Williamsburg

Brooklynites, rejoice: Bedford Avenue’s Uva is offering free delivery of its extensive selection of wines and spirits to most of the borough, and it’s shipping throughout the state. When it’s open, it’s not unusual to spot a leading NYC restaurateur or a food writer you’re obsessed with browsing the shelves of this small spot alongside locals who know a lot about wine. What we’re saying is that Uva is a wine shop for wine lovers, to the point that it has an entire section devoted to rare and fine bottles. And there are tons of affordably priced, interesting-to-drink bottles, too. If you’re in a curious yet noncommittal mood, click on a $15 bottle of Chilean Cabernet Franc. If you want to splurge or try something entirely new, hit the natural wine section or go wild on unusual champagnes. Uva has it all, and the enthusiastic staffers are available to help.

We’re crazy for the Four Horsemen at the best of times, and now our craving for the niche biodynamic wines (available) and lemony bottarga pasta (sadly not) is in full overdrive. The restaurant is delivering a robust selection of natural wines and cocktails hand-batched by head bartender Orlando Franklin McCray. You’ll have to buy a snack to take advantage of cocktails or beer delivery, per the law; we strongly recommend the Spanish ham chips. Place your order through nextdoorspacebk.com.

Sunday nights belong to Williamsburg—specifically to the corner booth at Misi. Chef Missy Robbins’s handmade spinach-stuffed tortelli, marinated leeks topped with crunchy pistachios, and charred-pepper crostini are the reason Brooklyn became the coolest borough. Images courtesy of Evan Sung.

We recently stayed at the new Hoxton in Williamsburg and were sorely tempted to play hooky from the office and work from the lobby instead. Communal tables, rich velvet sofas (nab a seat by the fire), dependable Wi-Fi, and floods of natural light make the space a freelancer’s dream. As for the guest rooms, they are labeled as “cozy” or “roomy.” But size really doesn’t matter when you can lie in an insanely comfortable bed piled with pillows and stare at the Manhattan skyline (while devouring the chia puddings delivered every morning). An unexpected delight was the dining scene: The food at the Hoxton's two restaurants is absolutely top-notch. You cannot go wrong with the blistered chicken and a bowl of ridiculously indulgent cacio e pepe with a side of roasted cauliflower, eaten sprawled out in the plush, textural lobby with a friend as we did—made better only by a few glasses of Beaujolais. We also love to frequent the other, equally thoughtful and beautifully turned-out Hoxton properties in London, Amsterdam, Paris, and—the most recent addition—Portland.

A massive roaster occupies the front half of this vast Williamsburg café, adding an industrial vibe to this otherwise cheerful, sunlight-flooded brick space near the East River. Arrive early to snag a seat (this is freelancer HQ for the surrounding blocks, and tables go quickly), but once you’re in, there’s strong Wi-Fi and stronger coffee. We especially appreciate the daily newspapers and magazines available for catching up on the news the old-school way.

The rooms all have floor-to-ceiling windows—the best of which come with private balconies and views of the Manhattan skyline.

Australian cafés have been popping up all over Manhattan in the past several years (Two Hands and Ruby’s being two of our favorites). Now Brooklyn is getting a few of its own—including Sweatshop, which was opened on a busy stretch of Williamsburg’s Metropolitan Avenue in 2014 by Melbourne natives Luke Woodard and Ryan De Remer. The menu is full of Aussie classics (including a killer flat white and Vegemite-enhanced sandwiches), and their version of avocado toast is done with chunks of ripe avocado mixed with feta, citrus, and herb oil on a thick slab of sourdough, topped with flaky sea salt and chili flakes.

A tiny café in the heart of Williamsburg, Bakeri is one of the original neighborhood hangouts in this ever-evolving slice of Brooklyn. All of the bread and pastries are made in-house, but locals also swear by the breakfast items, like organic Eggs Provencal, baked in tomato sauce and served with a side of sourdough rye, and the lunch salads, like grapefruit avocado with kale, red onion, fennel, pepitas, and sea salt. Most people take their food to go, but the main dining room is small, cozy, and highly recommended in winter, while the backyard is a shady, cool escape in the middle of hot, humid NYC summers. There are also outposts in Greenpoint and the East Village in Manhattan.

Many of the treatments here call on the power of Chinese medicine to heal, energize, and enhance skin. Founder, acupuncturist, and herbalist Sandra Lanshin Chiu uses gua sha—an ancient Chinese medical massage technique that incorporates a jade skin-care tool to relieve tension, support circulation, and flush out toxins for a brighter, smoother complexion—in many of her treatments. The Acne Rehab is one of her most impressive: The aesthetician uses botanicals, gua sha, and facial cupping to break up stagnation in the underlying tissues and restore balance. (Chiu emphasizes that fantastic skin happens from the inside out—but that it’s also important to pamper the skin’s surface.) And we keep coming back for the cozy cups of licorice root tea, prized in Chinese medicine for its calming effects.

Do not leave without ordering Ginanjuice, an infusion of just-juiced carrot-beet-apple-ginger, gin, and Lillet that tastes healthy and bracing, but is also stronger than you think, so pace yourself.