cherrypatter nyc
and great ideas for what to do too!
the brooklyn flea: way more than your usual market
although for those of us living in brooklyn and reading the occasional brooklyn related paper or blog, the brookyn flea is everywhere. i don’t think i have ever seen so much press on a market, let alone a flea market. it seems that if you ever need pr, the brownstoner guys know how to get that done. see here and here. and this flea market definitely gives flea markets a better name for themselves, and as i am not really a fan of a jumble of stuff i don’t often visit typical flea markets.
the brooklyn flea is a destination and i definitely try to go a few times a year if not more. the organizers behind the brooklyn flea makes an effort to showcase small, independent shops and designers of a variety of goods including stationery, fabrics, clothes (not too much in the nonvintage category), jewelry, furniture (i am a huge fan of greenjeans so i hope they’re back), and lots and lots of excellent food including whimsy & spice and yummy treats from the red hook ball fields and many others. the brooklyn flea was especially great last winter for christmas shopping. i got a whopping two hours out of the house, and i made out like a bandit with many prezzies in hand — definitely a score. the outdoor brooklyn flea went into hibernation this winter (they did have an indoor dumbo flea market focused more on antiques which i did not visit) but i am excited that they will be back in action this coming sunday. the brooklyn flea, located in the yard of bishop laughlin memorial high school on lafayette avenue between clermont and vanderbilt avenues, brooklyn, new york.
mini guide new york: fort greene: since the brooklyn flea is located in fort greene which is not exactly easily gotten to via public transportation from park slope, we have gotten into the habit of making it into a family outing as we try to explore more of the neighborhood. like prospect heights, i don’t think fort greene really has any destination restaurants but there are some decent ones (we have only checked out a few, and i have left off the list the few that have been hyped up recently but are not worth visiting), and there are definitely some cute shops nearby if the brooklyn flea is not enough.
food:
general greene: a locavore’s dream, we have been happy mostly with our food here, and when it’s warm outside and we can sit out on their terraces a good time has been had by all. 229 dekalb avenue between adelphi street and clermont avenue, .
ici: this spot has been around for a while, and has gotten good reviews. i would like to eat there just to see and hopefully it will live up to its solid reputation. 246 dekalb at vanderbilt avenue, .
the smoke joint: whenever we go by, this place looks like it’s hopping. while it may not be the best barbecue in the city, there isn’t that much choice in brooklyn so it’s probably good if you have that hankering. 87 south elliott place at lafayette avenue, .
shops/to do:
stuart and wright: run by two former alumns of steven alan, the store focuses on clothes for men and women from independent, crafty and detailed designers. i keep reading about this shop and definitely need to make my way for a visit to see if all the good things are true. 85 lafayette avenue at near south portland avenue, brooklyn, new york, .
thistle & clover: with a fantastic selection of up-and-coming designers, the women’s clothes shown here are extremely appealing and the store is worth a visit every season. for more info see this post. 221 dekalb avenue at clermont avenue, brooklyn, new york, .
root, stock & quade: this lovely plant and flower shop used to live in park slope and moved to clinton hill last fall. a huge loss for us but we still occassionally get a beautifully designed arrangement from them just for fun. 471 myrtle avenue at washington avenue, brooklyn, new york, .
bespoke bicycles: looks like this cute bike shop just opened last weekend and will be the first for fort greene. they plan to offer a range of raleigh bikes and repair services, and as soon they get settled in they’ll be building custom bikes as well. 66 lafayette avenue at south elliott, brooklyn, new york.
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[...] brooklyn flea market: great local furniture, clothes, food and … [...]
[...] goods either. fortunately, it seems that two new bike shops have opened up in the borough (both bespokes bicycles in fort greene and the just opened brooklyn bicycles located at the intersection of 9th street and 6th avenue in [...]