Description
An otherwise gloomy stretch of Wilson Avenue feels more like a London high street thanks to the English bar and restaurant Dear Bushwick. Chef Jessica Wilson’s food is a bright spot here, smart and flavorful and never fussy. Start with a tangle of salt-and-vinegar-dusted fried potato peels ($4) or messy smoked eggs ($6) with creamy yolks and horseradish. Try the slab of crispy-skinned pork belly on wilted beet leaves ($12) or an excellent pork chop on a sharp brussels sprouts salad, and you’ll get the sense that contemporary British cooking isn’t so bad after all. The service is a little scatterbrained, but the restaurant’s team is genuinely warm and friendly, so settle into the evening under vintage birdcages and knickknacks, and be sure to order the English-inspired cocktails. Desserts at Dear Bushwick aren’t worth the effort, but sometimes it’s good to end an evening with a spot of tea (we suggest ginger). --Tejal Rao
