Defonte's signage

For this Monday’s adventure, we planned a simple trip to Woodside, Queens, to sample the much-revered burgers served at Donovan’s Pub. But as I ran a few errands around the neighborhood that morning, enjoying the warmest, most beautiful weather we’d had in months, the idea of spending the entire afternoon inside seemed grievously wasteful.

I called Meg. It’s so nice out; do you think we should save Donovan’s for some oppressively hot day at the height of summer when all that time in an air-conditioned subway car and a cool, dark bar would be a welcome respite? Sure!

After a little contemplation, we agreed on a trip to Red Hook. An isolated neighborhood along New York Harbor, Red Hook has no subway coverage and can be a bit of a journey by bus, but it’s only a 15- or 20-minute by bike from both of us. Aside from being just far away enough for a bike ride there and back to help assuage consumption-induced guilt, Red Hook is also just a pleasant place to visit and hang out: lots of quiet cobblestone streets lined with comely old warehouses and character-full residential buildings, always breezy and redolent of the sea – usually in a good way; one excellent grocery store, a few nice little bars, and, as we were about to sample, some pretty good grub. (more…)