New Restaurants.

There are so many places opening up or "coming soon" in and around the neighborhood, it's almost hard to keep up.  Here are some pics we've snapped in the last week alone.  The place above is in Red Hook on Seabring and Columbia.  Camila's Cafe.  From the looks of their facebook page it will be a coffee shop of sorts.  The place below on Smith Street right next to Flight 001, is Hanco's.  They started out in that very small space at 85 Bergen and look to be expanding.  And lastly, the one below that, Taperia, is tapas on Montague. 

Della Pietra's Gourmet Meats Pics!

We popped into the new butcher and gourmet goods shop at 193 Atlantic last week.  It's only been open for about 3 or 4 weeks now.  It looks beautiful inside and out.  You can't tell from these pictures but their windows has a really nice aged beef case displayed.  Everything looked delicious, especially those golden roasted chickens!  Check out the pics below.  They really don't do the place justice though, it was a little too dark to get good shots of that meat selection.

Fact or Fiction Trivia Tonight.

Thought we'd share this really awesome sounding (and free!) event that's happening tonight at The Bell House, 149 7th Street.  It's called Disalmanac Fact or Fiction Night.  It's a trivia night with a twist (more on that in the description below).  It starts at 8pm but you may want to get there early and claim a spot for you and your team. 

In a truly special event, TrivWorks - NYC's corporate team building specialists and producers of the largest public trivia nights in NYC - has partnered with Disalmanac, the Web's home for fact-like facts, to present the ultimate test of trivia knowledge at The Bell House in Brooklyn!
TrivWorks founder David Jacobson leads a high-energy team trivia competition on a wide range of topics ranging from history and science to pop culture and current events, while comedienne Sharon Spell tests individual audience members' ability to discern facts from deceptively "fact-like facts." Disalmanac creator Scott Bateman will be on-hand to hand out a trove of theme-appropriate prizes, as well as talk a bit about Disalmanac: A Book of Fact-Like Facts coming out in September 2013!

Free Dance Class Intros for Kids.

This is pretty cool.  Dancewave, located in Boerum Hill at 45 4th Ave, is having an open house that includes free trial classes.  This introductory period runs from September 4th-7th.  They have all different types of classes for ages between toddler and teen.  Check it out if you're looking for an extra curricular for your child.

Burgers in the Hood.

Burger joints have been popping up in the neighborhood in recent years like crazy. Some have stuck around and others have come and gone (farewell five guys).  Here's a list of our favorite neighborhood burgers. 

The Obvious Choice-
Prime Meats Bacon Cheeseburger.  Adding the cheese and bacon to this already pricy burger is well worth it.  Hands down the ultimate in meaty deliciousness.

For the kids-
Mooburger is both tasty and has a great atmosphere for families.  They use organic and natural ingredients as well.

The Not-so-Obvious Choice-
Karloff, which specializes in Eastern European fare has a surprisingly amazing burger.  It's really flavorful and has that great combo of charred crispiness on the outside and juicy on the inside.

The Newbie-
Vekslers has only been around for a few weeks now and their burger has made our list because not only is it a decent burger in and of itself but the homemade cheez whiz sauce they put on top knocks it into the excellent category.

What's your favorite? Feel free to add your own fave if we haven't already!

YMCA Pool Party!

Saturday August 24th between 4pm and 7pm the Dodge YMCA, at 225 Atlantic Avenue, will be having a pool party.  Now most of the special events at this facility are open to the public but the flyer we saw said "bring family and friends" so we're not sure if you have to show up with a member to get in or not.  We just gave them a call to ask but the gentleman we spoke with wasn't quite sure.  You may have better luck getting an answer, (718) 625-3136.  If you are a member or know one then you'll definitely be able to enjoy this big refreshing pool.

Workout Gear and Free Yoga.

Lululemon Athletica (try saying that five times) is a new athletic gear store on Smith Street.  The outside of the store is very striking with a swirling metal design wrapped around the brick building and a big heavy wooden door also adorned with swirling metal.  There's no name just a symbol, which you can see below.  With such ornate signage we were a little surprised to learn that they sold athletic clothing and gear.  We also found out that they have a running club that meets once a week and complimentary in store yoga.  Check the link above for more info on that.

Bastille Day!

                                                                                                          Flickr/hsingy
One of the coolest annual events in the area has to be the Bastille Day celebration on Smith Street, which is coming up this Sunday.  The center of these celebrations is definitely the petanque tournament. The photo above will show you the scale of this event and the quote below from smithstreetbk.com talks about how this all goes down.

With the help of neighborhood resident John Quadrozzi, who for the past 11 years has been donating and spreading the sand with his trucks, the joie de vivre of our heroes at Bar Tabac,  and the participation of many other Smith Street chefs, we produce the biggest Bastille Day party (the French equivalent of our 4th of July) and Petanque Tournament outside of France in the world -- right here in Brooklyn.

New Butcher coming to Atlantic!

Happy 4th everyone!  While many of you may already have the idea of grilling juicy burgers on your agenda today, we'd like to share this find with you. There is a new butcher opening in a few weeks at 193 Atlantic and from the blurbs we read on their website, it sounds fantastic. Along with their prime dry aged meats, they will also carry gourmet edibles (cheeses, breads, etc.) as well as butchering tools and utensils. 

Bareburger closes doors temporarily.

After waiting for months for the new Bareburger on Court Street neat Atlantic to open they only opened for a short time before the brown paper went back up on the doors and windows.  The sign outside last week said the "exciting things are happening" and they will re-open with "COOL improvements".  Air conditioning? We can't really guess what could be going on behind that paper but definitely strange that something needs improving after being open for such a short time.  We're growing curiouser and curiouser.

YMCA Summer Deal.

The Dodge YMCA is promoting a summer deal right now.  The basics are join for the summer, which is now until September 2nd, and there is a flat fee of $200 for individuals and $275 for families.  No joiner's fee or monthly fees are added onto that, although you'll have to ask about whether you automatically get charged if you don't cancel membership with advance notice before September if you don't want to continue.  It's a really good deal actually, a lot less than the usual membership fees.  If you've wanted to check it out now is the time.

Calling all Artists!

Brooklyn Boulders, at 575 Degraw Street, is having an art show.  They are asking for submissions from anyone and everyone who wants to be a part of it.  The deadline is June 28th.  Here's the info that they sent out in their newsletter:

We're excited to announce our very first community art exhibition! Since those graffiti guys get all that wall space, we thought you should get some too. We know you're creative,
show everyone what you've got!

If you'd like to participate, submit up to five works with up to three images of each in PNG, PDF,             or JPG to ArtShow@Brooklynboulders.com. If your work is selected, you're in!
                                 Opening night will be held here on Thursday, July 18th.

More on Carnivals!

We blogged about PS 29's Friday night carnival yesterday, mainly because it sounded like fun and we've seen flyers posted everywhere in the neighborhood.  We saw the flyer above today and wanted to give PS 32 a shout out too!  They are having a spring carnival as well this Saturday day from 12pm-4pm, so if a carnival/festival sounds like fun and you'd rather go in the daytime this one's for you! We have such wonderful schools in our hood, mainly because of parent and community involvement.  These festivals are a great way to get out there and support our kids!

PS 38 Spring Carnival Tomorrow.

This spring carnival sounds like a lot of fun and it's for a good cause, of course, the PTA at PS 38.  The sign lists pony rides, an obstacle course and giant slide as just a couple of activities.  And there will also be food and raffles.  If you'd like to stop by it will all be happening at the PS 38 schoolyard, that's 450 Pacific Street between noon and 5pm tomorrow.

Neighborhood Staple Renovating or Closed?

One of the oldest restaurants in the neighborhood, St. Clair on Smith Street, seems to have closed.  Although signs in the window (below) indicate that they are merely renovated the fact that the inside is completely gutted and the outside signs have been taken down tells us that the diner is no longer.  Web buzz, such as the blog lostnewyorkcity, is also reporting that the restaurant is gone for good.  Residents are definitely sad to see this place go.

Winter Wonderland at YMCA!

Have kids and looking for something to do tomorrow..or today depending on when you're reading this?  The Dodge YMCA on Atlantic Ave is having an event from 11am-12:30pm that's open to the public.  It's called Winter Wonderland and should be fun.  Lots of people show up to these events and the kids (mostly babies) really enjoy it.  They'll "offer a light breakfast, winter-themed activities and games, our photo booth, face painting, goodie bags, and much more".  Definitely worth checking out.

Newtown Memorial Fund.

When tragedy strikes an immediate reaction within the community is "how can we help?".  We've definitely been feeling and hearing people talk about this in the wake of the recent horrors that transpired at Sandy Hook Elementary.  We can't even imagine how the victim's families and the residents of Newtown are feeling right now.  We are all grieving in our own community on a smaller scale and have been searching for ways to reach out, in addition to attending one of the several vigils around Brooklyn last weekend.  We recently heard about this memorial fund and thought we'd share it with you.  Click here to learn more or to donate.

Bed-Stuy Fish Fry

A neighborhood favorite in Bed-Stuy is coming to our hood soon!  Bed-Stuy Fish Fry will be opening at the corner of Hoyt and Schermerhorn Streets and we are excited.  The place is a seafood and soul food restaurant and is really well-liked.  The only complaints we heard was that the food takes a long time to make and that the wait to get in can be long.  Both of these sound like the place is good (made to order food that's so good people wait in line to eat it).  Everyone on Urbanspoon raved about the menu, which consists of different seafood dishes, mainly shrimp and fish, and fried chicken.  Mmmmmm.  Bring it!

Bococa Arts Festival

We don't have all the info (mainly just the schedule, which is pending) for the 2012 Bococa Arts Festival.  But the 2011 fest was a lot of fun and we recommend going.  You can visit their website to see the artists involved this year and also keep check for updates on the schedule.  It's a mixture of theater, music and visual arts all coming out of our neighborhood!  It's June 22nd-June 30th.  Here's what the website has to say.

With this Festival, we strive to foster and challenge creative expression, as well as unite and support both the artists, residents and businesses of these unique communities. Artists from all locations and walks of life are welcome to apply and engage in this collaborative effort to bring exceptional life to their work!

Buy your tickets in advance to take advantage of discounts and secure your seat -- seating in some venues is extremely limited reserve in advance.

Shake Shack Brooklyn-Style

So, most of you know that Shake Shack has been open for a little while now, since December 20th. We knew it was going to be in the Fulton Mall area but didn't know it was so close to Borough Hall, it's a Boerum Place and Fulton. We decided to swing by last week and check it out...and maybe get a shake, burger and fries while we were at it. We were so pleased to see some nice Brooklyn touches at this location. A couple of Brooklyn-centric mix-ins include Mast Bros. chocolate blend (which you can see in the picture above) and Early Bird granola (which we'll try next time!). We're so happy to have a Shake Shack in our hood and these local flavors make it all the sweeter (literally!). And the best part? The lines weren't nearly as long as their Manhattan locations so you can be sucking or spooning down a shake in no time!