i worked at lenell's when i lived in brooklyn. the commute from mrytle + taaffe was pretty nice, all slightly downhill, got to cruise through some yuppie brownstone aves, hit a few parks, pass the suits in carroll gardens, then straight down into red hook.
i've worked a lot of restaurant/food service jobs, and working at lenell's was the ****. i don't have much money to spend on mail-order booze these days, but i still order something from her whenever i can. her "red hook rye" is the absolute JAM. much more flavorful than the van wink rye, but still has that nice zing to it. some of the van wink bourbons taste pretty damn good though.
if you go, take a look at the "tasting" cabinet in the back, right by the last wine shelf before the kitchen. that right there was definitely one of the best job perks i've ever had.
and for something else to do, if you drink beer and aren't vegan, hit up schnack on union for a chocolate beer milkshake. delicious.