Brooklyn Dining Club at Sociale: Designing Brooklyn Bridge Park, a conversation with Michael Van Valkenburgh
Brooklyn Eagle’s food editor Andrew Cotto (right) interviews Francesco Nuccitelli, owner and chef of Sociale, at a Brooklyn Dining Club event. Brooklyn Eagle photos by John McCarten
The Brooklyn Dining Club held a special event, “Designing Brooklyn Bridge Park: A Conversation with Michael Van Valkenburgh,” on Thursday at Sociale in Carroll Gardens. The evening, hosted by Brooklyn Eagle food columnist and Good Food newsletter co-author Andrew Cotto, featured a conversation between esteemed journalist and author Laura Trevelyan and Michael Van Valkenburgh, the designer and architect of Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Laura Trevelyan and Michael Van Valkenburgh react to questions from the crowd.
The event happened at “Cin Cin” — the elegant private cellar of Sociale’s 320 Court Street location. The evening began with Cotto discussing the regional Italian-meets-Brooklyn approach to the cuisine of Sociale and the special four-course menu for the evening with Francesco Nucitelli, co-owner of Sociale, with his wife Meghan. The meal, paired with red and white Italian wines, featured a Fresca Salad, Spaghetti Sociale, a choice of meatballs, roasted chicken or branzino, followed by dessert and coffee.
The celebrated and famous Spaghetti Sociale.
After the main course, Trevelyan, a former BBC anchor and correspondent, spoke at length with Van Valkenburgh about the 23-year journey of transforming the once-industrial waterfront of Brooklyn into one of the most celebrated and visited public spaces in America — more than 5 million people visited BBP in 2023. The interview was followed by an enthusiastic Q&A with the attendees. All guests received a copy of “Brooklyn Bridge Park,” by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, a visual biography with authoritative text by the design team behind the colossal project. The tome was presented in a Brooklyn Eagle Good Food tote bag.
Michael Van Valkenburgh Associate’s book “Brooklyn Bridge Park.”
On March 27, the Brooklyn Dining Club will host another event at Sociale, where Cotto will explain how Italian food has inspired his accomplished career as a novelist and journalist. The same menu will be served. Tickets are available for “Italian Food As a Muse.”
Andrew Cotto has been eating his way through Brooklyn for 25 years. As an author, the food of our borough has been featured extensively in his novels and journalism. In his column for the Daily Eagle, Andrew tells the tales of Brooklyn eateries, from the people behind the food to the communities they nourish.
SUNSET PARK — “As a resident of Marine Park, one of the great surprises I found biking around Industry City and visiting Japan Village was to discover Bush Terminal Park. I continue to be amazed at the serene hideaways that the city offers in some of the busiest places — and, still, with an iconic view.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — ‘A miracle that no one was killed …’ That’s what neighbors are saying about the collapse of the Hotel St. George marquee. Shown in this photograph are workmen beginning the removal and repair of the historic, old neon sign at the corner, referencing a relic of Brooklyn Heights’ past: the St. George Hotel.
ATLANTIC AVENUE — Exhausted shopper with cluster of bags and goods from mall at Boerum Place stops to look at huge construction site across the street. “Is that REALLY going to be a jail??” Her male companion is reassuring, “Nothing like Rikers … this is 21st Century.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Overheard in line at one of most popular pastry outlets on Montague Street: “Hope I can get them into a camp …” A mother with two pre-schoolers in tow was showing a friend the Dodge Y flyer for Healthy Kids Day on Saturday, April 18.
