This past fall I had the pleasure of spending several days wandering the streets of Brooklyn, eating everything in sight. The amount of good food that’s contained within several square miles is honestly astounding. For visiting foodies, sorting through all your options can also be a bit overwhelming. To help you navigate food and Brooklyn, I consulted locals on a recent trip and pieced together top recommendations along with my favorite places. The result is this wonderful menagerie of food, neighborhoods, and flavor. 

This is by no means an all-encompassing list of all the good places to eat in Brooklyn (for that you would need to read an entire book), but it is an excellent resource for those wanting to dive into its culinary world and don’t quite know where to begin. I present to you, a foodie’s guide to Brooklyn. 

Bedford

One of the trendiest and most hipster-filled streets in Brooklyn is Bedford. Here you’ll find that there is no shortage of good food and drink. For the dairy enthusiast, there is the fully stocked Bedford Cheese Shop, which offers with a wide range of imported and domestic cheeses. Not only that, the shop offers unique and fun classes on cheese making, cheese around the world, butchery and of course classes on pairing cheese with things such as scotch, chocolate, the bubbly and tequila.

Williamsburg

A few blocks from Bedford you’ll find Williamsburg, an equally hip and trendy area offering exceptionally good food and drinks.

If you love coffee, make sure to stop by Blue Bottle Coffee, which has two Brooklyn locations, one in Williamsburg and one in Boerum Hill (a few miles south of Williamsburg). Also try local coffee house favorite, El Beit, which has delicious brew. For breakfast, hop over to Egg for some of the most delicious country ham biscuits you’ll ever have in your life.

For more exotic and ethnic foods, I have a few must try recommendations. Pop into Ramen Yebisu for a hot bowl of broth, noodles and an assortment of toppings with layer upon layer of richness and flavor. Have you ever had high-end ramen with prawns, snow crab, mussels and scallops? If you’re in the mood for Mediterranean go to Cafe Mogador – an expansion of the East Village favorite. For creative and flavorful Argentinian dishes try El Amecen.

If you’re looking to browse the shelves of a foodie’s dream combination, grocery and butcher, look no further than The Brooklyn Kitchen, a gourmet cooking shop that also offers classes on subjects like farm to table, fried chicken and waffles, couples cooking, homemade pizza, and knife skills.

If you want a chocolate lover’s paradise, make sure to stop by Mast Brothers Chocolate Makers. Do it for the smell alone. They roast cacao beans all day making the entire shop smell like wonderfully nutty chocolate. Also, go for the huge assortment of finely crafted and curated chocolate bars. Looking for other types of sweets? The Blue Stove has some of the best pies and brownies ever along with a large assortment of old fashioned baked goods. The key lime pie is to die for.

Park Slope

Southwest of the Bedford and Williamsburg is Park Slope, a neighborhood known as a family friendly place where you can settle down and conveniently, be surrounded by delicious food options. Here, my number one recommendation is al di la Trattoria, a little Italian restaurant tucked into the corner of a big beautiful old building. The pasta here is made fresh daily and the menu is seasonal and deliciously creative. Another great find is Applewood, a small restaurant that prides itself on using ingredients solely from local NY-area farms, the result of which is a delicious mix of seasonal goodies and quality dishes. BKLYN Larder is a gourmet’s dream deli. It’s stocked to the brim with artisanal meats and cheeses, as well as a wide assortment of fancy snacks and sweets. Your best bet will be going here, picking up a smattering of cheeses, cured meats, and crackers and making yourself a delicious little picnic lunch. 

Hot Spots

There’s no need to limit yourself to just the neighborhoods above, there are plenty of foodie stops located throughout Brooklyn that are worth the trek. Such as the farm-to-table dining experience, The Farm On Adderly, which is found in Ditmas Park. Dishes like cheddar, apple, and caramelized onion grilled cheese sandwiches and grilled pork with sunchoke confit, black pepper nutmeg jus, and pistachio make this place well worth the visit.  

If you’re in the mood for an assortment of richly-flavored doughnuts or pastry’s, stop by Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop in Greenpoint.

Then there’s always the world-renowned Roberta’s in Bushwick. It’s famous for some of the best pizzas this side of Italy. Their wood-fired oven cooks the crust to perfection, keeping the bottom thin and crispy while the edges stay thick and fluffy.

Lastly, if you love a good cappuccino and need a caffeine boost while on your foodie tour, check out Brooklyn Roasting Co. up in Vinegar Hill.

So there you have it, a little guide through one of the many boroughs of New York City, filled with enough good food to make your head spin. And luckily for all of us, there’s more and more new restaurants opening there every day.

A native Oregonian, Eva Marie Kosmas currently resides in Los Angeles, Calif. Her love of cooking can be credited to being raised in her parents' Greek deli in Portland, which they owned and operated for more than 30 years. When she is not developing recipes or shooting and styling in the field, she enjoys tending to her garden, curling up with a good book, and traveling. She can be found online at Adventures in Cooking.

Eva is one of our food bloggers for The Opener, an exclusive, invite-only contributor network that will bring the best food, travel, career, lifestyle, culture and innovation writing to the pages of Coca-Cola Journey.