Sara Hohn – Food… Brooklyn & Beyond

How can you not love a place whose phone number is 877-NO-SNOBS? LeNell’s has become like the town hall of Van Brunt Street in Red Hook. For the last three years, locals have congregated there to swap stories, pick up wine and liquor, and enjoy LeNell’s famous regular events and tastings. It has also become a destination for bourbon aficionados from all over, while totally lacking in pretense.

LeNell’s promotes small producers of wine and liquor. They carry a few major label hard liquors but that’s it. It’s rare to see a strong belief in small producers so thoroughly and well executed in a store. The labels may not be immediately known, but LeNell’s crack staff makes it all very approachable. Rather than organizing wines by country, region, (more…)

Working with international producers large and small, Bierkraft co-owners Daphne and Richard Scholz have created a Park Slope destination that is special and unique. Opened 6 years ago, their extraordinary selection of hundreds of beers is a main focus of the store. However, the unusual international cheeses, top-of-the-line chocolates, not to mention an impressive hot sauce collection, also make this a fun stop on Brooklyn’s Fifth Avenue.

I recently went into Bierkraft for a bite of chocolate and came out with a week’s worth of beer and cheese. My bounty included the rare, award-winning Cowgirl Creamery Red Hawk washed rind cheese (awesome), as well as a selection of beers ranging from Japan’s (more…)