Brooklyn’s resurgence is old news by now, but it’s still producing new surprises. When MTV’s Video Music Awards roll into New York on Aug. 25, it won’t be hitting usual haunts Madison Square Garden or Radio City Music Hall. Instead, Kanye West, Lady Gaga and Daft Punk will be gracing Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. Barclays has hosted A-list acts since it opened last September — during the first half of 2013 it sold more tickets than any other U.S. arena — but the VMAs’ global TV audience makes it a coming-out party for both the arena and Brooklyn’s renaissance. “Brooklyn’s back on the map for sure,” Flatbush rapper Joey Bada$$ says. However, while the music industry has already thoroughly infiltrated Williamsburg, the historic hoods and world-class restaurants and bars that ring Barclays are still new ground for many VMA-goers. Here, we highlight the area’s best pre- and post-show spots for out-of-towners.
1. FRANKIES 457
457 Court St.
frankiesspuntino.com
36 min. 7 min.
Local favorite Frankies 457 pays tribute to its tree-lined Carroll Gardens neighborhood’s Italian roots with homemade classics from the old country, made with top-notch ingredients. Singer Jessie Ware lives in London, but Frankies left a trans-Atlantic impression on her taste buds. “Frankies has the best meatballs I’ve ever had,” she says. “Giant and filled with deliciousness.” Get a table in the wedding-worthy garden, and to take the magic home, buy a bottle of the deliciously crisp house olive oil.
2. Prime Meats
465 Court St. frankspm.com
37 min. 7 min.
A few doors down from Frankies, the same owners, Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo, pay tribute to pleasures of the flesh with Prime Meats, which features a pre-Prohibition décor and grass-fed entrees, including Amish chicken and pork schnitzel. Chris Grosso, senior producer of food content at Williamsburg’s VICE Media, makes a point of eating at both Prime Meats and Frankies on the same trip. “Both are delicious,” he says. “If you’re ambitious, hit up Frankies for your pasta course — may I suggest the cavatelli? — and for your main, head next door to Prime Meats for some house-smoked sausages.”
3. Rucola
190 Dean St.
rucolabrooklyn.com
14 min. 3 min.
Rucola, a Northern Italian-themed restaurant in a stately brownstone on a leafy corner in Boerum Hill, stands out for its cozy farmhouse décor and veggie-focused menu of salads and house-made pastas. It’s a favorite of Julie Kim, co-owner of nearby Gowanus venue Littlefield. “It looks like it used to be somebody’s apartment,” she says. “It’s very simple, but very tasty, and kind of off the beaten path.”
4. Habana Outpost
757 Fulton St.
habanaoutpost.com
6 min. 3 min.
New York’s first solar-powered restaurant has a Brooklyn block-party vibe, with a large outdoor space, DJs, free movies and Latin cuisine. Located on a bustling Fort Greene corner facing a gigantic mural of the Notorious B.I.G., Habana is known for its and killer frozen drinks and Mexican-style grilled corn on the cob, but “any of the sandwiches will rock you,” says Tucker Yaro of acclaimed Bushwick-based indie-pop band A Great Big Pile of Leaves.
5. Hot Bird
546 Clinton Ave.
718-230-5800
9 min. 2 min.
With its backyards and lower density, Brooklyn has Manhattan beat in terms of outdoor drinking and dining, and Hot Bird, down from Barclays on traffic-clogged Atlantic Avenue, is the perfect example. “It has a rad outdoor seating area,” says Diane Eber, associate producer of performing arts at BRIC, the nonprofit that hosts the popular Celebrate Brooklyn! performance series in Prospect Park. “It’ll be filled with real Brooklynites instead of the Hollywood version, so it’ll be refreshing after an evening at the VMAs.”
6. Madiba
195 Dekalb Ave.
madibarestaurant.com
13 min. 5 min.
Madiba is a longtime Fort Greene staple featuring South African cuisine, al fresco dining and a funky, art-filled interior. Jana Fleishman, head of corporate, media relations and events at Roc Nation, incorporated it into a fan scavenger hunt that revealed the tracklist to Jay Z’s “Magna Carta…Holy Grail” in June. “I swear by Madiba for the best steak with monkey-gland sauce and the malva pudding,” she says. “The food — and sangria — made for a perfect staging spot for the first day of our hunt.”
7. Umi Nom
433 Dekalb Ave.
uminom.com
25 min. 7 min.
Esteemed chef King Phojanakong opened Umi Nom in 2009 on the border of Bed-Stuy, a brief walk away from Jay Z’s notorious Marcy Projects. The home-style Thai and Filipino food — including a sinful pork belly entree — is worth the trek. “It’s an amazing little restaurant that not many people know about,” says Jocelyn Cooper, head of sponsorship and sales for the annual Afro Punk Fest, which will bring thousands of revelers to local Commodore Barry Park to check out Living Colour, Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson and other acts on Aug. 24 and 25. “They have the best salmon and Asian greens I’ve ever tasted.”
8. Hanson Dry
925 Fulton St.
hansondrybrooklyn.com
12 min. 5 min.
Tamara McCaw, director of government and community affairs at Brooklyn Academy of Music, loves laid-back bar Hanson Dry, a “great local spot with a backyard.” Opened by the owners of the legendary, now-defunct Park Slope venue Southpaw, it’s the area’s best cocktail bar, with in-house innovations like Helen’s Backyard (McCaw’s choice) as well as new takes on classics like the Old Fashioned.
9. Buttermilk Channel
524 Court St.
buttermilkchannelnyc.com
39 min. 7 min.
Buttermilk Channel takes inspiration from upstate New York’s old-time dairy farms to churn out succulent comfort food in a country-house setting, where you can rub elbows with frequent patrons Beyoncé and Solange at the long communal tables. “Buttermilk Channel is a favorite, from the comfortable dining room to the famed fried chicken,” says Dart Parker, director of A&R at Shady Records and manager at Goliath Artists, who lives nearby. “I like how they include touches of the Italian history of Carroll Gardens, such as using mozzarella from Caputo’s Fine Foods,” an old-school eatery up the street.
10. Walter’s
166 Dekalb Ave.
waltersbrooklyn.com
13 min. 5 min.
With a view of Fort Greene Park and a “fancy but casual” vibe, according to songwriter Mary Frisbie Wood, Walter’s is a hip local go-to. “It’s the bomb-diggity-bomb — quote me on that,” says singer Melanie Fiona, who lives nearby. “They do this amazing fried chicken with garlic mashed potatoes. I usually don’t even eat meat-but I will go there and eat that chicken.”
11. Bierkraft
191 Fifth Ave. bierkraft.com
14 min. 3 min.
Beer aficionados can pregame for the VMAs by swinging by neighborhood-y Park Slope spot Bierkraft. “I’m a beer nerd, and this bar has a great selection of them,” says Lio Kanine, owner of Kanine Records, the Brooklyn indie behind Grizzly Bear and Chairlift. There’s also a sandwich bar; try the serrano with fig and jam.
12. Union Hall
702 Union St.
unionhallny.com
15 min. 3 min.
Vevo associate manager of industry relations David McTiernan thinks Park Slope bar Union Hall is ideally located for a post-VMA tipple — close enough to walk, but far enough to avoid the after-show rush. “It’s one of my favorite bars,” he says. “It feels like a library inside. They have two giant bocce lanes in the back and live music downstairs.”
13. Ample Hills Creamery
623 Vanderbilt Ave.
amplehills.com
12 min. 2 min.
Ample Hills Creamery is the perfect stop for VMA-goers with a sweet tooth on a hot August day. “The ice cream is the best in Brooklyn,” says Amanda Spurlock, social media coordinator at guide guru Zagat. “They’ve got some really unique flavors, like salted crack caramel-it’s really like crack.”
(Additional reporting by Alex Gale and Gabrielle Sierra.)