Quick Bites: Soup at Brix Haus, Margot’s new wine bar, Edy’s gets mezze-y after dark 

By Scott Lynch

Brix Haus opens two new ice cream parlors, adds soup for the winter

The new Park Slope location on Fifth Avenue (Scott Lynch)

“I have big plans for Brix Haus,” chef and owner Tara Glick tells us about her excellent ice cream parlor. “I like to say that we are one of the fastest growing female-founded food businesses in Brooklyn.” Given that she’s opened three shops in 15 months, plus added a whole new savory menu to her repertoire, she just might be right.

First, the expansion news: The original Brix Haus launched in Prospect Lefferts Gardens in November of 2022. A year later Glick opened a sliver of shop on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope, and just this week she’s completed the trifecta with her most ambitious space yet: Brix Haus Cafe in South Williamsburg, located in the base of a mammoth residential complex on the corner of Hope and Keap Streets.

In addition to scooping a full menu of Glick’s ice cream, Brix Haus Cafe will also serve coffee from Brooklyn roaster Ioannis, an array of house-made pastries, and what she described as “a killer egg sandwich” in the mornings, Once lunchtime hits, four or five different salads and a bunch of other sandwiches appear on the menu. There’s seating for about a dozen people inside, and Glick hopes to make this Brix a gathering place for the locals. “This is really a growing community right now, especially residentially,” she says. “And I’d love for Brix Haus Cafe to become kind of a town center.”

Glick has also added soup to the Brix Haus mix, ladling out two different varieties in both her PLG and Park Slope spots through the winter. She’s calling the cold weather popup “Soup and Scoop.” Everything is made in-house by Glick and her invaluable pastry chef Katie Rosello, and so far the flavors have included a rich broccoli cheddar and an exceptional Italian wedding. I wolfed the latter down paired with a cup of hot honey crunch ice cream, and the combination made for a dream lunch come true.

Brix Haus has locations in Prospect Lefferts, Park Slope, and Williamsburg; hours vary, check Glick’s Instagram for updates.    

Fort Greene hotspot Margot expands with Heaven And Earth in industrial Greenpoint

Glasses run from $13 to $16; many bottles are in $50 to $60 range (Scott Lynch)

Margot, which Halley Chambers and Kip Green opened on a sunny corner in Fort Greene last spring (along with chef Alexia Duchêne, who has since left the partnership), feels like it’s been hopping since opening night. The neighborhood is relishing the restaurant’s fun, friendly vibe, excellent food and thoughtful, approachable list of natural wines.

Now, less than a year later, team Margot has launched a satellite of sorts, a small wine bar called Heaven and Earth, located deep in industrial Greenpoint. The place is being run day-to-day by Toussaint Stackhouse — a Place de Fêtes alum whose job titles here include wine director, general manager and event coordinator — who brings a palpable warmth and deep knowledge of grapes to the rather bare-bones space.

“My intention here was to build a list that allows people to explore wines from places that are often underexposed,” Stackhouse tells Brooklyn Magazine. “I have wine from Serbia. I have wine from Uruguay. I have wine from Austra, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia. I like to touch these places that have really rich histories and wine cultures but because they are not as prominent or recognized to the casual consumers, they kind of get overlooked.”

Most nights the food menu at Heaven and Earth is limited to snacks, like bowls of nuts, or olives, but the plan is to bring guests chefs in on a regular basis for one-night-only popups and turn the place into a party. Either way, Stackhouse is excited to offer this otherwise rather barren patch of North Brooklyn a new place to hang.

“We’re really happy to be in the neighborhood,” he says. “This is a place where people can kick back and learn about some really awesome places and drink some really awesome grapes. We want people to come in and make this space their own.”

Heaven and Earth is located at 290 Nassau Avenue, between Morgan Avenue and Hausman Street, and is currently open nightly at 5 p.m. until Stackhouse decides to close (usually around 10) 

Greenpoint’s great Edy’s Grocer launches mezze bar … after dark

Edy’s after dark (Scott Lynch)

Edouard “Edy” Massih opened his delightful, and eminently useful, Lebanese grocery store during that weird first Covid summer, the neighborhood giving the place a lot of daytime love for its well-curated provisions and stellar prepared foods.

More than three years later though, Massih needed to bring something new to the mix. Because even though his catering business is (rightfully) thriving, weekday traffic isn’t what it used to be at the grocer, now that many of his longtime regulars are “back in the city, back in their offices,” Massih says. “So I wanted to do something that was accessible after work. Something healthy, something not too expensive, something with wine and beer.”

Enter Edy’s Mezze Bar, which only comes out at night. The menu here features $25 build-your-mezze boards for two, with things like chili crisp labneh, za’atar goat cheese, babaganoush, lemony pickles, Beirut jardiniere and warm fluffy pitas. There are also a handful of snack-sized plates, basically greatest hits from Massoh’s catering menu, such as Aleppo garlic shrimp cocktail, seared halloumi, sizzled grape leaves, and “everything spanakopita.”

Just want something sweet? Massih’s got you, with four desserts available (the halva labneh mousse sundae looks divine). Wine runs from $10 to $13 a glass, and a beer will set up back about $9. And though you may not think there’d be enough room to seat a dozen or so people comfortably in Massih’s cozy corner grocer, you would be wrong. Mezze Bar is a cute and exceedingly pleasant hangout — date night alert — and the food is all terrific.

Edy’s Grocer Mezze Bar is located at Edy’s Grocer is located at 136 Meserole Avenue, at the corner of Eckford Street, and is currently open on Tuesday through Friday from 5:30 to 10 p.m. The Grocer remains open during its regular daytime hours.