I am happy to report that the porn store on Myrtle is CLOSED!
Would someone please open a (non-adult) bookstore in this space??
Speaking of space on Myrtle, this lovely renovated storefront is also for rent:
It's almost right across from PrattStore. I am praying this becomes something cool, useful and independent.
I recently caught up with Tricalee Riley, owner of Myrtle Avenue's Polish Bar Brooklyn, to find out more about the inception of her business and why she loves Clinton Hill.
How long have you lived in the neighborhood, and what brought you here? I have been a Clinton Hill resident for 2 years. I love it because it is authentic, it wasn't created... it's a real community, with real people... real families and everyone belongs.
What's your favorite thing about it? the unpretentious people and the Pratt students... they keep me young and hip.
How long have you been planning to open Polish Bar, and what gave you the idea? 7 years. The idea came from being disappointed with the options in inexpensive nail salons; a part of my weekly routine. Sometimes you feel like you can do something better than it's currently being done. It was one of those situations. My makeup background brought the other facets of the business into the plan. So I started documenting my ideas (daily) about 5 1/2 years ago. I started my business plan in 2004.
Any unexpected hurdles in opening your own business? Yes, too many to count. I've learned to spend 5 minutes on defining the problem and the remainder of time on RESOLUTION.
What sets your shop apart from other area salons? Simple. We're a customer based business. Every decision we make as business professionals puts the customer first. We are continually looking to improve the service, the products, and the overall experience. I believe as long as we remain committed to this, we will continue to grow as a brand. We're improving day by day.
Did you use any local organizations' resources in opening the salon? (MARP, PCC, etc) I met with MARP to introduce the business and get some feedback on my storefront design. Luckily, they were pleased with everything I wanted to do and very supportive. I could have used more resources, and now that I’m open I plan to reach out for help.
What's your background, professionally? Beauty? Business? I worked in cosmetics for 10 years. I managed makeup artists, retail stores and opened freestanding stores for cosmetic companies. I have 7 years in Business Management and 11 years in makeup. My experience ties directly into this venture and has helped in the transition.
Do people, um, think that the name of the salon is Polish, as in Poland? I myself misread it, as did many others. Any funny stories about that? LOL... truthfully, they're aren't any funny stories. I came up with the name 5 years ago, so I've heard Polish Bar... (as in Poland) over and over again. People come in a dozen times a day and say, "I thought this was a Polish Bar..." They laugh and I try to laugh too, but it's so hard. I would compare it to, "knock knock... who's there?" I want to laugh, but there's nothing left.
But I get it, and still I was adamant about the name, even though I knew it would confuse people. I spent many nights inside of the shop listening to neighbors and their excitement about a new bar opening. I guess that's why I felt compelled to offer cosmos at my Grand Opening. I guess I felt a bit guilty.
Favorite place to eat in Clinton Hill: so my typical day is breakfast at Cafe Martino, lunch from Pillow Cafe or Smooch... then take out from Thai 101 or Zaytoons. They are all my favorite. I spent a lot of time at these places when I was planning my opening.
What's your greatest wish for the neighborhood? That's too hard... so many things. Hopefully more small businesses will open, new restaurants, lounges, clothing shops, etc... I do want change for Clinton Hill, but I hope the people remain the same.
If you were a flavor of ice cream, what flavor would you be? I would be Neapolitan. Something for everyone to love.
Signs are up in a Myrtle Avenue storefront window across from Polish Bar announcing a new yoga and dance studio called Move with Grace.
Turns out Grace is is the name of the owner, AND she's the sister of Karen Tappin of Karen's Body Beautiful just down the street.
Currently, Grace is renovating the interior space, and plans for an October opening. She's also lining up the class schedule, which for now includes jazz, hip hop, yoga and meditation. For those of you who don't know me personally, yours truly has been tap dancing for 22 years, and may add a tap class to her busy schedule at Move With Grace.
Props to her for the nicely done window posters:
Grace is still looking for instructors to round out the schedule! Interested? Email movewithgracestudio@gmail.com.
Lesterhead is so very excited!
Move With Grace Myrtle Avenue between Washington and Hall opening October 2006
"Chez Lola is Oskar's tall little sister. She is by no means a copy. Where Oskar is Bistro on the beaten path with classic decidedly French fair with butter & cream staple, Lola is Bistro off the beaten path, spilling over France's borders, (particularly to the south) with it's decidedly herb and olive oil staple.
She is a bit like the dark side of the moon..."
The assorted cheese terrine appetizer.
The 12 oz sirloin steak.
The spicy salmon burger.
Papillote.
Papillote opened.
Chocolate tart.
White chocolate and lavender bread pudding.
So having never eaten at Chez Oskar I cannot compare the two places.
On with the review...
Chez Lola just opened, with it's first official day of business being Thursday, September 7th, so things are still in a state of flux. They have not yet received their liquor license so it's BYOB until then and the menu will be expanded once things are a bit more settled. I think it's only dinner for now, they opened at 6pm tonight, with plans for a Sunday Brunch once the liquor license comes in. (No use getting brunch if you can't drink mimosas or bloody marys.)
The decor is great. The high ceilings, the colors and the paintings really give it that Bistro kind of feel. I immediately felt comfortable in this place. The garden is amazing. At the moment it's a bit dark with only the candles on the table giving off any illumination but lights will be strung up in the trees and fences to brighten it all up soon.
The food was wonderful.
The Littleneck Clams appetizer is highly recommended. The clams are served in a coconut curry broth so save some bread for dipping.
I had the 12oz Sirlion Steak, medium rare, and it was cooked to perfection. Very tender and very flavorful. The Freedom fries, okay - French fries since it is a French Bistro, were also the way I like them; fresh, small and crispy with a liberal amount of seasoning, and by seasoning I mean salt*, on them.
(*It's really ticks me off when you order Freedom fries and they don't come salted or barely have any salt on them. They need to be salted when they're hot! Don't you people watch the Food Network?)
The Mushrooms on top were tasty and offered a nice contrast of flavors but, honestly, they were kind of in my way of me consuming my steak.
As for the desserts...the Chocolate Tart was like eating a giant wedge of chocolate which is a good thing and drew no complaints.
The White Chocolate and Lavender Bread Pudding was good as well, you could actually taste the Lavender, but I liked the Chocolate Tart slightly better.
And the service? Couldn't have been better. Granted, it wasn't very crowded, but the staff was extremely friendly, very prompt and I got the check moments after asking for it.
(For a French place this is a big plus.)
I think Chez Lola's, like Oskar's, is going to be around for a long time.
There is this beautiful storefront on the corner of Grand and Myrtle. I was speculating on what it could become and had my very own wishlist going, hoping for something cool. Instead we got this:
Now I have nothing against Quiznos (except that I never thought the subs were that good, the whole "toasty" thing is way overrated and it's kind of pricey) but what a waste of a perfectly good location.
Ugh.
On the bright side, I walked past this store which is slated to open on September 4th.
"Who's Your Doggy", Premium Pet Food and Supplies, on the corner of Aldelphi and Willoughby Avenue.
Pet owners rejoice!
So I had a chance to stop by Cafe Martino for breakfast this morning .
I got the Breakfast Burritos (2) for $6.50 which was more like Breakfast soft tacos, but I'm not complaining. It was really good. I ordered mine with bacon -- they seemed to have run out of it and it looked like I got what was left. A discount was taken off my bill for it so it's all good. I would have preferred it being mentioned before hand so I could have switched it to something else that would clog my arteries but, again, I'm not complaining.
I apologize about the flash photography of the food but it's fairly dark inside Cafe Martino as the first picture shows. Oh, and the fresh salsa comes on the side but I was so excited I put it on my eggs before I remembered that I should photograph it...
The ice coffee was, in my opinion, very, very weak. Some people might love it -- everyone's got different preferences when it comes to coffee -- but I'm not a fan. I really like my coffee turbo-charged and this was far from it.
I do have to say that it's Uber-friendly in there. He knows almost all the regular customers by name and what they drink. A nice little touch in my opinion.
I'll be back - there's still more on the menu I want to eat. I'm just going to have to get the hot coffee or drink iced tea unless they amp up the octane on the iced coffee.
Cafe Martino 559 Myrtle Avenue (between Emerson + Classon) 718-636-3966
My little photographic stroll down Myrtle Avenue.(With Commentary!)
Crown Fried Chicken. Yum. Really. Yum. I'm serious. This one on Myrtle is the best of all the Crown's around too. (No, they are not all the same.) Beats the DeKalb/Classon and Fulton/Washington branches hands down.
Another liquor store? Or is this a new sign?
The juice place didn't last too long huh? And in it's place another deli...great.
This looks promising. Chez Lola. New restaurant? New bar? Whatever it is I'm excited! Anyone have any information on this?
A new Yoga/Dance place coming soon. Location is across from Polish Beauty Bar.
Now here's something you don't see everyday. A McDonald's closing. Granted, it was only a McDonald's Express but I'm still surprised.
Chicken Rings. Can we at least pretend it's real chicken? Just a little? Please?
But I'm glad to see that take credit cards, you know, like all the classy establishments.
And last but not least...
New condos on the corner of Myrtle Avenue and Kent Street called 609 Myrtle. (Catchy but unimaginative.)
Looks okay from the outside and I'm digging the high ceilings and big windows.
Interior pictures are here along with the units still available and prices. It's relatively affordable considering.
I do have issues with the descriptions (read the Neighborhood description for a bit of a laugh) and the fact that they're advertising it as Clinton Hill and not Bed-Stuy. It's clearly Bed-Stuy according to the Boundaries post.
Should we start calling this area Clinton Hill East?
Just looking around the area is still relatively undeveloped without any nice shops or amenities. It's a bit of a hike to the Classon Avenue stop on the G train, too.
Anyway, there's an open house today, Wednesday August 16th, from 6pm-8pm.
Check it out and please let us know what you think.
The new chi-chi nail salon on Myrtle is OPEN. I had the day off on Friday, so it was the perfect time to check things out
I know I said I'd probably stick to Charming Nail on Waverly, but I may have changed my mind. PBB is absolutely gorgeous inside, complete with antique ceilings. The staff is awesome, and English-speaking. Price-wise, it's very reasonable. Mani-pedi combo is $30, plus an extra dollar for a nail kit that you keep and bring back with you.
The cleanliness is truly astounding. The technician opened a brand-new set of metal tools for cuticle pushing and cutting, and I saw another scrubbing down a pedi tub with bleach.
The atmosphere is relaxed, so don't expect to rush in and out like at a cheapo nail place. Also, make an appointment! Walk-ins are welcome, but you may have to wait awhile.
(Not that I mind a non-English speaking nail person, but I happen to have very ticklish feet, and it's nice to warn the technician before she starts scrubbing your foot and you jerk it away in a fit of giggles, frightening the crap out of her because she had no idea what you were saying.)
The bar offers several fun party packages as well, which include cocktails, snacks and makeup application. Fun! Clean! Go!
Read more about Polish Bar Brooklyn here.
Polish Bar of Brooklyn 470 Myrtle Ave @ Washington Bkln, NY 11205 718.622.5363 www.polishbarbrooklyn.com
I was very sad to see Brother's Hardware go. It was local, with a friendly staff, and also enormous. No Home Depot, mind you, but perfect for all basic hardware needs, plus roach and ant baits (ew, yes, I need them).
The building's been empty for awhile, and it seems work's been going on inside. Construction permits reveal nothing. Jay bets it's a restaurant or bar, while Marina guesses coffee-shop-type-place.
Me? I'm not sure. It seems awfully big for a bar or coffee shop, or even a restaurant. What do we need the most?
What are you hoping for?
Jay and I hit up Yamashiro last night -- the new sushi haunt on Myrtle.
Inside, the place is small. It's not totally lacking atmosphere, but it's definitely not the kind of place to go for a trendy night on the town. Most, but not all, of the tables were full when we arrived at 8:15pm -- not bad for a Monday night!
I immediately recognized the waiter as having worked at Sushi D. He recognized me, too. He said that most of Yamashiro's staff came from Sushi D. Interesting. We also started with free edamame, just like Sushi D. However, Yamashiro's edamame was kind of dry and wilty.
The menus were certainly not as flashy or nice as those at Sushi D, and were kind of confusing.
We started off with some apps - I had the kani salad, and Jay had the salmon skin salad. The kani was just fine. Jay wasn't very happy with his. The salmon skin on top of the salad was actually very tasty, but it was sprinkled on top of a boring pile of iceberg lettuce. Our apps took for-e-ver to come out, which was annoying.
The rolls were very tasty, specifically the Waterfall and the Dynamite (both pictured on the left). Waterfall is topped with crab and the Dynamite is fried in tempura. Heavenly.
We were too stuffed for desert, but if not we would have gotten the Japanese ice cream, which comes deep fried in a puffy bun thing, and appears to have a side of carrots on fire (literally, it comes burning).
Summary: Not as nice inside as Sushi D. They also played techno music inside, which was annoying. Service is friendly and prices are a bit lower than at Sushi D. Definitely great for takeout, and fine for dining in, especially if you're close by. Good fancy rolls. Low on atmosphere, crappy edamame. No outdoor seating. Good deal for the $$$.
The days of "Murder Avenue" seem long gone. Might as well call it Marvelous Avenue. Jay notified me about some NEW openings, so Mallow and I did a walk-by last night.
I really like Myrtle, much more than Fulton. I'm glad Jay's so close to Myrtle so he can keep an eye out for new stuff.
I noticed this sushi place -- Yamashiro -- a few weeks ago, but completely forgot about it until he mentioned it to me.
The menu and the inside of the restaurant look fairly generic, as far as design. But we all know that good design does not excellent food make! Jay and I will be trying this out asap and I will report back.
More exciting is Polish Bar Brooklyn. I'm not the only one who automatically assumed it was Polish, like the country. My new rollerskating friends from Rope thought the same. But no, it's pawww-lish, as in nail. It appears to be a trendy, upscale nail salon! Hopefully serving alcohol as well. It opens July 22.
I may end up staying true to my local cheap-o nail salon, Charming Nail (Waverly Ave. between Lafayette and Greene), depending on the prices. When it comes down to mani-pedi, convenience is key. 
Clinton Hill Blog published from 2006 - 2010. Please enjoy these archives - a love letter to the neighborhood.
