The Brooklyn-based influencer, Tamara Peterson, shares with our Founder, Fê Paronetto, her best off-the-beaten path tips in her “hood”, in Brooklyn! The area is filled with great restaurants, hip coffee shops and charming stores.
This week, our Founder talked to the beautiful lifestyle, food and travel Instagrammer, Tamara Peterson (@_TamaraPeterson).
Tamara is a native New Yorker, born and raised in NY. For the past 10 years, she’s been living in the charming Brooklyn neighborhood called Clinton Hill and she did confess her deepest love for it.
Her friends and followers are always asking her “why” they haven’t seen these gorgeous townhouses with amazing façades she always posts. Her answer? “You haven’t been to Fort Greene and Clinton Hill in Brooklyn!”
Tamara started her Instagram page, that has now over 187k, around 3.5 years ago as a hobby and it eventually started growing and becoming her second business. Her main work was as a professional organizer for 15 years, but now she works equal time between both businesses, definitely making her days pretty busy!
Her exciting professional life doesn’t stop there! In addition, she also has a background in Fashion working for Glamour Magazine!
The Instagram hobby brought her several new, amazing work possibilities related to travel. In May, she was invited by Viking Cruises to go on a breathtaking 15 day trip that passed through fascinating places like: Norway, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Estonia, Russia, Finland, Sweden and during her last week, before coming back to NY, she added a quick visit through London and Paris. Can’t complain, right?!
Now, in August, she’ll be exploring the Hudson Valley, in upstate New York. So, keep your eyes opened and check her Instagram feed to find out more about this stunning region in the State of NY.
Tamara shared with us her Top 7 Tips of place in her “hood”, so get your Metro Passes out and come explore them!
Colonia Verde
“Colonia Verde is a small restaurant in Fort Greene which I love. I’m always there and love sitting outside – they have a lovely garden in the back that you’d never expect to find. It’s the type of place that transforms you when you leave the city and go into Brooklyn.”
As they say in Spanish “La comida compartida sabe major!”…which means “Shared food tastes much better!” The restaurant has a clear Latin American inspiration and offers a menu with the most delicious locally sourced fresh ingredients. They have great brunches, but are opened mostly for dinner.
Oh! And they offer Full Catering Services and Event Services too, so do take a look online and contact them for further information.
For more pictures and information, see our post on Colonia Verde.
Location: 219 Dekalb Avenue, Fort Greene
Maison May
“Maison-May is a new place, and it’s adorable. They have a restaurant and a more casual café. It’s incredible. They have home items, pastry, coffee, amazing wooden tables I love. Definitely a hidden gem.”
Maison-May is explained as: “physically, two distinct places: Maison-May Dekalb & Maison-May Vanderbilt. They were founded and are led by Catherine May. They’re retelling the story of what the restaurant business is all about. Maison-May is an ethos, a way of operating rooted in replenishing, feeding & empowering. More than a business model, Maison-May is a way of living.”
So, Maison-May Vanderbilt has breakfast and lunch, a café, a patisserie, plus they offer private dinners, a drop-off menu and sell some beautiful home objects.
Maison-May Dekalb offers dinners, brunches on the weekends, they rent the space for private events and is a beautiful spot for a small, intimate ‘brownstone wedding’.
Hours:
Vanderbilt: 8am – 5pm, daily
Dekalb: Dinners, daily | Saturday & Sunday: Brunch from 10am – 3pm
Locations: 246 Dekalb Avenue and 270 Vanderbilt Avenue, Fort Greene
Stonefruit Espresso + Kitchen
“This is one of my favorite places too. Stonefruit Espresso + Kitchen is a coffee shop, with pastries, little foods, the best chia seed pudding ever and, have you heard of “the original dough”? Well, you’ll find it here! They recently opened, next door to the coffee shop, a home store where they sell plants. It’s incredible and beautiful. I buy my plants and flowers there.”
Founded by Laura Sorensen, Stonefruit Espresso + Kitchen works with a great variety of fresh products by New York City’s best farmers markets. Hence, making it one of the “conscious cafe” in the neighborhood.
Plus, they explain that “we brew Counter Culture coffee and Bellocq tea— exceptional and sustainable beverages.”
Hours:
Monday & Tuesday: 7:30am – 6pm
Wednesday – Friday: 7:30am – 8pm
Saturday & Sunday: 8:30am – 8pm
Location: 1058 Bedford Avenue, Clinton Hill
Eugene & Co.
“I’ve only been to Eugene & Co. for breakfast, but they have a great bar, the decor is really pretty with flowers and green plants growing inside. I love their old and eclectic ambience.”
Located in the neighborhood of Bedford Stuyvesant, commonly called Bed-Stuy, Eugene & Co. call themselves an “honest and organic restaurant and bar”.
A few steps from their, they have a great general store called Chicky’s General Store. They sell “organic ingredients and their extensive menu was designed by Eugene & Co.’s Tara Oxley and chef Jeff Shields.”
The restaurant offers Brunch, Lunch and Dinner, plus amazing Drinks, and are closed only on Mondays.
Location: 397 Tompkins Avenue and Chicky’s – 406 Tompkins Avenue, Bedford Stuyvesant
Thistle & Clover
“I love to shop at this little local boutique store called Thistle & Clover. They have beautiful and unique pieces, plus the store is very cozy with a nice neighborhood vibe.”
The store was founded by Camilla Gale and Rand Niederhoffer in 2008. They feature a great collection of pieces from up-and-coming designers, plus a couple of bigger, more renowned brands. You can also find a line of New York made jewelry to complete your look, a few beauty and perfume products, paper goods, candles, and more.
Plus, “the store hosts a quarterly Open Call to support new and emerging local designer talent.” You can take a look online for further information on this.
Location: 221 Dekalb Avenue, Fort Greene
Fort Greene Farmers Market
“I’m always at the Fort Greene Farmers Market. I love going there to shop for my delicious berries and looking around for new products I can find. It’s all very fresh and it turns into a great weekend program, since you have the park right beside it.”
We also love going to this Farmers Market, since is also just a few blocks from us. The market has everything from fresh fruits, vegetables and greens to freshly-based bread.
You can also find a plants to enlighten your home, as well as countless herbs for you to cultivate at home and then, add them to your dishes!
The Fort Greene Farmers Market happens only Saturday from 8am through 4pm.
Be sure to pass by as early as you can, to guarantee you’ll find the best things still available.
Location: Washington Park b/w Dekalb & Willoughby, located along the Southeast corner of Fort Greene Park
Home Stories
“I recently found out a place in Brooklyn Heights called Home Stories. They sell home furnishing, home accessories and lighting.
The store was founded by Paul and Sophie Yanacopoulos-Gross, two renowned European interior designers.
Their products are made out of natural materials and textures with muted tones.
Their product selection rage from “fabrics, home accessories, handcrafted baskets, rugs, to crockery and ed linens with a beautifully curated selection”.
Location: 148 Montague Street, Brooklyn Heights
In addition, a few other local restaurants and stores that Tamara loves in the neighborhood are:
- Roman’s: 243 Dekalb Avenue – http://romansnyc.com
- Walter’s: – 166 Dekalb Avenue – http://walterfoods.com/walters
- Feliz: – 185 Dekalb Avenue – http://felizbrooklyn.blogspot.com
…and if you want to bump into her, you might as well start going not only to Fort Greene, but also Williamsburg. She’s always around these neighborhoods!
Thank you, Tamara, for sharing these gems with us!
Photo Credits: Courtesy of Tamara Peterson and of the venues, Sweat Engine (Portrait), Phoebe Cheong and Kate Sterlin
*Last Update on March/2020.*
