Top: The Good Batch ice cream sandwich. Order one of each for best results.
When it was time for Anna Gordon to name her burgeoning business, she came up with “The Good Batch,” as in a delicious batch of the cookies she was specializing at the time: stroopwafels. Today the Dutch sweet is still a staple of her wholesale business, but it’s only one of the baked goods tempting customers at her Clinton Hill cafe and bakery, where you’ll find everything from cupcakes to ice cream sandwiches featuring their homemade cookies and Blue Marble ice cream, a quintessential Brooklyn treat. If you haven’t had one, these last few 80 degree days are the perfect time to indulge.
We asked Anna, her business partner and husband Steve, and The Good Batch staff to name a few of their other favorite summer indulgences in Brooklyn. Anna relayed their picks below to help you check more boxes off your summer bucket list.
Cool Eats
"We love our neighbor restaurant Hart's--their gazpacho is great and we eat as much of it as we can when the weather is warm."
Hart's, 506 Franklin Avenue, Clinton Hill
On a sweltering day, nothing sounds more refreshing than shaved snow, a specialty at Snowdays. "It's like shaved ice, but there's dairy and a little sugar mixed in, so it's a light, fluffy, slightly chewy-creamy treat. It's not as gut-busting as rich ice cream, but way more satisfying than a popsicle, and you can get any number of awesome toppings like fresh fruit, mochi, Lucky Charms, peanut butter sauce...the sky's the limit.”
Snowdays, 214 Flatbush Ave., Prospect Heights
Cool Drinks
“Super Power tiki bar -- dollar oysters, awesome tiki drinks, and a gorgeous outdoor space. What more do you need?”
Super Power, 741 Nostrand Avenue, Crown Heights
Photo: Epicurious
“When it's hot, reeeeeally hot, Vietnamese iced coffee is the only thing that will do. And the best Vietnamese iced coffee is at Ba Xuyên: very strong and not too sweet. The banh mi and summer rolls are solid, too, but it's a short hop from Yun Nan Flavour Garden, where you really need to get the cold noodles with spicy meat sauce. After lunch, you can take a ramble through Green-Wood Cemetery, which is stunning on a summer day.”
Ba Xuyên, 4222 8th Avenue, Sunset Park
Yun Nan Flavour Garden, 5121 8th Avenue, Borough Park
Green-Wood Cemetery, 500 25th Street, Greenwood Heights
Cool Escapes
The easiest island getaway is just a ferry ride away, to Governors Island. “Where else can you ride a bike without fear of traffic, hang out in a hammock, pet a goat, and get lunch from a rotating selection of amazing vendors?” (We should add that the oysters and waterfront cocktails from Island Oyster, pictured above, are also worth the trip!)
Governors Island, accessible from Manhattan and Brooklyn
And while we’re on the subject of islands, “Staten Island Yankee games are tons of fun. You get to wave hello to the Statue of Liberty on the way there, the snacks and beer at the stadium are reasonably priced, and there are fireworks after many games. The sack races and audience-interaction bits between each inning are hilarious, too. Go with a group for best results.”
Summer in New York isn't complete without a trip to a city beach, and it's not surprising that The Good Batch crew prefers a Smorgasburg-like stretch of sand. "We're all big fans of Jacob Riis! It's accessible, expansive, and there are lots of tasty snacks nearby." All week long the indoor food stalls are filled with vendors like Ample Hills Creamery and Fletcher's BBQ, and the pop-up stands on weekends house even more Brooklyn favorites, like Oaxaca Taqueria and Samesa. Riis Park Bazaar also presents live music and DJs through Labor Day, so there's more than one way to get your groove on.
Jacob Riis Park, Rockaway Park, Queens, accessible by New York Beach Ferry on weekends as well as the Rockaway Beach Bus
Riis Park Beach Bazaar, 16702 Rockaway Beach Blvd., Rockaway Park, Queens