Brucie

As two Londoners who have arrived in New York with very little income and an as yet unopened American bank account, finding someone who would let us rent their flat apartment, without us having to pay a whole year's rent up front, was a little tricky. After days of getting together money orders, signing form after form, printing UK bank statements, talking to a guarantor, and rushing back to Brooklyn to confirm everything was in order, we finally managed to sign the lease on a fabulous basement flat garden apartment in the heart of Boerum Hill. A celebration was in order, so we nipped off round the corner from our future home for dinner at Brucie. 

We sipped on frozen Negronis in the yard, toasting our soon-to-be home, and our new (already much loved) neighbourhood, and excitedly discussed where the kitchen table would go, what to put on the terrace outside, how easy it would be for B to get to school, the almost unbelievable proximity of Bluebottle Coffee...

All this excitement soon had our tummies soon rumbling from, so we ordered our food and moved to the cool, air-conditioned indoors to eat our way through an Italian-American feast. Fried string beans with anchovy and aioli were reminiscent of classic American BBQ, with just the right amount of char on each and every bean: perhaps the tastiest green beans I'd ever tried. Kale salad with currants, pine nuts and parmesan was crunchy and sweet and free from the deep muddy earthiness I often associate with kale leaves. Bowls of pasta followed: a classic, and beautifully executed spaghetti and meatball for B, and an unusual but successful Asian take on tagliatelle with lobster, bacon and tomato for me - sprinkled with sesame, chilli, spring onions and sesame oil, this dish had been turned into an umami explosion.

A few glasses of cooling rosé later, we paid the bill check in the bizarre American fashion which we still don't really understand, and made our way home. Via a compulsory Friday night ice-cream at Ample Hills.

Highlight: Frozen negronis

Lowlight: I now think that the new apartment will need a slush machine so I too can make frozen negronis.

Brucie, 234 Court Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201