The Gertie Team Expands to Carroll Gardens with Trudie’s Tavern

1. It’s an upscale New York tavern inspired by Keith McNally.

Located in the former Buttermilk Channel space, this American tavern pays “homage to a Keith McNally-style restaurant,” says Adler, in particular The Odeon, which McNally opened in 1980, but is no longer affiliated with. Adler describes The Odeon as “swanky — you feel awesome there,” but also somewhere you could easily go “three, four times a week.” Fittingly, Trudie’s will open at 4 p.m. and will launch an oyster and martini happy hour soon.

Trudie’s Tavern is also a place to celebrate a birthday and special occasions of all types, too. With white tablecloths, it’s a slight step up from the duo’s other neighborhood spot in Prospect Heights, Gertrude’s, and a big leap from its nearby bagel shop, Gertie.

“This is our most ambitious concept yet,” Adler says, and securing a spot on the New York Times’ “100 Best Restaurants in New York City” list is the team’s north star. “We want it to be a place that becomes an establishment and is here for as long, if not longer, than Buttermilk was.”

2. Like Gertie and Gertude’s, there are nods to family and Jewish culture.

All of the team’s restaurants take their names from Adler’s Ashkenazi Jewish grandmother, Gertrude Aronow, who was a “really kooky, eccentric woman, and that’s why the restaurants were named after her. It was always a party when she was in the room,” says Adler.

Rad’s restaurants also feature bird motifs — ducks at Gertie and Gertrude’s, and a more elegant swan by Izzy Bulling at Trudie’s Tavern — which are a nod to Adler’s grandfather, Hy, who collected duck decoys. The birds have a double meaning, he adds, as a symbol of the hospitality industry where above the water all appears calm, while the animal paddles furiously underneath.

While Gertrude’s and Gertie have an underlying Jewish ethos, Trudie’s will be subliminally Jewish, Adler explains. Take Trudie’s potatoes, which are schmaltzy fried potatoes and fried rice, and the crab claws served with Dijonnaise. While deeply un-kosher, the shellfish reminds Adler of Jewish snowbirds like his grandparents passing their winters in Miami. “It’s not Jewish — it’s shellfish — but crab claws with Dijonnaise for some reason feels Jewish to me,” he adds.

Meanwhile, brunch, which debuts later in the summer, will be a “bagel party” with seafood towers, as well as goods coming from Gertie. The team is also toying with reviving their Shabbat supper club from Gertie by offering an optional special menu on Friday night at the tavern.

3. Expect a rotisserie chicken, raw bar, and statement cake.

Fans of the group’s other spots might discover a few similarities to the offerings here — Gertrude’s chef de cuisine, Mike Cain, developed the menu, though Eli Friedman, previously of Mile End Delicatessen and Edith’s, will head up the kitchen. Meals kick off with a raw bar selection including a seafood tower with east and west coast oysters, oysters Rockefeller, crab claws with Dijonnaise, and a tartare. For bread service, there are housemade pretzels and pigs in blankets.

Much like a traditional Italian restaurant or a classic steakhouse, most of the proteins like the New York strip and grilled swordfish are served on their own and diners can order from a large vegetable selection to pair with it. On the veggie list, called “pairings,” there’s grilled asparagus, creamed greens, and rotisserie cabbage.

Rotisserie chicken that’s brined with herbs and lemon zest is an exception; it’s served as a set here. A half bird comes with potatoes that are topped with schmaltz and accompanied by a malt vinegar aioli and a cucumber salad recipe from Adler’s other grandmother, Edith. The chicken is a throwback to the original Gertie, where the team served a different rendition when it first opened.

And following in the tradition of the large-format cake from Gertrude’s, Adler and the team knew they wanted a “destination worthy, showstopper cake,” he says. They settled on a large slice of a four-layer carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and coconut filling that takes some of its inspiration from “The Frog Commissary Cookbook.”

4. The wine list has a strong domestic focus and cocktails lean old school.

Nearly the entire selection of wines by the glass is comprised of American wines, with a strong focus on low-intervention producers like Las Jaras Wines in Sonoma, Calif. and The Marigny in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Like the list at Gertrude’s, Alder says “you want it to resonate with the kids, but also the boomers.” A single wine by the glass sourced internationally rounds out the menu, while the general bottle list takes a more global approach.

Cocktails lean into classics like the familiar Negroni and a mint julep but also historic numbers like a sherry cobbler, a drink from the early 19th century made with fresh fruit, and a New York sour, made with rye, lemon, and red wine that dates back to the late 19th century. Gertude’s signature dirty martini, the Dirty Gertie, with aquavit and pickle brine, is also making the journey to Carroll Gardens. And, in a nod to diners drinking less, any martini here can be ordered in a smaller size for $10 to $12.

5. Buttermilk Channel lovers, listen up.

Before Buttermilk Channel closed in December 2024, after 16 years in business, cheddar waffles, warm lamb salad, and horseradish-forward Bloody Marys drew brunch lovers and neighbors to this roomy corner restaurant. Adler has a thesis in hospitality: “You can kind of guarantee success in a space, if the previous business had success. It means that it’s somewhere people are already gravitating towards for a restaurant experience. Buttermilk in its heyday was such an incredible spot.”

The Trudie’s team entirely transformed the space with the help of Brooklyn-based architectural design firm Commoncraft and Oda Galerie, which curated the furniture and fixtures. The space’s former creamy soft white (dare we say buttermilk?) palette was replaced with curved wood, a signature of the Rad group, and warm hues of brown and a dusky pink tiled bar. In a small nod to the tavern’s predecessor, Trudie’s Tavern will also serve its own take on chicken and waffles at brunch, featuring matzo-crusted fried chicken. “We’re carrying the torch of Buttermilk Channel, and that’s important to us,” Adler adds.

Trudie’s Tavern is open daily (except Tuesday) from 4 to 10 p.m. Brunch will debut later this summer.

Devra Ferst is a Brooklyn-based food and travel writer who has contributed to The New York Times, Bon Appétit, Eater, NPR, and numerous other publications. She is co-author of “The Jewish Holiday Table: A World of Recipes, Traditions & Stories to Celebrate All Year Long.” Follow her on Instagram. Follow Resy, too.