"Girl dinner" is stupid. Go to a restaurant

Like perhaps these????

My most fashionable friend Mia recently started a new TikTok series where she summarizes a few articles per week that try to poke at the cultural zeitgeist. This series is where I first heard of the trend of the “girl dinner” — as Mia so succinctly summarizes, “It’s just girls — or anyone — grabbing lots of little different things, putting them together, and calling it a dinner.” At first, I thought the concept of being too lazy to cook and rebranding it as a female empowerment thing was silly, but ultimately harmless. Now, a few weeks have passed, my inbox is filled with PR requests from brands aspiring to be included in “perfect girl dinner” roundups, and I’m left bewildered that we’re still talking about this. I still can’t even tell if this is a real trend, but it’s officially time to break my silence.

Here’s my take: Feel free to eat your way through a tray of assembled goodies, but don’t call it a girl dinner. If you don’t want to cook your own dinner — the issue that seems to be at the root of this trend — just go to a restaurant. You know what’s genuinely empowered? Dining alone.

Here are some amazing restaurants I’ve been to recently where you can have your own powerful girl dinner:

1. Gertrude’s (605 Carlton Ave)

Latkes, chicken, burger, oh my God…

Gertrude’s is a self-proclaimed “Jew-ish” restaurant that opened at the end of June in Prospect Heights on the corner of Carlton and St Marks, and it’s delightful. Lots of good bites here — lots of delightful brine, as the Jews intended it — but my favorite morsel was the latkes. These lil suckers are small, with string-thin potato strands. They’re fried perfectly, not greasy whatsoever, and the SAUCE — it’s a creme fraiche with celery and trout roe, and it’s impossibly good. So much sourness that made this meal so sweet. There’s a limited menu, with only three entrees available, but the food is cooked perfectly. If you’re happy eating a burger, you’ll be happy here.

2. Pizzeria Panina (68-38 Forest Ave)

Insane insane insane pizza.

I went to Pizzeria Panina for brunch and made a whole daytime excursion out of it — it’s in Ridgewood, so not the most accessible via transit from Cobble Hill, but well worth the hike. This pizza blew me away. The crust is made from sourdough, which always makes for a more delicate and interesting pizza experience. On top of the sauce and the mozz, they’ve layered prosciutto, fluffy grated parmesan, and a fried egg, in a brunch-y twist. This place isn’t quite Razza level, but they stole my heart anyway with this pie and with the inclusion of a cinnamon roll on their menu. Plus, the restaurant itself is very art deco, there are mice (representative, not literal) hidden all over the restaurant, and the bathroom has one of the most bizarre paintings I’ve ever seen.

3. Poppy’s (243 Degraw St)

Egg sandwich on a BISCUIT (!!!) at Poppy’s.

Every so often, I host a Saturday morning rooftop yoga class (to be clear, I am not a yogi myself, merely a student), and after we finish sweating out Friday night on the roof, I’ve been bringing everyone straight to Poppy’s to loiter for a couple of hours. The biscuit is what draws crowds to this hidden Carroll Gardens gem — the first time we went, we missed the biscuit drop entirely, which was a big letdown. I finally got my hands on one and loved it; it’s fluffy and crumbly in all the right ways. Bonus points for the Calabrian chili aioli, and points deducted for the fact that removing bacon doesn’t bring down the cost of this $14 egg sandwich.

4. Cafe Mars (272 3rd Ave)

Strange pasta plates at Cafe Mars.

Scott Lynch covered Cafe Mars’ opening for Brooklyn Magazine in May and I’ve been trying to get into this kooky Gowanus spot ever since. There’s so much about this place that has had people talking — the free bubbly drink served at the beginning of the meal in zany glasses is a big draw that I’ve seen featured in two separate Instagram reels while waiting for my upcoming reservation. This menu is just as eclectic as the decorations (I loved that the parmesan-cured bass crudo is served with “crazy water”) and the food is great, if you’re willing to throw caution to the winds. We loved the garlic knot monkey bread and the girelle pasta (above left, served with “lemon, lemon, lemon, capers, basil”). If you order the triangle penne, a waiter will emerge with a pepper shaker the size of a small human to grate on your pasta tableside. Cafe Mars definitely lives up to its zany reputation.

Two other articles I’ve written recently:

1. Jurassic-sized fun in a rooftop-sized package – Dino Mini Golf just opened up at the Brooklyn Museum, and it’s a delight. I had so much fun interviewing children for this piece.

2. Anthony Bourdain’s 18 favorite spots to eat and drink in New York City – My hours and hours of copious research (read: TV bingeing) resulted in a survey of some of the oldest, finest New York eating institutions, three of the diviest bars in the city, and four straight-up fast food chains. My big takeaway is that Bourdain was a fiend for a hot dog and papaya drink combo.

Quick request: For my next article, I’m working on a roundup of the best gelato spots in NYC. (I have a niche and it is all things ice cream.) I already know I’m highlighting L’albero dei gelati, which was my nomination for Tasting Table’s Best Ice Cream in the US roundup; but I need a few more recommendations of places to try. If you love (or represent) a gelateria in NYC, please reach out — leave a comment or send me an email!

Also, my sister Milly (genius, visionary) recently designed a whole new look for this newsletter. (Yes, she’s available for hire…)

‘Til next time…