I love that there's a museum dedicated to American art, founded at a time when American artists were underappreciated. The exhibitions are curated with a broad but discerning eye, and the architecture is spectacular. In my experience it's typically much quieter than the obvious choices like the Met and the MoMA - although both are remarkable, there's something I love about the scale and style of the Whitney.
This marketplace is home to tons of amazing local restaurants, shops, and vendors— from flowers, meat and cheese, wine, and a food court downstairs. There is definitely something for you here.
Hands down the best wood fire pizza I've had in Brooklyn. Great for a date or if you're feeling fancy schmancy. (Also, don't sleep on the caesar salad here.)
The reputation of Mission Chinese Food is for being cool, weird, and extremely eccentric, which tends to mean that you either love it or hate it (an assessment that is at least somewhat correlated to your personal tolerance for spice).