HE’S STARSTRUCK
Gowanus eatery Claro gets Michelin award
By Julianne Cuba It’s the clear winner!
Gowanus’s Mexican eatery
Claro, whose Spanish name translates
to clear in English, this month
received one of the food world’s most
prestigious awards — a Michelin star.
The Third Avenue restaurant is the
first in the neighborhood known for its
eponymous filthy waterway to win the
honor — which came as a surprise to
its owner and chef, who said his sole
focus is alerting locals to the spot’s
always-changing menu of fire-grilled
tortillas, tacos, moles, and mezcal.
“I was a little shocked,” said T.J.
Steele, who lives in Williamsburg and
also owns a home in Mexico, where he
founded a mezcal brand. “I had no clue
the Michelin folks were coming. I was
hoping to get a review from the New
York Times , which I got — I didn’t
know there was more after that.”
Claro, which specializes in cuisine
from the Mexican state of Oaxaca,
is one of only nine restaurants in
Brooklyn with a Michelin star.
Steele hopes news of the rating his
eatery received on Nov. 6 will bring
even more foodies to the neighborhood
on the edge of Brooklyn’s Nautical
Purgatory, where the city is planning a
massive rezoning in order to transform
it from an industrial center to a residential
enclave.
“I think it’s up-and-coming, a lot of
good stuff around,” he said. “The fact
that we are busy all the time means
there’s people around here in the neighborhood,
and they seem to like what we
are doing.”
Ready to grill: Claro chef and owner T.J. Steele just won a Michelin-star rating. Gabi Porter
The new claim to fame will not
change Claro’s laid-back atmosphere,
said Steele, since it was the restaurant’s
unique identity that brought it the recognition
it deserves.
“We’re not gonna change what we
are doing, we’re happy to be acknowledged,”
he said.
When most people hear of Michelin
star restaurants they think of snooty
spots that serve tiny, expensive dishes
served on fancy plates, but Claro —
which opened last year, and serves
three tacos for $14 among its dishes
— is reasonably-priced, according to
its owner, who described its indoor
and outdoor dining spaces as relaxed
hangout spots, even though he cooks
with only the finest foods.
COURIER L 50 IFE, NOV. 23-29, 2018 24-7
“We’re not a white-tablecloth restaurant,
but we’re using all the same
ingredients as the best restaurants in
New York are, and using same kind of
care,” he said. “My personality is more
like Claro, it’s a little more relaxed and
about the food, and just having a good
experience and good time.”
Steele said there is still room for
him to grow in Gowanus — he is keeping
his eyes peeled for a place nearby to
open his next big restaurant, which will
offer a different spin on his grub.
Claro (284 Third Ave. between
President and Carroll streets in
Gowanus, www.clarobk.com ). Open
Sun–Thurs from 5:30 to 10:30 pm, Fri–
Sat 5:30 to 11:30 pm, Sat–Sun brunch
from 11:30 am to 3 pm.
By Bill Roundy Hop on the slopes!
A winter skiing-themed
beer festival will slalom into
Sunset Park next month. The Juicy
Brews Winter Invitational Craft Beer
Festival , happening at Five Boroughs
Brewing Company on Dec. 8, will
feature fake snow, free hot chocolate,
a snowboard raffle, neon outfits, and
samples of suds from two dozen breweries,
turning the Sunset Park brewery
into a boozy ski lodge from the 1980s.
The wacky theme is a reaction to more
prosaic beer festivals that all feel the
same, said the event’s founder.
“I’ve attended too many boring
beer festivals where I walk around
with a plastic cup and sample the
same tepid beer I could buy at a local
bodega. I was tired of it,” said Kenny
Gould. “We wanted to create a wholly
unique and incredible experience that
gets people excited about beer! The
ski theme is part of that.”
Gould is the founder of Hop
Culture , the beer-focused news site
that organized the festival. The group’s
last event, a combination Halloween
party and craft beer tasting in Boston,
brought about 1,000 costumed drinkers
to the event, and Gould hopes that
Brooklynites will throw on their best
1980s outfits and come out to enjoy
some fantastic brews.
“I’m super excited to see how
New York turns up for the event, and
thrilled to host some amazing breweries
from all across the country,” he
said. “If you’re on the fence about
beer, come say hi to me at the event
and I guarantee I’ll help you find
something you like.”
In addition to host Five Boroughs
Brewing, the event will feature a
handful of local breweries, including
Threes Brewing from Gowanus
and Mikkeller Brewing from Queens,
along with beer makers from across
the country.
Each visitor will get souvenir tasting
glass for unlimited samples, with
“designated driver” visitors getting a
consolation tee shirt instead.
Juicy Brews Winter Invitational
Craft Beer Festival at Five Boroughs
Brewing (215 47th St. between Second
and Third avenues in Sunset Park,
www.hopculture.com). Dec. 8; Noon–3
pm; 4–7 pm. $69 ($104 VIP, $20 designated
driver tickets).
Get a brew-ski!
Fashion party: Keith Gerad Joseph Craig poses in preparation for
the first ever People’s Ball, a fashion show for everyone, presented
by the Brooklyn Public Library on Dec. 1. Gregg Richards
Read carpet
Library hosts a fashion
show for all the people
GBy Brianna Kudisch et ready to strut
your stuff!
Fashionable
Brooklynites can walk the
runway and show off their
most fabulous outfits at
the first ever People’s Ball
at the Brooklyn Public
Library’s Central Branch
on Dec. 1. The event is
designed to celebrate the
individual style of people
in the neighborhood, and
to defy the rules of traditional
fashion shows,
according to one of the
show’s organizers.
“Cutting-edge, fabulous
style has nothing to
do with exclusive highpriced
galas and corporate
fashion events. It belongs
to the streets and to the
people for whom dressing
up is an act of creativity
and freedom,” said Laszlo
Jakab Orsos, the ball’s
creator and the library’s
Vice President of Arts and
Culture.
The free event will feature
a raised runway, constructed
in the library’s
central lobby, which will
open once each hour for
anyone willing to walk
and show off their ensemble,
while a professional
photographer snaps pictures.
“This is open to
everyone,” said Orsos.
“Everyone deserves this
elevation.”
Makeup artists will
offer free touch-ups to
people before they step
on the catwalk, yes, the
catwalk, before they do
their little dance on the
catwalk. A cash bar will
also provide some liquid
courage to those preparing
to strut in front of a
crowd.
The celebration will
be emceed by two local
art aficionados: actress
Delissa Reynolds, best
known for her roles on
“Luke Cage” and “Orange
is the New Black;” and
Isaac Fitzgerald, the
founding editor of
BuzzFeed Books.
Between strut sessions,
local musicians and the
disc jockey Rimarkable
will keep things bumping,
and a choreographed
dance number will also
get people on their feet.
About 2,500 people
have already sent an
RSVP to the event, which
shows that locals are eager
to show off their creativity,
said Orsos.
“This is a test run, but
seeing the overwhelming
response, we have huge
interest and curiosity,” he
said. “People can show
how their imagination
works — we’re just providing
the platform.”
“The People’s Ball” at
the Central Branch of the
Brooklyn Public Library
10 Grand Army Plaza
at Eastern Parkway in
Prospect Heights, (718)
230–2100, www.bklynlibrary.
org. Dec. 1; 7 pm–
midnight. Free.
Winter warmer: VIP guests at the Juicy
Brews Winter Craft Beer Festival will receive
this fancy glass — everyone else gets a
smaller sampler glass. Grace Weitz
/www.bklynli-brary.org
/www.hopculture.com
/www.clarobk.com
/www.bklynli-brary.org
/www.bklynli-brary.org