Time Out Love New York Awards 2014: Crown Heights & Prospect Heights

Find new American fare at this 80-seat Crown Heights spot, featuring an open patio for sun-soaked dining. Chef Lev Gewirtzman (Ouest, Stone Park Cafe) engineers a seasonal menu full of seafood (fried clam bellies, grilled octopus), mains (buttermilk fried quail) and vegetables (leeks vinaigrette, porcini custard and pickled honshimeji mushrooms). To drink: a global wine list and a rotating craft beers (Weyerbacher and Bar Harbor Brewing).

This community-centered café serves organic coffees, along with breakfast sandwiches and smoothies; vegan options include pastries.

The old-timey feel of this gift shop—tin ceiling, coffee-colored damask-print wallpaper and shelves made from wood and black plumbing pipes—adheres to its general-store theme. Owner Keri Cavanaugh handpicks the products, which are all locally made, sustainable or Fair Trade, including stationery ($3–$16), clothing ($35–$90), housewares ($8–$50) and bath products ($4–$6). Send your dear grandmother a note using Pepper Press letterpress postcards featuring Brooklyn neighborhoods ($3) or Night Owl Paper Goods cards made from sustainably harvested wood ($5). Outfit yourself in Brooklyn label Cora dresses with subtle animal prints ($60–$80) and carry Dirty Kren handmade yoga-mat bags ($15–$20). You’ll also find Sea Grape shampoo bars ($7), Bird Craft colorful beeswax candles ($8–$11), and McClure tasty pickles ($10) and potato chips ($1).

The owners of Dutch Boy Burger and Franklin Park continue their Crown Heights expansion with this neighborhood bar. Twelve taps dispense craft beers (Captain Lawrence, Sixpoint, Southampton) and another four pour local wines (Gotham Project). Kick back with a brew or classic cocktail at the oak-and-copper bar or settle into one of the distressed-black-leather banquettes and order some grub. Sandwiches on Caputo bread (such as crostini with tomato preserve and ricotta), charcuterie plates and fresh oyster platters (available only on the weekends) are on offer.

Vanderbilt Avenue’s nightlife swirls around Soda Bar, a former sundae shop where locals congregate for killer happy hours and bulging burgers. Punch up some indie rock on the jukebox, then relax in the lounge or on the summer-perfect patio.