Welcome to Sunday!

This week was full of long days at work, but even longer hours of summer sun. The days and nights are beginning to get warmer, which means long walks at night in the heat, rooftops with drinks and plenty of time outdoors! We are just at the tip of the iceberg of everything summer can bring.

And of course, let me know if you try any of these places - i’d love to hear what you thought!

Food & Drink

Captain Dan’s “Good Times” Tavern - Located in Bed Stuy this Bar serves up both food and beverages. There is outside seating as well as some space to sit at the open window. The decor is worth the visit alone, with velvet paintings of corgis hanging about and plenty of Parrott paraphernalia. The french fries are delicious, and the beer selection small, but good. This is certainly a place I imagine spending a lazy sunday afternoon and many a weeknight evening.
Freeman’s - When this restaurant first opened, waits to be sat were upwards of 2 hours. While that is no longer the case (mostly), this is still a bustling place and I recommend making a reservation. The food is very Americana, and slightly more expensive than your average meal, but the vintage decor, and overall environment, makes it a place you would like to stay all night with friends, chatting the night away over multiple courses and rounds of wine - which is exactly what I did Wednesday night. This restaurant can be hard to find, as its down an alley off rivington street - so if you are trying to hit a reservation, maybe give yourself a little bit longer to find it, if you haven’t been before.
McSorely’s - This Irish bar is a New York mainstay. Having been around for more than 100 years, and until the 70s only a place where men were allowed, this place has seen many a politician, renown writer and other, now dead, famous people take their drinks here. They only serve beer - light or dark - and in two sizes - big or small. Know what you want to order when you get to the bar or be quickly passed over or shouted at. McSorely’s also serves food, and while I cannot speak to most of the menu, I have a fondness for their cheese platter. It is a platter of sliced white cheddar, half an onion and an entire pack of saltines. Sounds awful, tastes delicious. This place gets busy, so get their early if you want a seat. And as a word of warning, if you are sitting down or standing up and taking up room and not drinking, without intention of getting another round - you will get kicked out. Harsh, but worth it.
Elsa - Elsa may be one of my favorite cocktails bars in Brooklyn. Located on Atlantic Avenue, between Cobble Hill and Prospects Heights, they have a rotating menu of cocktails that they serve, alongside some mainstays. Their cocktails are complex and delicious and I haven’t had one I did not enjoy and which was not also aesthetically pleasing. What makes this bar even better is that they have a killer happy hour (4-7pm, weekdays) that includes $5 glasses of rose and $7 for select cocktails.
Bar Tabac - This is a French bar located in Cobble Hill. Everything about this bar screams “France” and when I’m there I feel as if I have actually been transported back to the cafes of Paris. There is not a point in this day that this bar is not busy during the summer. My suggestion would be to grab a table outside, order a glass of rose from Provence and some moules frites, and enjoy your weekend afternoon or weekday evening watching the world go by.

Out & About

Prospect Park - with the longer days, getting a chance to lay in the park after work, a workout, chores, etc has become much easier. On Monday of this week after going for a run in the park, I decided to grab some snacks and my laptop and hustle back to the park for those last rays of sun while I finished up some work over a bit of cheese and a glass of wine.
Central Park - I sadly do not get up to Central Park often enough. And as much as I hate to admit it, it is stunningly beautiful, perhaps even more so than Prospect Park. On Saturday, feeling antsy, I decided to bike to the Park to relax and write. Something, I’ve decided, that is never a bad idea.
Yoga Vida - For a while now I’ve been looking for a yoga studio in New York or Brooklyn to join. One that had classes at convenient times and teachers I like. Finally, I’ve found Yoga Vida. I always feel invigorated in mind and body after yoga, even more so after a class here. On another note, I’ve discovered that hot yoga in any form really isn’t for me.
Brooklyn Boulders - I started climbing last Autumn and joined BKB shortly after. Climbing indoors is best when it’s too gross or hot to be outside, so i haven’t been in a while, but climbing makes me feel like a little kid again, climbing trees and running around the playground.

Culture

U&A Court Street Theater: Does a movie count as culture? I’m not sure it does. But this week I saw Ocean’s 8 using my Movie Pass (if you don’t have a Movie Pass, you should really get one). The movie itself was entertaining, if not a bit hokey. I laughed a lot, but nothing will compare to the first Ocean’s 11, when George Clooney and Brad Pitt stole our hearts all over again.