…especially if your neighbor is Vinny’s of Carroll Gardens (Smith Street between Sackett and Union).
This is the kind of place that makes Brooklyn different from Manhattan. The food is delicious, reasonably priced and non-fancy. There are no big words on the menu.
Owned, of course, by the adorable Vinny (right) – pictured here with his buddy Julio.
Vinny’s brother Vito and the rest of the staff work miracles in the open kitchen.
When you wait for takeout you can enjoy them all shouting at each other.
The Mozzarella Tomato Caprese was fresh and tasty with lots of salty olives, silky roasted peppers and spicy basil leaves.
As with all good neighborhood joints, you meet your neighbors at Vinny’s while sitting at the joined tables.
The aforepictured Julio and his son Richard introduced themselves and were seated to our right. They were so nice to talk to…we shared food together and they even picked up our tab. It’s a Brooklyn thing.
Julio had perfect, classic ravioli and meatballs – hearty and comforting – just like him.
To our left were friendly Brooklyn transplants Frances and Cooper (Frances’ delicious pasta pictured here) – they were discussing what beer to drink and I told them. Peroni. You can just jump into people’s conversations here.
As we were finishing up our cappuccino’s (nice and smooth, with chocolate powder on top) the Brooklyn FDNY came in for some takeout – good guys for me to know 😉
Nice meeting you all, and thank you to Vinny for staying in Brooklyn and giving us a special place to sit together to enjoy great food, butt into conversations, laugh, and meet…our neighbors.
SugarCookieBrooklyn 