Lowerline

Discovering a kitsch-free escape to New Orleans

794 Washington Ave. | Prospect Heights, Brooklyn

Just about any time I open social media, I end up closing it feeling bad. When it comes to finding restaurants that I haven’t tried, I’d rather close my eyes and point at a map than queue up for whatever cheese pull the same five TikTok influencers are crowing about this week.

I am not chasing hot spots. I’m hunting for places with roots and long track records. I’ve found the best way to find them is to go for a walk.

Given that it’s my preferred form of exercise, I push walking as far as my free time will allow. I’m that snob telling you how I got off the train three stops early to enjoy the autumn air. I’m also obsessed with hitting twelve-thousand steps. Two birds and what have you.

But wandering New York is as rewarding as it gets in America, because the offerings along the way are infinite. Architecture, public art, big chains, and small businesses. There will be endless characters living out their own novels around you, and unfathomable amounts of unclaimed dog shit. Go from the West Village to Midtown and you will pass 500,000 opportunities for a baked good. Stroll across Brooklyn, from Cobble Hill to Bed-Stuy, and three million pizza slices will tug at your heart.

When you’re walking across neighborhoods, and especially if you repeat the same path over and over, you’ll notice details about restaurants that you simply cannot suss out online. Is it sometimes busy, usually full, or always packed? What can you smell when you make your way by? Who exactly is eating there? Show me the restaurant’s most frequent kind of diner, and I’ll tell you everything you need to know about the place.

I was taking a long walk to a different restaurant for dinner the first time I passed Lowerline. Its slender frame and partially burned-out neon grabbed me from across the street. After looking it up, I added it to my list. Reservations are plentiful, but I soon decided to walk in for a seat at the bar on a Friday night and found them all taken. I tried again on a rainy Tuesday and got right in.