450 Flatbush Ave, Prospect Park

The city offers so much for babies and kids.. so long as you can manage getting from A to B with baby, a days worth of stuff, stroller and sanity.

But nothing helps get you out of your comfort zone better than a new, adventurous friend, so thanks Rachel and Spike for inviting Van and I on a day long excursion (and our first time with the stroller solo on subway) to the lovely little Prospect Park Zoo!

The park is intimate and small, just like I like them. Kids get to see all the animals pretty close up, and as you can see, Van’s reaction to seeing a real live monkey for the first time was priceless.

There is a great petting zoo complete with food to feed the llamas, sheep and goats as well as a wooden milking station that kids were queuing up for.

The sea lions get center stage in their giant pool and we were there just in time for a feeding, which Van specifically woke up from a hard earned nap to watch.

My favorite though, had to be the Pallas Cat, which looks like a real life version of Grizabella. She was elusive (hence no photo) but it was amazing to see the line of babies go nuts when she made an appearance.

This is an excellent park for young kids, not too big or exhausting with the beauty of Prospect Park just outside its walls for additional strolling.

See more: Spend a Couple Hours Park Slope Parks

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Posted on September 1, 2011

194 Withers Street, #1, Guest Written by Jim:

Last Sunday (Father’s Day) Van and I attended our very first swim class. Along with two other dads and their respective infants, we hopped into the heated pool of a luxury Williamsburg condominium for our first AquaBeba session.

With the focus on allowing children to become comfortable in the water (as opposed to the rather dire sink-or-swim methodology so many of us experienced growing up), the 5-week program is run by Danilo Krvavac, an affable Serbian (and Olympic swimmer) who lives in Williamsburg with his wife and young daughter.

Extremely patient and full of useful techniques to make the experience as easy as possible for children (maintaining parent-to-baby eye contact throughout the class, walking backwards in the pool so your child always feels like they’re moving forward, saying your child’s name to maintain focus while you ‘condition’ them to become more comfortable with water flowing over their head, offering toys to distract and swim to… the list goes on and on), the class provides a tranquil, supportive place for children to develop swimming skills.

Fleeting recollections of swimming lessons I endured years and years ago at a Southern Connecticut YMCA conjure up unpleasant images of aggressive swim coaches dunking my head underwater–the exact kind of trauma Danilo seeks to avoid. In fact, poor Van (who had been having a hard time teething all week) just wasn’t in the mood for the final submersion exercises, something that would have only irked the swimming instructors of my youth and driven them to more aggressive tactics–but Danilo was totally cool, instantly recognizing that my poor baby was stressed enough and that the last thing he needed was to go under water. Maybe next week.

If you live in the area and are thinking about teaching your child to swim one day please take my advice and consider enrolling in this class. In fact, Aqua Beba offers pre-natal classes for pregnant ladies to just float around in so you don’t even have to have a baby (yet) to sign up.

One of the most compelling reasons to do so is safety: the sooner your child is comfortable in the water, the better; but another good reason to start your child early is that very young babies still have breath-holding reflexes from their days in the womb and Danilo can leverage this innate ability in such a way that children have a much, much easier time learning how hold their breath under water.

And besides, it’s hard to imagine a more enjoyable Sunday morning than one spent in a heated pool with your splashy baby.

See more: Spend a Couple Hours Children’s Classes Williamsburg

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Posted on June 22, 2011

at Lincoln Center

When Stacy and I decided to attend an ABT ballet this season, the Opening Night Gala sounded the most fun. It was sure to offer the best audience attire and we certainly saw a bit of everything: from the absolutely elegant to the absolutely awful (short shorts and a see through top are not the way to go). Watching the parade of dresses was almost as fun as watching the performances. Though I have to admit I kind of failed you all by not taking more pictures of the audience.

The ABT announcement of the event kind of made it sound like Michelle Obama was going to be there (sadly, no dice) but we made do with a glammed up Carolyn Kennedy and some of you would be psyched to know we saw one of the Housewives of New York, but I can’t remember her name and wouldn’t have known who she was.

The real stars of the night, aside from myself who felt wonderful having an event to get dressed up for (I wore faded gold scalloped lace with rhinestones and a pink early 1920’s jacket), were the incredible dancers.

We got to see a mish mash of pieces, sort of a best of for the season along with some unique pieces only performed for that evening. It was maybe the best ballet experience I’ve had and I highly recommend you keep an eye out for Opening nights in the future to get the best of the ABT.

The highlights of the evening for me (aside from enjoying an outrageously priced flute of pink champagne with a dear friend during intermission) were:

Tchaikovsky Pas de Duex with Gillian Murphy and David Hallberg – this was a showcase of just how effortless seemingly and transcendent ballet can be. Spare and beautiful, both dancers were incredible, and Hallberg my favorite male dancer all evening.

Swan Lake Act II Pas de Deux with Paloma Herrera and Alexandre Hammoudi – a lovely, little girl dream sight. A stage filled with elegant ballerinas from one of the art’s most beloved stories.

Splendid Isolation III with Irina Dvorovenko and Maxim Beloserkovsky – this one blew me away with it’s inventive choreography which featured a huge skirted gown. Truly stunning, but sadly for anyone not in attendance, a performance solely for the opening night.

Lady of the Camillias with Julie Kent and Cory Stearns – this was the most romantic of the performances. Julie Kent, an experienced dancer with the ABT literally took her hair down and became one of my favorite dancers with just a few moments of graceful movement. At forty she is as perfect a dancer as I’ve seen.

If you are looking to purchase tickets to the season, The Bright Stream looks fun and unusual with fat ladies on bicycles, fake moustaches, and some sweet printed peasant wear that looked very Prada-esque. If you want to go more classic, the Swan Lake is surely lovely (and I recommend seeking out a Julie Kent performance).

Hope to do this again next year, it’s the kind of event that makes me love New York.

See more: Spend a Couple Hours Opera/Dance Upper West Side

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Posted on May 17, 2011

27 North 6th St., Williamsburg, Sunday 10-5

Brooklyn Flea Market week two and Jim’s plan to “eat everything” was not too far off from what happened. We skipped stuff we’d already had either at the market or elsewhere which still left plenty to get full on. Good thing we had at least some restraint and split everything…

Beginning with one amazing donut (you know, breakfast first!). It came from Dough, a Cobble Hill shop that features unique flavors like Hibiscus and Blood Orange. I decided to try a simple glazed yeast however, to get a general feel for their goods. I hate to say it, but it rivals Peter Pan. I can’t wait to have another next week.

But the deliciousness didn’t stop there, no! Next we were on to Mile End‘s smoked cured brisket sandwich. A marvelous and simple sandwich that is juicy, smokey, and meaty. Do not skip the mustard, it adds a great kick. One of the best savory dishes at the market.

Asia Dog offers a large menu of unique Asian inspired toppings, we had a temporary lapse in restraint and went for the pork belly cucumber. It was intense. Maybe too intense. Next time I’d opt for the bahn mi hot dog or another less fat pork topped choice.

After all this we still were hungry (the key is not to eat before hand) and I was on the fence about making our last sandwich the Red Hook Lobster Roll, just because of the comparatively high 15.00 price tag.. but with Shaun’s urging that it was totally worth it, we relented and ordered Maine style. It was incredible, over flowing with big lobster chunks that tasted fresh and with just a hint of mayonnaise – the key to a good roll. Too many are just loads of mayo with tiny bits of lobster hiding among the celery. Here they do it right. Another best bite contender, especially with the summer months coming.

To wash everything down we tried Brooklyn Soda Works Root Beer, a spicy, none too sweet beverage that will quench the thirst even if you dislike soda.

I couldn’t help but get another jar of marmalade (this time grapefruit hibiscus) since my lemon vanilla is almost used up and we bit the bullet on the insane price tag ($7) for some Ragged Butte Bison Jerky to take home. It’s pretty awesome, but I don’t think I can rationizle speniding that kind of money on dried meat again.

Thank goodness this thing is only once a week.

See more: Spend a Couple Hours Fairs/Markets Food Williamsburg

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Posted on April 11, 2011

Sundays 10-5 at 27 North 6th St.

I am so happy Brooklyn Flea has decided to set up within walking distance this summer. Not too psyched that it’s on gravel which made stroller pushing impossible – but lesson learned – next time we will use our carrier.

There were the usual selections of vintage goods and silk screened tees, with the dapper vintage tie seller Travis Sylvester selling particularly tempting bow ties at reasonable prices. But I was mostly indulging in the food stuffs.

For on the spot eating I enjoyed the Frgal Cakes, a pear crumble pizza of sorts that are traditional in Czechoslovakia. Also excellent was the homemade ricotta, arugula and fresh carved prosciutto bruschettas from Salvatore Brooklyn.

I brought Jim home a merguez sandwich from Brooklyn Bangers which was nice and flavorful with an incredible kicky sauce. A refreshing warm weather watermelon juice allowed me to almost ignore the bitter sudden gusts of winds that shook the proceedings.

For take home yumminess, I opted for Lime and Pickle mayonnaise from Sam Mason’s Empire Mayonnaise, which I haven’t tried yet, but expect to be wonderful and a jar of vanilla lemon marmalade from Momofuku Milk Bar and Friends which we just enjoyed on warm English muffins. So delicious and summery.

Can’t wait to return to try what I missed, including the Mile End smoked meat sandwich and local beef jerky.

See more: Spend a Couple Hours Fairs/Markets Food Shops Vintage Williamsburg

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Posted on April 3, 2011