Category Archives: brooklyn

Cheeburger Cheeburger in Park Slope – Now 4 Restaurants in 4 Block Radius with “Burger” in Their Name

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The chain restaurant Cheeburger Cheeburger is opening at the former Miracle Grill space on 7th Avenue and 3rd St. in Brooklyn.  I know that the Brooklyn Paper says there is a hamburger renaissance going on in Brooklyn, but Cheeburger Cheeburger? Did we really need that?  Cheeburger Cheeburger completes a Park Slope mediocre burger super-fecta. Now with Brooklyn BurgerFlipsters, 5 Guys, Corner Burger and Cheeburger Cheeburger, you won’t wave to walk for that 3 blocks to get a crappy burger.  I guess the bright side is with the Slope becoming so enamored by alt-burger chains, maybe we’ll get an In-N-Out Burger!

In other news Pfizer opens their first Lipitor store in Park Slope!

Passengers Push for Child-Free Flights…Except the 80% That Don’t

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If you are to believe the headline of the The New York Times article this weekend, Passengers Push for Child-Free Flights, airline passengers are mad as hell at those snot-nose kids on flights, and they are not going to take it anymore.  But the article offers mostly just anecdotal accounts of some passengers bad experiences of flights with unruly children. The one “empirical” study, a survey of 2,000 travelers released by Skyscanner, seemed to contradict the title of the article, “early 20 percent said they would like to see airlines offer child-free flights.”  That means over 80 percent do not want child-free flights, but why let facts get in the way of a good anti-children story.

Rounding up a bunch of people complain about how their flight was ruined by a screaming baby is easier than getting people to complain about the fat-cat in Washington.  The only redeeming part of this article is that the airlines pretty much refused to even validate the premise.

This is just one article in what I am noticing as an alarming anti-child trend.  There seems to be more and more stories of people complaining about entitled kids/parents.  But the allegations always seem to be unfounded once you get to the second paragraph of the article.  Maybe I am just more attuned to these stories now, but I don’t recall there being such animosity towards parents and children in the past.

Just a Wee Touch of the Colic

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Sadly have been re-reading my books by Weisbluth, Ferber, Pantley, and Karp.  Several nights of of crying from 3 week old Veronica, has my wife and I whispering the “c” word – Colic.

Nate had colic, although we denied it for weeks. At first we said “he’s just fussy.” Then we moved on to “he just has colicky tendencies” and “a touch of colic.”  But our ped confirmed it at Nate’s one month, “classic colic.”

I’m still holing out hope for V that maybe she’s just gassy or going through a phase, but in the meantime I’m looking for a 3 month sublet in Mali, where apparently they don’t have colic.

On second thought, I suppose a touch of the colic is better than malaria.

Kids are Good Enough for the Four Seasons

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The Four Seasons restaurant in New York recently had their annual “Childrens Day,” where tots ages 5-14 get to eat free (sadly, their parents have no such free lunch, and will have to fork up for the Four’s fine fare.) And no children’s menu, so kids are encouraged to try the “Seared Block Island BLACK BASS, with Corn-Chanterelle Risotto and Truffle Popcorn or the Filet of BISON, Foie Gras with Perigord Black Truffle” or anything else on the Pool Room or Grill Room lunch menu.

No complaints, no controversy so I’m not sure if Gothamist will chime in, as they do anytime anyone complains about a child dropping a fork.

If a restaurant wants a no-child policy, that is their prerogative, but The Four Seasons obviously think it is good for business to be child-friendly Although there are TONS of child-friendly restaurants in Brooklyn it’d be nice if some of the finer ones thought this way as well (I’m looking at you Rosewater.)

Unispheres, Rockets, and Dosa! Oh My!

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Behold the Unisphere!

Maybe it’s because of its name, but Flushing Queens is one of the more underrated destinations in New York’s outer-boroughs. Aside from seeing the Mets lose play, most non-Queens residents don’t visit often. I’ve explored Fran Drescher’s neighborhood a couple of times in the past, but Juliet and I decided to take Nate for a short visit to this Queens ‘hood this weekend, and had a great time.

We drove to Flushing Meadows Corona Park and easily found parking. It is a huge park (more than 50% larger than Central Park), with a lots of soccer, softball, and cricket games going on. Although it isn’t the most kempt park, there was a good amount of litter, some of the landscaping is quite beautiful.

Rocket Park

But the real reason to go is the remnants of the World’s Fairs held here in 1939 and 1964. Having already visited Philip Johnson’s “Tent of Tomorrow” ruins and the Queen’s Museum on our last trip, we decided to hit the Unisphere and the Hall of Science.

When we saw the Unisphere, with the fountains going, Nate said, “Ooooooh, dats awsome.” I concured.

After that we walked over to the New York Hall of Science, a children’s science museum, but I wasn’t sure how a three year old would react. He loved it! I’m pretty sure Nate didn’t get the science behind it, but there was enough spinning and interactive exhibits to hold a toddler’s attention for 2 hours. The museum actually has an area dedicated to pre-schoolers, but Nate was particularly intrigued with the display demonstrating Kepler’s laws of planetary motion (balls spinning down a funnel.) Although he was very upset you couldn’t go in the rockets at Rocket Park.

Nate Observing Kepler's Laws

My only beef with the museum is that they nickle and dime you. Admission is $11 for adults and $8 for children, but then it is additional fees for the Science Playground, lunar mini-golf, space ship simulator, and even a crafts fee in the pre-school area. Nevertheless, it is a great visit for kids and adults.

We were getting hungry, and museum cafeteria fare was not on our agenda. We drove deep into Flushing, and made a little trans Asian journey, through Koreatown, Chinatown, and into the less known Indian section of Flushing.

My wife is a vegetarian, and I’m always looking for interesting restaurants, and I heard about Dosa Hutt, a south Indian restaurant right next to the Hindu Temple. Dosa Hutt is not much to look at, but they do make excellent dosa.

After loading up on dosa, Ras malai, and mango lassi, I considered getting some lemon ice from Benfaremo, The Lemon Ice King of Corona, but the fountains, rockets, and curried lentils had caught up with Nate, and he was passed out in the back seat.

Just as well, as it gives us another reason to come back to this misunderstood neighborhood.

Can a not even three-year-old be a sarcastic smart ass?

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I’m not sure if he is trying to be funny or not, but my nearly 3-year-old son has been cracking me up lately.  And not with the usual silly baby stuff, real smart ass retorts. But coming from a two-year-old, they are killing me.

Nate: Daddy, what is that white thing on your face?
Daddy: Where?
Nate then spits on my cheek and laughs. (I’m incensed, but have to laugh.)

After throwing a temper tantrum
Mom (frustrated): Nate, do you have mental problems?
Nate: Do you?
(Mom still frustrated, Dad laughing hysterically, asking Mom, “well?”)

While on the potty
Mom: Nate, Why are you touching your penis?
Nate: Because I don’t want to touch my head!

That’s gold, Jerry! Gold!

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Re-visiting the Double D Pool

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When there were threats of closing the Douglas and DeGraw, I didn’t lament its passing because I thought the neighborhood around the pool was not necessarily where I wanted to take my children.  The pool has since been “saved” and my family and I  decided to take a dip this past weekend, and perhaps I would reevaluate my initial judgment.  It is a nice pool, the staff is friendly, the pool itself is very clean (can’t say as much for the bathroom and locker rooms, but they were passable), and it is not too crowded. But my initial assessment still stands, it is a dicey area.  We got there 20 minutes before the pool opens at 11AM, so we decided to kill some time at the playground next door.  There were no children at the playground but there were two gentlemen sleeping on benches, and a third standing nervously in the corner.  I couldn’t determine if he was waiting for his “business” day to start or end. And this was all in a PLAYGROUND!

Granted, after waiting on line for 20 minutes at the Red Hook pool, and finding no place to to swim much less sit, dealing with some local riff-raff outside the pool might not seem like such a bad deal for a little elbow room and comfort. None-the-less…

Nice pool. Crummy neighborhood.

Dinner at Fornino

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Park Slope probably didn’t need another Italian restaurant, but we finally went to Fornino in Park Slope, and it is definitely one of the better ones in the neighborhood.  My wife and I took Nate (almost 3) early, around 6 on a Friday.  It is a large space, and we were seated immediately. High tin ceilings with mod lighting mixed with tables and banquettes make for an inviting atmosphere.  Although I have to wonder what inspired the “Wendys-esque” old-time newspaper tables?

We passed on the children’s menu (although, I think it’s thoughtful to have one, but godforbid I offend the sensibility of the eater-atti) and Nate shared with us.  Although the pizza at their Williamsburg location is phenomenal, I heard the pizza at the Slope location was grilled, and I’m just not a fan.  Fortunately, the non-pizza options are excellent.  We started with the artichoke and herb aioli.  [Note to self, 3 year olds do not know just to eat the soft part pf artichoke leaves.]  After a bit of coughing, Nate improvised and started dunking the house focaccia in the aioli.  Nate was on to something, the aioli was delicious, and their focaccia was better than most, and I think their aioli/focaccia is a better combo than with the artichoke.

Next was the watermelon salad. Very simple with cheese and red and yellow watermelon, but refreshing on a muggy night.

Juliet got the grilled saffron ravioli with asparagus and a lemon Parmigiano sauce.  The pasta was well prepared, but sauce seemed a little bland to me, especially for a cream sauce with Parmigiano Reggiano.  But Nate seemed to like it more than my rigatoni with “Cucina’s famous sausage.” That was good by me, I couldnt get enough of the “famous” sausage. I’m not sure if the sausage is actually famous, but it should be!  I am definitely going to try more of their homemade sausage next visit.

The staff was friendly and quick, even after Nate broke his glass while pawing for more water after gagging on artichoke.

With an antsy kid nearing his bedtime, I know not to overstay my welcome at a place I want to come back to, so we passed on dessert. But had a nice pastry and Stumptown coffee from Trois Pommes patisserie next door as we walked home.