I kept talking about wanting to go to Habana Outpost, located in my Ft. Greene neighborhood, all summer long. But somehow, fall arrived and I still hadn’t been. Knowing the part-year eco-eatery must be closing soon, The Hubs and I decided to stop by for a late supper after a performance at BAM recently.
When the weather is warm, Habana Outpost is a big, outdoor, community party, with cheap food, drinks, and sometimes entertainment. They are completely solar-powered, much of the restaurant is made of recycled and reclaimed materials, the cups, plates, and utensils are compostable, they collect and recycle rainwater, and they even have a bicycle-powered blender for smoothies ($1 off if you pedal)! In addition, they are dedicated to helping the community through their outreach organization, Habana Works. All around, a pretty cool place.
We weren’t sure whether it would be open, what with the cold weather we were experiencing that night, but they were, and the party had moved indoors. We placed our order inside and took it out to the kitchen truck, pictured here, and then went back inside to find a table. It was pretty crowded, though nothing like during the warm days of summer. A tiny table freed up quickly and we took it (there is no formal seating process, you just grab a table when one is vacated). While we waited for our food we sipped our margarita and “morita” (half margarita/half mojito), respectively. They are tastier than and not as weak as most frozen libations that come from a machine. (But, boy, I have to say I kept getting brain freeze! One was so bad and lasted so long that tears were streaming down my face at the end. I don’t know what about these drinks made that happen so much. I will do some vigorous Slurpee training in the days preceding my next visit).
The food was nothing fancy, but a total delight to eat. The avocado and queso blanco sandwich with veggies and chipotle mayo was simply constructed, but totally delicious. The guacamole, served in a tortilla shell (eco!), was a little under-salted, but was still tasty, with a very thick and chunky texture. The star was their muy delicioso corn, for which they are famous (in fact it is listed on the menu as “Famous Corn”). It is charred on the grill and slathered with mayonnaise, cheese, and red chile. Sounds weird, but it works. I wish we had ordered two! Unfortunately, I was not able to get photos of the food; it was extremely dark (turns out solar power works better during the day).
Habana Outpost the eatery is only open through October 31, so hurry up and get over there, already. In mid-November they will re-open with “drinks, music, dancing, you know, that kind of thing,” according to the guy in charge the night I was there. The celebrating will happen in both the ground level space and the new, basement party den. No word on whether the bicycle-blender will be in the works, but I am sure their head-splitting but yummy frozen drinks will be, so, I’ll see you there!
Habana Outpost
757 Fulton Street (corner of S. Portland)
Brooklyn, NY 11217
(718) 858-9500
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