
Ten things you should eat in Bay Ridge
Eye On Real Estate

Food, glorious food.
There are scores of palate-pleasing treats in Bay Ridge restaurants and bakeries. To whet your appetite for the culturally diverse fare in the southwest Brooklyn waterfront neighborhood, we’ve made a short list of 10 things you should try.
Our list is lacking in leafy green vegetables — but we promise you, plenty of salad is served in Bay Ridge. For instance, Nature’s Grill (7417 Third Ave.), a health-conscious restaurant that’s everybody’s go-to place for fresh juices and smoothies, dishes up a really good pear salad.
When you’re not noshing, you’ll need a nice long walk to work off some calories. See related story for suggestions about where to go and what to see in the neighborhood.
* Middle Eastern: Try the cauliflower steak at Tanoreen (7523 Third Ave.) — which was rated New York City’s Number 1 Middle Eastern restaurant by Zagat in 2013. The prestigious Michelin Guide has included chef/owner Rawia Bishara’s restaurant in its Bib Gourmand list of top-quality restaurants with two-course meals plus a glass of wine or dessert for $40 or less.
The crave-worthy cauliflower, covered in a crunchy coating of panko and Parmesan cheese, is jazzed up with tahini sauce, sweet pomegranate molasses and harissa.
* Turkish: There’s tasty chicken doner, also called chicken gyro, at Hazar Turkish Kebab (7224 Fifth Ave.) — the chicken is cooked on a rotating spit and well-seasoned.
* Scandinavian: The cakes at Leske’s (7612 Fifth Ave.) are tempting.
The bakery was launched a half-century ago, when a heavy concentration of Norwegian-Americans lived in Bay Ridge. It closed in 2011 but was reopened the following year by new owners, one of whom was a baker who had worked at Leske’s.
* Greek: Order the baklava at Omonia Café (7612 Third Ave.), a Zagat-listed Greek dessert mecca.
* Italian: Have the sweet capicollo, mozzarella and long-stem artichoke sandwich at Paneantico Bakery Café (9124 Third Ave.), a hugely popular Bay Ridge eatery that’s also Zagat-listed. The server will bring out a bottle of Roso Balsamic Glaze reduction — a sauce that’s thicker than salad dressing and instantly addictive. Be sure to use it.
* Central European: The Korzo Burger at farm-to-table restaurant Brooklyn Beet Company (7205 Third Ave.) has langoš, which is Slovak bread, wrapped around it instead of a bun. This meat lover’s entrée was on the Village Voice’s 2011 list of New York City’s best hamburgers.
* Vietnamese: The beef pho — which is rice-noodle soup, as of course you know — at Pho Hoai (8616 Fourth Ave.) was on the Daily News’ 2012 list of the best pho in New York City.
* Irish pub: The chicken pot pie at the Wicked Monk (9510 Third Ave.) is really good.
* Italian: Have the Nutella-banana pancakes at Pasticceria Rocco (9402 Fourth Ave.), an offshoot of an Italian pastry shop in the West Village.
* American: Try the bagel with fresh lox and cream cheese at Bagel Boy (8002 Third Ave.), which is another hugely popular neighborhood institution. By the way, the shop’s rainbow bagel is a big seller.
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