Thanks, Dahlia, for tweeting it to me!

There was a shooting in front of Provisions (Fulton & S. Portland) about an
hour ago. Ralph said a bunch of teenagers have been mugging people in the
neighborhood. And apparently this time their “victim” pulled out a gun and
shot them. No idea how accurate this is (other than there is a swarm of cops
out there).

Sunday morning I walked over to Choice to enjoy my favorite weekend indulgence- a chocolate croissant while walking the dog.  While there, I wondered how Choice Atlantic was faring.  I had almost forgotten about stumbling across it earlier this year with glee.  So, I headed down to Atlantic, only to find it was closed!  A quick blog search found notice of the closure on Eater and Brownstoner mentioned as being “temporary” back in late August – early September.  Not so good for an outpost that just opened up earlier this year.

Despite things looking up for Atlantic Avenue in the last few years, it seems to have petered out.  Frank White claimed to have just  moved just down the street, but I can never seem to find it when I drive by.  And remember that fresh fruit shop on Atlantic back in 2008?  That came and went like lightening.

The old Bonita space on DeKalb (nr Vanderbilt) has a hand-made sign on the door that says “Roman’s” and “OPEN.”  The door also boasts a stop work order.

Inside, the place hasn’t changed much.  The bar area has been fully stocked, and a decorative wall has been added in the back.

So, are they operational?  Are they in fact open from 5-11?  Or did that pesky stop work order stall things?

A tipster recently emailed me to ask what happened to Embora, the yoga-dance studio on Fulton near Washington.  Sure enough, it is closed.  The sign is still up, but the interior is empty.  No explanation, no nothing.  Embora moved to the neighborhood around the same time I did, coming up on six years.  Their website is still up, but their phone number has been “temporarily disconnected.”

A comment on Yelp from September 15  laments their closure.  Wish they had something up on their site!

Anyone know any specifics?

And this lunchtime caravan of ours ended up at one of the neighborhood’s hottest new spots, Thai-Filipino restaurant Umi Nom on Dekalb and Classon. What can I say? We’re all just fancy like that!

Just kidding, because Umi Nom is as unpretentious as they come. I went there for dinner with Tillie’s mom, Amira’s parents and another couple a few months ago, and we had a wonderful time. It was just like having friends over for dinner and a bottle of wine or two (or six or seven, if you’re counting)!

Anyway, I had been hearing rumors about the restaurant being open for lunch, but I wasn’t planning on investigating any time soon. Part of that was due to me thinking they would just offer the small plates they serve at dinner. The dishes are all excellent, but if you end up getting a few to fill you up, it could make a little dent in the wallet.

It’s funny how we ended up there this time. We were all at the playground as part of our twice-weekly dads’ group meeting, but after a while of chasing the kids, Amira’s pop and I both worked up an appetite. I told him Tillie and I were about to go on one of our LWT adventures and that he and Amira were welcome to join us. As we started to gather up the kids, another dad in the group showed up, having just gotten back from Umi Nom. I told him my concerns, but he let me know there was a whole lunch menu and how great his food was. We already had a decision on where we were going, but I looked over at AP and I saw he was thinking what I was: Let’s go to Umi Nom!

When we entered, we were greeted warmly by the waiter. We were offered to take a seat anywhere we liked, but coming in with kids and strollers, it’s not exactly the easiest of tasks. Our strollers were able to be stored in the back of the restaurant near the open kitchen without folding them up, which is always a bonus to me. (I just hate taking out the stuff in the pouch underneath the seat, like the diaper pad, toys, stroller cover, etc., all the tools a parent on the go needs!)

After getting the kids situated in their high chairs, we took a look at the menu. The options all sounded so good, plus another bonus: They were all reasonably priced –  I don’t think anything exceeded 10 bucks. Even though I was tempted to go with Umi Nom’s spin on the burger, I decided on the bahay kubo – stir-fried rice with chicken, sausage, shrimp, egg and soy – and Amira’s pop got the chicken pad-seow and a side of garlic rice for Amira.

While we were waiting for the food, the waiter brought out some toasted bread for the kids, which was greatly appreciated. He even came back later to see if we wanted some more. (Probably because AP and I were munching on it!) I broke out with some of the pasta I made a literal vat of for Tillie a few weeks ago and gave her some. I also set some aside for Amira, which she really seemed to like. It made me feel proud of my baby-food-cooking abilities, even though Tillie’s mom called me out for the lack of vegetables in said vat.

The kids were having a great time interacting with each other, which they always seem to do. Tillie gets real excited around Amira, kind of like that looking up to the older kid situation. Between feeding the two and picking up crumbs, the two dads were able to catch up.

My food and the garlic rice came out first, and it was a most welcome sight! I took a bite first to determine if the seasoning would be OK for Tillie to handle, which it was. (Well, that’s part of it: Remember, I was starving!) Amira’s pop dished up some garlic rice for the kids while waiting for his food to come out, and I offered him some from the heaping mound on my plate. We both agreed that mine was delicious: The rice had a slightly sweet taste to it, while the shredded vegetables had a nice contrasting tanginess to them. And there was enough meat for a piece in every bite. Tillie’s been a big rice eater, so the dish worked for her, too.

Also, you can take this as an indication as to how good it was: You know how I usually have pictures of the food included? My food was so tasty that it totally wiped out any intention of taking shots of it – eating it was the main priority!

The noodles came out shortly and Amira got a little bit of the dish set aside for her. She tried to feed Tillie a couple of pieces of chicken, but the two couldn’t pull off the transaction without the food hitting the floor!

After the eating was done and the bellies were full, we packed the kids up to go – all the while raving about how good our food was. They were both getting kind of tired after being out and about for a while. We got the bill, which was about $27 for the two of us – a good value for all the food and the wonderful experience we had.

So just in case more of a recommendation is needed: Run, don’t walk (or stroll) there. The staff couldn’t be nicer and the food couldn’t be better. Plus, it’s great to go there with a chum – child and grown-up alike!

“My pictures tend to focus on people rather than the race or the runners themselves. I try to convey this spirit of community that is so specific to our neighborhood.”

View more of his compelling work here.

Exhibition Dates: November 8 — December 2, 2009
Reception: Wednesday, November 11, 2009, 6-9pm

Melanie Flood Projects is pleased to present “Untitled Gentlemen”, a solo exhibit of photographs by Erica Allen.

A series of fictional photographic portraits exploring representations and constructions of identity. Created with faces from contemporary barbershop hairstyle posters and figures from found studio photographs, this work gives new value and meaning to otherwise discarded and primarily functional photographs.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Erica Allen is a Brooklyn based artist originally from Oakland, California. She received her MFA in Photography from the School of Visual Arts in 2008. Recent awards included the Women in Photography (WIP-Lightside Individual Project) runner-up grant. She has previously exhibited at the Camera Club of New York, the Broadway Gallery and Visual Arts Gallery in New York City. www.ericaallenphoto.com

ABOUT THE GALLERY

Melanie Flood Projects is a contemporary salon-style gallery operating from the home of Melanie Flood, aimed toward creating a comfortable environment for the enjoyment and dialogue of the arts. Artists & art lovers are offered a meeting place to come together in a personal, domestic setting.

For more information about the exhibit, the gallery, or to RSVP please contact:

Melanie Flood Projects
186 Washington Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205
mfloodprojects@gmail.com

Tamboril
527 Myrtle Ave (bt Grand and Steuben)
Brooklyn, NY 11205-2605
www.tamborilnyc.com
(718) 622-5130

What happened when a couple of artists had kids and then found that the children’s wear market was hopelessly lacking in the clothes they really wanted their children to wear? They let the DIY spirit move them and turned into entrepreneurs – and Brooklyn Junior was born. This Halloween, owner Nadia Georgiou opens the doors of Brooklyn Junior’s new Clinton Hill shop, located at 150 Clinton Ave (corner or Myrtle), for the first time.

Since 2008 Brooklyn Junior has been selling colorful, chic and unique clothing for babies and kids on the web at brooklynjunior.com as well as at the Brooklyn Flea in Ft. Greene and Dumbo. Nadia’s popular designs include bright kimonos, super soft silkscreened tees featuring drills, fire hydrants, and headphones, baby onesies in adorable colors and patterns, and lots more to please all kids from newborns to six-year-olds. And now, for the first time, they’re under one roof on Clinton Avenue – along with colorful toys and accessories.

But Brooklyn Junior’s Clinton Avenue space isn’t just a store – it’s Nadia’s workshop, too. Half the space displays the designs in a shop setting, and half houses the actual place where Brooklyn Junior designs happen. It’s a rare and fascinating glimpse into the process behind the designs – and it takes a true artist to be willing to display the materials.

See our interview with Nadia here!