Little Cupcake Bakeshop

Photograph: Dave Sanders

“Bay Ridge is about families and about Third Avenue between 69th Street and 100th Street,” says Diane, a 30-year resident of the nabe. A day spent walking that stretch of road proves her right. The working-class Italian, Russian and Irish folks who populated Bay Ridge back when it spawned Saturday Night Fever are still representing, although an army of ex–Park Slope stroller-pushers now rolls among them. But fear not: The Bugaboo-to-adult ratio is still highly in favor of the grown-ups. Yay, grown-ups!

My first stop is Yellow Hook Grille (7003 Third Ave at Ovington Ave,Bay Ridge, Brooklyn; 718-238-1089, yellowhookgrillenyc.com), which received this strange endorsement from a grocery-store clerk: “I’ve never been there, but you’ll like it.” Uh, okay. In 2007, co-owner Stephen Jackson and his partners gutted the old Lento’s pizzeria and installed a dark-wood bar. Now Yellow Hook serves chichi goat-cheese–and-mushroom quesadillas and juicy burgers to a crowd of young families. And Jackson proudly emphasizes his anti-sudshead policy. “When 21-year-old kids come in and ask how much beer costs,” he says,“we tell them, ‘Go down the street.’ ”

Shore Road Park

Photograph: Dave Sanders

Down the street I go too—toward John Paul Jones Park, which Jackson says is the neighborhood’s best attraction, but the handmade, too-cute-to-deny window displays at The BookMark Shoppe (8415 Third Ave at 84th St; 718-833-5115, bookmarkshoppe.com) draw me in. Childhood friends Bina Valenzano and Christine Freglette bought the Third Avenue BookMark in 2006. Their original idea was for a children’s bookstore, and though they now carry all genres, a kid-friendly atmosphere permeates. “The people who live here shop here,” Valenzano says when explaining her success. “It’s a family relationship.”Valenzano tells me about Lavender Blue (8702 Third Ave at 87th St, 718-748-0322), a bath and body shop owned by Kelli Kilbride-McDonald. The store is stocked with toys and organic skin-care products, and staff will happily guide you through the house line of unscented, paraben-free products with essential oils.

Everyone at Lavender Blue gushes that I’ve got to have a cupcake from pastel-pretty Little Cupcake Bakeshop (9102 Third Ave at 91st St; 718-680-4465, littlecupcakebakeshop.com). Owner Mark Libertini notoriously defected from Buttercup Bake Shop and founded this spot three years ago. His fluffy strawberry, lemon and vanilla treats keep the crowds coming, and plentiful seats make Little Cupcake a popular hangout.Finally, I make my way to Shore Road Park (Shore Rd between Bay Ridge and Fourth Aves), with its great views of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Farther up Shore Road is the aforementioned John Paul Jones Park (Fourth Ave at 101st St), which locals call “Cannonball Park” because, well, there are cannonballs there. At the park’s Civil War Memorial, a giant Parrott cannon has no doubt served as a prop for plenty of “Hey, take my picture so it totally looks like the cannon is coming out of my pants!” photos, but it’s cool nonetheless. And with all the new growth in Bay Ridge, it’s good to find a neighborhood fixture that won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. Yay!

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