Archive for ‘BococaLand’

Happy New Year Brooklyn

By , 31 December, 2011, No Comment

Hi Bococaland. Sorry, been having a little too much holiday cheer (which will cost me countless hours at the gym next month), but wanted to check in before the end of 2011 and wish you all a happy, healthy new year. A few things going down tonight if you’re still undecided on plans, so wanted to give you a small smattering of ideas. And of course, the fact that you don’t have to don scarves, gloves and hats (or spend an hour wrapping your children in appropriate layers) to leave the house may inspire you to head out as well. See you in 2012, and thanks for coming back to check us out.

Bar Bruno (520 Henry St.), a newcomer to the scene, promises a little fun with your food–Mexico City-style. Wash down the salty, professionally-charred Shishito peppers and duck taquitos with a $6 Tecate and Maker’s shot special (until 10pm, then you should probably switch to one of the well-chosen Micheladas). Come early with the family and let the children play with the goodie bags provided by the establishment while they choose from the large kids menu.

Bark Hot Dogs (474 Bergen St.) will be serving specials until 9:30pm on New Year’s Eve and a soak up brunch the next day.
NEW YEARS EVE:
The Resolution Special
$2 Salt & Pepper Fries
$3 Classic Dogs
$4 Sixpoint Ales
$5 Bark Burgers
$12 Half Bottles of Blanc de Blanc or Rose Sparkling Wine from Gruet
NEW YEARS DAY:
THE HANGOVER BREAKFAST SPECIAL
$8 Any Egg Sandwich + Hash Browns + Coffee, Tea, or Juice
Also…
$6 Mimosas (Gruet Sparkling Wine and Fresh Squezed OJ)
$12 Half Bottles of Blanc de Blanc or Rose Sparkling Wine from Gruet

In addition to a $49 three-course dinner, Provence en Boite (263 Smith St.) is offering a Galette des Rois on New Year’s day–a classic French pastry filled with an almond cream. It comes with a crown in case you’re on the fence.

Bocca Lupo (391 Henry St.) is doing a four course prix fixe dinner with prosecco toast. Though they are taking ressies at newyears@boccalupo-brooklyn.com, they welcome walk-ins and promise to accommodate anyone who turns up. A DJ will be spinning so expect to stay late.

Char No. 4 (196 Smith St.) promises a bourbon and whiskey-soaked night with an $85 four-course meal, with entrees including venison, beef two-ways, and lobster. Brunch starts at 10am on Sunday and Monday morning, though January 2 patrons will receive a gratis chipotle bourbon bloody mary or mimosa.

And, I’m gonna throw this in because a friend owns the place, and maybe you’ll be shopping sales at Bergdorf’s and need a place to put down the bags. New joint Amali (115 East 60th St.) promises to change your well-worn image of the upper east side. In fact, with inviting decor and design (all the wood is re-purposed from New York City buildings) and a menu offering farm-to-table Mediterranean cuisine using locally-sourced ingredients (I’m still dreaming of the crostini with buffalo ricotta, fresh red chilies and olive oil), it’s kind of a Colonie for the shopping set. Tonight you can get a $75 prix fixe meal which will take you on a trip through Italy, Greece and France with luxe offerings like truffles, foie gras, oysters and cavier.

Happy New Year Bococa!

By , 3 January, 2011, 4 Comments

We’re back and ready to begin 2011 in Bococaland. Admittedly, I missed the storm as I spent my holidays overseas, but would love to get any photos you think would tell the story of your city under snowy siege (feel free to add them to comments or send to me at tgrumet@gmail.com). And of course, any stories or anecdotes you’d like to share. I did get to watch it on TV–it was pretty big news in London after they shut down the entire city (planes, trains, tube) for the four inches of snow dumped on them right before Christmas. And in case you were wondering, the Brooklyn Heights Blog reported last night that garbage pickup has resumed. That’s garbage–not recyclables. According to the superintendent in charge of the Sanitation Department (DSNY) garage that services Brooklyn Heights (as well as the other neighborhoods sharing our Community Board district), it hopes to start picking up recyclables by the end of the week. Mmmmmmmm, nothing like dirty snow mixed with cardboard, cans and newspaper to make a perfect winter wonderland. Hope everyone had a happy new year!

Leapfrog Holiday Giveaway

By , 1 December, 2010, No Comment

If you haven’t noticed, we’ve got a super giveaway for you through 31 December. Just post a comment on one of our stories and you’ll be in the running to win a free Leapfrog Learning DVD + CD Set, Volume 2. This bundle of four educational discs features the incredibly successful Math Adventure To The Moon DVD, along with Word Caper and Math Circus. In addition, the CD contains 13 songs that help kids learn the ABCs, days of the week, counting and more. It’s a $40 value and both my kids love it. A perfect gift for the holidays.

Halloween Round-Up, Um, Round-Up

By , 20 October, 2010, No Comment

Hey readers, I need your help. I’m trying to put together a comprehensive Halloween round-up for Bococaland, but I know I’m missing a lot of what goes on around here. I’ve still got younger kids and feel like I don’t know the drill yet. I’d love to hear from you about events in the hood, what time trick or treating usually starts and ends, and anything else you might know that I don’t. And because it’s Sunday this year, does anyone know if things start earlier? I’m going to do some more research as well but better to hear from the folks on the ground–don’t want to miss anything if that’s possible. Thanks!

Walk Cobble Hill with History

By , 7 June, 2010, No Comment

On 20 June, Francis Morrone, director of the CHA Cobble Hill History Project, will lead a special walking tour of Cobble Hill history and architecture. Ranging from Jennie Jerome to the impact of the BQE to the neighborhood’s collection of ornamental ironwork–you’ll be sure to be thrilled with this educational day of history and facts. The roughly two-hour walk begins at Court and Congress streets in front of St. Paul’s Church. The cost is $10 FOR CHA members and $20 For non-members–but rsvp quickly to COBBLEHILLHISTORYPROJECT@YAHOO.COM, as the tour is limited to 40 participants.

A Call to Arms

By , 13 February, 2010, No Comment

I wanted to chat about getting something started on the site. First of all we hope everyone is enjoying it and will tell some friends. It’s a labor of love right now and we can use all the eyeballs we can get. And, per usual, we hope that you’ll be vocal about your likes and dislikes–what you might want to see more or less of in the future.
But mainly, I wanted to talk about my vision for Bococaland, to not only be a place for news and happenings, but a true resource for everything kids. And that means improving our boards to include a marketplace. I know when I had my first child, the Bococa Parents Yahoo Group was an excellent venue to find things I needed (either for sale or given away) and to get rid of things I no longer wanted. But I eventually had to stop subscribing because it filled up my inbox. And I never quite used it as much in its other forms (though I know many of you do–no disrespect meant).
So dear readers, I’m hoping you can help us create our very own place where you can come anytime to buy, sell, give away or even trade your stuff without any hassles or emails. We do have the framework set up on our forums, you just have to take the 30 seconds to create a profile and come on in. I’ve started it off with my Jane double stroller (which I’m happy to sell for a low, low price to get it out of my basement).
Thanks for your time and your (future) efforts and of course, your patronage. Hope to see you on the boards soon!

And the Leapster Goes to

By , 6 February, 2010, No Comment

The Leapster 2 drawing has been held, and the winner is Forum member Sara. Thanks to everyone who signed up!

Street Scenes

By , 16 January, 2010, No Comment

Hey, what’s that doodad at bottom right with the pictures? It’s a link to our Bococaland Flickr group, a gallery of pictures from around the neighborhood submitted by locals like you. Visit it to see what they’re shooting, and feel free to contribute your own. (This pugtastic image by the prolific James Wolberg — thanks for all the submissions, James.)

Keep On Facebookin’

By , 11 January, 2010, No Comment

Uhmm… so we’ve been trying to get the word out about BococaLand (this site as well as our boards) and we were kicking around the idea of putting up signs or stickers. Apparently the city tries to slap you with $75 per sign. Or in the case of one unfortunate woman who put an envelope full of business cards out on Court St., $75 per card. After a nine-month legal struggle, her fine has been cut from $3,000 to $75. Hooray. (Paws-n-Claws in Clinton Hill is not so lucky, getting no relief for its $8,700 in fines for illegal fliers.)

So about those signs or stickers — let’s hold off. To those of you who’ve become Facebook fans: Thanks, and don’t hesitate to tell a friend. Don’t make us resort to vandalism.

(Infamous “Wanted: Vegan Drummer” sign stolen from Paolo Mastrangelo)