The Weekender: A Slice of Bohemia in DUMBO

in Headline The Weekender by Adam Peck — October 22, 2009 at 11:03 am | 1 comment

Down under the Manhattan/Brooklyn overpass, there is a pizzeria.

Grimaldi’s has been a New York institution for decades, and it attracts scores of New Yorkers, tourists and pizza connoisseurs to its small, cozy shop in what’s known as DUMBO (see first sentence).

The line on a recent Sunday was unbelievable. It snaked out the store and down the block, and resembled lines that form ahead of a concert by a popular band, not a pizza joint. If you go, bring someone who has some reading to do, because the line, which indiscriminately makes no separate line for those who are taking out, will take quite a while.

The Manhattan Bridge as seen from the DUMBO Flea Market

While your placeholder waits, there are a number of things to explore nearby. But during these fall weekends, the best place to spend your afternoon is the DUMBO flea market and farmers market. Both feature local producers and shop owners, and both attract a younger, painfully hip smorgasbord of New Yorkers: blasé, free-spirited college students from NYU and Columbia; local, 30something residents pushing strollers; and wayward tourists who clearly stumbled upon DUMBO by happy accident.

The flea market offers up a range of goods. Used clothing can be found in many of the tents, as can old and odd pieces of furniture, window dressings, books and a wide range of knick-knacks. But even if used goods don’t float your boat, walking around the space is itself a treat. The market, housed directly under the Brooklyn Bridge, provides some of the city’s best views of Manhattan. And an adjacent nearby park puts you right on the harbor.

The farmers’ market is less impressive, though just as unique and popular. If Grismaldi’s line is unbearable, pick up some picnic food and take it to the park. Or if you are really craving pizza, the flea market has its own brick-oven pizza vendor and local bakery tent right by the entrance.

And for dessert, head to nearby Jacques Torres Chocolates. The shop looks like it was plucked out of a small village in Switzerland, complete with ornate decorations, a stove for warming their cookies, and of course, delicious chocolate.