ClintonHillBlog

Recently In Clinton Hill

11.26.09

Happy Thanksgiving

CHB will be off on Thursday and Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday (even though Lesterhead has to work tomorrow- wtf?). Enjoy!

happy-thanksgiving

by lesterhead 0
Tags: Uncategorized

11.25.09

Abandoned Camper

Pace Arrow

(photo by David Velez)

Reader and local photographer David Velez spotted a mysterious camper parked at Waverly and Park, with parking tickets piled into its windshield. Anyone know what’s up with it? Is it still there?

by lesterhead 2
Tags: from the readers, intriguing/mysterious

11.24.09

Last week, I noticed that the space formerly occupied by the Healthy Body vitamin shop (478 Myrtle) has been transformed into a bike shop! I remember the space was once a makeshift bike shop and repair outfit, and now it seems to be back.

The folks at the Myrtle Ave Partnership confirmed that it’s the same operator as before (and the owner of the building). No word yet on whether the shop is temporary or permanent.

by lesterhead 2
Tags: intriguing/mysterious, myrtle, services, shopping

11.23.09

Lunchtime With Tillie: Madiba

lwtmadiba-tillie
Greetings neighborhood, this is your captain Van writing, and on behalf of my co-pilot Tillie, we’d like to welcome you to LWT Airlines! Next stop, South African restaurant Madiba, on Dekalb between Carlton and Adelphi.

As you can probably tell, I’ve had Tillie in that plane on my mind for quite some time! On a nice day last week, we finally made it happen. And it worked well for me because I was on a personal redemption mission with Madiba.

In all my years in the ‘hood, I’d only eaten there once and it wasn’t the greatest of experiences – and that’s no one’s fault but my own. When I went before, I was a complete African restaurant neophyte, and instead of asking my dining companions or the waiter for recommendations, I decided to try to figure things out myself and thus, not be penalized any “cool points.” I ordered some type of beans and “slap chips,” or twice-fried french fries, thinking it would be a tasty combination. It wasn’t, and I hadn’t eaten there since.
Anyway, as I mentioned earlier, it was a nice day out, a perfect one , actually, for sitting outside. And by the time we made it out there, we had our choice of where to set up camp, which it becomes in a way when you’re unloading snacks and toys.

While I was doing this, the waiter came back with T’s high chair and menus for the both of us. And Tillie’s menu – besides the simple fact of it being a menu, which is usually exciting for her – also doubled as a coloring sheet. Tillie’s really gotten into coloring: as much as a 13-month-old can, I guess. I was torn between ordering her the chicken “madibits” and fries or the veggie plate. I know, it shouldn’t be that tough a decision, but don’t worry: The veggies won out! For me, though …

I felt myself flashing back to Madiba ’05. I wanted to try something outside the norm, and finally decided on the meat pie with mashed potatoes. I felt good about my choice, but the waiter came back and told me they were out of the pies. I went to my backup option, the Yebo burger and chips. That’s exotic, right? (I know, not really!)

by Van 3
Tags: dekalb, dining, fort greene, kids

11.20.09

Barking Brown to Add a Second Location

Back in 2006, readers were less than pleased when a Quiznos opened on Myrtle Avenue. (And yes, CHB has been publishing since 2006!) We had all hoped for a non-chain.

They’ve since closed.

quiznos

A source tells me that Barking Brown will be opening a second location there in order to split up their products (clothing and accessories).

barking2

Their current store is located at 468 Myrtle between Washington and Hall.

by lesterhead 11
Tags: gossip, myrtle, shopping

Friday Photo

Protected Oil

(photo by David Velez, under the BQE nr Washington)

by lesterhead 0
Tags: friday photo

Myrtle Windows Being Painted for the Holidays!

Artists are beginning to paint their windows on Myrtle Ave storefronts. Local artist and friend of CHB Ellie Balk will be painting on Sunday and invited readers to stop by:

“HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS”

Please join me at Karen’s Body Beautiful (MYRTLE-BTWN WAVERLY/CLINTON) this SATURDAY/SUNDAY as I create a “Stained Glass” Map on the front window for the MARP Myrtle Ave. Windows Project.

• Holiday windows will be on display through the end of December and all visitors and shoppers will be able to vote via text message for their favorite storefront design from Monday, November 23rd until Sunday, December 13th (winners will be announced shortly afterward).

The Project from Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project (MARP): “We hope that this unique program will help to drive visitors to the avenue to view your works, and to support our merchants (the majority of whom are local, independent, small business owners) during this holiday season by shopping locally.”

Ellie painted the beautiful mural on the side of Tillie’s!

by lesterhead 0
Tags: MARP, arts, holiday, myrtle

Event

11.19.09

MARP Celebrates 10th Anniversary

MARPturns10

The Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project will be celebrating its 10th Anniversary on December 2 with food tastings, wine and live music. The party is open to the community (tickets are required and can be purchased here).

So much of Myrtle Avenue’s transformation is due to the amazing team at MARP. I for one am grateful to have so many independent (and locally owned) businesses nearby.

Next week, CHB will chat with M. Blaise Backer, Executive Director of MARP, about his job, the organization and how to get more involved.

by lesterhead 0
Tags: MARP, events

Other News in the Neighborhood

So I know I am behind on most everything, after the wedding, honeymoon, jetlag and starting a new job. So here’s some stuff that’s been going on in the ‘hood:

Cigar Bar for Fort Greene! [Brownstoner]
Saffron opens on Hansen Place, peddling flowers and vintage [The Local]
925 Fulton being rehabbed [Brownstoner]
Brunch at No. 7 [Clinton Hill Foodie]
My favorite haunted house sold at auction for $520k [Brownstoner]
MARP and the 88th Precinct Receive MetLife Foundation Community -Police Partnership Award [Myrtle Minutes]
Great Deals in Clinton Hill! [Brokelyn]

by lesterhead 0
Tags: Uncategorized

CHB Previews: Roman’s

It’s pretty obvious that Roman’s is just doing a soft opening, but that didn’t stop the husband and I from hustling right over last weekend to check it out. I’m calling this post a “preview” as opposed to a “review,” since it’s really just first impressions.

First of all, it was awfully strange to get a table immediately on a Saturday night in this small and formerly bustling space. Obviously there’s no signage up yet, but I’m used to sitting on the window ledge drinking margaritas for awhile.

A few small interior changes have been made – the wall behind the bar has been been completely redesigned and restocked, new light fixtures have been added and a decorative wall was erected between the dining room and kitchen.

The menu, for now, is pretty bare bones. It’s small plates, and it needs explanation / guidance from the wait staff.

It’s a small-plates setup, which often ends up in a trial-and-error ordering experiment. (How many plates do we need? Are we going to be stuffed or left hungry?). We started with the “heirloom radish,” which consisted of a chopped radish and a few other radish-like roots, salted and served with creme fraiche. It was light and fresh, though a few bites were oversalted and others were not salted enough.

For second courses, we split the sauerkraut soup and the panette. Both were delicious. The soup was well-favored without being sour, and included a delicious bite of some sort of meat (pork?) and an egg. The panette, small penne pasta, was served with a delicious sauce and toasted pine nuts.

Our third course was a stuffed meatball. Delicious, but small.

For dessert we went with the dark chocolate, assuming it would be some sort of torte. But in actuality, it was a pile of dark chocolate with some almonds. For $6. I looked at Will and said, “This is good chocolate, but it’s… a pile of chocolate.”

I’m really interested to see how Roman’s develops. I was unable to get a good grasp of the vibe they were going for. Partly, it seemed to be trying to mimic the trendy 1920s thing that’s been pervading popular culture these past few years. But the cuisine suggests otherwise. The bill was fairly pricey for the quantity, but I’m game to go back once they have a regular, full menu (and they are already taking credit cards).

If you’re wondering about the name, it’s clearly a reference to Rome, Italy. Not only is the food described by the waitstaff as being Italian-influenced, but the outside of the menus feature an illustration of two infants being suckled by a wolf. My renaissance-literature-professor husband informed me that it was a depiction of Romulus and Remus. (Romulus was, according to Roman mythology, the first King of Rome).

by lesterhead 8
Tags: dekalb, dining, fort greene, new, review