The restaurant we chose for dinner Wednesday night was in an neighborhood of Brooklyn called Carroll Gardens. This is a neighborhood that wasn’t really its own defined area until the 1960s, and its name comes from a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and the lovely gardens in front of the houses in its historic district.

We started at Buttermilk Channel. I don’t even remember where the restaurant recommendation came from, but I’m glad we had it, because we definitely would not have happened upon this place. I’m pretty sure Andrew and I were the only tourists there. It sure felt like a neighborhood place. There were people beside us and in front of us with kids. Another table was clearly a birthday party for an elderly man. The atmosphere was lovely, and the food was great.

One thing we noticed about restaurants in NYC is that many had just one restroom. Which meant a lot of waiting a few times. Still, the bathrooms that were there were generally very nice. And they were often serious about not running out of supplies!

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After dinner we weren’t ready to head back to the hotel yet. We ended up hitting a brewery and a chocolate shop. And despite the cold and bitter wind, we walked all the way back to our hotel, which was about two miles total. It was such an interesting neighborhood that we wanted to see as much as we could. By the time we got back to the hotel, we were exhausted and cold, but very very satisfied from an amazing day.

I just couldn’t believe how at home I felt in Brooklyn. I would go back there at any opportunity!