Team Glasserie opens delightful Radio Star right next to Transmitter Park 

By Scott Lynch

Twice now Sara Conklin has come this close to opening a restaurant somewhere other than Greenpoint.

Ten years ago, the longtime North Brooklyn resident — she’s been bouncing between Greenpoint and Williamsburg since 2001 — had her heart set on a space in Bed-Stuy for her debut, but the deal fell through at the last minute. Greenpoint got Conklin’s Glasserie instead, the much lauded, much loved Mediterranean spot in a former factory by Newtown Creek.

Radio Star by Transmitter Park (Scott Lynch)

Then for her second restaurant, Conklin was about to sign on a space in Queens in early 2020. But then Covid upended the world, and plans for a sequel were put on hold. And now, nearly four years later, Greenpoint wins again with the opening of Conklin’s Radio Star, a lovely, all-day, retro-vibing diner right next to Transmitter Park that serves a casual, killer Mediterranean menu from Gasserie’s chef Yusef Lovett, plus plenty of booze.

“This spot was sitting empty for a long time, and it kept coming back to me,” Conklin tells Brooklyn Magazine. “Because it’s new construction it wasn’t my natural inclination, but once I started thinking about the history of radio, and how WNYC had two towers in Transmitter Park from 1937 to 1990 literally broadcasting from right here, the whole process of decay that I’m so attracted to started to come back and I bonded with it.”

She also filled it with relics from radio’s golden age. Conklin found the battered-looking lunch counter stools all over the country, buying them in pairs. The worn wooden bookshelf holding glassware and bottles of wine behind the bar was shipped in from the Netherlands. An old church pew serves as a banquette. And don’t miss the weird deco lamps that line the counter.

But though Conklin put a ton of work into bringing to life the picture in her head, the effect is one of effortless retro charm. Sitting here, or in the spacious side courtyard that’s opening soon, it’s easy to forget that the physical structure you’re in is actually an annex of one of those luxury rental towers that line the river now.

In addition to being a design triumph, Radio Star also serves a whole bunch of excellent food, whether for breakfast, lunch, snack time or dinner. There are sweet and savory pastries to be had at all hours of the day (a gorgeous feta cheese “rose,” first class almond cookies); brunchy sandwiches filled with things like griddled pork or smoked tofu, plenty of vegetable plates (avocado salad, charred broccoli rabe, slow carrots) and a bowl of chili that is at the top of my list for things to try next time.

On Radio Star’s opening day our table was filled to overflowing with delicious things. The labneh and pig cheeks platter was phenomenal, the meltingly soft and ridiculously rich pork in a puddle of the tangy strained yogurt, a trio of sweet, chewy dates adding an additional level of delight to the party. This is a top 10 dish of the year for me.

Labneh, pig cheeks and dates, $26 (Scott Lynch)

Almost as good and maybe even more decadent was chef Lovett’s smoked short rib, an enormous hunk of fall-off-the-bone beef that will get you swooning, topped with crushed peanuts (unexpected, but it works), and served with a bowl of acidic tomato sauce for balance. Order this with a side or two — the crisp-skinned lemon potatoes are terrific — and you have a hearty meal for at least two.

Smoked short rib with tomato sauce, $28 (Scott Lynch)

There are lots of good snack bites at Radio Star too, like the funky merguez sausage “in a blanket” as well as four fun mix-n-match condiment jars, filled with either marinated feta, roasted spreadable garlic cloves, half-sour pickled veggies, or oily labneh. The seedy pita that comes with these more than holds its own. For something sweet, the spiced date tiramisu puts a nice twist on the classic.

Merguez in a blanket, $13 (Scott Lynch)

Cocktails with cute names (video kills, cigarettes and coffee, war of the worlds) are gently priced at $14, a variety of Dutchess ales cost $9 each, wines come by the glass or bottle, and there’s a full list of soft drinks, coffee drinks and teas. It’s an incredibly useful pop-in place for locals, but the food and vibe are so on point that Radio Star counts as destination-worthy dining as well.

Spiced date tiramisu, $11 (Scott Lynch)

“It’s been a long, fun road filled with lots of community love,” says Conklin of her decade-long run as a Greenpoint restaurateur, and given its much more prominent location than Glasserie, anchoring the neighborhood’s improbable new restaurant row at the western end of Greenpoint Avenue, Radio Star is about to spread that love even further.

Condiment jars, $4 to $6 each, served with seedy pita (Scott Lynch)

“I know all the owners down here and we all hug each other and give each other high fives,” Conklin says. “We’re all really excited about the influx of new restaurants and residents.”

Radio Star is located at 13 Greenpoint Avenue, between West Street and Transmitter Park, and is currently open on Sunday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., and on Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to midnight (347-799-1190)