Returning to Roots and Hills ? Inside New York

Located right next to Park Slope?s ?Union Street? subway station, this brick-walled cafe is the perfect place to start your morning. Four years ago, the Park Slope neighborhood was teeming with artists but lacked any place of this kind. Described by the owner as ?young and urban,? Root Hill Cafe is frequented by local artists, students, and freelance writers, who can grab a coffee and comfortably work with their laptops.

Thanks to its recent renovation, the cafe now has a kitchen and serves food in addition to coffee. At one point, the cafe was renamed to ?Trash Pony? and started serving food and drinks past 7 pm. ?The owners decided to refocus on breakfast and brutes, though, and returned to the name ?Root Hill Cafe? (but they assured me that Trash Pony is going to come back one day).

Given the owners? Italian and Lebanese roots, the food and drinks are inspired by Italian and Arabic traditions. ?The food, which is mostly vegetarian, includes salads, sandwiches, bagels, soups, homemade muffins, and cookies. ?Turkey, too, is a hit here: you can order turkey meatballs, a turkey sandwich, or my favorite ? the bagel with turkey and eggs.

Although the bagel is the most popular breakfast item, they also serve granola with yogurt and Irish steel cut oatmeal, both of which are topped with candied pecans and dried berries. ?And most importantly, you must taste the organic coffee! They use local coffee roasters and make two types of iced coffee: Japanese style and cold-brewed. I recommend the Japanese style, which is less bitter than the latter, takes five minutes to brew, and is tasty even without milk.

If you can?t drink coffee without a sweet treat, the cafe offers a huge variety of homemade desserts: blueberry, raspberry ginger, and chocolate chip muffins; brownies; a Honey Nut Cheerios marshmallow treat; as well as various cookies. The oatmeal cranberry cookie is especially noteworthy, since it is both sweet and sour.? If you need something on the salty side, order the mac & cheese or the hummus and avocado sandwich, served with a sesame pita and pickled cucumber. The beets and orange citrus vinaigrette salad is also worth trying, since it veers away from the overdone beets and goat cheese salad.

The cafe?s walls currently feature a wonderful collection of black and white photographs by Brooklyn-based street photographer Fabian Palencia. His pictures, along with the comfortable seats and sleek silver lamps, create a pleasant atmosphere that is perfect for writing, reading, having an interview, or quickly meeting a friend. If you come here in the morning, you?ll be in a positive mood for the rest of your day!

- ? Maria Guryeva

262 4^th Ave. (between President St. and Carroll St.), 718-797-0100, D/N/R to Union St.
Mon-Fri: 7:30am-7:00am; Sat: 8:00am-6:00am; Sun: 8:30am-5:30pm
Free wifi, $$

No Comments | Posted on July 16, 2012 | Categories: Dining, From the Blog, Park Slope

tags: Fabian Palencia, Honey Nut Cheerios, Maria Guryeva, Root Hill Cafe

Source: http://insidenewyork.com/2012/07/16/returning-to-roots-and-hills/

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