We’re in it. The hottest part of the year. Rooftop weather. Right now it seems like the long, steamy days, sudden thunderstorms and sultry nights will last forever, but one of the sweetest things about summer is how fleeting it always feels. Here are three ways to take full advantage of the season and get up on a rooftop, take a deep breath, absorb the view and appreciate the moment.
Get a drink
New York being a drinker’s paradise, the most obvious rooftop activity for summer months is cooling down with a glass of something cold, refreshing and, well, dehydrating. We visited Rooftop Reds in the Brooklyn Navy Yard earlier this summer and highly recommend ordering a rosé tasting flight followed by a bottle of whichever wine you enjoyed the most. They also have hammocks for post-sipping total relaxation.
BB contributor Ellen Killoran has a new favorite rooftop drinking venue this year. She writes: The Llama Inn rooftop bar has managed to create a near-impossible oasis from the city while being so close to the BQE that you can almost touch it (strategic design keeps the roadway hidden). The compact space above Williamsburg’s new Peruvian destination restaurant feels like a tropical getaway, somehow muffling the noise right outside. The Spanish and Latin American wine list will challenge the palate. The Bodegas Los Bermejos ($13) is not your typical bone-dry rose, and the Llama Del Ray ($13), their signature frozen Pisco-red wine punch, will make your tastebuds stand at attention. Naturally, the Pisco runneth over at the Llama Inn: If you don’t have to drive, try the El Chapo cocktail ($13), with tequila, Pisco, Cocchi Americano, vermouth and orange bitters. Here, your only worries will be keeping your cocktail menu from being swept away by the breeze, and making it back down the steep stairwell–it’s slippery when you’re sauced.
The prettiest pizza in town comes courtesy of a partnership between Eagle Street Rooftop Farm and Archstratus Books. Photo: Annie Novak
Feast
The Brooklyn Grange in the Brooklyn Navy Yard hosts a series of amazing dinners every summer. They’re not cheap and they sell out very quickly, so if you want to dine against the backdrop of one of the most spectacular views available anywhere, get in on it now. Vegetable lovers are in luck–there are still tickets available to Veggiepalooza ($100) featuring chefs from Egg, Faro and more on Wednesday, Aug. 17, and the second annual Sky High Tomato dinner ($110) with the West Village restaurant Joseph Leonard on Wednesday, Aug. 31.
For a low key rooftop farm experience head north to Eagle Street Rooftop Farm on the last Sunday of the month, like this coming Sunday, July 31 from 1 to 4pm. Farmer and co-founder Annie Novak tells us that this Sunday, “We have our first peppers of the season, as well as treats like dried calendula, a new product we are trying that’s great as a skin salve in the summer.” After the market, move on to Archestratus for an Eagle Street pizza party. “I bring over fresh produce that morning, Paige [Lipari, Archestratus owner] makes the dough from scratch, and guests assemble the pizza on site to be cooked individually,” says Novak. “It’s truly magical.” Pizza production is from 5 to 7pm, on a first come, first served basis, with wine and beer available as well.
If you love the idea of outdoor movies, but hate sitting on a blanket, you can upgrade the experience. Photo: Rooftop Cinema Club
See a movie
It’s in the name. Rooftop Films has been showing films on rooftops, lawns, loading docks and other odd corners of New York City for 20 years now. We’re huge fans of their eclectic programming and insistence that summer can be a cinema season of more than flying sharks and killer robots. Most of their screenings are not actually on rooftops anymore, but they are outside and the spirit remains the same. Go see Burt Reynolds in The Bandit at Queens Farm on Thursday, Aug. 4–your $15 ticket includes a free shuttle from the Little Neck LIRR stop, or check out their full summer schedule.
For a luxury outdoor film experience head to Bushwick for Rooftop Cinema Club. Tickets are $18, but you do get sweet beachy lounge chairs to relax in and it’s BYO, so mix up that thermos full of margaritas, grab some snacks and head to the roof for Pulp Fiction this Thursday, July 28 or Dirty Dancing on Tuesday, Aug. 2.
