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News arts and crafts fair in Boerum Hill – Fact & Fancy
Josh Guttman | June 29, 2008
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Too hot and wet for you to check out Renegade Craft Fair or the Brownstoner flea market? There’s still a chance to see emerging arts and crafters right here at Boerum Hill’s new handmade gallery, Fact & Fancy. Right now the gallery is showing work from over 40 artists, many of whom you may or may not have had the chance to catch at Renegade. This small gallery is curated to the brim with prints, original art, ceramics, clothing and jewelry – every stitch handmade right down to the hand-painted faux bois floors. Last Saturday was the opening for their first show, Wet Paint. Pop by to check out the work of local and international artists and get yourself a free mustache! Hope you can check it out! For a sneak preview, take a look at these Photos.
The wait is over, red deli reopens Friday as Ted & Honey
Josh Guttman | June 25, 2008
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Well, it’s been a long time coming. Roughly 12 months ago, the red deli abruptly closed its doors in a bizarre development that found its long-time owner, Christophe, in China and the deli in shambles. We reported on it here, here and here again. Nearly a year later, the space has been completely refurbished – new paint, new floors, new ceiling, new kitchen – and most importantly, new ownership, and is putting the final preparations in place for a grand opening this Friday!
Long-time neighborhood resident Michelle, who learned her trade at a Danny Meyer Manhattan restaurant, convinced her brother Ted, to leave his position as chef at Six Penn Kitchen in Pittsburgh and move up to the big leagues of Brooklyn. As I’ve had a bird’s eye view of the deli’s implosion and resurrection, I’m predicting great things from this bro-sis combo and I think it will have been worth the lengthy wait.
They’ve definitely gone upscale in both menu and preparation from previous ownership, though thankfully, prices have remained reasonable. They are sourcing almost all the food from local farmers and purveyors, including a special custom blend of d’Amico coffee and ice cream from Blue Marble. Ted prides himself on making everything in-house, right down to the mayonnaise. You’ll notice his herb plants sitting in front of the deli during the day. The space was designed by a team of artists, led by Michelle’s husband’s marketing firm. Along with coffee, espresso, snacks and sandwiches, they are adding a full breakfast menu and a weekly take-home dinner menu that offers a different dish each night. Some highlights from the dinner menu include smoked chicken jambalaya and lamb bolognese pappardelle. The breakfast menu is also stepped up, now including an assortment of crostinis (a nod to the neighborhood’s Italian heritage), breakfast wraps (including one made with grits, cheddar, ham and eggs) and rhubarb strawberry cream cupcakes – yum! They also plan to have seasonal soups and lots of goodies for kids. They’re making a real effort to keep the place eco-friendly, with low impact biodegradable cups, plates and utensils. While they lean free range/organic, Ted believes “locality and carbon footprint are as important as organic designation. Everything we prepare is artisinal in nature and made with a lot of love.” If Ted and Michelle deliver on their vision for Ted & Honey, I think that love will be returned many times over.
Welcoming the coolest new bar on Smith Street – Clover Club
Josh Guttman | June 19, 2008
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Score one for Cobble Hill. Clover Club opened with much anticipation yesterday (they’ve been working on the space for over a year) and the early indications are that it may have been worth the wait. I predict this place will quickly assume the role of swankiest/hippest bar in the neighborhood, without the pretencion or tackiness that has been a frequent doomed mis-step of Manhattan business owners expanding to the neighborhood.
The space is designed as a throwback to the days when most of Brooklyn was still farmland, and a group of Philadelphia pioneers formed one of the original drinking clubs, held together by a favorite location, a single cocktail and a name: The Clover Club. The masterminds behind the spot are Julie Reiner and Michael Brais (Julie also did the Flatiron Lounge in Manhattan). The cocktails are old-school, epitomized by the house cocktail The Clover Club (Plymouth gin, dry vermouth, lemon juice and house-made raspberry syrup) and punches served in antique bowls big enough for eight (seems like they borrowed a page from Zombie Hut here)—meaning you can hunker down at a leather booth and engage your whole entourage in some communal punch-bowl boozing through a straw.
The space is chic. Antique pressed tin/copper ceilings in the front room open up to mirrored ceilings in the back, and both spaces are adorned with dark wood floors and vintage wallpaper (local resident, Jennifer Wood, contributed to the space’s design strategy). The ambiance is slightly clubby with oriental carpets, chandeliers, and upholstered sofas along with an antique mahogany bar. The backroom evokes a hint of privacy/exclusivity with a second bar and fireplace and will likely double as a choice space for private parties. They’ll be serving a menu of small plates and offer probably the best drink menu in the neighborhood, including a full array of sours, highballs, fizzes, cobblers, royales and swizzles.
Clover Club is located at 210 Smith Street, between Baltic and Butler
Ikea is open in Red Hook!!
Josh Guttman | June 18, 2008
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After years of controversy, construction, anticipation, the first Ikea in New York City opened in Red Hook, Brooklyn this morning, widely covered by the likes of Gothamist and The Brooklyn Paper. By the time the doors opened at 9:00 a.m., hundreds of shoppers had gathered on line outside the Swedish retailer. A festive atmosphere prevailed without any of the community dissent that had threatened the project from the beginning.
Rather than demonstrations from neighbors worried about the incoming wave of traffic, the crowd was largely enthusiastic, though one woman on line was reportedly heard yelling, “Where’s my job?” (Ikea gained support from some residents in Red Hook — a neighborhood with one of the highest poverty rates in New York City — with the promise of jobs, but has not released details about its some 500 new employees.)
The one and only Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz was on hand to welcome Ikea, declaring, “From this day forward, Red Hook will be one of the best known neighborhoods in New York City and New York State… Hundreds of local residents now have the opportunity to move up the economic ladder… Germany is currently the leading country in terms of Ikea sales and the United States is #2. Well, that’s about to change. Here in Brooklyn we don’t like being #2 to anyone and I have no doubt that in a very short time the Brooklyn Ikea will be the most prosperous of the 281 worldwide locations!”
Marco Polo Ristorante’s 25th Anniversary Gala
Jess Levey | June 12, 2008
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The other day, my boyfriend Josh and I were talking about how we need to make a visit to Arthur Avenue in the Bronx to partake in some good ol’ school Italian eating. But, after Tuesday night’s festivities and chow down at Marco Polo Ristorante on the corner of Court and Union Streets, I was reminded that I happen to live in the sister neighborhood to this Italian Gem.
It’s strange that I had forgotten this fact considering that I was born and raised in Brooklyn, and have a very fond memory of spending, what must have been, my 10th birthday eating and celebrating at Marco Polo. I can still vividly picture a huge mud pie (My all time favorite dessert which was only made perfectly by Snookies in Park Slope) which was carried out to me by 6 or 7 large Italian men in tuxedos whose vibrato shook the forks on the table. They were accompanied by a stellar piano player, and I was very happy to see the same piano resting in the same exact place that I had remembered.
Actually, not much has changed in Marco Polo since my visit 22 years ago, three years after they had opened! Everything from the Venetian gondola ice sculpture filled with decorative clams (which Josh deemed unfair in their inedibility) to the gaudy chandeliers and the exposed brick set with Murals of An Adonis Marco Polo in picturesque Venice seemed just about exactly how I had remembered it. I was taken back to the days sitting at my Nana’s home in Bensonhurst – wait a second, that never happened, I am Jewish, not Italian – but a common fantasy amongst us Jews as Marty Markowitz reminded the crowd in his warm and humorous speech during the meal. Markowitz’s speech was full of Brooklyn chutzpa complete with a true NY accent and full of love for his Borough and for Joe Chirico, the Owner of Marco Polo, and dear friend of Markowitz’s.
Josh and I truly felt that we were intruding on an intimate family gathering. As the night went on, we were left alone at a table set for 8. When one of the publicist’s decided to join us, we welcomed the company, but all I really wanted to do was to sit with my hometown peeps, though none of them seemed to share the sentiment.
Marco Polo opened their doors in 1983, at a time when most people were scared to even walk to the Cobble Hill Theater (I being one of these people). Joe was one of the first big restaurants to take the risk and open up in a neighborhood that seemed far off from becoming what it is today. However, rather than ignore the changing faces of Carroll Gardens, Joe announced during the evening that the restaurant will undergo a complete renovation and Marco Polo will be handed down to his son, who is currently in culinary school. The renovation will modernize the restaurant, open it up, make it slicker, more minimalist, and chic.
I cannot say that I am happy about this change. Recently, I had the opportunity to eat at Sammy’s Romanian in the LES, and during the evening at Marco Polo, I kept thinking that this could be a destination place like Sammy’s, a place where one can be reminded of a culture like their own, or exposed to a culture vastly different. A place whose lure is in the countless nights that people have gathered together by the piano on the same dark carpets, and within the same brick walls. This kind of energy only exists within a place that remains true to its form. Maybe I am just a sucker for nostalgia, but it’s hard not to be when you live in a city (oops, I mean a borough) that is constantly renovating what I believe should just remain the same. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it, the saying goes, and for Marco Polo, and for Brooklyn, if you want to open something chic, maybe it is best to leave that up to the real “city” folk across the river. For now, I like my Brooklyn like it always was – diverse, friendly, unpretentious, full of character, chutzpa, uniqueness, and damn good cookin – from whatever home you may have come from.
Atlantic Ave ArtWalk this weekend, June 7-8…
Julia Lipkins | June 6, 2008
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This weekend, Atlantic Avenue will play host to the highly-acclaimed ArtWalk. Now in its 5th year, the ArtWalk offers pedestrians the opportunity to engage with local artists and merchants by visiting their studios.
“ArtWalk includes artists across all media, participatory events, film, public art, live music, and activities for families and children of all ages. Visitors can enjoy exhibits, view and buy work, meet the artists and sample the Avenues restaurants, shops and bars at their own pace. To add to the weekend festivities, local businesses host receptions while area restaurants and bars offer special rates to ArtWalkers throughout the weekend”
Here’s a list of participation artists and a handy map of the route. Bergen Carroll recommends the following special events:
CANNONBALL PRESS SHOW
Saturday & Sunday, June 7 – 8, 1pm – 6pm
Atlantic Gardens Storefront, Atlantic Avenue and 3rd Avenue
“Cannonball Press will present high quality, fine-art editions of original work starting at only $20 by over 50 artists such as Sean Star Wars, David Rees, David Ellis, Maya Hayuk, and Swoon. The collaborative duo and master printer will also be on hand doing woodcut demonstrations and will exhibit new large-scale 25″ x 12″ mural banners created from this process.”
Kim Holleman: Mobile Public Artwork Trailer Park
Saturday & Sunday, June 7 – 8, 1pm
Public Art Projecy
“Trailer Park is a portable, natural, public park housed inside an 18′ x 8′ x 7” mobile Coachman Travel Trailer. The interior is fully planted, designed, and treated as a “real”
park.”
MARTIN SOBEY: Site Specific Art Installation on Atlantic Avenue
Saturday & Sunday, June 7 – 8, 1pm – 6pm
Public Art Project
“Artists Statement: I install abstract photography on just about everything, including poles, ventilation ducts, sidewalks, streets and high traffic pedestrian zones. Placement is critical, as I find very specific locations for differing types of installations.”
“Twilight Becomes Night” by director, Virginie-Alvine Perrette Followed by discussion with the filmmaker
Film Screening: Sunday, June 8th, 5pm
Belarusan Church, 401 Atlantic Avenue
“Twilight Becomes Night is an intimate and emotional portrait documenting the life of small businesses today surviving amidst myriad issues that threaten neighborhood stores – the large chains, high rents, and public policy, among others. Using the streets and shops of New York City as a backdrop, the film moves beyond nostalgic regret to reveal a high-stakes transformation and its potential to affect us all. In the end, the film is a powerful reminder of individual commitment and community activism in preserving local business.”
Silent Auction Benefit & Artist Reception
Sunday, June 8th, 3pm – 5pm
Flying Saucer Café, 494 Atlantic Avenue
“Bid on oil paintings by Robert Szot and Glenn Paul Smith throughout ArtWalk and join us Sunday 3pm-5pm as we celebrate and announce the auction winners. Fifty percent of all silent auction proceeds will benefit Getting Out & Staying Out, a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing the recidivism rate of young men being released from Rikers Island.”
Marco Polo Ristorante celebrates 25 years in the neighborhood!!
Josh Guttman | June 4, 2008
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Marco Polo Ristorante, a name that is as synonymous to Carroll Gardens as “the stroller” is to Park Slope, celebrated it’s 25th anniversary last night. While Marty Markowitz slurped linguini with Bergen Carroll’s very own, Jess Levey, Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination on the 150th anniversary of the abolition of slavery….what a confluence of events:) Needless to say, it was a big night for the ristorante. We’ll hear more from Jess soon on what the 25th anniversary gala entailed, but in the meantime, Marco Polo is offering a special menu in honor their milestone. Details below….
Marco Polo Ristorante’s 25th anniversary special prix fixe menus: three-courses at lunch for $19.83 – 1983 was the year Marco Polo opened its doors in what was then a run-down area – and $25.00 at dinner – for the number of years the restaurant has been open. In addition, 25 wines will be offered at $25 per bottle, most of them Italian, featuring producers such as Planeta from Sicily, Anselmi and Bertani from the Veneto, and Banfi, among others. The menus and wines will be available from June 4th until June 30th.
Dedicated to quality ingredients, the restaurant is known for its house-made mozzarella, sausages and pastas, as well as gelato and sorbets. The anniversary prix fixe menu features dishes such as house-made pasta with spicy cured anduja sausage and guanciale; house-made mozzarella with basil and tomato; grilled octopus; cod with olives and capers; prosciutto and mozzarella stuffed pork chop; grilled house-made sausages with potatoes and mushrooms and a nod to the restaurant’s namesake’s native Venice – the classic Fegato alla Veneziana, calf liver sautéed with onions and & black pepper over polenta. For dessert, gelato with fresh cherries and aged balsamic and Charlotte di Venezia (delicate sponge cake filled with torrone gelato and hot chocolate) will be offered, along with Marco Polo’s traditional Italian cheesecake. (The a la carte menu will be available as well, showcasing such signature dishes as Fettuccine al Vino Rosso finished tableside in a wheel of parmigiano-reggiano.)
