Brooklyn Mother Turns L train as the Hottest Restaurant in NYC Treating Commuters a Full Thanksgiving Meal

‘Hottest restaurant in NYC is THE L TRAIN!

Subway commuters treated to Thanksgiving meal on the L train

NYC is the best!!

A Brooklyn woman invited all of New York City to her Thanksgiving dinner this week, setting up a whole meal inside a subway car to feed strangers.

Multiple people mentioned, ‘I’m not going to see my family this year. I’m not able to have a big gathering,’ and they were really grateful, said Haylee Pentek of Williamsburg.

Pentek was coming home from work on Tuesday night when she, along with dozens of other commuters, was surprised with a heaping plate of food.

They also had so many dinners and boxed meals. They were really making sure that everyone who needed or wanted food had an opportunity to eat, Pentek said.

One witness, Jada Yuan, who is a reporter at The Washington Post, took to the platform to share videos of what became an entire Thanksgiving feast on a Brooklyn-bound L Train this week, complete with an entire table, sides, and, of course, a turkey.

There was a stalled train at Bedford and the conductor had us all get off. I was in a different car and when I stepped onto the platform there were all these happy, laughing people scarfing down mac and cheese, she wrote alongside the video of happy train riders helping themselves to plate full.

Yuan’s video of this incident has garnered a slew of heartwarming comments from New Yorkers and Thanksgiving celebrators near and far, showing their love for the occasion which truly exemplifies the spirit of the city that was hit so hard amid the COVID-pandemic — to be able to spend in-person time with strangers at all seems to be reason enough to celebrate.

The captured video was also picked up and shared by New York Bucket List Thursday morning.

‘Friendsgiving but on THE L TRAIN,’ the account captioned their post. ‘Only in NYC! Happy Thanksgiving from the greatest city in the world.’

The New York Bucket List has more than 1.5 million followers and says it advises New Yorkers on ‘the best things to do in the city.

Brooklyn woman serves Thanksgiving feast on L train

‘This moment made someone’s day. Some people are not in the highest spirit because they are alone, don’t have it to feast, or are not in a good space. For someone to bring the ensemble and share is a big deal,’ wrote another.

‘This was a blessing I’m sure for someone who doesn’t have the blessing of food or family to share that with. This was a gift to someone I’m sure,’ said a commenter.

‘It wouldn’t be a day in NY without this type of love,’ said one person.

Brandi Baxter, a single mom of three from East New York, is also the chef in Bea’s Kitchen behind all of this. She was involved in a similar stunt with a group of friends back in 2019. This year, she decided to bring it back — this time with just her kids.

They loaded the food, table, and settings at the Livonia Avenue station, and then took the L train all the way to Union Square, where they set up the table. That’s when everyone on the train was invited for dinner.

But her dinner party gets more meaningful when you learn her story. Less than a year ago, Baxter and her kids were homeless and struggled to put food on the table, themselves.

That’s what it was about, just loving people. New York is not as bad as they make it seem. I know we have a lot going on right now, but this to be a ray of sunshine, I’m here for it, Baxter said.

She cooked for two days and made enough food to fill around 160 bellies.

I wasn’t really having a great day that day and just to see people helping us give back to the community was fun, daughter Kamara Fraser said.

But a few stops in, the train went out of service. Eventually, passengers were asked to step off, and Baxter cleared the table. But she wasn’t done. She took the leftovers to her community to feed the people she saw on the streets.

You should always give back, no matter what you have, or even if you have a dollar or a quarter, always give it to a person in need, son Aziah Fraser said.

Baxter is still not done. She was on her way to drop off boxes of clothing at a local church. This mom shows her gratitude through acts of service, and it’s not just on Thanksgiving, but year-round.

Baxter said she even offered the food to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority conductor and other staff, who were glad to see her there. She said she thinks the train was stopped because of traffic ahead — not because of the dinner.

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