I first heard about this place from fellow blogger Vlad aka The Hungry Russian. As soon as I saw his beautiful photos, I knew I wouldn’t rest until I made it there.

Red Hook is home to a shipping terminal which makes it a historically industrial neighborhood. As Vlad has already pointed out, Red Hook used to be a bad neighborhood. And by bad I mean practically fatal. Recently, however, the area began to undergo the process of gentrification, so now a considerable amount of hipsters are starting to settle down there, what with their rooftop gardens and vintage wardrobes. Although hipsters are a questionable specimen to society, a concentrated population of them usually means there’s good food to be found.

Rene and I ventured out into this foreign land last week for Sunday brunch at Homemade. The restaurant turned out to be small and intimate, with only a few tables inside and a few in the garden area. It was past two o’clock when we walked in so the place was almost empty; I guess everyone was all brunched out already. We sat in the garden and practically had the place to ourselves. It was lovely.

I started with a latte. I was glad to learn that was a whole lot of it for the $3.50 I was paying for it. And it was good, too.

Then I had the smoked salmon, goat cheese and dill scramble ($9.50) since I can rarely resist anything with smoked salmon in it. The goat cheese was beaten into the eggs as opposed to being folded into them, which gave the eggs a gummy texture and disappointed me. The provençal style potatoes were unbelievable though – quartered young potatoes roasted with lots of herbs and olive oil and whole garlic cloves. I can’t wait to attempt cooking them at home.

Rene ordered these potatoes too ($4). They were served with a spicy chipotle mayo.

He also got this grilled chicken and apple sausage ($4). From what I gather, it’s not made in-house but it was great nonetheless.

Lastly, we split this delightful little pastry, a sticky pecan bun ($4). I was expecting a chewy, yeasty, dense bun when we ordered it but what we got instead was a light, airy, crispy dessert. The texture of this bun is not unlike a croissant’s and it is slathered in a sticky, syrupy concoction and topped with pecans and a few stray raisins. I must say, I’ve never eaten anything like it and I was pleasantly surprised.

If you can believe it, our check came out to be under $30. That, combined with a homey atmosphere, an attentive waitress, and of course the hearty food, made for a really wonderful experience. The only downside to this place is that trains don’t go there so you have to have your own wheels or enough patience to take the bus to get there.