DeKalb is the main artery running through Fort Greene – a neighborhood sandwiched between Downtown Brooklyn and Clinton Hill. Spend a summer Sunday skipping along the thoroughfare to sample the cultural smorgasbord: start at a massive outdoor dance party, then dine at one of the yummiest restaurants around.
Groove Is in the Heart
Fort Greene's beating heart is its eponymous Fort Greene Park – a 30-acre stretch of hilly meadows designed by Olmsted and Vaux. In summer, it's the neighborhood's de facto living room. Hang with locals on Sunday afternoons when the Soul Summit Music Festival hosts a free jamboree with DJs, food stands and fashion vendors.
The shindig started in 2002, when Fort Greene was the center of Brooklyn's Black renaissance. Though recent gentrification has changed the neighborhood's demographic melange, Soul Summit remains a family-friendly gathering honoring Black (and queer) expression.
Delicious DeKalb
Dining on DeKalb is like traveling the world. Starting at the park's southeast corner, you can eat Japanese at Karasu, hidden behind an interior door at the back of Walter's restaurant. Heading north, there are four blocks of fantastic options: Miss Ada serves the best Mediterranean mezze around, eating in Colonia Verde backyard greenhouse feels like dining in Mexico City, and getting a coveted seat at Sailor is like eating in a European seaside village. (Once it opens, put your name on Sailor's waitlist for barroom seats.)
