Ian MacAllen

New York

Founder and Editor at North Brooklyn Dispatch

Author Red Sauce: How Italian Food Became American. Find me at https://t.co/ExdX7Cw5TJ or Spoutible and Post @ianmacallen

Articles

Unpeeling the History of Citrus in Katie Goh’s “Foreign Fruit”

3 days ago | chireviewofbooks.com | Ian MacAllen

Oranges, and derivative products such as juice, are so ubiquitous in the modern supermarket, most consumers take the fruit for granted. Yet, it wasn’t so long ago that citrus was a rare luxury cherished as a gift and reserved for the upper classes. Amazingly, the fruits we eat today are mainly cultivated hybrids grown from cloned trees and shipped all around the globe far from their place of origin.
Mexican Restaurant Replaces Bar

6 days ago | northbrooklyndispatch.com | Ian MacAllen

The bar at 759 Grand Street has been replaced by Coral, a new Mexican restaurant. The retail space has not had much luck. A bar, La Oficina opened last summer, after having replaced Cafe Zouave, which lasted less than a year. Coral doesn’t seem to have a website or instagram. Photos posted by the owner to the Google listing include a menu — drinks, desserts, and a note that says its “cash only.” Additional photos show tacos, but the menu isn’t displayed, so who knows?
New Coffee Shop Coming to Grand

6 days ago | northbrooklyndispatch.com | Ian MacAllen

There’s nothing online about Moka and Mo, a new coffee shop coming to the corner of Grand and Union. Moka and Mo sounds like it could be a new, copycat brand of Middle-eastern inspired coffee shops that have been popping up across the city recently. Mokacafe and Moka & Co are two brands that come to mind. The location had previous been home to Cafe Argentino which suffered from serious fire damage in 2022 and never reopened.
Lidl Coming to Grand Street

6 days ago | northbrooklyndispatch.com | Ian MacAllen

Signs for a new grocery store at 597 Grand Street have covered the windows. Lidl is an international, German-based discount grocery. The chain has a fan-following similar to Aldi, another German discount grocer, with the first US Lidl stores opening in 2017. Brooklyn and Queens have a few existing Lidl locations, but the Grand Street location will be the closest to Manhattan, which has none.
New, Old-School Red Sauce Joint Opening On Metropolitan

2 weeks ago | northbrooklyndispatch.com | Ian MacAllen

JR and Son is set to open on Friday night, bringing back old-school vibes to the former social club. Eater’s Emma Orlow reports the JR and Son is being resurrected by the team behind Kellog’s Diner (which is once again open 24 hours a day). Chef Patricia Vega, former top chef-er, leads the kitchen bringing in classic red sauce dishes. Vega is umami-ing things up with Asian inspired ingredient additions. And there’s a rainbow cookie cake.
Graham Garden Corner Store Opens Anew

2 weeks ago | northbrooklyndispatch.com | Ian MacAllen

The bodega on the corner of Conselyea and Graham closed up shop after tax problems caught up with the store. Last year the shelves became thread bare at the bodega. The shop had been one of the better corner stores on the block. It served hot food all night long, and had an upscale selection of snacks. Then out of seemingly nowhere it was shuttered. In early April, fresh stock was being added to the store shelves before a new shop launched a grand opening.
Something’s Up At Alligator Lounge

2 weeks ago | northbrooklyndispatch.com | Ian MacAllen

The Alligator Lounge has been a neighborhood institution for decades, but it has suddenly rebranded to Nate’s Lizard Lounge. Turns out, this temporary rebrand has something to do with Nathan Fiedler. In case you were not yet living in North Brooklyn back in 2022 when Nathan Fiedler’s The Rehearsal premiered, the show cast the Alligator Lounge in the first episode of the series. I say the show cast the bar because Fiedler’s production literally recreated the bar on a soundstage.
Mini Whole Foods Concept Coming to East Williamsburg

2 weeks ago | northbrooklyndispatch.com | Ian MacAllen

The massive vacant retail space at the corner of Grand Street and Humboldt is set to become a mini Whole Foods concept reports the Real Deal. Whole Foods has been rolling out Daily Shops in Manhattan with StuyTown and Hell’s Kitchen getting the new format. The Grand Street grab-and-go market is set to open in the fall at 774 Grand Street. Retail at the building has been absent from the corner for the last decade. The original building was a one-store discount store that was demoed in 2014.
New Restaurant Replacing Dee Best

3 weeks ago | northbrooklyndispatch.com | Ian MacAllen

Meet & Meat Williamsburg is planning on opening in the “>former Dee Best zeppole shop. The location is currently seeking a restaurant beer, wine, and liquor license, but there’s little information otherwise online. The applicant is Meet & Meat Williamsburg Inc., registered to 361 Graham Avenue. The building is also home to Levantine – Mediterranean Cuisine, formerly Hummus Market.
Luca Pelliccioni bringing Balera to Graham Avenue

3 weeks ago | northbrooklyndispatch.com | Ian MacAllen

It’s looking like a new Italian eatery from Luca Pelliccioni will eventually open on Graham Avenue. Balera LLC, registered to Luca Pelliccioni, is up for a full liquor license application for 442 Graham Avenue, a former restaurant space that was vacated last year. Luca Pelliccioni who has been involved with Briscola in Crown Heights, and upscale, modern red sauce joint is listed on the LLC applying for the license.

Contact details

Emails

[email protected]

Socials & Sites

Try JournoFinder For Free

Search and contact over 1M+ journalist profiles, browse 100M+ articles, and unlock powerful PR tools.

Start Your 7-Day Free Trial →

X (formerly Twitter)

Followers: 2K
Tweets: 40K
DMs Open: Yes

Ian MacAllen @IanMacAllen

23 Apr 25

It’s a baby Michael. How much could it cost, $10?

Leading Report @LeadingReport

BREAKING: Trump Admin has been mulling ways to get more Americans married and having kids, including a $5,000 “baby bonus” for every new mom after delivery, according to a report.

Ian MacAllen @IanMacAllen

23 Apr 25

$5,000, also known as 6 weeks of daycare. Add some zeros, bro.