Snack Shop on Court

I don't get down around these parts (Court & 1st Pl) too often, so it's hard for me to remember what came before the new stores that are moving in. I'm strongly suspicious that Snack Shop used to be a pizza joint, but the one that I thought it had replaced is still in business north a few blocks. So it's a mystery. But I checked out Snack Shop yesterday with The Laser and was pleased to find that it's oddly affordable and carries awesome stuff. The neighborhood kind of needed a little meal / prepared foods store. I had a pretty darn good sushi roll for less than $6 and noticed that they had some fancy Asiago & peppercorn cheese selling for just $3 for a healthy wedge.

Preview of July in Brooklyn

In case you have not left your home in four days, it is my duty to inform you that it is really hot outside. It's a welcome break from the arctic conditions Brooklyn has been experiencing pretty much nonstop with maybe one or two days of unseasonably warm weather since November. But for extreme heat-haters like me it's a little too much, too soon.

Also, there appears to be a dog on Smith Street who is pretty eager to jump out of his third story window.

Another one bites the dust

Thai Sesame, Mon Cher,
I bid thee adieu. Although I never dined on your fine Thai food (because once I saw a big ass roach on your sidewalk), I am confident that you were the third best place in Cobble Hill for Thai food, after Ghang Thai and Em. Your soaped-up windows lead me to believe that you are headed for Thai restaurant heaven. Another victim of our lousy economy. Fair thee well, Sesame friend.

Patois - now in Little Italy

Brownstoner reported back in January, 2009 that beloved Cobble Hill restaurant Patois was closing its doors. But for those who loved those delicious brunches, the writing is on the window! Patois is reopening at 177 Mulberry Street in Manhattan (not Manhatten, as the window would lead you to believe). Alors!

Scary construction on Atlantic today

Scary lifting of heavy cement chunks on Atlantic today. It never ceases to floor me that traffic continues past areas of potential death and destruction just a few feet away.

Your time is up, winter.

Nothing says "spring is here" like a big-ass white fluffy flowers against a cloudless blue sky.

Spring moves in

Nevermind that it was snowing this morning in Brooklyn. There was a hot flash of spring around 2PM and it was evident that this neighborhood is more than ready.
Also - I'm noticing a surplus of Easter bunny stuff in the 'hood this year. What gives?



Syrian flags and the Easter bunny? Whatever you say, Rashid Music of Court Street.

Sunny Sunday

I'm posting this picture of sunny Court Street because it feels like decades since the last time we had a sunny day on a weekend. Not a cloud in the sky! If only the new Stumptown on Court and Warren were giving away free soy lattes, it would be a perfect day.

KIKU - another sushi restaurant on Smith

There are already at least three sushi joints on Smith between Carroll and Atlantic, but last week another appeared - Kiku, which claims to be a restaurant *and* lounge, on Smith and Wyckoff next to the big hideous cinder block mess on the corner. I was dubious about this place because it will take a lot at this point to surpass Wild Ginger in my heart (that pumpkin curry does me right).
However, Friday night I accompanied The Laser there for his belated birthday dinner and was very surprised to see that Kiku is a Japanese fusion restaurant that seems like it's straight out of West LA. Complete with wild colored lights beneath every counter top (red! green! blue!) and a list of specialty rolls that will knock your socks off. The food was very fresh and service was good. I hope this place sticks it out in the tough economy.

Brunch at Char 4 3/21/09

Sometimes I am generous enough as a friend to suggest a restaurant that I know my friend will enjoy but that will probably just amount to a $10 bowl of granola for me. This is because I am vegetarian and have friends like Kat, who like doubling and tripling up on their meats during meals whenever possible. For this reason I knew that Char 4 would be an instant hit for Kat. Pile sexy decor and an impressive whiskey bar on top of a menu that includes bacon in nearly everything and you've got the makings of Kat's heaven on earth. Her eyes would have popped out of her head when the waitress announced that the brunch special was hash, but fortunately they were a little swollen due to the alcohol content in the Bloody Mary and they remained in their sockets. I have to admit that their spicy chipotle Bloody Mary might just be the best Bloody Mary I've ever had, and they were totally cool about making my plate of grits without the suggested ingredient of bacon. And their biscuits were damn, damn good (served with chunky brown sugar apple sauce). I'm getting all hongray again just thinking about it a day later.
PS you can hear Kat complaining about her "Asian flush" from the booze in all videos below.



Oh yeah, and the bartenders and waitstaff are totally cute. Kat and I also spent a good ten minutes discussing the teeny tiny bathrooms and how somehow the use of space works for an overall successful bathroom experience. We're still not sure how they empty the garbage cans without diggin' in to scoop out the junk (ie, no liner, and that metal box is screwed into the wall). Bravo, Char 4. You'll be making my Bloody Mary next Saturday morning again.

All kinds of new stuff popping up

Last weekend a mysterious-looking dormitory appeared on Atlantic Avenue between Smith and Hoyt. I think the orange banners on hanging off the front of the building advertising ASA are for one of those art colleges that advertise on late-nite TV. I'm curious to see the inside of this building if, in fact, young'uns are actually living there these days. That building was empty and available as office space for as long as I can remember.



A few blocks a way, Re-Dress, a new re-sale shop specializing in vintage dresses for women in sizes over 14 just opened. Perhaps an act of genius or just one of those real-estate funnies, the store is directly across the street from NY Sports Club on Boerum Place, which in my opinion is the most jam-packed gym in the neighborhood. This gym used to be packed with sexy young dad-types but now it seems to be overflowing with out-of-place d-bags in track pants who must have recently migrated from the Upper West Side (if anyone knows where the sexy dads went, please email me. they are not at Equinox in Brooklyn Heights, in case you were wondering). So now I guess if no treadmills are available I can just go across the street and buy a plus-size dress (and stop at One Girl Cookies on the way home). At any rate, the storefront is really cute, and I never thought any business would ever open on that block, which is mostly taken over by a parking lot that is operated by enormous feral cats.

Rough weekend for weaves on Smith Street

I can't claim to know what kind of mischief all of my neighbors in Brooklyn get into on the weekends, but evidence on Smith and Pacific suggests that there was some weave-pulling going on. Two lonely braids were found abandoned last Sunday morning on the sidewalk in front of the now-empty location of Trout.