Come for dinner at Thompson Brooke, stay for their Pour Writers literary series

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This week I had dinner at Thompson Brooke, a New England-meets-Williamsburg pub on Grand Street owned by Chef Brooke Costello, who also runs a longstanding Brooklyn catering company, Red Table Catering (which, I can’t help noting, will be at our wedding fair March 17). Over sinful yet thoughtful comfort fare like the Yankee Whaler (loaded potato skins with housemade pickled chilis and queso) and the fish and chips (whose mound of perfect fries is topped by a crispy fillet fried in a sourdough batter and an unreal hot sauce made with beets for dipping), I learned of their Wednesday night literary series, Pour Writers. The concept is simple—novelists and journalists guest bartend, and talk about their books in the intimate restaurant, starting at 9pm. (Lest you think this just perpetuates the myth that all writers are alcoholics, the drink menu includes housemade, non-alcoholic shrubs and sodas, so this is a fine place to stay dry, too.) Past guests have included Hannah Tinti and Nathan Englander, and when I learned the bar may soon house the readings that the dearly departed Half King once hosted, I noted that Costello’s restaurant was turning into a real writers’ hangout. “I like the writers,” he joked. “They don’t break things.” On Wednesday, February 13, journalist Susannah Meadows will be tending bar and reading and talking about her book, The Other Side of Impossible, about families who have found a way to recovery from conditions that traditional medicine could not cure. It has all the makings of a memorable night out.  

More ideas for Your Ideal Week here ⇨

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