Lately I’ve been in Bushwick…a lot. The last time I was in the neighborhood this much, I was a 22-year-old sharing a railroad apartment on Bushwick Avenue—I may or may not have gotten the idea from “Girls”—hosting trivia bars at Pine Box Rock Shop once in a month.
Bushwick has both changed a ton and not at all. You can still get some of the best tacos in town in the neighborhood (Taqueria El Fogon and Nene’s Deli Taqueria forever). Industrial buildings, warehouses-turned-lofts, and the above-ground M train line still dominate. And the Pine Box just celebrated its 13th year in business.
What has changed (besides the rent) are the types of restaurants you can find there: People used to be drawn to the area by the soft glow of decent food in an unexpected corner of town — read: Roberta’s, Ops, a short-lived second site of Mission Chinese, the late, great Faro. But these days I’m much more interested in restaurant offerings that are worth visiting on their own merits.
Skip the flight to the Indian Ocean
Did you know you can enjoy the cuisine of Réunion, a tiny French island just off the coast of Madagascar, in Bushwick? It is the specialty in Maloyaopen since December in a busy area of Flushing Ave.
You might ask yourself: What is the “réunionnais” cuisine? For one, vanilla. (I mean, Madagascar, of the world leading producer of the spiceit’s right there.) At Maloya, it appears in a shallow bowl of poached shrimp swimming in crème fraîche that does a fantastic job of bringing out the savory side of the vanilla.
Two other dishes make heavy use of massalé, an aromatic spice blend similar to garam masala. It was absolutely wonderful in the cabri massalé, chunks of braised lamb in a rich tamarind-tinged sauce, served with a side of rice and beans. And, of course, there’s the influence of French cuisine, which makes itself known in the tropical gateau ti’son with passionfruit-mango coulis and ginger ice cream, and the tiny samosa pockets filled with creamy aligot potatoes.
Thai Pork Curry for Shoulder Season
Less than a minute’s walk, on the opposite side of Flushing Avenue, you will find Diner Chiangmai, open since last summer. This Northern Thai restaurant, from the same team back Lan Larb Chiangmai in SoHo, it’s not really dining room size. The restaurant’s tiny exterior opens to a small dining room at the front that leads to another cavernous dining room with tables that can accommodate large parties. (When I stopped by, it was with a party of seven.) I also think it would be a great venue for a wedding party.
But if there’s no ring to it, just drop by for specialties like gaeng hang lay, a hearty pork curry to get you through those last wee days of winter. Or go for the sai oua and nam prik oag, a dish of spicy Thai sausage with pork tomato relish and sticky rice. There are also classics like pad Thai, crab fried rice and panang curry for those who just want to hear the hits.
An epic poem of a restaurant
Or you can head east to Flushing Ave Tabare, the second location of the Williamsburg restaurant of the same name. Tabaré’s name (and bistro-like exterior) seem vaguely French, but the word actually comes from the indigenous Tupi language of South America. It is also inspired by an epic poem This is considered the national poem of Uruguay, which is a very roundabout and historically accurate way to understand that Tabaré serves Uruguayan food.
Here’s your road map: Start with the beef empanadas with green olives. Share the chorizo adobado, a grilled sausage with grilled onions, red peppers and adobo sauce. And to really kick your meat sweat into overdrive, consider the aptly named chivito completo, a thin strip of filet mignon sandwiched between crusty bread and topped with a fried egg, Black Forest ham, provolone, onions, bacon and more and served with fries potatoes. There’s also a vegetarian version of the sandwich if you’re abstaining from meat — just don’t deprive yourself of the ultimate dining experience at Tabaré.
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