masa empanadas

Grand Street Businesses Giving Back

Grand Street restaurants and North Brooklyn non-profits who stepped up during a pandemic.

Hospital staff at Brooklyn Methodist with food supplied by Masa Empanadas.

Hospital staff at Brooklyn Methodist with food supplied by Masa Empanadas.

The COVID pandemic has hit small businesses in NYC especially hard, closing all “non-essentials” and creating enormous obstacles for small businesses to make ends meet.

That’s why we’re shining a light our businesses that have gone above and beyond to watch out for others during this especially challenging time. Almost as soon as the pandemic began, many of our businesses began working overtime to feed hospital workers, even when it’s been a struggle to keep their own doors open.

After only opening in January, Rome to Brooklyn kicked off the good will immediately with pizza donations to ICU workers at New York Presbyterian Lower-Manhattan Hospital. The Sandwich Shop followed shortly with a donation of over 300 sandwich meals to SUNY Downstate Medical Center. Dar 525, Masa Empanadas, Red Table Catering, and Taco Edition have since joined in providing ongoing meals to various hospital workers free of charge.

Our local not for profits have also stepped up in enormous ways. North Brooklyn Angels has additionally been providing hospitals with food donations and was recently provided a $25,000 after Mario Salerno of Salerno Autobody Shop (451 Lorimer St) appeared on The Ellen Show.

While acknowledging the generosity of these businesses, there are many others that haven’t been able to keep their doors open, but would also quickly help if able—which is why it’s so important to keep neighborhood businesses alive right now so we can have our community intact once this is over. You can support them by purchasing gift cards, supporting GoFundMe, and ordering takeout if they are open.

We’d like to thank all of our local businesses, workers, community members and organizations who have stayed in this fight and kept our neighborhood as strong as ever. See how you can support your favorite Grand Street business here and see a list of businesses open currently.

Grand Street's Guide to Winter Restaurant Week

Breaking down the best of 45 courses on Grand Street from Feb 18 to March 1

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Restaurant Week is back on Grand Street for its 7th Winter Edition from February 18th to March 1st. 15 of the best eats in Williamsburg are offering 3 course prix fixe dinners (5 - 10pm) at discounted rates from $12 to $35 as Brooklyn’s annual answer to Manhattan’s pricier Restaurant Week. All along 6 blocks, it might be difficult to choose where to go or decide where new to try. Well here’s your answer as to why you should visit each participating restaurant on Grand Street and what you can order for the best experience. Each of the following restaurants has special event menus, so just ask for a Restaurant Week menu if you don’t see one.*

As always, take a picture of your dinner and post with #DineonGrand for a chance to win $50 to a Grand Street BID restaurant of your choice.

Follow @grandstreetbid for the most up to date information on the event.

Mainstay Must Experiences

Bahia Restaurant—$25

690 Grand Street — menu

It all starts with pupusas. If you’ve never had one, Bahia owners Luis and Felix say to think of them as like the “tacos of El Salvador”. The prix fixe menu at Bahia starts with 2 pupusas of your choice, a salad, or tamal de pollo. We, of course, recommend some of the best pupusas in NYC. Plenty of options for dinner, but our favorite is the Carne Asada: grilled boneless choice shell steak. You get two sides with the entree of your choice from a few options like mixed vegetables, rice, and roasted potatoes. Flan is for dessert and your meal is paired with a glass of delicious red or white sangria.

A hometown favorite, Bahia has been a dedicated community member of Grand Street for 20 years. In 2019, the restaurant doubled down on their dedication to the neighborhood with a complete interior and exterior renovation in order to stay ahead in a changing Williamsburg market. It’s not just about looks though, Bahia is confident that once you’ve had their pupusas and try a glass of their homemade sangria you are certain to return for more. Photo at top of article.

Los Primos—$25

704 Grand Street — menu

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With 31 years of experience cooking on Grand Street, Los Primos has proven they have the chops to remain a hit. Despite their long history on Grand Street, they’re relatively new to our Restaurant Week. On joining, Christian who’s father owns the restaurant said, “being here for a while, it was like, let’s ride along with you guys and join the holiday – join the Grand Street BID in this journey” -Bkylner.

For your starter, go with nachos: chicken, ground beef, or cheese—your choice. Fried pork chops are a best seller and also on the Restaurant Week menu, so we recommend you take advantage. But the steak with onions and pork mofongo are also favorites. Finish the night with cheesecake (but the tres leches and flan are good choices as well).

If you visit on Sunday, take advantage paella deal at Los Primos for $10—offered every week.

Grand Morelos—$20

727 Grand Street — menu

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Another Grand Street staple, Grand Morelos has been with the neighborhood day and night for decades—literally. The 24/7 diner & bakery has seen us all at our finest and not-so-fine hours. The Grand Morelos bakery is also one of the better kept secrets of our food scene, so take advantage. Guacamole is our go-to appetizer, but we also recommend the cheese quesadillas if you’re extra hungry. Hanger steak fajitas for your entree will fill you if the app didn’t, but try to save room for the Oreo cheesecake. Impossible chocoflan and tres leches cakes are your other options for Restaurant Week dessert. Once you’ve fallen in love with Grand Morelos stop back in for affordable cookies & doughnuts from the bakery and amazing iced coffee (not just by diner standards) any time you want - literally.

Biggest Discount

Indian Kitchen—$12 to $36

739 Grand Street — menu

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Restaurant Week is made for sharing. Indian Kitchen wants you to bring your friends to max out on the deal. With 3 people Indian Kitchen provides a vegetable and meat appetizer, three entrees, two orders of naan, and Kheer (rice pudding) for dessert. On a typical night all of that could cost over $60—so make sure Indian Kitchen is one of your top spots for this event.

Fine Dining Experience

All pasta at Ammazzacaffè is made in-house

All pasta at Ammazzacaffè is made in-house

Ammazzacaffè—$35

702 Grand Street — menu

Winner of this year’s coveted Bib Gourmand title from Micheline Guide, Ammazzacaffè has already built its reputation for affordable fine dining at its best. Take advantage of Ammazza’s Tartare crostino with sea trout, caponata verde, and umeboshi as an appetizers. For your entree, try the Reginette—pork shoulder ragu—which Michelin called “Italian cuisine in all its glory”. Finish the night with buttermilk pannacotta with cherry and hazelnut for the perfect date or special night out on Grand Street.

If the food isn’t enough, visiting Ammazza offers a bit of historical experience. Their location at 702 Grand Street was the childhood home of Betty Smith, inspiring her classic A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. RSVP.

Best Quick Bite

Churros from Taco Edition

Churros from Taco Edition

Taco Edition—$19

800 Grand Street — menu

A longtime participant in Restaurant Week, Taco Edition is one of our favorite spots for lunch or a quick afternoon bite. Even though the service is fast and the environment is seat yourself-casual, during Restaurant Week you’ll get a lot more than a 5 minute snack. Start with the jalapeño popper balls, move on to the chilaquiles verde with eggs, and finish with the yummy churros you see to the left.

New Faces on the Block:

Ham & cheese empanadas from Masa

Ham & cheese empanadas from Masa

Masa Empanadas—$12

804 Grand Street — menu

Masa Empanadas opened from the same owners of Piccoli to Go—remaining dedicated to the neighborhood and providing quick eats empanadas, salads, and pizza. Masa is offering two combos for deals featuring the range of their menu:

  1. 2 dinner empanadassee options here (spicy crab not included); 1 dessert empanada—banana nutella or apple cinnamon; and a salad—caesar kale or Italian vinaigrette arugula

  2. 1 pizza—classic, spicy chorizo, or 4 cheese; a salad; and a drink

Our favorite empanadas are ham & cheese, corn, and apple cinnamon. All three pizza options are good but we tend to stick to the classic and the kale caesar is our salad of choice.

Chongkho—$20

562 Grand Street — menu

Butterfly pea lemonade and Thai iced tea

Butterfly pea lemonade and Thai iced tea

Chongkho opened in August with an eccentric gate mural by well-known artist JPO and serving Thai home cooking. A family owned restaurant, Chongkho offers a warm dine-in environment with welcoming service.

The chicken curry puffs are an appetizer to die for, followed by either drunken noodles or red curry for the main course. The Thai iced tea is truly a standout and Chongkho is preparing a crêpe specially made for Restaurant Week as an option for dessert.

Bright colored decorations and drinks reflect the up-beat atmosphere in Carneval

Bright colored decorations and drinks reflect the up-beat atmosphere in Carneval

Carneval—$25

507 Grand Street — menu

Carneval also opened in August featuring specialty cocktails and Latin-inspired cuisine. Owner Mike Cruz grew up just blocks from the restaurant and has created a go-to spot for Williamsburg natives and newcomers alike. A mural of a carnival-themed festively packed J train along the back wall of the restaurant demonstrates Mike’s inspiration and commemorates the Latin heritage of our neighborhood. Carneval is also regularly host to performances and hosted their own toy drive for the holidays.

Most Filling

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Ryujin—$25

513 Grand Street — menu

Something about the ramen from Ryujin leaves us stuffed after every bowl. Now add an appetizer and dessert to the mix to really make the most of a 3 course dinner. Keep it light with your app so go with the Japanese pickles or the fried shishito peppers. You can choose from 8 different options of ramen bowl, but our favorite is the spicy miso bowl. Finally, the meal is paired with either beer, sake, or ice cream. The jury is out here so we’ll leave that choice to you.

Most Controversial

Mad for Chicken—$20

617 Grand Street — menu

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Boneless or bone-in? Luckily both genres of wing are on the menu. The chicken at MFC is shipped in daily from a farm in Fredericksburg, Pennsylvania and the wings are coated with a unique sauce of soy, garlic, and various fruits. On the appetizer menu, the standouts are the small crab salad or the truffle/ Parmesan fries. We recommend the 10pc wings (with or without bones—your choice) for entree, but kimchi fried rice and kimchi quesadillas are available for non-wing lovers. For a drink you can choose between any draft beer, a glass of sangria, or a soda on the house.

Favorite Mom & Pop

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The Sandwich Shop—$20.75

658 Grand Street — menu

The cozy lunch and dinner spot has brought high-quality deli style sandwiches to Grand Street since 2013. The space also feels like a deli, with just a few stools around the bar to dine-in, so get there before they fill up.

Valued members of the community, the Shop has collected and donated over 200 lbs of food in our annual Holiday Food Drives. You can also find The Sandwich Shop in the Wall Street Journal from our last Restaurant Week. All sandwiches, bowls, and wraps are available—but the best bang for your buck is the turkey double decker sandwich to go along with the combo of a beer and bag of chips.

Best Cocktail

Crystal Lake Brooklyn—$20

647 Grand Street — menu

Antique lounge area at Crystal Lake. Photo courtesy of Crystal Lake Brooklyn & JD Hall Photo

Antique lounge area at Crystal Lake. Photo courtesy of Crystal Lake Brooklyn & JD Hall Photo

The bar is best known for its antique bar and large back space which regularly hosts comedy shows and similar type events. Teaming up with Tacos Lokos 4Ever, Crystal Lake has the best drink and food combination in the event. The entree is a pair of tacos with the meat of your choice or veggies with a side of rice and beans. The cocktails provide the biggest discount and your choices are a cucumber vodka ricky, rose vodka spritz, watermelon gimlet, or the Zebra-Rita.

Most Options

Thip Osha—$25

795 Grand Street — menu

Roasted duck noodle soup from Thip Osha typically costs $16

Roasted duck noodle soup from Thip Osha typically costs $16

A cozy Thai spot nearby the Grand Street L station. You may have already tried Thip Osha at Taste of Williamsburg & Greenpoint this past summer. Altogether, there are exactly 50 options on the prix fixe menu at Thip, so there is surely something that will please everyone from curry to noodles to fried rice. Out of all of those choices, our favorites are the crispy chicken wings with red chili sauce to start, roasted duck noodle soup, and banana sticky rice for dessert.

Best Late Night

Los Tacos-McOndo—$28

502 Grand Street — menu

The chic bar and taqueria is a cool spot for late night dinners, dates, and eats after a night out. Open until 3am on the weekends and at least 1am on every other night, Los Tacos is one of the most high quality late night restaurants in Brooklyn. The nachos are absolute standouts at Los Tacos, and you can choose them either as a starter (mini nachos) or as an entree. We recommend at least one of those in your mix. The queso fundido is also very good, but if you’re limiting carbs you can choose the Mexican steak to go with the nachos. Churros with fruit are for dessert, with mango and chili powder as the primary flavors. Note that Los Tacos is cash only.

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*Dine-in meals only. After 5pm and no later than 10pm. Tax and tip not included in price. Price is per person and cannot be shared. Event discounts are in effect from Feb 18 to March 1. Restaurants may be closed any time during the event period at their discretion. Price and participants subject to change. Contact info@grandstreetbk.org with questions.

Winter Restaurant Week on Grand Street returns

Winter Restaurant Week is back in its 7th edition on Grand Street offering 3 course prix fixe discounts to some of Williamsburg’s best fine dining and quick eats. The two week celebration of local cuisine begins on Tuesday, February 18th and runs until Sunday, March 1st. For the winter edition of this semi-annual event, we have 15 participants from neighborhood mainstays like Los Primos to Grand Street newcomers.

The Sandwich Shop is participating once again—see their mention in the Wall Street Journal from our Summer Restaurant Week.

The Sandwich Shop is participating once again—see their mention in the Wall Street Journal from our Summer Restaurant Week.

Our 3 new participants—Chongkho, Carneval, and Masa Empanadas— joined the neighborhood within the past year and each offer a dynamic new addition to the restaurant week lineup. Chongkho opened in August with an eccentric gate mural by well-known artist JPO to add to the neighborhood’s collection and serving Thai home cooking. Carneval opened in the same week featuring specialty cocktails and Latin-inspired cuisine. Owner Mike Cruz grew up just blocks from the restaurant and has created a go-to spot for Williamsburg natives and newcomers alike. See a preview of Chonkgho and Carneval from their interviews with News 12 about the event. Masa Empanadas opened from the same owners of Piccoli to Go—remaining dedicated to the neighborhood and providing quick eats empanadas, salads, and pizza.

Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand winner Ammazzacaffè is joining the lineup once again, providing award winning quality dining for a steal at $35 for 3 courses in a prix fixe menu. Los Primos, Crystal Lake, and Mad for Chicken are also rejoining Restaurant Week after debuting in the event this past summer.

Stop by at any participating location to get in on discount dining offers exclusive to Grand Street—and only during Restaurant Week. Just ask for a restaurant week menu when seated. Click here for our official guide giving insight into each restaurant and suggesting our favorite dining options, and you can find the full list of participants and pricing below*. Prices range from $12 to $35 and apply only to sit down dinners (5 - 10pm) —tax and tip not included.**

And remember—snap a picture of you, your meal, or your friends on your night dining out with #DineOnGrand for the opportunity to win $50 to a Grand Street BID restaurant of your choice!

Follow @grandstreetbid for the most up to date information on the event.

Enjoy 3 courses for $20 from Chongkho

Enjoy 3 courses for $20 from Chongkho

Chongkho – $20 (new) —menu

Masa Empanadas – $12 (new) — menu

Carneval – $25 (new) — menu

AmmazzaCaffè – $35 — menu

Bahia Restaurant – $25 — menu

Ryujin – $25 — menu

Mad for Chicken – $20 — menu

The Sandwich Shop – $20.75 — menu

Thip Osha – $25 — menu

Indian Kitchen – $12 — menu

Los Tacos McOndo – $28 — menu

Grand Morelos – $20 — menu

Taco Edition– $19 — menu

Los Primos – $25 — menu

Crystal Lake – $20 — menu

*All prices and participants subject to change.
**Dine-in dinner discounts begin at 5pm and is served no later than 10pm. No takeout or delivery. Price does not include tax or tip. Price is per person and cannot be shared.

Masa Empanadas opens at 804 Grand Street

Savory + sweet empanadas with a special deal attached

Interior look at the new establishment

Interior look at the new establishment

Masa Empanadas is open for business. From the same owners of Piccoli To Go, 804 Grand Street now has a new look, menu, and name. From savory flavors like ham + cheese, creamy corn, and Argentinian beef to dessert flavors including apple cinnamon or Nutella banana, Masa serves a bit of everything all in the form of an empanada.

Prices are low ranging from $2.50 to $4 for each delicious empanada, and not to mention Masa offers discounted combos with salads as well. And if you’re worried about missing Piccoli, Masa also serves three varieties of pizzas for any sudden Italian food cravings.

If you stop by tonight + follow @masaempanadas on Instagram then you can try your first empanada for free. Look out for wine and beer to be served in the near future as well. With indoor seating and warm (+ free!) empanadas, Masa is an all around lunch, dinner, or snack option that will have something for everyone.

Nutella + banana empanadas

Nutella + banana empanadas