San Francisco of the East Coast

That’s what New York magazine is calling Ditmas Park, “the Victorian-packed enclave south of Prospect Park.” Its resemblance to the foggy city is listed as reason #39 to love New York, and it’s not just the “painted ladies,” those houses now fetching as much as $1.8 million, that bear a resemblance to San Fran. “You can also see similarities in the restaurant scene: The reigning culinary draw, the Farm on Adderley, references Chez Panisse (okay, that’s in Berkeley, not Frisco) in its strident locavorism and mismatched plates. And Ditmas’s tiny, cozy Cinco de Mayo can hold its own in the Mexican brunch department against the Mission District’s Pancho Villa Taqueria (although the latter’s burritos are admittedly better).” Perhaps most San Francisco-ish is the Ciy LIghts of the East Coast, Vox Pop, with its socialist literature and cappuccinos, “where, on a recent Sunday, you could order a Cesar Chavez personal pizza, buy lefty tracts, and listen to a live drum circle from a group called Manhattan Samba.” Still, a look at political contributions belies the neighborhood’s true colors: it actually leans toward the red.
Because Ditmas Park Is the New San Francisco [New York]
Photo by nicknormal.