Bagel Bagel

Right on Hamilton Ave, near Summit and across from the cruise terminal, stands a new bagel cafe. It's called South Brooklyn Bagels and promises not only hot bagels but 24 hours worth of bagels. Wow! That's like a little bit of Manhattan right in our very hood. They aren't open yet, the sign outside says coming soon and the door was open this weekend so we peeked in. It looks pretty much ready for business so we expect it'll open very soon. Definitely a strange spot for a shop like this. Not a lot of foot traffic but great for folks who live in the Columbia Waterfront District as we can't think of any bagel shops in the area. Also great for anyone craving a bagel at 3 in the morning!

Pan Am & Vintage Cars

Walking down Henry Street today will send you back in time. The street, specifically between Kane and Degraw, was full of vintage cars. These cars were parked there for the shooting of Pan Am, which has been shooting in the neighborhood off and on for quite a while now. The show takes place in the 1960's so I'd imagine the cars would be from that era and maybe older? In the picture above you can see a classic yellow taxi cab as well. Maybe one of the stars would be getting out of the cab because it seemed they were prepping it for more than just sitting on the curb when we walked by. It was a very cool sight to see and it looks like we'll be seeing more of that in the area the way things have been going. What can we say? We live in a picture-perfect neighborhood.

Cool Class

Isn't is funny how you can walk by a place over and over again and see it for the first time one day? The other day, walking down Smith Street in the early evening, the Brooklyn Bead Box was just that place for us. Peaking inside the warmly lit store one could see a table where several women were sitting and beading jewelry. It was a class. How awesome! Looking up at their sign we knew we'd seen this place before but couldn't really recall and it was like seeing it for the first time, or at least in a different light. It seemed like such a nice thing to do on a Sunday evening. Sit and bead. If this sounds like a nice thing to you also you should check out their website for the class schedule. It looks like you sign up for daily classes, which are $35 or $40, and then buy the beads you want to work with, make your jewelry, and bring it home!

BeQu now Mandy's

At 227 Smith Street in Carroll Gardens an old spot has become a new spot, all with the change of a name and sign. BeQu Juice bar is now called Mandy's Healthy Cafe. We're not sure if this indicates that business hasn't been doing well. Maybe they just needed a fresh look and name? BeQu didn't make much sense. It stood for "better quality" but that wasn't apparent by first or even second glance. We can't find a menu for Mandy's. The BeQu menu is still up on menupages. I guess we'll find out more soon.

Young Actors Workshop

The fall session for the Young Actors Workshop is coming up (the week of September 19th). This 13 week session will cost you $325 but according to their website "Scholarships are available for students in need who have a passion for acting and theater." The classes teach improvisation, scene study, and comedy & tragedy. They have different classes for different ages. These workshops are held at Christ Church in Cobble Hill, 326 Clinton Street. If you're interested in signing your child or children up check out their website for more info. Here's a little blurb about Ezra Barnes, who will be teaching the fall session.

Ezra Barnes is a teacher, actor, and director. He has performed Off-Broadway with the Mint and Pearl Theater Companies, with numerous regional theaters and been featured on Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Bored to Death, As the World Turns, and in the feature films Joshua and Once More With Feeling. A Shakespearean expert, he founded Connecticut’s Shakespeare on the Sound, considered one of the premier outdoor classical theaters in the area, and served as its Artistic Director for 14 years. A longtime Brooklyn resident and parent, Ezra has taught theater for young people at Saint Ann’s School, the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, Poly Prep, and Piper Theatre. www.ezrabarnes.com

Columbia Street Waterfront Festival

This Saturday, September 10th, come one down to Columbia Street for a day of food, rides, games, live music and shopping! There will also be a special appearance by the North Shore Animal League mobile pet adoption trailer. The festival starts at 11 am and goes until 6pm and stretches from Degraw to Union on Columbia Street and around the corner on Union to Hicks Street. The weather forecast is looking lovely so let's keep our fingers crossed. If you want to enjoy local food and music or if you're looking to adopt a furry friend head to the waterfront this Saturday. See you there!

Moo Burger...coming finally?

We reported the coming of Moo Burger to 240 Court street quite some time ago, back in January to be precise. We believed the sign that said "coming soon" and so we blogged that they'd be hopefully opening soon after but weren't sure of a date. Considering, though, that the restaurant that occupied the space previously had a fire, it makes sense that it might take months to get the place up and running. Well, we are pleased to announce that the spot will breathe live again soon. They have a Moo Burger awning in place and, after peeking inside beyond the papered windows, we could see that they look pretty set to go. So the "coming soon" sign now has some validity.

Another TV show shooting

On Degraw and Henry street in Carroll Gardens the TV show "Over/Under", which is still listed as in development, will be shooting according to this sign we saw posted. The shoot date is listed as Wednesday, tomorrow, between 6am and 11pm. We couldn't find out much info on this show on IMDB but we did find a synopsis on tv.com and it's as follows. "A day trader is fired from his job due to his serious gambling problem that has cost his company millions of dollars. He moves to a new neighborhood with his wife and finds a surprising new path that will help him rebuild his life." What the "surprising new path" is is anyone's guess but maybe if you catch them shooting a scene or two you can find out.

Francis Louis

Did you know that the Prime Meats and Frankies Sputino owners, or the two Franks (Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo), also have a catering and event company? We've known that Frankies has had an event space in the back of the restaurant, a beautiful room for large parties which is actually a converted blacksmith's stable, but we didn't know they had officially become caterers as well. According to their website they will serve at the location of your choice if you'd rather not have your party at the restaurant. Contact info is as follows.

If you would like to schedule an event
please contact:

Marci Delozier Haas

Email: marci@frankspm.com

Phone: 718-403-0033 ext.13

9/11 Exhibit

Next Thursday, the 8th of September from 6pm-9pm, a new exhibit about the maritime role in the 9/11 response will be opening. The exhibit takes place on the historic ship LILAC at Hudson River Park's Pier 25 (North Moore Street in Tribeca). Hours after the 8th for the month of September will be Thursdays from 12:00pm- 6:00pm and Saturdays from 1:00pm-6:00pm. This was included in the exhibit info that we received. "PortSide NewYork is mounting a multimedia exhibit (photography, videos and oral history) and a related talk about the extraordinarily successful and little-known maritime role in responding to 9/11, from evacuation to rubble removal. The exhibit is created in partnership with the Lilac Preservation Project." Also ways of supporting this exhibit are listed below.

Sponsors are still being sought. Email us here or call 917-414-0565.

Volunteer at the exhibit: Help increase the hours that the ship LILAC can be open to the public.

Provide content: if you were evacuated by water, worked on a response boat on 9/11, or photographed the activities on the water, we may be able to use your images.