I really hate trekking to Brooklyn. Whenever I go, I somehow end up at a ridiculous warehouse party where I inevitably end up taking a very expensive cash-only Gypsy cab home.

But recently, all of my food-loving friends have been buzzing about Brooklyn. “Oh, you have to go here—in Brooklyn, and go there—in Brooklyn. You can’t say you love food and don’t go to Brooklyn!”

So when a friend invited me to Locanda Vini e Olli, I swallowed my pride, opened my wallet and went.

In its past life, this space was a 103-year-old apothecary and today the old-timey drugstore sign still beckons curious visitors and small glass medicine bottles decorate the walls. While there may no longer be elixers and potions, there are healing qualities about this space—but this time they’re served the form of crusty bread, crisp house wine and glistening, oily olives.

Perhaps the most special dish is the pappa al pomodoro. It may not be fancy or beautiful or elegantly plated. In fact, it’s just a mush, if you will, of some of the best bread and tomato soup I’ve ever had. It’s soft, it’s hearty and I imagine it could melt a snowman twice as fast as Campbell’s chicken noodle soup.

Behold, the tripe. Baked with tomato sauce and grana padano, this tripe was soft, deeply meaty and almost made me want to order more (almost).

Among other notable dishes were housemade pappardelle with rabbit ragu, grilled duck breast (perfectly rare) with onion jam and garlicy fries and a delicate cod sauteed with leeks and chickpeas.

Paired with the house wine and the gorgeous staff (no really, they’re ALL cute), Locanda Vini e Olli is definitely worth the trek—as long as my date pays for the cab home.