The New Wave

Keeping it Close to Home

Fall’s a-coming. Woah, no, it’s here. Where did the summer go? Who cares? Fall is one of the most gorgeous times ever foisted upon us, and until Al Gore or Richard Branson solve the climate crisis, we better get busy enjoying it while we have it. Ahhhhhh, fall—the Halloween/Holiday/Holy Holiday parties... ah yes. The costumes and faces you put on for trick-or-treating, visiting family and friends, or for returning to the once-a-year mass gig. A time for tradition, emotional recall, and lord god, dealing with your crazy, mixed-up and, did I say, embarrassing family? Well, maybe that’s just me. But fall... fall is nature’s way of bringing us inside and forcing a little introspection on us. Park Slope’s families are giving their new and old families the same mixed up traditions they were given while also feeling the itch to introduce some of their own. Our ’hood’s BOOMING new businesses offer a good dose of what our parents had and what we are recreating for ourselves. There’s a healthy little bit of everything as your neighbors hang a shingle on their block and urge you to check out their household goods, their memory makers, their original drinks. They’re keeping it close to home, so why shouldn’t you? Try ’em out, ask for the owner, introduce yourself, carry something home and start your own tradition of buying local. By Lisa Dowda

So Two Guys Walk into a bar...

Well, it wasn’t a bar yet. It was a former 99 cent storefront up for rent, but whatever. So two guys walk into the 99 cent store, and they want to open a restaurant. These two guys, they live together, right? And no, they’re not gay, they’re brothers. And no, they’re not ’bruthas’—they’re Bart and John DeCoursey of Sidecar on 5th. So ok, the plan: Bart runs the front of the house, John does the food, they both come up with the drinks. John obsesses over the menu, experimenting with 850,000 oysters and sporting what some might say is an unhealthy fixation on perfecting the buttermilk fried chicken recipe. Bart calls up his artisan friends, “Hey, wanna design the perfect bar for us?” Enter a few Brooklyn-bred architects and designers. They come by, look at the place, scratch their heads and say, “Sure, we’ll help.” But it’s not until they walk to the back and say, “S•?t!” when they get a load of the wall in the back. Dr. Tucker’s 59 Elixir that reportedly, 100 years ago, ’cures all pain,’ is still painted, hardly peeling, on the back wall. So they design around it, put it on the t-shirts and menu boasting everything from Banh—De to their own concocted Dr. Tucker’s 59 cocktail to cobblers and lobster from time to time. Old and New. Friendly and warm. Comfy and you can see everybody from everywhere in the bar. Passing glances encouraged. Yelling across the bar with a smidge of discretion encouraged. Curing what ails you—the mission of these two guys’ humble bar. Old school feel, new school healthiness, timeless hang-out-ability. Sidecar is parked on 560 5th Avenue. Call for specials or just to say hi. 718.369.0077.

EAT ME the Old School Way

Sundays were made for cool breezes, good conversation, and a Lime Cherry Rickey. So was Old Brooklyn Parlor, which opened in July in Prospect Heights. Here, you’ll find just the right scoop to cool your jets after a long day or week at the grindstone. This is the kind of the place the Not-For-Tourists guidebook editors love. With an open window to the sidewalk for passers-by to place orders and park benches around a tree flanked with flower pots, the Stroller Elite, the After-Mass and the neighborhood patrons circulate regularly and order from a sassy menu of Ginger Crème Brulee Ice Cream, Brooklyn Egg Cream, malted milk shakes, bagels and lemonades. A place like this, so new to the area, oftentimes has the smell of the owners calling all their friends to come and make the place look lived in. But Old Brooklyn Parlor already has its fans with strangers sharing new conversations and a seat on a bench. With ice cream fresh “from the cows of Ronnybrook Farms in Ancramdale, New York,” and “Eat Me” in the old school font on its storefront, it’s a good bet Old Brooklyn has some dug-in, staying power. Don’t call—just go by. Old Brooklyn Parlor is located on the shady side of the street at 564 Vanderbilt, between Bergen and Dean Streets.

So Many Delivery Menus, So Little Time to Paw Through Them?

Put Nick Kitchen on top of the stack. Nick Kitchen is incredibly tasty and Thai—or is that redundant? In any event, it’s a no-fail option for that late night at the office (they close at 10:30pm Sunday to Thursday). And to boot, Nick Kitchen moved into the neighborhood to serve you specifically. Its owner saw the slacker-year-olds clogging the Park Slope streets and opened up a small storefront about two months ago. This Thai option deserves the linen napkin/upstairs treatment soon enough, but for now, it’s great take-out or delivery. The thing about Thai food shares with its Eastern Homecoming Queen sister, sushi, is that—it’s light and healthy enough to look good on china or plastic, and it always gives you that Uptown feeling whether you’re bringing it home in a stapled bag or bringing your stapled date to it. Their place is a little tight to dine comfortably in, but there are a couple of stools and a table if you don’t want to eat the good stuff in front of the kids. But for now, better to just call and ask for what you want. They’re friendly and confident. They’ll bring it to you, if you can’t swing by. Nick Kitchen is located under the royal blue shingle at 447 7th Avenue, between 15th and 16th Streets. Order up at 718.788.NICK.

For the Playing-Footsie-Under-The-Table Demographic

At 3 o’clock on a Sunday afternoon, this place was half full. In one corner, a 20-something couple dined on salads with their legs wrapped around the others’. In the other corner, a multi-generational family were laughing it up, complete with gifts, balloons and well-behaved kids. At the bar, a 40-something woman spooned at her frozen chocolate dessert, smiling at and eyeing me writing. The French—man, what is it about the French people? They never get fat, they still smoke in cafes, they get six weeks vacation, they ski, they gave us our own symbol of Liberty, and we STILL look down our noses at them? What they know about food, romance and ambiance could fill the plate of an Old Country Buffet regular. A.O.C. Bistro* is another French addition to 5th Avenue and what’s different about this place is the menu. A.) It’s kid-friendly—there’s pasta, steak and chicken for your educated child’s palate. B.) It’s adult-friendly—there’s seven of everything, from salads to sandwiches to entrées. C.) Anything on the menu is available to order at anytime of the day. Lobster at 10am, if that’s your groove. Hours range Monday through Thursday: 3-11pm, Fri/Sat/Sun: 10am to midnight. Call 718.788.1515 for specials. Located at 259 5th Avenue, A.O.C. Bistro’s manager is Greko. He’s a perfectionist about the international blend of music that plays in the background. I’m just sayin’...

• A.O.C. Bistro is shorthand for the movie it’s named after. “L’aile ou La Cuisse” (“The Wing and the Thigh” in English) is a 1976 French flick about a gourmet chef and Zagats-type publisher who loses his sense of taste and whose son wants to be a professional clown instead of following in his father’s footsteps.

The Story You’re Not Telling Us

Back before the days of the digital camera, if you’ll recall, there was the process of going to the Walgreens, dropping off your film cartridge, drumming your fingers for 1-3 days, picking them up and with Christmas morning excitement, diving into the hard copy photographs to remind you of what you thought you remembered. Then, just as quickly, that envelope got put into a box full of other envelopes full of great scrapbooking and framing promise. 10, 15, 20 years later—they’re still there. Coming to the rescue of your personally lost archives—both hard copy and digital—is Martie at Memories Out of the Box. What she does is sit with you and the boxes (or multiple file folders on your laptop) and asks you, “What’s most important to you? What’s the significance of this day?” and BAM! You’ve got an album that you can show your friends, kids and family. Say you want to document the years 0-5 before kindergarten of your son, but just can’t bear the angst of deciding what’s cutest or more endearing or what’s truly his ’essence,’ Martie’s there to hold your hand in cropping, cutting, filing, framing, gluing, writing dates to create the digital or album portfolio that you couldn’t envision for yourself. Think of her as the Martha Stewart of home photography. If you’re sending someone off to college or are going back yourself or just miss having sweet wine and donuts with your girlfriend who just won’t leave Atlanta, Memories Out of the Box offers several options to keep those gone-but-not-forgotten people back into your daily life. Check out the store at 633 Vanderbilt Avenue in Prospect Heights. Ask for Martie at 718.398.1519. www.memoriesoutofthebox.biz.

Brooklyn Artists for Brooklyn Crafts

It’s a modest store, full of little pieces of paper, a wall full of sticky stickers and shelving units with delicately arranged stamps and their inks. Growing from behind the counter is a twisted paper tree looming large and sporting handmade whimsical mobiles that stretches its kudzu-type twisted-paper ivy branches to the storefront’s window. Be Crafty, the sister store of Lion in the Sun, offers local families a different sort of paper-y experience. A place where you can spend a couple of hours making your own wrapping paper, greeting cards, or heck, trees, this warm and woody store offers a perfect place for tiny hands. Or if you’re next for throwing the next party, Be Crafty offers the opportunity to be the hit of the ’hood. Invite 10 kids and their parents here: the kids stay busy, the adults are thrilled to not have the neighbor’s kids’ paw prints all over everything at their house, and everyone takes something home as a memory of a successfully thrown birthday party. Added with a team of energetic Brooklyn artists teaching monthly workshops, you’ll get the hands-on expertise of true craftsmen and women while also jogging your mind for holiday gift ideas. Be TheEnvyOfYourStrollerClub and Be Crafty. They’re just off 7th Avenue at 453B 4th Street. Danielle Martinelli, manager and the artist responsible for the tree’s growth, is liable to be greeting you when you walk through the door with an easy smile. 718.768.0107. Check out their monthly workshops roster at www.becrafty.blogspot.com.

I Gotta Have Some ADULT Conversation...!

Or just not another beer from a can. Vin Rouge opened up in the South Slope urging college grads flocking to the area and the adults already living there a chance to take themselves seriously. This sleek, dimly lit wine bar is the brainchild of Has Beans coffeehouse owner (across the street) Peggy Gandrau, who is clearly capitalizing on the schizophrenic intoxicigensia of the post-boomer generation who swing from coffee to cigars to hookahs to sports bars to wine bars. But she has a true affection for this changing neighborhood with its “full spectrum of people” and would have it no other way. This is because she not only corners the market on drink, she is practically marketing this corner of South Slope. Sip, swish, swill and swagger about your knowledge of wine labels. Go crazy discussing woody vs. okay, peppery vs. hints of citrus. Show your date you can transition seamlessly between au natural Farrah Fawcett surfer hair and gelled bed head (both painstakingly coiffed by your wife or girlfriend, of course). Vin Rouge is located at 629 5th Avenue between 17th and 18th Streets. Wine specials on a chalkboard, dim lighting, seats that don’t sound like a whoopee cushion when you sit on them. I’m talking Adult.

For Parents Steering Their Progeny Away From a Life of Auditioning for “Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?”

I’ve heard that there are waiting lists for the waiting lists to New York private schools, but Kidville’s new growth to Park Slope (as well as Tribeca in the same week!) confirms it. Popular on the Upper East and West Sides, this new spin on an old pre-school is rapidly getting on the franchise train as they’ve perfected the formula now and want to spread their primary color wings. With the soundbyte of “The Fun City for Little Big City People” and branch administrators titled “The Mayor,” Kidville is heavy on gimmick, cool classes, parent involvement and branding. So look closely for what you need for your toddler. There are classes like Wee Wiggle Giggle for 4-12 month olds designed to explore toys and physical movement, as well as ending with a musician’s visit. The Little Maestros class brings newborn-12 month-olds into a music program highlighted by NBC’s Today Show and the New York Times. Songs are sung, a band plays for your wee one, and language development is encouraged through puppet shows and “bubble music.” Writing a check for one class gets you a year’s membership, which then gets you discounts on other Kidville perks and classes. The curriculum nurtures all that sensory growth the early years demand—even hands-on cooking classes are offered and physical movement appears to be integral to most classes. Parents are encouraged to stick around and not to just drop the kid and go. Built in to most class time is 10 minutes at the top of the class for the parents and teachers to deal calmly with separation issues. There’s a lot to know about Kidville and a lot of specifics that they’ll take the time to address personally with you. Call for a brochure or check out their site, www.kidville.com. They’re located at 808 Union Street at the corner of 7th Avenue, 718.569.2150. Ask for the Mayor.

“Your Taste is Just Like Mine!”

The customers of this month-old store seem to think Brooklyn Mercantile looks like their home, and yet not. What Brooklyn Mercantile’s early consumers are responding to is the comfort of a fragile beauty and the beauty of an easy comfort. In this specialty home goods store is the realization of all that its owner values for her own home. There’s an overall international flavor without the beads and Rastafarian knit caps that ’international’ usually implies. What’s international here connotes is a genteel French focus—Moroccan bags and pillows, antique French linens, scores of bolts of fabric, ribbons and sewing notions. Owner Tamara Lee, a delicate woman herself, encourages customizing your home, making your home yours, either with her goods or by custom-ordering to your heart’s desires. If you fall in love with a piece of furniture at Brooklyn Mercantile, motion Tamara over, and say, “I love this table, but it doesn’t go with anything I have!” She’ll custom-figure it out with you and employ her refinishers to bring about the table that you’ll have a story about. “I like items that have a history to them,” Lee says. And candles and diffusers fragrance this home store with an design integrity you just can’t buy at Pottery Barn. Located at 335 5th Avenue. Ask for Tamara—718.788.1233. Come with a pal—you’ll need someone to keep you from curling up in the corner like a golden retriever on a snowy evening.

“Finally! A Shoe Store!”

This is what the customers are saying as they burst into Soula on Fifth, (Rick Lee’s sister to the Soula on Smith in Brooklyn). Rick has bought for Barneys and Cole Haan, and when asked what makes this store different, the mother of a teenager pipes up, “They’re cool shoes! And Comfortable! I’m so glad you’re here now and I don’t have to go up to Cobble Hill.” Sal, the sales guy behind the counter, agrees. “I took this job because I wanted to learn about having my own business from the ground up—I learn so much from Rick.” Sal goes on to say when you come to Soula, everyone gets a hello and goodbye and the level of buying for the locals is what has made their first few weeks in Park Slope a staple for the neighborhood. The styles range from Converse to Mary Janes to galoshes to casual dress shoes. Shoes for all ages, no kidding, but focused on realistic expectations. Rick clearly wants you to be able to walk around A LOT in his shoes. A mother and her teenager son both asked for their sizes while I was there. Where do you see that happen—ever? Check ’em out at www.soulashoes.com if your shoes are too uncomfortable to go by foot. Call Rick or Sal at 718.230.0038, or drop by on a Saturday afternoon. Located at 184 5th Avenue. Kid-friendly, gamer-friendly, parental-unit-of-gamer friendly.

“WITH A LITTLE LOVE...

(... and maybe a tuna roll) we can help it out, we can make this whole damn thing work out.” At least, that’s what the owners of Suki Sushi are basing their franchising dreams on. Joe Lin and Robert Tang have got big plans for this place. They’re young and thankfully undaunted. They’ve got idealism and capitalism in their crosshairs. And they’ve got rules. In this South Slope, not yet Park Slope-ified neighborhood, they are dedicated to educating their foot traffic mix of sushi-aware, sushi-curious and sushi-could-care-less about fine, affordable dining. And they’ve got love. “Suki” means love and when asked why name a Sushi restaurant as such, an earnest Joe smiles and with a slight accent says, “We’re going to a peace world.” They’ve owned in Manhattan –they’re not so young—and indeed, this is a small restaurant with 10 or so tables. But it’s clean and the eager service of a young restaurant showers you with friendly service. Furthermore, it’s right next to Vin Rouge and makes for a good one-two punch. Make it an evening—they’re located at 631 5th Avenue. Or dial them up for a $7 lunch at 718.768.4112. Delivery available.

Which Came First—the College Grad or the Thrift Store?

Anyone who’s thrifted on this coast, resale, consignment, Salvation Army donation or vintage knows Manhattan really is the capital of the world. But with a new Housing Works setting up camp in Brooklyn Heights, Manhattan rents are not the only thing flying south. Fresh on the radar of the early 20-somethings in the South Slope is Monk Vintage Thrift Shop, opening its third store (2 in Manhattan) in our borough. Its newness allows you to at least move around amongst the six rows of everything you count on in thrift: jeans, coats, shoes from Prada to Aerosoles to Payless, and a healthy assortment of threads from dry cleaned Ann Taylor and Banana Republic to well maintained crinoline and print dresses from circa 60s and earlier. At the cash register, there’s an ever-so-tiny container full of vintage stamps cut off of envelopes and, I assume, for sale. There are other random collectibles: typewriters, night stand and dresser clutterables, dishes and a pocketbook here and there. It’s clean and organized and no matter what I write, isn’t that what brings a thrift store to a higher celestial plane? Or maybe it’s just the stamps. In any event, Mahmoud is the friendly, smiling manager and Tarek is the owner. Monk is located at 579 5th Avenue, 718.788.2950. It’s a deeper store than it appears from the street, so go in ready to dig.

And keep an eye open for more on South Slope’s newest clothing stores, Lola and Lily, in the next issue. In the meantime, go by and let us know what you think. Lola: New boutique at 383 7th Avenue between 11th and 12th Streets. 718.499.0753. Lily: Lily #2, get your girl on. Boutique ranging from casual to business to evening wear. 435 7th Avenue between 14th and 15th Streets.

Also new to the neighborhood:

Asha Veza: You can’t miss the beautiful women’s clothing hanging in this storefront window but don’t just look! You can feel good both inside and out in these unique designs knowing that you are also helping to support social justice and the alleviation of poverty. Find out more at 69 5th Avenue, between Prospect Place and St. Marks. 718.783.2742. www.ashaveza.com.
Alaska Tan: For Slopers afraid of ghosts. On 7th Avenue, second floor. Look up for the fake sun.
A.R.E.A Bagels: 55 Fifth Avenue, between Bergen Street and St. Marks Place.
Brownstone Bread and Bagel Co.: So, we’re out of the carb-o-phobic phase? Thank God. 4th Avenue and Union.
Elementi: not-so-casual Italian fine dining. Put a jacket on, for god’s sake—oh wait! Did you say home delivery? Did you say unlimited champagne brunch on the weekends? Call Mallory, the co-owner for more info. 1S40 7th Avenue between Garfield Place and Carroll Street. 718.788.8388. www.elementirestaurant.com.
Fifth Avenue Optix: Eye Exams, Fabulous Frames, Sunglasses, Better Pricing. 172 5th Avenue, 718.857.3700.
Hootenannyarthouse.com: Think jam sessions for kids and families. 426-428 15th Street at 8th Avenue, 718-369-0528, www.hootenannyarthouse.com.
Private Stock: high-end T-shirts and lids for the guy who’s got style enough to hang with Common. 458 Bergen Street, 718.230.0055. www.privatestockny.com. (Site under construction)
Scalino: no-fuss casual Italian corner restaurant with achunky meat sauce that isn’t just tomatoes and meat. Like someone’s mom used to make. Fresh fettucini and Calamari, to boot. Indoor and outdoor seating. 347 7th Avenue at 10th Street.
Stoned: Cool sign, rocks in the window, a gallery feel. If you find out what’s going on in there, let me know. 82 5th Avenue, 718.789.0595.
Zaytoons: Now in Prospect Heights! No need to venture over to Smith Street for one of your favorite Middle Eastern meals. Cozy up inside or feel the fresh fall breeze in the outdoor garden. Located at 594 Vanderbilt Avenue at St. Marks Avenue 718-230-3200.