Skinny Jeans and Bacon

Brooklyn Bridge, the gateway to Hipsterland.

New York City is full of hipsters. City hipsters are purposefully unconventional, less ambitious versions of city people, who come in several varieties of plaid, marled wool, or vintage denim. Every social blogger has written in some way or another their sociological interpretation of hipsters.

I don’t really care what hipsters are, and I don’t want to burden you with another attempt to divulge in detail how much I know about the illusive subculture of people. I am, however, very interested in the places where hipsters flock. Hipsters live in little coffee shops and cafés, which happen to be concentrated in unusually desirable, not-too-ghetto, young, and surprisingly affordable neighborhoods, neither too close nor too far a distance from mainstream life. If you want to see a live hipster in his or her natural habitat, look no further than Williamsburg in Brooklyn. One step off the L train at Bedford, and suddenly the average population age drops by 20 years, and everyone's faces are covered with stubble or beards.

The hipsters' greatest and possibly only tangible usefulness to society is the fact that tiny enclaves of gentrified housing and exciting new restaurants follow them wherever they go – things which even normal people can enjoy. One such novelty, Traif, in the southern tip of Williamsburg, has won its way to being among my favorite reasonably priced restaurants of all time (though I rarely frequent it).

Traif for brunch. Particularly note the sweet potato fries with chipotle aioli sauce, strawberry pancake, and bacon donuts. Dinner is even better.

Brought to you by chef Jason Marcus, who in the past dabbled with some restaurants in Southern California, Traif boasts of small and shareable dishes of duck, pork, shellfish, and anything unkosher – all in the tradition of "New American" cuisine, which is, what I've discovered, simply a hip way of saying, "Menu changes frequently; chef will cook whatever he wants to cook today."

Rarely do I find myself compelled to advertise for a restaurant that I like; Traif is among the few. But to avoid rambling on like a foodie, I will just say this: Traif has the best pig tail and strawberry pancakes I've ever eaten. The end. If you want to know more about this restaurant or read an actual review, look it up yourself on yelp or something.