Grand St, Williamsburg

Like most of Williamsburg, in general, South Williamsburg is nothing to look at. It's really ugly and undustrial looking. Grand is one of the major streets in South Williamsburg and it's definitely one of the ugliest. It's riddled with traffic and trash and it's pretty sketchy on a lot of blocks. But, west of the BQE, Grand street is one of the most happening streets in Willy as far as restaurants go. It has a fantastic eatery on almost every single corner.
There's a great little Italian place with a lovely garden called Aurora, a place that serves breakfast all day that is literally called Breakfast All Day, and a great Vegan place called Food Swings all within a couple of blocks of each other.
One of the best pizza joints in Willy is just off the JMZ train on Grand Street. Fratelli pizza is far superior to Anna Maria but lesser known so it's not as packed with punk hipster kids. I'm not a huge fan of the space but it's definitely far more aesthetically appealing than Anna Maria's as well.
Walter Foods and Vultera are two of the newer foodie haunts on Grand Ave. Walter focus on seafood and has a great back patio and bistro decor. Vultera looks almost haunted but the food is spectacular. Both are always really packed on weekends and and definitely have a cool guy crowd.
I wouldn't want to live on Grand Street simply because in the places where there are lots of restaurants and bars, it's really loud and dirty; and, the places where there aren't, it's really scary at night . . . and dirty. But, if you live close, Grand is a fantastic place to get dinner and drinks. It's really lively and the crowd is eclectic and interesting. I just maybe wouldn't walk home alone after 2am.

Ok, so Grand Street is a little bit scary east of Graham. There are a lot of dollar stores and "delis." But, as the hipsters start to move east in droves and take over the neighborhood, some really cute places are popping up.
Huckleberry Bar (588 Grand) opened up a couple of years ago (I think certified hipsters own it) and it is a great place to have an esoteric cocktail. The mixologists are very serious about their liquor and the jalapeno infused tequila is pretty darn good.
Ontario (559 Grand) is one of my favorite bars in Williamsburg. It's a non-dive, dive: the drinks are strong, the bartenders are grumpy and the crowd is pretty attractive. It has a good vibe and it's really relaxed but it gets packed on the weekends.
There are a couple of other cool bars and restaurants (Wombat is fun) but the nightlife scene hasn't entirely taken off here yet. There is no shopping unless you're into black market electronics and the street can be pretty sketchy at night.
Other notable spots: Williamsburg animal clinic is on Grand and Dr Diaz is the only vet in the neighborhood that anyone goes to. He's great and doesn't push things for money.
And, Grand Morelo's Diner-- it's open 24 hours (corner of Grand and Graham) and they have the best Chorizo burrito in NY.

Grand St is a quite street in Williamsburg. It is a perfect place to live: Free of the noise and crowd of Bedford Avenue, and yet close to many shops and nice bars and restaurants. The subway is just within 5 minutes walk. A tip for a great brunch on Sunday: Fiore, an Italian cheap restaurant that serves amazing food