2013, we hardly knew ye. But while we did, we’ve got to admit, you were pretty outstanding. A real champ in the field of eating, drinking and being merry. So we put together some of your greatest hits as a way of saying thanks. Behold...
This year, you were reminded that steak and modesty don’t mix. Michael White handled his business Italian-style at Costata. Marc Forgione gave you a 42-ounce tomahawk ribeye. And Reserve Cut... well, we’re still finding our way out of that place. Steak needs room to roam.
In a stunning development, you continued to enjoy beer in large, communal settings. It started with Houston Hall, an out-of-the-way ex-auto-garage with liter mugs and a lot of moxie. Then came its white-collar cousin, Flatiron Hall. Then, the Germans. Paulaner. Monks were involved. It was religious.
Like the swallows of Capistrano, fashion week came and went, and Meatpacking was filled with brand-new spots. You got all Poe-like underground at the Raven. La Cenita taught you the meaning of brownie empanadas. And VIP Room gave you champagne that cost 1.2 Porsche 911s. Well, not gave you.
It was all about defying expectations during the Great Ramen Boom of ’13. Ippudo opened up in Midtown West out of nowhere. Just when you thought Ivan Ramen would finally open up on the LES, boom, they... also opened in Midtown West. And... ramen became a burger bun. So versatile.
In the fight against not having biscuits, great strides were made. After a bit of a false start, Empire Biscuit started slinging pumpkin-pie biscuits and fried-chicken ones 24/7. And then they just kept doing it. And kept doing it. And now, your entire day can be measured in biscuits.
It’s quite possible that Tørst is the greatest beer bar in the world. There’s no joke there. It’s just a stone-cold Greenpoint fact. And for a while, they were proving their bona fides by secretly offering a 55% ABV blonde ale housed in taxidermy. And, unbelievably, there’s no joke there, either.
Okay, so sue us. We wanted to see if this whole Brooklyn thing stuck. But then we gave it to you. All of it. Every delicious nook and thirst-quenching cranny of it. It was The Next Move Brooklyn—basically an UrbanDaddy editor in your pocket, via your phone. Better luck next year, Staten Island.
