A city, a bridge and a world away

Downtown Brooklyn also boasts one of the top-rated Italian restaurants in New York City. Queen, 84 Court St., sits incongruously among fast-food restaurants, dishing up an endless parade of delicious dishes -- chopped sausage and clams, blood orange salad, \o7pasta alla chitarra\f7 and the best zabaglione and fresh berries imaginable. After tax and tip, Rie and I wined and dined for less than $85, probably about two-thirds the price of a comparable meal in Manhattan.

Downtown Brooklyn's not just about great food. You can learn the history of the most magnificent public transportation system in the nation at the New York Transit Museum. The museum has an appropriate design; look for a subway entrance descending from street level at the corner of Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street.

You'll also find one of New York's great shopping secrets at the downtown Brooklyn Macy's, 422 Fulton St. The store has a history stretching back to 1885, when Brooklyn Bridge investor Abraham Abraham (of Abraham & Strauss department store fame) chose the site for his flagship location. Though the six floors of shopping space have seen brighter days, the bones of the store are great.

Walk farther east down decidedly ungentrified stretches of Livingston Street or Fulton Street, and you'll come to Flatbush Avenue and the 100-plus year-old Brooklyn Academy of Music. You're not really in downtown Brooklyn at this point -- the neighborhood is called Fort Greene -- but the collection of dance, film, theater and opera offerings are too rich to exclude.

Sample Austrian fare at the popular restaurant Thomas Beisl, across the street at 25 Lafayette Ave., or eat at BAM's cafe, where you can often hear live, no-cover music on Friday and Saturday evenings.

If you're attending a show at BAM in the evening, it's probably best to take a cab or subway back to your hotel rather than walk through what could be a deserted area. Several subway lines join at the nearby Atlantic Avenue station.

Backtracking into downtown Brooklyn and then heading south, we come to Atlantic Avenue, where you'll get a flavor of the Middle East. Browse through Sahadi's spectacular collection of far-flung spices, olives and coffees at 187 Atlantic, then head a block farther, to Waterfalls at 144 Atlantic, for heavenly hummus and falafel pita sandwiches. They are a steal at $3.50.