Must-See Sunset Park
Published 11/21/2016
Map out your Sunset Park itinerary with these neighborhood hot spots.
1
Industry City
1
220 36th St.
In this fashionable 35-acre district, you’ll find brewers and art studios alongside the offices of hip start-ups. But you’ll want to begin (or finish) a stroll at the enormous square-foot food hall (spread over multiple buildings), which hosts outposts of city favorites such as Hometown Bar-B-Que and Colson Patisserie, as well as the shops and restaurants of Japan Village.
2
Green-Wood Cemetery
2
500 25th St.
This 478-acre cemetery is the final resting place of famous city dwellers ranging from Jean-Michel Basquiat to Boss Tweed. Pay your respects on one of the themed trolley tours, offered select Wednesdays and Sundays at 1pm.
3
Pacificana
3
813 55th St.
This sprawling dim sum parlor has an equally expansive menu. Go for the dim sum brunch on weekends and feast on delicacies like steamed shrimp dumplings and roast pork with jellyfish.
4
Ba Xuyen
4
4222 Eighth Ave.
Behold banh mi heaven inside this no-frills storefront. Ba Xuyen is known for a spot-on rendition of the classic Vietnamese sandwich, pairing pâté and cold cuts with pickled daikon. They have a few unusual fruit shakes—avocado, durian, taro—with which to wash it down.
5
Fei Long Market
5
6301 Eighth Ave.
This market is your one-stop shop for a wide-range of Chinese groceries. The food court is also worth exploring, lined with vendors serving soup dumplings, hand-pulled noodles and roast meats.
6
Sunset Park
6
Bet. Fifth and Seventh Aves. and 41st and 44th Sts.
This green space gives the surrounding neighborhood its name. It’s a low-key spot in an otherwise bustling area that offers stunning sunset views of the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty—a panorama that earned the park its original moniker.
7
Melody Lanes
7
461 37th St.
Head to this old-fashioned bowling alley for a classic experience. A staple in the neighborhood for decades, Melody Lanes lacks the glitz—and expense—of some of the City’s newer alleys.
8
Tacos Matamoros
8
4508 Fifth Ave.
Tamales, tostadas and, of course, tacos are this authentic Mexican spot’s specialties. The dishes are filling (like a 12-inch burrito), inexpensive (large tacos with guac, $2.75 each) and delicious.
9
Lucky Eight
9
5204 Eighth Ave.
Past the tanks of live sea creatures and rows of hanging roast ducks is a friendly Chinatown dining room. The menu features fresh-from-the-tank seafood, noodle soups and specialties like Pride of Lucky Eight—a stir-fry with crunchy vegetables, chewy abalone and abundant flavor.
10
Brooklyn Army Terminal
10
140 58th St.
A similar reclamation project to Sunset Park’s Industry City, this 95-acre conglomerate of warehouses and docks is famous for its military role as a supply base during WWII. None other than Elvis Presley deployed from here in 1958. It’s now a stop on the NYC Ferry Service; as well, tours of the premises are offered a couple of times a month.