Brooklyn Food & Drink Round-Up

New Restaurant & Bar Openings
Grub Street sneaks a peek inside Mercat Negre in Williamsburg and shows us the restaurant’s roof deck, pictured above. The NY Times says it’s scheduled to open tomorrow at 65 Grand Street (at Wythe Avenue)… The Strong Buzz reports that the GM of ‘inotecca is teaming up with Mike Burkett (a.k.a. Fat Mike from NOFX) to open Thistle Hill Tavern this December or January: “The restaurant, which will be located at corner of Seventh Ave. and 15th St. in the South Slope, will serve robust regional seasonal cuisine in a very laid back, turn-of-the-century tavern setting.” … According to Eater, the old Baron’s at 98 Nassau Avenue in Greenpoint is now The Keg And Lantern, “a bar and grill serving classic pub fare.” … And Bushwick BK says that the Hibachi Tiki Hut is now open and serving “wood-fire barbeque cuisine” at 890 Broadway (at Belvidere Street).

More Food at Fort Defiance?
New York magazine shares our love for Fort Defiance, and hints at what the future may hold for this Red Hook spot: “There are plans, gas service pending, to fire up the stoves and start offering daily specials, like red beans and rice and oysters Rockefeller. But [owner St. John] Frizell says he won’t turn the joint into a full-fledged restaurant. For him, the café-bar-what-have-you model serves the neighborhood, and its quotidian appetites, quite nicely.”

Homebrews by Brooklynites, for Brooklynites
“Stephen Valand, 23, and Erica Shea, 25, quit their jobs earlier this year to start the Brooklyn Brew Shop, which makes gallon beer-brewing kits sized for New York City apartments,” says the New York Times. The fledgling company’s current DIY brews include Grapefruit Honey Ale and Chocolate Maple Porter. The $40 kit (grains included) seems like a pretty solid gift for a beer enthusiast. Has anybody tried their brewing system yet?

After the jump: Bushwick’s pastoral wonderland, karaoke confusion in Bay Ridge, and more love for the food vendors at the Flea…

Bushwick’s Slice of Garden Paradise
Brooklyn the Borough shares a really nice piece about Bushwick’s Secret Garden. Here’s a snippet: “The peacefulness is what sets it apart from many of New York City’s other community gardens—when you step inside it’s easy to forget that one is strides away from the busy intersections of Bushwick—but tranquility is not the only thing the Secret Garden has to offer. Springing forth from its soil is an impressive variety of unbeatably fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs, including strawberries, bush beans, carrots, thyme, okra, beets, squash, eggplant, cucumbers, collard greens, jalapeno peppers, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, parsley, and grapes.”

Quick Bites
Bay Ridge’s community board originally opposed the opening of a new karaoke bar on 64th Street “when neighbors expressed concerns that the karaoke bar’s private booths would function as a brothel.” Once the bar’s proprietor explained this “cultural misunderstanding,” the community board, um, “changed its tune,” says The Brooklyn Paper… Gourmet.com calls out a few of their favorite NYC street vendors, and the list includes PizzaMoto Brooklyn and Red Hook Lobster Pound, both of which are selling their wares at the Brooklyn Flea… The NY Daily News talks to the folks behind Brooklyn-based popsicle company, People’s Pops — the pops are also available at the Flea.