Today Melinda and I spent our afternoon wandering, which ultimately led us to the city and then to Greenpoint.
I've become familiar with GP due to the multitudes of friends I have living there [now] and because of
Working Class Magazine. Combined, these two social groups have me hoppin' the G train non stop; the G is the only subway connecting Park Slope to GP. Contrary to belief, the G train is not bad. Just temperamental.
Melinda and I are considering leaving Park Slope next year when our lease is up. Leaving the park will be hard but I am ready for a change [and cheaper rent!]. I'd like to be somewhere different; less strollers would be great.
With this in mind, I wanted to introduce Melinda to Greenpoint as well as take her to a restaurant in the hood. Enter the second part of my story.
Earlier in the summer while working at BBC I'd heard of a restaurant opening up in Greenpoint that was somehow related to Heath Ledger. I then visited the building that supposedly was to be this restaurant with my friend Laura.
The building was situated on a corner and it seemed as if the entrance would be corner style too---reminiscent of Moto's entrance. We couldn't see anything behind the butcher paper covered windows, but the joint was definitely under construction. I knew that if I were to return I would need a visual to find it so I snapped a fuzzy pic with the good ol' iPhone and off we went.
Fast forward 4 months and Melinda and I were headed to this restaurant with my iPhone photo to act as our guide.
When we exited the Nassau stop off the G train Melinda noted that before going to eat she wanted to peek around, get a feel of what amenities GP had to offer. Where would we shop for groceries? Where could we grab coffee before heading out on the train? How much would laundry cost? All of these thoughts were quite valid.
As luck would have it, I then spotted a laundromat out of the corner of my eye. "Why not ask someone inside how much a load costs?".
As I approached the laundromat door front a gentlemen exited. I immediately grabbed him to inquire.
At first he thought I asked "how much was it to elope?", but then we cleared things up. He was nice and Meli and I were happy to find out a load of washed goods was a hell of a lot cheaper in Greenpoint than Park Slope.
About 20 minutes later we finally made it to the restaurant. It looked fabulous, almost unrecognizable, and the food smelled intoxicating. We were quickly sat, drinks kin to Weather Up were served fresh from the bar and we felt the gates of heaven open.
The night had been perfect but more was to just around the corner.
Right before we cashed out I noticed the gentleman from the laundromat enter the restaurant. I thought "what a small world....". Moments later he came up to our table, asked if the laundromat passed approval and begin to inquire as to what we were up to.
Well, it turns out our laundromat savior was in fact the owner of the restaurant. Jud was his name and
Five Leaves is his gem.
He was kind enough to give Meli and I a round of drinks on the house and chat about the place in sweet detail. We noted to him that the food was golden, tasted great and completely worth the trip to GP. We also mentioned our interest in Greenpoint and curiosity as to if we would thrive there. He confirmed that if we gave Greenpoint a chance, we would fall in love.
I think...no.... I know we will.
xo
