in order. We managed many refreshment stops throughout our expedition, but the
winning stop was at the Clover Club in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. Here, the
bartender was even kind enough to share his recipes with us. We paired these cocktails with a ‘bacon tasting’ – a
selection of three styles of thick cut bacon. (Maple bacon, black pepper bacon
and duck bacon.)
Clover Club opened in 2009 and is now rated as one of the
top 25 cocktail bars in America. This casual Brooklyn-style joint has a
speakeasy feel without being overdone. The more serious the cocktail the more fun the night out:
this is the guiding principle of the Clover Club, a Smith Street bar that
serves what are now known as pre-Prohibition drinks, a professorial assortment
of fizzes, smashes, swizzles and sours. New York Times (210 Smith Street (718)
855-7939 www.cloverclubny.com)
Saturday was a full day of shopping. Our first stop was the
Brooklyn Flea. November through March, Brooklyn Flea moves indoors for the
Winter Flea + Holiday Market with 100 vintage/antique vendors plus 25
vendors selling food every Saturday + Sunday, 10am-6pm.
The 30,000+sf space is
in Crown Heights at 1000 Dean St. (btw. Classon + Franklin) and next to Berg'n beer hall.
Next, we cabbed it over to the Williamsburg Smorgasborg for
a light lunch. It was quite chilly on the East River, but the place was packed.
Droves of visitors were lined up at one smoky booth. As true Canadians that
we are, we jumped into this long lineup. We were pleasantly surprised that we
had picked a good line. Ramen burgers are fresh hand-made beef burgers served
on ‘bun’ made of molded and fried ramen noodles. It was the best thing ever.
Another highlight was a fish taco made of tilapia ceviche. It was super fresh
and spicy. (www.smorgasburg.com)
We then stopped by the Artists & Fleas Williamsburg
Holiday Market on North 7th street and spent the rest of the day shopping the
streets of Williamsburg. Our shopping ended at the Clover Club. (www.artistsandfleas.com)
This weekend, we’re off to the Leslieville Flea. (Sunday
November 30th from 10am to 5pm at the SH Armstong Community Centre leslievilleflea.com)
and the opening of the Toronto Christmas market at the Distillery (www.torontochristmasmarket.com)
Weekend Forecast:
Saturday: Scattered flurries and a high of 4 degrees
Sunday: Cloudy with showers and a high of 10 degrees
