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Although it's New York City's most populous borough, Brooklyn is still playing catch-up to its cross-river sister, Manhattan, when it comes to food. But over the past half-decade or so, it's come a long way — with some bona fide foodie destinations that lure epicures over the bridge — and now it's even scored its very own dining guide. The first book of its kind, Food Lovers' Guide to Brooklyn (Glove Pequot Press, June 2010) was exhaustively researched by travel writer and Brooklynite Sherri Eisenberg, who sampled and reviewed hundreds of restaurants, specialty stores, farmers' markets, food festivals and other culinary traditions that are helping to shape Brooklyn's ascending, but still accessible, gastronomic scene.

TIME asked Eisenberg about her picks for Brooklyn's best neighborhoods for eating — Williamsburg, Park Slope and Ft. Greene — and why the borough is sought-after by young chefs.

There are good restaurants all over New York City. What makes Brooklyn worth checking out?
Brooklyn restaurants are a bit more casual, a bit more rock and roll, but their chefs have a strong desire for locally sourced and sustainable ingredients. So dishes may cost as much as in Manhattan, but their ingredients are often sourced directly from Brooklyn itself. These are restaurants where you'll eat well, but can feel comfortable showing up in jeans and where folks don't mind if the service is not perfectly smooth or polished.

So chefs find a certain kind of freedom in Brooklyn that's missing in Manhattan?
Yes, for one thing, the rents are just cheaper, so there is less of the financial pressure that exists in Manhattan. This is why so many chefs start out in fancier Manhattan kitchens before moving to Brooklyn to open their own spaces. Brooklyn is also far less stuffy, so chefs don't have to invest in fancy uniforms or the costliest design schemes. Crowds here tend to be younger and eating for pleasure not for business, so restaurants can play that funky music from their iPod because it's unlikely there will be businessmen in the corner trying to seal a deal. But unlike in Manhattan, folks might actually have to drive to eat there so chefs really have to have faith in an if-you-open-it-they-will-come mentality.

In your book, you write about "underground" restaurants — unlisted, unadvertised, last-minute-invitation-only events where chefs dish out meals in temporary spaces. Really?
Absolutely. They're supper club-style restaurants with a great casual atmosphere, where chefs typically serve whatever is inspiring them at that moment. If asparagus is in season, then the meal will likely be asparagus-based. If ramps are fresh at the market, then expect a ramps-filled menu. The concept is fun because your fellow diners are as unexpected as the meal. Last time I attended, a couple even showed up from Europe — they'd planned their entire vacation around the event.

Your book also explores the trend in culinary "throwdowns and showdowns." These sound like something out of the Wild West.
These are such fun events. They're basically competitions that allow chefs of various experience levels to compete against each other as they prepare all kind of interesting foods: cupcakes, fondue, crostini, chili. The throwdowns offer cooks a chance to express themselves through their food in an unusual public forum. Although they're unquestionably democratic, the events do follow basic rules and are typically organized by a few well-known throwdown gurus. There's Matt Timms, who basically kicked-off the trend with his chili takedowns a few years back. And the folks behind the Brooklyn Food Experiments are another big player. Throwdowns are not limited to Brooklyn, of course, but the borough seems to have embraced the trend with unrivaled gusto.

Do you actually win anything?
Mostly you win bragging rights.

The chapter on Williamsburg introduces us to Georgiana Tedone, a 92-year-old shopkeeper who's been making mozzarella by hand every day for decades. How did you happen to stumble upon her?
This woman has a large and loyal fan base, and when I began my Williamsburg research, I was repeatedly told I had to include her. She makes her mozzarella in the middle of the night, which sells out every morning at her shop Tedone Latticini; she's lived next door for more than 75 years. There's a younger guy helping her out; I think he's her son. The cheese itself is nothing fancy, but it's fresh and handmade — it really encapsulates the craft-like quality Brooklyn is becoming known for.

Brooklyn has become a center of America's urban farming movement, with projects like Rooftop Farms in Greenpoint. Why Brooklyn?
Urban farming is the ultimate example of locavorism [eating locally grown foods] and taps directly into the farm-to-table ethos so popular with Brooklyn chefs. In Manhattan, even at the Greenmarket in Union Square, so much of the products are from New Jersey or New York State. But with urban farms like the Rooftop, you have the freshest tomatoes and peppers and herbs literally from around the corner.

Do you think Brooklyn will be able to sustain its small-scale, locavorean, casual scene?
I do, because I don't think we've even reached the peak yet in Brooklyn — it's still on the upswing. There are still so many Manhattan folks who've yet to try restaurants there and are clamoring for something new and unique.

We know it's like choosing a favorite son, but if there's one Brooklyn restaurant no borough newcomer should miss, which would it be?
I'd have to say Roberta's in Bushwick. It really encapsulates what Brooklyn is all about right now. At its core, Roberta's is a pizza joint, but I love the dichotomy between its laid-back atmosphere and casual environment and its incredible level of quality when it comes to the ingredients. The restaurant grows its own herbs and they're also working on a rooftop garden project. The entire place is just top-notch without feeling precious.

Brooklyn has thousands of restaurants. How did you winnow the list down to the 337 in the book?
It was a grueling process that demanded we eat out every single night for a year and cram in 20 to 30 places each weekend. I live in Brooklyn, but I really had to ask myself, "Is this a restaurant folks would leave their neighborhoods for?" It had to have that kind of allure.

Having now eaten in hundreds of places in less than a year, what's next?
Well, my husband would just like me to stay home, but I'm always ready for my next challenge: Queens. Neighborhoods like Forest Hills and Woodside really have some of the best ethnic food in America. Queens is even more under-the-radar than Brooklyn, so it would be an enormous project. I don't know much about it — I would really be starting from zero!

• David Kaufman