85 Adams

Not sure if anyone else noticed, but people have moved into 85 Adams. Looks like the lobby is fully finished but it's unclear as to when the construction adjacent to the entrance will be complete. This is the location for the infamous feng shui zen garden.

Smith Street Dining

Blog 1 Stop Over in Brooklyn offers picks on the "Top 10 Restaurants on Smith St."

I have only been to Chestnut, which was really good for dinner and has lovely outdoor seating. Notably missing from the list is a recc on sushi in the area. Perhaps nothing good?

1. The Grocery (Get the Tasting Menu)
2. Saul (Star in Michelin Guide)
3. Patois (Best Steak – Price Fixe)
4. Chestnut (Great Brunch)
5. Bar Tabac (Best Late Nite)
6. Panino'teca (Best Place to Eat at the Bar)
7. Robin des Bois (Best Atmosphere and Garden)
8. Zaytoons (Best Healthy Meal)
9. Hanco’s (Best Lunch)
10.Pacifico (Best Mexican)

Brooklyn Rules

This new movie out May 18 sounds like it will be really good.

Brought Back the Sun

Back from Florida, which was gorgeous and sunny. Now I'm back at work and seem to have brought the sun back with me to NYC. Soon those tulips on Park Ave will be in bloom. Aw, summer... can't wait.

The Other Dumbo

dumbo.jpg
Originally uploaded by innuendo.

Found this on Flickr as part of a photo search on JCondo and DUMBO. Cute.

Going to Miami

Well, that's the plan so long as Jetblue comes through. We have a flight out tonight and of course the weather is nice all week and then decides not to cooperate today.

Please keep your fingers crossed we'll get out safely tonight and will be on the beach tomorrow. I am in dire need of some sun and vacation time so I really hope everything works out as planned.

DUMBO Calling

I like how this lady thinks. Great article on the absence of everything DUMBO in NYMag's annual Best of Issue.

DUMBO Population Expected to Triple Next Year

According to the Brooklyn Heights Courier, a new plan from the DUMBO Business Improvement District (BID) seeks to reopen the archway of the Manhattan Bridge at Water Street between Adams Street and Anchorage Place to pedestrian and bicycle traffic. The

Additionally, the Pearl Street Triangle would be turned into a “Town Square” offering a venue for special events and public markets.

Also, the www.dumbonyc.org Web site predicts that over the next year DUMBO’s residential population will triple from 2,000 to 6,000.

BID will hold a public meeting for input on the planned project at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, March 22 at the DUMBO BID office, 111 Front Street, suite 258.

"Global Feminisms" Exhibit Set to Open at Brooklyn Museum

A new exhibition titled "Global Feminisms" is set to open March 23–July 1.

"Global Feminisms" assembles works in a range of media by more than 100 women artists, most of whom are under 40 and two-thirds of whom have never before presented work in New York. Some 50 countries are represented, including a good number that seldom figure in the contemporary art discourse, such as Sierra Leone, Kenya, Russia, Yugoslavia, Costa Rica, Afghanistan, Indonesia and Taiwan.

T to Grow Slowly Underneath Second Ave

From Gothamist, the Second Ave subway project gets underway again.

There are a ton of comments on this post already. My two cents is that having previously lived between First and Second avenue, I think the new T line is much needed to reduce congestion and prevent the lazy (i.e. me) from having to walk to Park to catch the subway. Unfortunately, it's still ten+ years away.

I do agree with some of the comments, including perceived lack of express tracks, lack of extension into Alphabet City and lack of attention re: expanding cross town subway options and subway issues in the other boroughs.

The origin of Brooklyn Beckham's name

Victoria Beckman tries to say something smart ...

She wrote in her autobiography, Learning to Fly,

It was when we were in Marbella that we came up with the name Brooklyn. We already knew he was a boy and so I knew he could end up a footballer, so it had to be a name that was a bit blokey. I had always liked the name Brooke and then we suddenly thought about Brooklyn. I'd always like it as a place - it's very multi-cultural, very grounded. And it was only afterwards that I realized how appropriate it was because it was in New York that I found out I was pregnant and where David came after the World Cup.

Magic Johnson backs Brooklyn condo project

Interesting project in Greenpoint being financed by the former Lakers player.

Basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson and his joint-venture partner, Canyon -Johnson Urban Fund, will provide $12.4 million of financing to help build a 130-unit condominium project in the growing Greenpoint section of Brooklyn.

The Green Street project will offer one-, two- and three-bedroom units, targeted at single professionals or young families who cannot afford Manhattan real estate prices. Bank of New York has provided a $41 million loan for the project.

15 East - "No Philly Cream Cheese Here"

After work last night we went for a drink at Park Bar, meaning my usual after-work happy hour crew of three people, including myself. Anyway, afterward we decided to go to a new sushi restaurant next door called 15 East, which has been reviewed as it's been open for a few months now (I think).

We wanted to see a menu before walking in, but decided to take a risk and once we went in there was no turning back. As it turns out, we weren't disappointed. However, if you crave spicy tuna roll or something wretched like an Americanized Philadelphia roll, you should go somewhere else.

The menu is very traditional and offers a mix of sushi dishes and entrees from the kitchen. We had a yellowtail appetizer and a special appetizer of scorpion fish. The waiter was awesome and he even brought out a book after our appetizer to show us what the fish looked like! It was small, striped and had weird wisker-like tentacles. Something you'd see in a tropical fish tank. The good news is that he knew what it looked like because they get all their fish whole (i.e. fresh!).

Then we had some sushi pieces - nice selection by the way - including artic char, different grades/types of tuna and some nice NZ king salmon. There was also a really good toro/jalepeno roll that pretty much just melts in your mouth. The service was impeccable and the decor was very simple. However, you might feel underdressed in jeans and a sweatshirt.

My husband went so far as to say it was on par with the experience at Gari East, my favorite sushi restaurant, minus Gari's ridiculously good spicy tuna roll. I don't know if I'd go that far, but it came close.

Wow, do I feel lazy now ...

Found this amNewYork story via a post on Gothamist about extreme commuters, which profiles this woman who rides her bike 200 blocks a day. Not to mention she works 12.5 hour shifts at Mt. Sinai hospital.

Speaking of feeling lazy, on a tipsy cab ride home last Friday our friend Lisa mentioned that she often runs home after work. FYI, she works at Rockafeller Center and lives in Red Hook. Imagine working a 10 hour shift on your feet and then running home? I can barely make it across the BK Bridge and back...

Wild Edibles coming to DUMBO

Great news about Wild Edibles coming to DUMBO as part of Foragers Market on Front Street. Hopefully they will offer the same "steam" service for lobster that they do at the Murray Hill location. I make a really great lobster roll, if I don't say so myself. I'll have to share my recipe when it gets a bit more spring-like outside ;-)

New York Magazine's Best of Issue

New York Magazine's Best of Issue is now available. Here's a link to their local winners. The chart rates best wine shop, manicure place, bagels, shoe repair, pet supply store, dry cleaners, etc. Several neighborhoods are included, with a Brooklyn Round-up of Boerum Hill/Cobble Hill/Carol Gardens.