Hi friends! SO I would like to tell you more about myself so you can get to know me better. I love exploring the city, thrift shopping, coffee, and vegan food. Now, I know what you may be asking, “Megan, what do these things have in common?” Well, one of my favorite places harbors all these awesome things, and that place is Brooklyn. I love to go explore the blocks of Brooklyn on weekends in search of my new favorite coffee shop, vegan treat, or thrift shops with the most unique pieces. I decided to put together a list of some of my favorite discoveries located in Brooklyn. These are all from my recent trip last week, with my friend Lucia. Shoutout to her for being down to explore in the freezing cold weather. PS. I will be inserting some of my mediocre photography (haha). Side note, I just received an extremely professional camera to upgrade my photo game, so I promise I will incorporate more of those in the future. Ok, back on track, now onto my list!
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Dun-Well Doughnuts (click it for doughnut heaven)
This is one exception to the rule of new finds because I’ve actually been going here for a couple months. As a long time vegan, I’ve tried every vegan sweet and substitute there is. Let me tell you, this is one of my absolute FAVORITE places to go for a fat doughnut. It’s kinda weird because I don’t really have much of a sweet tooth, but I am down for a Dunwell doughnut anytime, anywhere. It’s located one block away from Champs Diner, so if you ever have to wait for a table, might as well walk a block over for a doughnut. Bonus fact: the entire establishment is vegan, so there are no limitations. They have the best freshly brewed chai teas, and the doughnut flavors are to die for. Some of my personal favorites are french toast, strawberry frosted, chocolate with sprinkles, pb&j, and cinnamon sugar.
This place was like walking into a different dimension. My friend and I happened to park in front of this cute little shop, so we decided to check it out. Upon walking in, completely normal fun and fresh pottery, knick-knacks, and so on. BUT THEN, we hear blasting opera music! We were so confused and continued to walk further into the building. Pretty much the layout was a small shop called The SHOP, to the right was a workspace area and to the left was a restaurant. We had no idea at the time, but later found out it is called Norman. As we get closer, we realize the opera music is not coming from a stereo, it was LIVE OPERA. I swear to you I can’t make this stuff up. I was so shook, I kinda stood there for a few minutes to realize this is actually real life. I have attached a link so you can watch a little snippet of what the scenario was. Also, not only was there opera, but monthly art exhibits to walk through. At the time we visited, there was an exhibit displaying art made from electrical currents. I have attached that also at the end of the video link. Check it out, you won’t regret it.
The best link you will ever click (live opera and electric art): https://youtu.be/i32-NycKTwI
3. Tea Bar
I am very excited about this cozy cafe we discovered called the Tea Bar. It is so cute and has the aesthetic of urban outfitters, plant girl Pinterest board. All the teas are freshly brewed in house. Personally, I hate hot tea. I’ve never been able to drink it and enjoy it, however, this was the only exception. I decided to get the lavender earl gray tea and let me tell you it was the most amazing drink I’ve ever had. The atmosphere was so relaxing, and the tea selection was out of this world. They, unfortunately, don’t have a menu available online, but if you are planning a trip it’s definitely worth a visit.
Photo taken from Google Reviews*
4. Love Only NYC- Insta @ love_story_nyc
So, when we were wrapping up our day exploring, we wandered into one last shop. Right off the bat, this boutique is full of pieces from smaller, and independent designers, As we looked around, there were some designs that caught our eyes. Super rad, very unique pieces I have never seen before. I fell in love with a design of the silhouette of a woman’s leg with the writing “boys of new york” underneath. We were told that the artist Nina Klein, co-designed with boys of new york to make really awesome shirts. We couldn’t resist and had to buy them. Every purchase of a t-shirt donates $5 to the youth homeless shelter, The Covenant House NYC. To add to this whole situation, little did we know, we were speaking to the owner and designer of boys of new york, Isidoro Francisco the ENTIRE TIME. He never told us that it was his brand, and we had no clue at all. When I went home to investigate the brand more, I figured this all out. Also, I fell in love with Nina Klein, and all her designs. They are so simple but absolutely beautiful. The crazy day overall and ended with the discovery of a dope brand with some talented people behind it.
UPDATE: I decided to go back to the shop with my friends, to see if he was still there. We got lucky that we chose a day he was working, and confronted him about the brand. We all thought the situation was so funny and started to form a friendly relationship with Francisco. We will definitely be returning to visit. Please check out the link below to the boys of new york online shop. The pieces are unique and definitely worth adding to your wardrobe.
Boys of New York: https://boysofnewyork.com
Nina Klein: https://dreamysun.com