Japanese deliciousness in Greenpoint & Creepy Cool Island

Yesterday my friends, Michelle and Heidi, and I went for a lovely bike ride through Brooklyn and Queens into Roosevelt Island, but first a delicious stop at Ashbox in Greenpoint. Ashbox reminds me of all the wonderful little cafes in Japan, with it's light and airy feeling yet homey inside and gentle bossa nova playing in the background. This sweet cafe is run by two lovely Japanese women who make their own tofu and delicious hot onigiri (riceball). They have a variety of salads, sandwiches and breakfast foods. If you love tea they have nice collection and they just started making macha lattes, iced or hot, yum! They also have lunch special everyday, yesterday's was chicken curry over rice. It's counter service so you can potentially linger. The menu is Japanese and American mix, so there's something for everyone. Ashbox is definitely going to be a regular favorite for me.











After lunch we jumped on our bikes and headed to Roosevelt island through the warehouse streets of LIC. They only unfortunate thing is the bridge crossing, no bike lane, so you have to walk your bike across and take an elevator on the other side. Once on the island you can enjoy a really safe ride along the water. The first thing you see when you get off the bridge is a strange sight of very Eastern European buildings (after the communist ruined the cities and build ugly block buildings) that you don't see anywhere else in the city. But the rest of the island is mostly hospitals and new glass residential buildings are being built. There are lots of little parks and it's relatively quiet, the views of the city skyline are really impressive too. I definitely would a least go once on a bike.








Getting There:

Ashbox- 1154 Manhattan Avenue,Brooklyn, NY 11222-1030 (718) 389-3222. Train G line to Greenpoint Ave. Or Bike there it's super easy :)
MAP

Roosevelt Island- Take the Roosevelt Island Tram from Manhattan 59th street and 2nd ave or take the F train to Roosevelt Island stop