at the Music Hall of Williamsburg

When Frolic! Opens in the spring it should be pretty awesome: a little kid fun zone with play rooms and interesting classes.

To say hello to the neighborhood and celebrate the holidays, they hosted a rocking concert at the Williamsburg Music Hall last night.

There was a free Santa photo corner, music that was refreshingly not obnoxious for kids (the class will be called little rock-its), a fake snow storm, a friendly environment and beer for the parents!

After my first exclusion for having kids (boo hiss Gutter – a bowling ally, in the afternoon no less) it was great to be in such a welcoming place for little ones.

Van was head banging to I Love Rock and Roll and learning a few new moves from his pal Lauryn.

See more: Spend a Couple Hours Children’s Concerts Holidays Williamsburg

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Posted on December 5, 2011

593 Lorimer Street

Our recent Southern fried, stick to your bones meal at The Brooklyn Star was full of happy surprises and familiar comforting tastes.

With a menu split between small and big plates the four of us split four smalls, two bigs and left sated but not stuffed.

Oh and we also got the piping hot bacon jalapeno cornbread. An appropriate intro to what was to come. Definitely a must.

Next came a fresh lemony kale salad that even veggiephobes will rave about, a nice oyster taco (which was good but not extraordinary), and spicy chicken wings that went beyond the usual pub fare with a smoky sweetness and plump meaty wings.

The biggest surprise on the small plates was the beef tongue served two ways. I have only known the dish tp be thinly sliced and cold but the shredded pickled version and the tender grilled slab were eye opening and possibly the best bites of the night.

Big plates were excellent too. I kind of pulled for us to order the hulking chicken friend steak, a personal favorite thanks to my hometowns Barneys Diner but admittedly love shared by many and a bit of an acquired taste.Their tender version could definitely turn some skeptics though and made me very happy.

The roasted chicken was also pretty phenomenal. Brined and garlicky, it melted in our mouths and reinforced my idea that chicken is better left to the pros. In my hands, it turns dull and overcooked but at a good restaurant the roasted chicken will never disappoint.

Drinks, like a spicy margarita and a smoky old fashioned were great accompaniment.
and the atmosphere was friendly (the scent of apple cider and smiling staff greet you), candle lit (my photos are a bummer so look to flickr for better ones) and uncluttered.

See more: Restaurants American Southern Williamsburg

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Posted on October 23, 2011

177 North 9th St, Williamsburg

Quick! Make your way to Pierogi Gallery to gaze at the intricate mini etchings by Tony Fitzpatrick (the show ends Oct 9).

From Bazooka bubble gum to Dick Tracy,mutant birds to off kilter snow men, this small collection is like traveling through someone’s half remembered childhood memories. If those memories could be gorgeously rendered.

A few of my favorites are posted but you really have to see them all in person.

A really nice surprise on a Thursday afternoon walk and a wonderful introduction to an artist new to me.

See more: Spend a Couple Minutes Galleries/Museums Williamsburg

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Posted on September 29, 2011

100 Frost St, Brooklyn

All you know about Sherry is wrong.

Or, scratch that, all you know about Sherry is right, it is syrupy, weird and usually can be found sitting for decades in a grandmother’s cabinet, BUT there’s so much more to Sherry than that as I found out at a recent Brooklyn Kitchen Sherry Tasting and Class.

Because of age old laws, only over turned in the 1990’s, Sherry makers didn’t have the right to bottle their own goods. Not shockingly these laws were written by distributors who would bottle all the Sherry, adding sugar and other junk and export it to England under names like Harvey’s Bristol Cream.

There’s a new crop of Sherries out there though, the ones we sampled coming from Gutierrez Colosia (and all available at Vine Wine on Lorimer) and they are complex and delicious. My favorite was Oloroso Sangre y Trabajedero (Blood and the Worker). It was the farthest of the bunch from the taste of wine and actually tasted more like a brandy, but not quite.

The room hushed and all were blissing out on the Bodega Cesar Florido Moscatel Especial, a sweet sherry that was heavenly with the gorgonzola dulce they offered.

Also passed around were spiced green olives, dates, more cheese, and buttery jamon from the shop. Mmmmmmmmm.

Most tastings I have been to try to make it a laid back experience, but Brooklyn Kitchen probably does it with the most ease. Black Sabbath was blasting downstairs and everyone in our small class was having a fun time.

I had originally used my generous gift card for a Breakfast Making Class (I was so super excited to learn how to make amazing eggs of all kinds) but it was canceled. I picked this Sherry class because it was something I knew nothing about. I’m glad I did.

See more: Drinks,Spend a Couple Hours Brooklyn Williamsburg

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Posted on July 18, 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