We’re finally starting to accumulate our list of venues for birthday parties and need your help. We know the obvious places in the hood–your Moxie, Little Gym, etc., but we’d love to hear from you about spots that are more under the radar. If you’ve had a birthday party somewhere cool and interesting lately–please either email or respond to this post.

Thanks and look forward to hearing your suggestions!

The Brazen Head, at 228 Atlantic Ave across the street from the Y, is having a Winter Clam Shuck on Saturday 16 January. Little neck clams will be $4.00 1/2 dozen, Blue Point oysters $1.00 each and clam chowders $2.00 a Bowl. And to wash it down, Long Island beers will be just $5 a pint.
Sound good but not sure if you can bring the kids? Lou, Managing Partner of the Brazen Head, told Bococaland that though his establishment isn’t a restaurant and doesn’t have high chairs, you should feel free to come with the whole family. Shucking and food specials run from 5 to 10pm but drink specials are all day and all night.

Want to impress your date with a reservation at Buttermilk Channel this Valentine’s Day? Now’s your chance. The popular restaurant is taking reservations for ANY size party for Sunday 14 Feb–and they promise there will be no heart-shaped duck meatloaf. Give ‘em a jingle now at 718 852 8490, we have a feeling the tables will go fast.

I know, I’m preaching to the choir, but I have to vent and luckily I have this nice little blog to do it. Can someone please tell me who is allowing their dog to poop smack in the middle of our sidewalks and not clean it up? I don’t know if dog owners have been too cold to bend down and pick up after their pooches lately, but I have seen mounds and mounds of frozen dog waste sitting en mass on almost every sidewalk. And if it was just me, I’d be pissed but not as pissed as I am having to navigate my preschooler away from it–hoping desperately I won’t have to scrape his shoes when we get home.
And so, in closing, I ask: am I crazy? Who knows, maybe this weather is making me hallucinate. But can anyone tell me if Bococa dog is crud getting worse? And more importantly, is there any way to stop it?

Sincerely Yours,
Totally Pooped

I may be late to the party but just noticed today that sushi joint Shinjuku closed at 177 Atlantic Ave and a new Japanese restaurant Mitoushi has opened in its place. It doesn’t come as much of a surprise considering I may have seen about three people in there over the last four years. And an odd “happy hour special” of discounted sushi always rubbed me the wrong way. But I never actually ate there so I don’t want to slag them off too much.
The proprietor mentioned that they opened eight days ago and it is under completely different management with a new chef. Looks like it’s also a chain–with two other locations in Brooklyn and one in Staten Island. Menu looks diverse with lots of lunch specials and even an $8 hibachi lunch plate. Let us know if you’ve taken the plunge.

After the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and Deputy Borough President Yvonne Graham joined Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Governor David Paterson, other elected officials and members of the Haitian community at Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church to announce Brooklyn- and New York City-based relief efforts. Anyone looking to assist should donate to a legitimate nonprofit or relief organization. For more information, you can visit http://www.nyc.gov/html/fund/html/home/home.shtml or call 311. In addition, the State Department has set up a hotline for people trying to reach family members in Haiti, 1-888-407-4747.

According to Curbed and Ideal Properties Group’s annual look at rents in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Carroll Gardens, Clinton Hill, Cobble Hill, Fort Greene, Gowanus, Park Slope, Prospect Heights and Windsor Terrace–Brooklyn has come out on top of Manhattan’s rental market. Or, in it’s own language, “a sluggish rental market of early 2009 closes stronger than strong, with the year’s last two months’ transaction pace best described as – feverish.”
The average rent in the hood was $2208, with Gowanus being the lowest and Brooklyn Heights being the highest (go figure). Rent cuts were available for all apartments–an average of $225 per month for two-bedrooms, $214 per month for one-bedrooms, and $73 per month for studios–and fifteen percent of all the rentals transactions occurred in December.

You don’t have to be a member to hit the Bagels and Craft Brunch this Saturday at Families First. The community center will be hosting this event from 9-12 on 16 January–free for members and their families and just $10 per family for non-members. Try to RSVP at info@familiesfirstbrooklyn.org if you’re going to come in from the cold and join the festivities. Contributions of food or drink are appreciated (no products containing tree nuts or peanuts or sesame seeds).