Sunset Park: What to do and where to eat in this neighborhood on a hill

• Baked in Brooklyn (755 Fifth Ave.) is a good place to stop in the morning to get a fresh pastry and fuel up on caffeine. You can watch the bakery staff do their thing through a window and sit down to eat with a gorgeous view of Green-Wood Cemetery. We recommend sharing any one of their gigantic doughnuts (like the Oreo-flavored one) or a cinnamon sticky roll. The bakery is also known for its baked breads — breadsticks, pita chips and flatbread crisps. Either way, you’re in for a treat.” data-id=”119344601″ data-link=”https://amnewyork.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/8083_image.jpg” class=”wp-image-1.19344601″/>

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• Green-Wood Cemetery (Fifth Avenue and 25th Street) is well worth exploring for hours. After getting your breakfast, there are 478 acres of hills, ponds, paths and graves to explore and view. There is amazing architecture and monuments you must check out, like the Historic Chapel (pictured) that was built in 1911. Founded in 1838, the cemetery is the final resting place for some of the most famous New Yorkers, including Tammany Hall “Boss” William M. Tweed, artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, composer Leonard Bernstein, abolitionist the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher and more. The cemetery is open daily and has historic trolley tours, which we recommend since the park is just so expansive. ” data-id=”119344600″ data-link=”https://amnewyork.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/11861_image.jpg” class=”wp-image-1.19344600″/>

• Slimák (pronounced slee-mack) at 4410 Fourth Ave. This cute cafe is a refreshing surprise. With retro tin ceiling tiles, decorative floor tiles and wooden accents, Slimák is a joy to sit in. Brunch is served only on weekends, but it does have a hefty menu of dishes for both breakfast and lunch to choose from, and a heck of a latte. The cafe brews local Devoción coffee from Colombia and sources its ingredients from local farms. ” data-id=”119344442″ data-link=”https://amnewyork.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/8084_image.jpg” class=”wp-image-1.19344442″/>

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• Industry City — a mall-like series of industrial buildings that have been repurposed with restaurants, shops, art exhibits and fun activities at 274 36th St. This is a good time to get some shopping in, take a whack at foosball or any game in its arcade, check out an exhibit or take in a free concert in one of the park’s outdoor spaces. If you want to grab lunch or dinner here, there are plenty of options, from Burger Joint and Avocaderia to Ends Meat and Brooklyn Kitchen. ” data-id=”119344495″ data-link=”https://amnewyork.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/8087_image.jpg” class=”wp-image-1.19344495″/>

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• home goods store has just about anything you can imagine, from mortar and pestles to linen, candles, art, jewelry and a lot more. The merchandise is cute and you may end up spending a good amount of time inside. It can be found near the food hall building. ” data-id=”119344536″ data-link=”https://amnewyork.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/11862_image.jpg” class=”wp-image-1.19344536″/>

• Li-Lac Chocolates inside Industry City, the sweet smell floods your nasal passages and brings you to chocolate nirvana. Choose a treat from its little shop (like chocolate Oscars, a gorilla, a camera, etc.) or pick a freshly made sweet like a fudge bar, chocolate-covered nuts and melt-in-your-mouth truffles — you can’t go wrong. The shop is inside the company’s factory and you can actually watch chocolatiers make their goodies from a window outside the shop. ” data-id=”119344537″ data-link=”https://amnewyork.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/8088_image.jpg” class=”wp-image-1.19344537″/>

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• Melody Lanes is one of the few bowling alleys left in New York City, and it’s everything you would hope for. The traditional lanes bring back a lot of nostalgia as you slip on your rented shoes, sip on a beer and pick up your ball. Games are only $7 to $9 a person or can be rented for one hour for $45 or two hours at various prices depending on day and time. As you might hope, glow-in-the-dark bowling takes over the space at 7 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. ” data-id=”113334360″ data-link=”https://amnewyork.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/11863_image.jpg” class=”wp-image-1.13334360″/>

• With tacos at $1.50 a pop (for the small size), it’s no wonder that Tacos El Bronco reigns over not just one, but three areas of Sunset Park. Most people know the two trucks that sit along Fifth (pictured) and Ninth avenues, dishing out paper plate after paper plate of tacos to a never-ending line of hungry customers. But Tacos El Bronco also has a brick-and-mortar shop on Fourth Avenue near 45th Street where the scene gets just as crowded. There’s more to choose from at the restaurant than at the truck, like breakfast, meat and rice dishes, seafood and dessert. But with almost two dozen taco varieties, all cheap in price yet rich in quality, it’s hard to notice anything else on the menu. ” data-id=”119346345″ data-link=”https://amnewyork.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/8090_image.jpg” class=”wp-image-1.19346345″/>

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• If there’s one thing you must do, it’s get some dim sum. The pot stickers are plentiful and cheap at this hole-in-the-wall dumpling spot, Kai Feng Fu Dumpling House (4801 Eighth Ave.). A plate or clamshell of four pork-and-leek dumplings will cost you all of $1. Stand at the counter long enough after you’ve paid, and you can watch just how they’re prepared — a cook packs the jiaozi (as they’re called in Mandarin) tightly into a heated wok, adds water and covers the pot to steam them, and then finishes the batch by frying them in oil. The result of that steam-and-fry process: dumplings that crisp nicely on the bottom and stay moist and juicy inside. Sunset Park boasts a number of really good restaurants, so we also suggest East Harbor Seafood Palace (714 65th St.) and Pacificana (813 55th St.), which are crowd favorites.” data-id=”119346396″ data-link=”https://amnewyork.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/8094_image.jpg” class=”wp-image-1.19346396″/>

Sunset Park may be considered off-the-beaten-path by some, but it has a lot of worthwhile destinations that are unlike anywhere else in New York City.

Bounded by Park Slope and Green-Wood Cemetery to the north, Bay Ridge to the south and Borough Park to the east, the neighborhood has a wealth of culture, incredible views from its piers and its namesake park and lots to do, especially now that Industry City is up and running.

While it’s impossible to list everything one could do here, we have some suggestions on how to spend a day in Sunset Park.