Vacation design diaries E01
The perfect Sunday night dinner in Brooklyn is at Lonnie's
It’s 11am in Madrid right now, 5am in New York, and 2am in San Francisco. It’s probably 5 o’clock somewhere. I’m about 12 hours into a 14 hour connecting flight to Tangier. I didn’t quite realize the JFK —> Madrid leg would be a redeye so I forgot to get any sleep. I’m basically running on fumes at this point, which means, what better use of a 60 minute shuttle flight over the Mediterranean than to begin documenting what I’d like to think was the most perfect way to begin a two-week summer vacation.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how one can possibly capture the unique magic of being on vacation, since it’s so much more than just the hotels, restaurants, and beaches we’re all quick to post photos from. I think the real magic is in the feeling of abandoning all responsibilities for 14 days. It’s in the deliciousness of feeling completely untethered for a luxurious yet contained period of time, like you’re at the whim of whatever vacation decides to throw your way and also in the position of being able to say yes to it all. Coffees at 5pm, wine at 2, dinners at 10, naps whenever you want, nowhere specific to be.
Before leaving for the international leg of this trip, I spent the weekend bouncing in and out of New York for a best friend’s wedding in Jamestown, Rhode Island. It was the perfect summer weekend in New England, exactly like I always remembered them since growing up here. The return back to the city was a ghastly seven hour trip via Metro North (this part not exactly as glam as I remembered), and by the time we were back in Cobble Hill it was 8:30pm on a Sunday night and we still hadn’t had any dinner. The best part? I didn’t care. Because the best part of vacation isn’t the tanning, or the shopping, or the cocktails. It’s winding up somewhere perfect you never expected to be. And the most perfect place to wind up in Brooklyn on a summer Sunday night? Lonnie’s.
We kicked the vacation off with a very special dinner here. There’s not many all-time feelings for me that beat the sensation of walking north up Court Street and east through three lush, tree-lined blocks of Pacific Street on a warm summer night once it’s past dark but the neighborhood is still buzzing. As someone who has both lived in and left New York, coming back to visit in the summer once the city has started emptying out a bit always feels like a delicious taste of vacation.
Lonnie’s is a brand new neighborhood bar and restaurant in Boerum Hill by Sean Rembold and Caron Callahan, the duo behind Inga’s Bar in Brooklyn Heights. The restaurant took over a beautiful corner space on Pacific and Bond (previously Café Kitsuné) and the interiors do the location more than justice.
The mid-century globe lights and simple French bistro chairs are a classic nod to Parisian dining, while the sleek, floating rosso collemandina marble tables, the lacquered walnut banquets, and the pleated chartreuse wall sconces immediately transported me to a pasticceria in Milan. In the perfect way, Lonnie’s feels both old-world and mod at the same time.
The warm, round lighting that makes this corner restaurant glow from the inside out is a highlight of the candle-lit dinner experience. And yet, I can’t think of a place I’d more like to post up with a book at 5pm over a glass of wine than at the restaurant’s slightly quieter, more intimate back bar (the restaurant has two).
Perhaps the best part about this meal was the service, which I’d rate a 12/10. This team is doing everything in their power to make sure you have a wonderful night.
If you find yourself in the neighborhood and you’re craving a taste of vacation, or staycation, or whatever, I would highly recommend a visit. Go for a date, go with your mom, go solo. Whomever you bring, it doesn’t matter, just don’t sleep on the English pea salad.
Xoxoxox
Julia