cherrypatter nyc
and great ideas for what to do too!
interview: ann cantrell, annie’s blue ribbon general store
i’m very happy to announce addition number two to cherrypatter (last week was the long awaited map) – again a long time in coming — will be a series of interviews to find out where some of the people behind my favorite places like to eat and shop. i’ll also be featuring people who just love new york to see some of their favorite haunts as well. i’ll be trying for a balance throughout the city but for now it may be a little brooklyn heavy, but hey, there’s not really much wrong with that.
first up in my interview series is ann catrell of annie’s blue ribbon general store. living in brooklyn heights, ann is a super enthusiastic about brooklyn (and barely seems to leave the borough). annie started her great shop in 2007 after dreaming about it for 10 years (see this great profile by shiny squirrel) and has filled her shop with stuff that’s fun and functional. she makes good use of her incredibly cute and versatile store to get all her essential goodies. on the food front, she is a pizza lover and lots of other suggestions in boerum hill where her shop is located, as well as closer to her home. thanks ann for sharing all your great ideas. thanks so much ann for answering my questions and being my guinea pig as this section evolves!
shopping:
top places to shop for fun clothes?
i am not much of a clothes shopper (today i am wearing an old izod polo shirt I got at the park slope flea market in 1987, no joke - i hold on to clothes forever!) although i love to window shop up and down the beautiful shops on atlantic avenue and court street.
go to place for house gifts?
my shop of course! I buy all of my gifts from there!! my favorites depend on the season, or someone’s personal favorite. i spend a lot of time trying to personalize them and make them special. and I like to wrap everything, even if it’s a little piece of candy!
favorite place for stationery?
um, do not want to get repetitive here but i also get all my greeting cards and note cards from my shop too! i am always looking for special and clever cards and keep rotating them to keep the assortment fresh.
flowers?
opalia on atlantic has gorgeous flowers (they did my wedding) and so does grdn on hoyt street.
kids?
oh! my shop, annie’s blue ribbon general store of course! this is a no-brainer because i do try to pick out lots of fun toys and treats for kids. i am really just a kid at heart so I love looking for fun new gifts for children.
for your mum, dad, husband? wedding presents?
my shop, my shop, my shop!! seriously, i pretty much buy everything here! my favorite wedding gifts at the moment are a set of beautiful nesting bowls for cooking and our nest egg.
what do you buy for yourself for fun?
i love books! they are my special treat.
inspiration for your shop?
i love and other authentic general stores. i also love liberty of london and so many other inspiring british shops.
the basics: pharmacy, dry cleaners, glasses/contacts, tights?
our local dry cleaner is around the corner from my apartment in brooklyn heights (), although aaron (at ) is a great tailor across the street from my shop. i wish we had a local pharmacy, but the only ones near us are chains. in my old neighborhood (chelsea) i loved new london pharmacy and try to visit there and c.o. bigelow whenever I am nearby.
favorite place to go in the neighborhood?
i love to walk around brooklyn with my husband and love, rob. we love to go to the brooklyn flea, walk over the brooklyn bridge, go out for some food or walk along the promenade. we also love prospect park and brooklyn bridge park for relaxing. our roof deck is pretty amazing too!
food:
favorite date night restaurant?
rob and I both love to eat- and to cook! we both LOVE mexican though, so right now I would say pacifico is our favorite. for our one-year anniversary though we went to the river café, where we got married (our neighbors gave us a gift certificate for there when we got engaged and we saved it as an anniversary treat!).
place to go with friends?
one of my favorite spots is iron chef house on clarke street- and i have some friends that CRAVE their sushi, others crave italian and love noodle pudding or frankies (we had our rehearsal dinner there in the back stable). i also love the food and vibe of jack the horse on hicks street, and my brother is fond of the bartender there so we go there a lot. for an easy hang near the shop I like bacchus (they have a lovely back garden) or building on bond(I had my birthday party there, rob performed!) or jolie. or for a fun dinner/ lunch- burgers from bar tabac. also, I am going to take a friend to buttermilk channel (burger pictured above) for her birthday- can’t wait to check it out! I LOVE TO EAT!
for drinks?
i am a wine drinker, but like i said above the bartender at jack the horse is always a crowd pleaser. so is max at the smoke joint in fort greene (think he moved to no. 7), and i have been meaning to check out der schwarze kölner, the new beer garden in fort greene. some friends opened it up so we will need to go for octoberfest!
favorite dish for dinner?
monkey roll from iron chef house. yummmmmmm.
best dessert?
whoopie pies from building on bond. yummmmmmmmmmm.
breakfast/brunch food?
we love to go out to breakfast! in the winter i loved the chili omelette from gravy/trout (now bueno) but think their menu may have changed with their new look. we LOVE the breakfast burritos at siggy’s on henry street, and the ones at dumbo general store are wonderful too. the diner a block from our house is a great old stand by (), but on the weekends it’s usually too packed and we can’t wait too long since i have to get to the shop. friends took me to egg in williamsburg which was a wonderful treat too!
favorite asian spot? latin american? middle eastern?
for thai we love joya on court, and for sushi i already mentioned my favorite iron chef house. for middle eastern we order from A LOT at the shop.
favorite neighborhood spot?
building on bond, 2 blocks from the shop, has a great vibe and spirit. good food, good prices! we also love waterfront ale houseon atlantic avenue, and henry street ale house for pub food.
best coffee? best pastry/bakery? best prepared foods?
i don’t drink coffee but rob loves it from tazza (coffee pictured above), blue marble, cranberry’s. we love baked goods from baked (i even got rob a t-shirt from there for his birthday) and i LOVE the red velvet cupcakes from betty bakery on atlantic. my friends know they can always bring me one of those if they are visiting the shop!
what you crave?
i love sushi (i know i am a broken record, i could eat the monkey roll from iron chef house every night!), and PIZZA! I eat it everywhere and ALL the time! local slice places (brooklyn pizza is the best!)- for extra special pizza treats we love grimaldi’s, just finally tried lucali’s, and franny’s too. I seriously eat PIZZA ALL THE TIME!
No Comments »