Esquire Writer Rhapsodizes About Boerum Hill of Old

Esquire drinks writer and Brooklyn native David Wondrich offers a thought-provoking essay in the March 2013 issue of the men's magazine, contrasting the rough edges and authentic charms of 1980s Boerum Hill with today's 'emblem of urban America' and all the tradeoffs inherent to such a title.

Many local establishments and landmarks—some still existing, others long shuttered—receive poetic descriptions in the piece, including:

Gowanus Canal

"...where you could stand on a bridge and gaze into the cloudy, unnaturally green water."

Los Paisanos

"...a Sicilian meat market passing as Puerto Rican a few blocks west of us on Smith Street. It had just about every cut Dean & DeLuca had in Manhattan, but at half the price, and the butchers cut meat to order."

Patois

"The food at Patois was never particularly distinguished, or even good, but the place was ramshackle chic and people with money waited in long lines to eat there, a couple of them even from Manhattan."

Hank's Saloon

"I've still got Hank's, as the old Doray got renamed a few years back, gaining in the process a huge set of stock-car flames painted on the outside... At night, it's a comfortable mix of the more down-to-earth "Brooklyn" people and old Brooklynites. Beer, shots, live bands (country and rock 'n' roll, nothing too weird). By day, it's pure 1986."

Read the entire essay on Esquire.com here.