New York's Finest

One of the great things about having people visit you in the city is that you get to show off all your favorite things to do. Not necessarily the big things, like shoot up to the top of the Empire State building, but the little stuff. Like watching the sunset from Fairway's outdoor cafe in Brooklyn.

Fairway is a large supermarket. Like 33,000 sq. ft. large. For a city that like to grocery shop in corner store bodegas, that's one hulking store. For those readers who don't live here, it's also a New York institution with a store originally in the Upper West Side and Harlem, and the fact that one moved to Brooklyn was a huge deal that had people shaking with excitement over the prospect of fresh fruits and vegetables (we must have the worst produce in all of the US) and legendary store prepared food. Okay, we New Yorkers love the hyperbole of our institutions, but it really was a big deal. The Brooklyn store sits right on the waterfront in Red Hook, in a restored five story brick building from 1869 that was originally a coffee warehouse.

We got some picking's like Italian olives and Fairway's killer guacamole with chips, and each picked up some dinner. Basically an outdoor picnic. Then we headed out the back to the cafe and watched the sun slink down behind Jersey, and watched the New York harbor just slide by. Kayaks(!), tug boats, the Staten Island Ferry, and of course a fantastic view of the Statue of Liberty. We even saw the FDNY pull up to the dock right at the foot of the cafe, get off the boat in full gear, go inside to grocery shop, then get back on the boat and float off into the harbor.

Everybody has their favorite spot to watch a sunset, and I have to admit this is one of mine. It's waterfront dining at its finest, and without killing your budget.

photo by HanlongPhotographic via flickr