As far as names of neighborhoods, Carroll Gardens is the best of the best in New York City.
The northwestern corner of Brooklyn is a combination of neighborhoods that culturally and aesthetically are very similar. A blessing or curse that Manhattan doesn’t have to deal with (except in the slight smearing of the Upper West Side and Morningside Heights that was touched on last week), brownstones are plentiful and streets are neatly kept, row houses are arranged in organized fashion and quaint cafes and brunch spots on a Sunday morning are often more crowded than Friday dinner joints.
Park Slope, Brooklyn Heights, Boerum Hill and Cobble Hill and their surrounding areas of “yuppie” Brooklyn where strollers have replaced working class residents via gentrification and “that dollar slice better have gluten-free crust,” can often be seen as indistinguishable from each other.
And while they’re certainly very similar, each neighborhood is their own slice of this gluten-free pie of the northwestern tip of Brooklyn. Carroll Gardens is one of my favorite bites here.
Originally developed by Irish immigrants in the 19th century, Carroll Gardens was originally developed to aid in the transportation to the recently built Green-Wood Cemetery. Later, trolley lines and carriages ran through Carroll Gardens, providing better ease and convenience to Manhattan.
Italian immigrants began populating Carroll Gardens in droves at the turn of the 20th century, as these new residents often found work at the nearby Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Once an Italian stronghold, gentrification beginning in the 1980s has watered down the neighborhood’s ethnic ties. The Italian makeup of the neighborhood has decreased from 52% in 1980 to 22% in 2012.
A perfect day in Carroll Gardens looks like popping into a bookstore and indulging in iconic pizza, or mediterranean specials.
Books are Magic is a shiny bookstore with pages for all ages. The welcomingly vibrant atmosphere of the store is a priority for owner and author Emma Straub, whose friendly face has made a mark on readers since 2017.
If you think “Indie bookstore in Brooklyn,” all the artistic inspiration and positivity you could predict are here at Books Are Magic, without the neoliberal swank you could easily find at a handful of other bookstores. A balancing act that is rarely pulled off.
My freshman year roommate was from Carroll Gardens and spoke highly of the restaurant Verde right across the street. With idyllic dining in a brick-walled indoors acting as the background for pasta, seafood and more, Verde is a spot that’s hard to toss up.
One of the most famous pizzas in New York and, arguably, the most hyped-up is Lucali.
Opening in 2006, Jay-Z famously named it his favorite pie in the city. Dave Portnoy gave it a 9.3 rating, and it’s in his top 5 of all time. Jeremy Allen White of “The Bear” follows their Instagram account.
The endorsements could go on.
Closed on Tuesdays, Lucali infamously takes no early reservations, and crowds form as early as 3:30 p.m. just for a shot at tasting Lucali’s brick-oven pies between 5 p.m. open and 11 p.m. close six days a week. The atmosphere is always electric, and celeb sightings are routine.
Go.
But not if you’re gluten-free.
Carroll Gardens stands out. You can take a breath here. Relax with a good book and take on the understated, yet gorgeous urban scenery of brownstones and brick buildings. Always classy and somehow never overwhelming, Carroll Gardens is comforting, and the perfect place to venture to as the leaves change colors.
