Picture Perfect: Chili Fiesta

Despite the rain last Saturday's chili festival in Prospect Park was great and delicious. It came replete with a nearly free Chutney lunch and demonstration.

Picture Perfect: Hard at Work

The view of one of our fine contributors hard at work at Cafe Regular (du Sud).

Prospect Park West Threatens Park Slope Way of Life

According to both Gawker and our very own insider at Bookforum, the press copies of Prospect Park West, Amy Sohn's thinly-veiled Sex and the City ripoff ("It's different! It's four women in BROOKLYN!") have been sent off to the four corners of the lit/gossip world. Early reports are...not so great. And with lines like these, how can we argue:

It was a scorching July Thursday, three days after Rebecca's thwarted masturbation, and she was looking forward to getting a break from her daughter. Rebecca's babysitter, Sonam, diminutive and deferential, with a forehead of lifelong suffering, took care of Abbie Tuesdays and Thursdays while Rebecca worked on freelance article assignments, window-shopped, or did her Prospect Park Food Coop shift, like today. (via Gawker)

This is, in short, every reason that people hate us (and I don't think it's meant to be ironic!) When will the stereotypes end? Is PS20 going to have to write a book of our own about life outside of the Coop? Hint: it's a hell of a lot sexier than thwarted masturbation and ethnic subservient help.

No.1 Park Slope Detective Agency

PS 20 is currently investigating the recent strange happenings in Prospect Park. We thought Park Slope was a bit magical, but not this sort of magical. 

First Impressions: Finding Fitness Together

There is absolutely nothing like having a Jewish mother. After losing almost 60 pounds, as this writer recently did through sheer will power and a bit of exercise, it was my Jewish mother who told me, "You look good, but you could really stand to tighten up your stomach." Of course it wasn't enough to have lost the weight, now I had to apparently to try my best to reach physical perfection.

And so, having had mixed luck with gyms, though I would recommend Ludlow Fitness to any LES resident, and being too naive (or spoiled depending on your definition) to merely work out or purchase one of those Swiss Balls (as a fellow writer at PS 20 recommended), I decided to do what any good Park Slope resident might do and google my options. A quick look with keywords like "Brooklyn" and "Fitness" soon netted me www.broolynpersonaltraining.com the local incarnation of the Fitness Together brand of personal trainers. I decided to submit a request for a meeting through their website, explaining my situation (Jewish mother and all) and got a call back the next day. Over the phone, I was asked when I would like to come in and when I requested coming in a week from then, was told that it should be sooner or it would never get done. What could I say? They were being pushy.

[The Fitness Together Ad]

Therefore, this morning I headed down for the free consult at their offices on 5th Ave and 5th st. Their location, next to the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company and Get Fresh: Table and Market, as well as the proximity to Ginger's puts Fitness Together in the center of at least what I consider "Park Slope." The entrance to the place is filled with cardio equipment, which, from what I understand, a person can access at any time, seven days a week, when they join up for membership. However, it isn't quite different from a gym, as one will be ogled by passers by no matter what.

My meeting with trainer "L" was pretty interesting. I was asked more questions about my weight loss and commended that I was showing up my ex-girlfriend who had dumped me partially because of my advanced size. When L heard about this as the impetus for my weight loss, she was openly surprised and said that the ex would hardly recognize me. At any rate, she went through the whole spiel about how the whole place was a family. Apparently, the fitness center is made up of about three training rooms, which provide individual attention and privacy. A pretty good deal. The whole place kind of looks like if you set up a training center in three different living rooms and was immaculately clean. However, for a 24 year old, there is something inherently awkward about the personal attention, not to mention the price which runs about $95 a session. However, the staff was incredibly nice and confident about fixing any physical malaise that one might have. If I can just get my mother to part with some cash to foot the rather expensive bill as opposed to her usual contributions to my own neuroses, I would definitely give Fitness Together a try.

Picture Perfect: The Cafes Strike Back

A preview of where we at PS 20 will set up shop tomorrow and write a few more Cafe reviews including the one above, Ozzie's, etc.

Park Slope Cafe Odyssey Continues or Where to Buy a Cup of Coffee

Another entry into where to enjoy cups of joe wherever you go. Today we focus a bit more on the north side of the slope.

Cousin John's Cafe and Bakery [map]

Good For: Free Wi-fi in the middle of the day, eating half a cake before taking it in a box home.

While the space itself is a little bit cramped, and topped with a neon "Dolcera" sign, Cousin John's gives more than enough room and all the free wireless internet that anyone can handle. Along with some stools outside, the place seems more ideal for subway commuters on their way to the 2 and 3 trains than for a prolonged stay. However, for those who can spare a few minutes inside, and can resist the mouth-watering cakes that are ushered by every few minutes to be delivered or taken out, the cafe provides basic and not-to-pedestrian coffee necessities for low prices and a fair amount of salads for those trying to stay on a diet. However, staying too long does put one in danger of running into a screeching baby or two.

-----------------------------------------------

Gorilla Coffee [map]

Good For: Coffee on the go with enough caffeine to keep you going.

What can be said about Gorilla Coffee that hasn't been said already. The six year old company markets itself as "Brooklyn Based" and its coffee grounds can be found all over the city. Not only does the line head out of the door, but the tables, stools and benches outside of gorilla coffee are usually filled with parents in strollers, neighborhood residents walking their dogs and young adults on laptops. However, the staff has been consistently personable, blasting their favorite music and freely commenting on their choices and occasionally offering up the free cup of coffee to park slope residents who are a dollar or two short. If you can stay awake through the lines and the hustle and bustle of the place, try their "Red Eye" to keep you going throughout the rest of the day.

Picture Perfect: 2009: A Cafe Odyssey!

The view from the counter of Cousin John's Bakery in North Slope as we at PS 20 update our map with as many coffee shops as possible. Any suggestions?

A Haircut in the Slope

In New York, where to go for a haircut is always a quandary. Like everything else in New York, the range of options is staggering: cheap, expensive, hipster, classy, metal, organic, you name it, a salon in the city does it. All this is compounded by perhaps the worst problem of all: everyone has a horror story about bad and/or overpriced cuts. Armed with a sense of terror, therefore--one only made worse by the prospect of cutting off all of her hair and having it be a Very Big Mistake--your intrepid female PS20 correspondent braved the wilds of southern Park Slope to find a wonderful, and shockingly affordable, salon.

From the name alone, Salon Bohemia sounds like it's for the Coop-loving, earthy-crunchy 'I'm so bohemian with my $2000 a month rent' crowd; despite the friendly-yet-disorganized air, this salon means business. The cost of a cut is comparable to most downtown Manhattan or Williamsburg salons, which is to say, not cheap. However, there is a secret (one readily available to anyone with an internet connection pointed to salonbohemia.com) -- cuts with Mari, the current 'rising star' stylist, are half the price of the regular cuts. For someone like me -- long hair, going short -- the somewhat more complicated cut ran $40, but considering that any other stylist would've charged $80, it felt like a solid break.

As far as the cut itself went, at the time it didn't feel like the most glamorous experience. There was coffee and tea, though I didn't sample the wares, and the cookies that had been out on a previous visit didn't make themselves known; the stylist, Mari, did everything, from washing to cutting and styling. Even though it was early on a Saturday morning, a constant flow of customers, primarily young locals, kept the team of stylists busy.

Though it may not have felt like the most amazing cut of my life, one look in the mirror back at our apartment was enough to convince me of Salon Bohemia's otherworldly powers. I was transformed -- as the rest of PS20 claimed, into Anne Hathaway circa Rachel Getting Married. (Though without the drug use and 'intense' eye makeup.)

Needless to say, PS20 wholeheartedly recommends Salon Bohemia. It's not just for hipster twentysomething girls, either -- men and children are invited to get in on the action, too (though please, please, no children while I'm there, thanks.)

Park Slope Cafe Odyssey

There is nothing like a long, relaxing day with a good cup of coffee and Park Slope has no shortage of choices. In fact, the list of possible places to go is overwhelming. PS 20 Something has taken on the challenge of visiting every place in Park Slope to discover those perfect places. We will update our coffee map as we go along.

Colson Patisserie [map]

Good for: Romantic weekend morning coffee and breakfast

Colson sits snug on the corner of 5th Avenue and 9th Street. From the vantage of its metallic outdoor seats you can observe the busy morning pedestrian traffic (strollers, dogs etc.) as you drink a delicious ice coffee and eat a croissant/pain au chocolat/almond pain au chocolat depending on your level of fanciness. If raining, the inside has a cute European atmosphere with a row of tables for seating.

Cafe Grumpy [map]

Good for: A delicious variety of exotic coffees to go, a quick morning browse of the Times

New to Park Slope is the classy Cafe Grumpy, expanding from its locations in Greenpoint and Chelsea. With its iconic logo, good for anyone who hates Mondays, the cafe offers coffees from such far-flung regions as Africa.

Senior Superlatives: Dr. Foxy

Just like a good yearbook, we at PS 20 want to let you know a little bit about who we are. We start with... well... myself.

Name: Maxwell "Dr. Foxy" Foxman

From Argentina to New Paltz, NY, Dr. Foxy has no fear of a good adventure. Sure, his naivete and fondness for neon colored drinks makes him a prime candidate for the suburbs, but the doctor only spends his weekdays there. The rest of time he is fighting to be the bocce champion of Park Slope!

Hometown: Stony Point, NY

Day Job: Influencing young minds in immature topics (Comics, Television & Latin)

Extracurricular Activities: Band Geek, School Newspaper

Favorite Quote: The future is in the future and the past is a big brick wall. I need to make you understand now. I'm a man not a disco ball. - Electric Six

Slopeside Memory: It only took me about a week of living in Park Slope to get up the nerve to venture in Prospect Park in the middle of the night. With a few drinks in me, I braved past the police cars into the Long Meadow and laid down on the wet grass and pontificated to the grey sky for at least an hour in the very quiet night. Then, realizing over an hour had past in the silence of Prospect Park, I meandered my way home.

Aspirations:

1. To find the cheapest date Slopeside (teacher's don't make that much money).

2. To be greeted like Norm in Cheers by the owners of Bierkraft

3. To make PS 20 Something famous enough to get free gear from Razor

4. To be known as "That Guy With Bowler Cap" when grabbing a game of bocce at Union Hall.

5. To catch every film at The Pavillion in one day.

This Week in the Slope

Your faithful correspondents have been less than faithful this week (work, GRE studying, recovery from 80s prom all getting in the way) but in our absence, the Slope's kept on turning. This is part 1 of 2 of our somewhat-weekly roundup for the past couple of weeks: the mainstream media's take on the neighborhood we call home.

Beer Table makes it big time--to the NYT dining section, that is. [nytimes]

The dream of organic non-Coop food by our favorite polluted canal is no more. [brooklynpaper]

The search for the new BK poet laureate means the Park Slope literati are sounding out. [brooklynpaper]

Hartford tourists think Park Slope is a 'lovely, funky destination' (?!) [hartfordcourant]

Boston tourists think Hotel Le Bleu's location between a taxi garage and a U-Haul 'exudes an urban character - and in a good way' (?!) [bostonglobe]

Political dramz in the Slope, something about Republicans blah blah? [brooklynpaper]

Time Out's cheap eats for the Slope! More on this later... [timeout]

Picture Perfect: Drink Specials

We at PS 20 are doing some research of bars, cafes and other places to carouse. We found these drink specials at the Lucky 13 Salon.

BREAKING NEWS: The Bocce Blog Challenge

PS 20 Something defeats This Bar Sucks at the first Bocce Blog Challenge 16-10! The victors (that's us) have won the soul of Union Hall.

More details to come...

Picture Perfect: Los Amigos

Nothing says "The Best of Park Slope" like Celebrate Brooklyn! And tonight is Los Amigos Invisibles, who are the most booty shakin' of this season's shows

The Bocce Blog Challenge!

About a month ago, the members of PS 20 Something issued their first Bocce challenge to local blogger (and the author of the photo on the left) Matt Stone, author of This Bar Sucks.com. Next week Mr. Stone will compete as part of our new regular column, The Bocce Blog Challenge.

The challenge will consist of this. On a regular basis we will compete for something, be it domain name registration, an adult-sized Mclaren stroller, or something equally not as serious. Since Union Hall's bocce lanes are a staple for sports on the slope, we thought it would be best to compete there, broadcast the competition as a podcast, with the help of our friend John and talk a little bit about blogging and life in Park Slope with some of the great minds in the NYC blogosphere. We will happily take any challenges (we are after all Bocce Blogmasters according to our business cards) and look forward to kicking some This Bar Sucks butt next week!

See you Slopeside!

Study Abroad: The Gowanus Yacht Club

Last night, the PS20 crew convened at the Gowanus Yacht Club for a drink (or 2, or 3) as a post-work, pre-adventure treat. The outdoor space is perfectly located for a stopoff on the way back from Manhattan or a quick nip outside the boundaries of the Slope; the bar sits directly above the F/G Carroll St. stop, making it a ten minute subway ride from 7th Ave.

The ambiance is exactly as you would expect -- if you spend your summer evenings wishing you had a backyard (except without grass), this is the spot for you. Brightly colored Christmas lights serve as the primary decor, with long picnic tables packed tightly together in the small space. A single bathroom down a flight of stairs is the only indoor area -- though it's worth checking out for the pretty entertaining graffiti.

We stayed on the cheaper end of the potable selections -- with PBR $5 for 2 cans, Original Sin cider for $4, and, perhaps most hilariously, stout in a can with a cartoon cow for $3, you can do no wrong, though some fancier selections were available by the bottle or on tap. There's a grill as well, though we didn't get the chance to sample the wares...this time, but we will certainly be back!

This Week in the Slope

Even we can't catch all the Slope news as it comes down the pipe...here's what other people are saying about the Slope...

The New York Times' photog blog covered a Gowanus photographer who has a show on at the Brooklyn Public Library. We love the Gowanus Canal and think this is totally worth checking out. [lensblog]

Reis 100 has opened on 5th Ave between 6th and 7th. Look for the PS20 crew to be picking up some late-night nibbles from here some night soon. [brooklynpaper]

Brokelyn finds reasons to enjoy being broke in the Slope. [brokelyn]

Time Out New York shouts out Bklyn Larder's fior di latte gelato. Nom. [tony]

The apparently legendary Lucali might be heading to the South Slope! [eater]

And, of course, the biggest news of all: The G train is officially here! [onlytheblogknowsbklyn]

Picture Perfect: Stoopwatch 2009

Sure it's only three or so stories, but the perils of falling from a Brownstone have me quaking in my shoes

Sex and the Slopey?

Gawker reported today (in typical, not-exactly-well-sourced manner) that Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick might be moving to the old Connelly / Bettany estate on PPW. Not quite as exciting as our old neighbors Maggie Gyllenhaal and Paul Auster, but just think -- maybe the Sex and the City tours will make it all the way to Park Slope!

(Oh dear.)

Sundays at Steinhof

Cafe Steinhof (422 Seventh Avenue) brings a little Viennese charm to Park Slope. This establishment was spawned from the defunct Max & Moritz; the owners finding their Austrian food nights wildly popular. A traditional Austrian menu provides a reasonable and comprehensive taste of eating out in Vienna, yet is great fun as it provides something different to the usual. They also have a wide range of fantastic European beers available. I sampled the Weihenstephaner (wheat beer) and would highly recommend. The best time to visit --as PS 20 found out a few days ago-- is on a Sunday evening when a late-night film is shown. We caught The Maltese Falcon; the monochrome beauty of the film complimenting Steinhof's European cosy-yet-classy interior. The July calendar is a little more action-packed but should be great fun.

All films start at roughly 10.30pm. No cover.

Sunday, July 5th: Kung Fu: Season 1

Sunday, July 12th: Death Race 2000

Sunday, July 19th: Kill Bill, Vol. 1

Sunday, July 26th: Bound for Glory

This Week in the Slope

Even we can't catch all the Slope news as it comes down the pipe...here's what other people are saying about the Slope...

There's a Michael Jackson tribute run / Thriller dance at Prospect Park tonight. [fuckedinparkslope]

Cafe Grumpy on 7th between 11th and 12th has finally opened! [brownstoner]

Vue Restaurant (at the very silly-looking Hotel Le Bleu) is getting a Manhattan chef, ooh la la. [eater]

The Love Canal Slide Show

We already posted once about the general love in that was the Love Canal, and we realize that it may have seemed a little crazy, but here's the slideshow to prove that everything we said was real, and then some!

Picture Perfect: THE G TRAIN

The G Train is here! The G Train is here! Enough Said!

'If this gets any weirder I'm getting my tits painted' '

PS 20 Something is currently enjoying a beautiful summer day along the Gowanus.

Surprisingly body painting is one of the more normal things we are seeing. We also are viewing:

A Pink Gorilla and Cookie Monster playing a bass and xylophone respectively being upstaged by a tortoise, a shark dog and countless scantily clad hula hoopist. We'll put up a photo gallery tonight to prove our sanity.

Picture Perfect: Green Pirates and Guerilla Farming

For lovers of the guerilla farming movement, this truck, parked outside the Grand Army Plaza farmer's market should be your batmobile!

Picture Perfect: The Bell House

At the outskirts of Park Slope, really Gowanus, is The Bell House. brought to you by the same folks who bring us Slopers Union Hall and while the two are very similar, the "Classic Photo Booths" make a nice addition and a reason to come out. Not to mention they have a pretty good calendar of events.

Picture Perfect: Daily Shots from a Park Slope Bicyclist.

As an avid bicyclist, I hope to capture the Slope from the spokes.

As for this picture, all I can say is that one man's garbage is another man's craigslist cannon fodder.

Welcome to the Blog

PS 20 Something is for all of you who are poor, young and not quite hip enough to live in Williamsburg… ie just like us.

We just moved to Park Slope. We don’t have strollers. We haven’t joined the Coop (based on principle alone), but we are working hard at being Bocce Masters! Some of us are single. Some of us aren’t.

So check in soon to find out more about of us and the blog.

We’ll see you slopeside.