Occasion: a late afternoon coffee stop between a big lunch and an unexpected engagement for dinner. I was wondering aloud about the wildlife on the expansive mural (only a small section is shown here) on the sunny, south-facing wall outside Root Hill. My barista explained that the mural, designed by the artist Katherine Gressel and executed with the collaboration of neighborhood children, depicts animals that once might have lived in the marshy habitat nearby before the waters became too polluted. Most of those animals must be long gone, my barista added — and even if they return to the canal, I'm not sure I'm ready to sample Gowanus crayfish.
Root Hill Cafe
262 Fourth Ave. (at Carroll St.), Gowanus, Brooklyn
347-689-9040
www.RootHillCafe.com
