GF and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary on June 19th. It was beautiful on Saturday so we took out our bikes, pumped up the tires and headed to Red Hook to grab some food and drinks. I haven’t ventured into west Brooklyn on bike yet, so it was great to ride around Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens and eventually into Red Hook. We drove to Ikea to pick out some chairs when we first moved, and I recognized the same streets as we made our way to the water.

There is a great market GF knew about called Fairway that we stopped in and got some foods to eat. We shared some pineapple, havarti cheese and bread and enjoyed eating outside near the water. It didn’t smell at all to everyone’s relief, and we finished up and rode around to find the mysterious key lime pie that was advertised everywhere. Our search was fruitless (we discovered it opened in a week) and we went on a expedition to find a place to get a drink.

We passed a cute little corner bar which was adjacent to small chocolate factory and after riding another few blocks GF decided that it was in our best interest to investigate. I couldn’t have agreed more. The bar is called Botanica and we found out they are affiliated with the factory and that they served the chocolate treats, in addition to serving fantastic drinks. We will definitely be stopping back again.

We started to feel hungry again and knew that the restaurant we wanted to go to would be busy, so we rode to Buttermilk Channel and put our names down. It would be about an hour and a half, so we rode to a nearby bar that had outdoor seating and enjoyed talking and getting more drinks. We both heard from coworkers that lived nearby that they had amazing food, especially the fried chicken. We couldn’t wait any longer so we headed over a little early and had a drink at their bar. GF ordered an amazing Vignoles and I tried the tequilalicious Chilanga and was surprised by the kick the jalepenos packed.

The waitress seated us outside and we excitedly ordered the Saturday steak special, the fried chicken and a spare rib appetizer. A successful transaction, the waitress was off and I was left sucking down what I could of the Chilanga, before ordering another drink for GF and deciding on beer for myself. Immediately after ordering a manager came over and regretted to inform us the steak was gone forever and we had wasted precious energy attempting to order it. Feeling already heated from the spicy drink I demanded retribution in the form of duck meatloaf but in my haste forgot to inquire if it could be on the house.

Overwhelmed by jalapenos and slightly dejected about our order, the Brooklyn Summer I ordered arrived with perfect timing and it was like a gift from the gods. The first sip suddenly made everything right in the world. The duck meatloaf was phenomenal; I had completely forgotten about the steak and how much I was paying for it. The fried chicken was as good as everyone predicted and I had a great time sharing with GF and we both enjoyed the food and ride back to our apartment. We stopped at a small cabin-like bar on Smith st. called Chestnut and enjoyed more tequila.

It felt like the perfect way to celebrate our anniversary and to kick off summer. More adventures like this to come for sure, perhaps with more tequila and less jalapenos.