Buttermilk Channel Pink Saturday

With a final last hurrah to the summer of 2016 I'm sharing one of my favorite memories of the summer, a visit to one of my favorite restaurants, Buttermilk Channel, in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. Last summer I attended a wedding luncheon there and loved the atmosphere and the food. I made a note to return and in the way of the world it took me a year to get back there. It's a relatively casual restaurant, but fancier than simply dropping in for a quick salad for lunch, and less geographically convenient. But one evening in August I took three subways and met my friend Anita there to celebrate fifty -- yes, fifty! -- years of friendship. 

The New York waters are the home of small islands, inlets and channels. I've never made a study, but it seems we're never farther than a mile or two from a body of water. I've never lived or worked farther than a mile from water, whether it was the East River or the Hudson. The great shipbuilding days are gone, but New York was settled, like so many cities, because it had a great harbor. Buttermilk Channel is the strait between Governors Island and Brooklyn. Legend goes that in the era when Brooklyn was farmland the farmers would come across the strait and sell their produce in Manhattan. The current was so strong that the milk would be churned into butter.
 

I arrived early and started the evening with a drink at the bar. It is very rare that I feel comfortable sitting by myself at a restaurant bar, but the atmosphere is very friendly and welcoming.

I've been on a very low carb diet for the last year, but I decided that this evening I would eat what I wanted, with no concern for calories or carbs. When we saw the mini-popovers at the next table the decision was made for us to order the popovers.  They are served with honey and sea salt and were light and delicious.

 



One of my favorite -- and least eaten -- foods is fried chicken. At Buttermilk Channel it is served with cheese waffles -- the carb choice of dreams -- and a delicious slaw. The chicken was crispy, not greasy and enough for two blissful nights of eating. Definitely worth the caloric splurge.
 

Buttermilk Channel is in Carroll Gardens, a beautiful neighborhood in Brooklyn. The area is a historic district, with the brownstones built in the period following the Civil War. At this time Brooklyn was not yet part of New York City. The area is one of my favorite places to walk and enjoy the historic architecture and neighborhood feeling.

I'm joining with Pink Saturday to share this last post of the summer. The weather is still summery, but the days are growing shorter and the post for tomorrow goes in an entirely different direction.

As ever, thanks for visiting and take good care.