Our neighborhoods are so filled with French families that the public schools are French/English bilingual. One third of our 220 storefronts are Food & Drink establishments—Vive les gourmets!!! We have huge support from our local business partners, especially Bar Tabac to make this happen.

In addition, there will be live music, food, the largest petanque tournament outside of France, and, of course, crepes. The party starts at 10am, so set your alarm clocks, you dirty stay-outs!

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/8958

Boerum Hill has gotten its own outpost of Park Slope denim destination Rivet, which has opened its new store in a two-room space at 115 Smith Street at the corner of Bergen. The hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Racked reported earlier this month that the vibe is all-American, with exposed brick walls and vintage design objects. Jeans for men and women hang on racks, and are also stored in a shelving unit made up of wooden boxes and accessible by ladder, like a denim library.

The new store carries most of the same labels as the 7th Avenue location: J.Brand, AG, American Vintage, Ben Sherman and LA Made. But, as Racked points out, because it’s twice as big, there’s space for more jewelry (including geometric pieces from In God We Trust) and shoes, leather goods, bags, candles and antiques.

Its Park Slope stores are at 103 7th Ave. and 203 Garfield Place (as Warp and Weft).

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/7747

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/7590

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/44287

Alongside the likes of such ooh-la-la NYC retailers as Ralph Lauren, Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman and ABC Carpet, Racked has chosen two Cobble Hill boutiques among its July 2012 “38 Essential New York Shopping Experiences.”

The list offers a “north-to-south round-up” of destinations the shopping website declares “worth browsing,” adding, “We tried to include a range of neighborhoods, price points and merchandise, leaving out food stores and anything that’s been open less than six months.”

Epaulet at 231 Smith Street gets a Racked gold star for “staying on-trend without being too slavishly trendy.” Run by a married couple, the mostly-menswear shop “is perfect for guys who like knowing exactly how (and where) their jeans were made. There’s an Orchard Street shop too, but Smith Street is the original.”

As well, Dear Fieldbinder at 198 Smith Street is described as “a clean white box of a space stocked with hip labels like Rodebjer, Miista and Surface to Air. But don’t expect the service to be too cool for school. The staffers here are sweet and attentive and full of good styling ideas, and the denim sales can’t be beat.”

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/7530

“Battersby Is Poised For The New Brooklyn.” That’s the headline in a generally flattering New York Times restaurant review for “elbow to elbow” intimate Cobble Hill eatery Battersby at 255 Smith Street and Douglass Street, owned by Joseph Ogrodnek and Walker Stern. Quote: “At its best, the food at Battersby is thoughtful, poised, occasionally revelatory.”

Regarding the restaurant’s lamb, NYT reporter Ligaya Mishan muses, “This is a biography of lamb, intimate in its details. You sense that the person who cooked it broke down the animal himself. You do not coo over such a plate; you bow your head, in grace.” The menu of about a dozen dishes changes as often as three times a week, she reports.

Recommended on the menu are the kale salad, crab parfait, quinoa with herbs and lettuces, octopus and chorizo, branzino, lamb and spontaneous tasting menu. Prices range from $7 to $29, with a tasting menu for $65-$85.

One more amusing note… Mishan suggests that Smith Street is “a formerly insalubrious strip that is now just a Marc Jacobs away from becoming Brooklyn’s Bleecker.”

(Photo: New York Times/Elizabeth Lippman)

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/7461

Among its observations: “Carroll Gardens is the quiet Brooklyn neighborhood that lies between Red Hook and Gowanus. Established in the late 1800s, the area used to be considered South Brooklyn, but that was before the borough got carved up into minidistricts, each with its own character and bragging rights. A sign hanging in the small historic district on President Street, a few steps off Smith, sums up the milieu: ‘Its brownstone facades, coherent in style, with lavish gardens between the houses and the street, create a charming period enclave.’”

Read the entire story here.

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/7371

The event planners note: “It is a time honored tattoo parlor tradition to commemorate an auspicious date or event with a themed tattoo.” Shops have long been inking $13 “13″ tattoos when that date falls on Friday the 13th, or $31 Halloween images on October 31.

And thus, Brooklyn Tattoo at 99 Smith Street, will again honor one of its biggest inspirations three days after the Bridge’s 129th anniversary on May 24. The Urban Folk Art Gallery, adjacent to the shop, will host a group art show commemorating the Bridge through the eyes of 20+ local painters illustrators, educators, photographers, comic book makers and tattooers, opening Friday, May 25, 7-11 p.m.

The Brooklyn Bridge tattoos draw from several flash (pre-drawn) images that evoke the spirit that has defined New York’s iconic skyline. Tattoos will be etched into your skin by Brooklyn Tattoo staff on a first come, first serve basis. Copies of the flash design sheets will also be available for purchase, as well as a limited edition book by Adam Suerte showcasing 50 Brooklyn Bridge tattoos he’s done in the past. And: Brooklyn Bridge t-shirts, pint and shot glasses, and other themed merch will be sold in the gallery, as usual.

The third-annual, two-part event is sponsored by Bar Great Harry at 280 Smith Street.

Brooklyn Tattoo has been operating in South Brooklyn for more than a decade. Its gallery opened in January 2011. For more information, contact Adam Suarte at 718-643-1610.

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/7213

Reviewer Carey Jones writes in an exhaustively detailed piece: “What did our meal at Battersby tell me? That these chefs have dead-on intuition for how people want to be eating. That they seize on an impulse and cook it well—not just rushing vegetables with a 3-week season onto their menu, but preparing them as well as if they did it every day. And that flavor, balance and execution all seem to matter enormously.”

Read the full review at Serious Eats here.

(Photo: Nona Brooklyn)

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/7044

The stunt started last year and was so successful they’ve decided to do it again.

Brooklyn Tattoo’s Adam Suerte comments via press release, ”We had a great time last year tattooing between 60-70 bridges on prideful residents of the County of Kings, and fans of the Bridge. I tattoo at least a half dozen Bridges on people every month, I would say it’s the most tattooed homage to Brooklyn and NY there is.”

This year adding to the festivities will be an accompanying art show at newly opened Urban Folk Art Gallery on May 20 from 7pm to 11pm.

If you’re not the tattooing type, there will also be signed and numbered “flash sheets” of this years designs available for purchase as well as commemorative t-shirts.