New York, New York

Unique, surprising location for designer spaces that combine food and shopping is NYCs most exciting development

December 2011, New York in blistering winter and there I was, loving every freezing minute of my trip to my all-time favorite city in the world. I made a brunch reservation – at least a month in advance, de rigueur for any popular restaurants in NYC – at Balthazar and was looking forward to catching up with friends who have recently moved back to New York after living in Singapore.

“Baltahzar’s too touristy! Come, meet us at our neighborhood; let’s have brunch at Bubby’s….”

Wait a minute; I’m giving up Balthazar for Bubby’s? What and where is Bubby’s? I had to keep reminding myself to stay calm and remember it’s the company that matters. So I looked up the address but could not quite get my bearings right. It did not look like Soho or anywhere remotely downtown. It did not even look like it’s in Manhattan! DUMBO, where is that? It’s in Brooklyn! Right up till then, despite many trips to NYC, I had not stepped foot in Brooklyn, not even for the legendary Peter Luger Steakhouse.

But I decided to go with the flow, be adventurous, and hopped into a yellow cab to ‘Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass’, which pre-Uber, meant that frustration. I had to open up my Apple iPhone map, and helped direct the cab driver to Washington Street, DUMBO. Hey, even a New York cab driver had difficulty moving around in DUMBO.

Fast forward to 2018 and DUMBO has been completely gentrified, and is now heaving with trendy spots. (Remember when the paragon of all things cool, Soho House, opened up in Meatpacking District, and what was previously a gritty ‘hood’ suddenly became an ‘It’ locale?) So, when they decided to set up shop in DUMBO, naming it DUMBO House, you know that neighborhood is now a bona fide hot venue.