Taco Chulo: Guess What's Missing

Tonight's dinner mission was Taco Chulo, the anxiously-awaited new Mexican joint in my neighborhood, on Grand Street's Happening Restaurant Row. On a visit during the renovation we were told the owner(s) is/are from Berkeley, which would suggest a mastery of the burrito form, but tonight's burritos (carnitas and vegetarian, respectively) were missing one key ingredient; mystifyingly, there was no spanish rice inside the burrito. Instead, you get potatoes. Don't bother asking to substitute rice, because there is not a grain in the establishment (except weekend brunches, apparently, when it sneaks into the "Guacamole Breakfast"). Yes, there are refried beans, and an excellent salsa, and the carnitas were "succulent" as advertised. There is simply no rice, and it's only now that I realize how much less satisfying burritos are when it's missing. Also, there was no guacamole, but I've never been a fan anyhow. I'm inclined to think the tacos will be less disappointing, since they don't depend so much on the One True Starch, so I'll hit that next time, along with the intriguing "warm chocolate-coconut
tamales served with chocolate-chile sauce" for dessert. You can't mess up a chocolate-coconut tamale served with chocolate-chile sauce, can you?

brooklyn-ish , food-ish , williamsburg-ish by tangentialist at 11:20 PM on 10 Aug 05 | Perm-a-link | TrackBack (0)

Williamsburg Franchise Watch: Subway, 1; Starbucks, 0

Williamsburg Has A Subway!

For those of you not intimately familiar with the struggles over development and gentrification in Williamsburg, let me assure you, the battle is fraught. In short:

Well, today the franchises made a healthy noteworthy gain, with the very first national chain entry being a Subway sandwich shop on the corner of Bedford and North 5th (two doors down from the Northside car service). According to the nervous guys inside, it will open in "about three weeks". This should just beat the second franchise that is apparently moving into the Northside: a UPS Store on North 7th Street.

Rumors here always swirled around the imminent arrival of a Starbucks (that's how it went down in Park Slope), but this is a new century, in which multi-grain rolls, reheated meatballs, and low-carb wraps take precedence over the cult of caffeine. I predict this will be one of the busiest storefronts on Bedford within a year, no matter what the rolled eyes say. Anytime had better step up their game.

Postscript: A reader points out that I am forgetting two things--first, Williamsburg includes streets other than Bedford Avenue, which means McDonald's on Broadway and White Castle on Metro both beat Subway to the punch; and second, I neglected to note the presence of a Tasti D-Lite one block away on Bedford, which appears recently to have become a franchise opportunity. I stand corrected, but still shudder at the thought of Subway's bready, franchised aroma.

brooklyn-ish , food-ish , gentrification-ish , williamsburg-ish by tangentialist at 03:36 PM on 22 Jul 05 | Perm-a-link | TrackBack (0)

Night In McCarren Pool

After having ventured into the vastness of the abandoned pool in Williamsburg's McCarren Park with Nick on July 4th, I knew I had to go back at night. The crumbling pedestals and rusting metal, though perilous in low-light conditions, felt humiliated in daylight. I had gotten some nice responses to the daytime photos, but it wouldn't have felt right to stop there. I planned to sneak in at night during the next full moon, and gathered a couple accomplices to protect me from people with knives.

The pool really feels more alive when it's dark. The shadows sharpen every angle, and you can hear every movement in the pool--footsteps, raccoons, pebbles. Because it's such a fortress, the space doesn't feel as menacing as, say, Roosevelt Island at night. It just feels forgotten there, as if all the kids moved away and the water gradually evaporated.

They're repurposing the pool facility for some sort of short dance project in September, which could precede a larger redevelopment project, assuming funds and community support are there. As hot as it was shooting there last night, I have to wonder why they don't just make it a pool again.

[Tien (of tienmao.com) has a flickr set and his commentary]

brooklyn-ish , photo-ish , williamsburg-ish by tangentialist at 12:24 PM on 19 Jul 05 | Perm-a-link | TrackBack (4)

Stickers and My First Apartment

Today, I stumbled on this post, a collection of stickers peeled carefully from the Lower East Side between 1992 and 1995. I'm a big fan of these things, having placed stickers all over the Lower East Side in my time, and this guy has more than a few classics.

This particular scan, though, is my favorite:

There, on the flexible polymer cover of his 1995 monthly planner, is the kingpin sticker that I found on the bathroom mirror of my first apartment in Brooklyn, a studio in Park Slope formerly occupied by an FIT student and her boyfriend, who left behind only ferret droppings and this sticker (dated "nineteen9Dfo"). Every morning, worried about whatever I went to sleep worrying about, I would stare at that sticker as I washed my face, reciting to myself its simple mantra: "Schmoova Than The Head of Telly Savalas". It was an effective calming technique, and I quickly abandoned any notion of trying to remove Telly's sympathetic noggin from my morning routine. I left it behind when I moved out, two and a half years later, and totally forgot my morning discussions with Doctor Savalas -- until today, when Telly and his floating crown popped up in my RSS feeds and reminded me what it means to be thoroughly in control of my situation.

Who Loves Ya Baby?

brooklyn-ish , personal history-ish , sticker-ish , telly savalas-ish by tangentialist at 05:32 PM on 03 Mar 05 | Perm-a-link | TrackBack (0)

Pro-Space-Elevator Lobby Emerges

More wheatpaste drama on the Space Elevator front, which is quickly becoming the hot-button issue here in Brooklyn. Over the weekend, the flyer pictured above appeared around Williamsburg, seemingly in reponse to the original anti-Space-Elevator posters. It's a classic grassroots gambit, and I'm sure their claims will falter as more light is focused on the Pro-Elevator coalition. Here's one of my favorite bits:

The Elevator ribbon is only 12 inches wide and no thicker than a pad of paper; its shadow will in fact act as a pleasant urban sundial, saving residents money that would otherwise be spent on costly timepieces. Is it really a surprise that F.E.T.S.E.o.t.N. is also taking money from Big Horology?

This is turning into a pleasantly absurd little debate on the workings of the NIMBY world and the merits of regulated development. The question is, will the real world respond?

Painstakingly transcribed flyer text after the fold...

SUPPORT THE SPACE ELEVATOR!

A Space Elevator would bring the wealth of the Solar System to Williamsburg. Yet some people are opposing it. Why?

Fight Extremely Tall Space Elevators on the Northside (F.E.T.S.E.o.t.N.) isn't telling you the truth about:

JOBS: The Space Elevator will create a thriving local carbon nanotube production industry.

NOISE: F.E.T.S.E.o.t.N. is taking funds from Big Aerospace, which has a vested interest in chemical rockets. A single chemical Atlas booster's launch noise intensity is over 200 dB - a jackhammer's is "only" 110 dB!

TRAFFIC: The 30 mile flight exclusion zone around the Elevator will result in the closure of JFK and LaGuardia airports, reducing overall traffic and air pollution, especially on the overcrowded BQE.

URBAN BLIGHT: The Elevator ribbon is only 12 inches wide and no thicker than a pad of paper; its shadow will in fact act as a pleasant urban sundial, saving residents money that would otherwise be spent on costly timepieces. Is it really a surprise that F.E.T.S.E.o.t.N. is also taking money from Big Horology?

MAIL stoptheelevator@yahoogroups.com AND TELL THEM TO STOP TRYING TO TAKE OUR JOBS, HURT OUR EARS, INCREASE TRAFFIC CONGESTION, AND FORCE US TO BUY CLOCKS!

brooklyn-ish , space elevator-ish , street art-ish , williamsburg-ish by tangentialist at 04:19 PM on 07 Feb 05 | Perm-a-link

Space Elevator Hits The Big Time

space elevator

Flyers about a space elevator in Williamsburg have been appearing around the Northside and causing a stir among the local residents and their friends abroad, who apparently include Xeni Jardin. There's even a yahoo group, where a discussion on the various annoyances of such a development ("Constant Whirring Noise") is unfolding, and where you can download some copies of your own.

First come the high rises, then the space elevators. NIMBY!

(Note: They appear to have reached their bandwidth limit on the flyer, so I'll share my copy.)

brooklyn-ish , space elevator-ish , street art-ish , williamsburg-ish by tangentialist at 03:00 PM on 02 Feb 05 | Perm-a-link | TrackBack (1)

Happy New Year, Now Back To Work

Once again, New York lucks out with reasonably tolerable weather on New Year's Eve. Good for the folks in Times Square, but equally pleasant for those of us capitalizing on free house parties in Brooklyn (this year's house parties brought to you by Dale, Dalia, Damien, and the letter "D").

Jon, of True Swamp fame, thinks this year is the peak of the New Year's Eve Freeloader Cycle, indicated by a relative dearth of house parties and masses of aimless revelers (like me!) wandering the streets of North Brooklyn. Next year, we should be headed for richer pickings, as bored New Yorkers decide to "just do it themselves" instead of sitting at home and watching Regis Philbin sweep up Dick Clark's sumptuous Rockin' Eve confetti. I promised Damien free attendance at my next two NYE house parties, with no BYOB obligation, in an effort to shore up my wilted New Year's karma.

Here's to a very tangential 2005, with pastures green and pockets deep for all and sundry. Keep on keepin' on.

brooklyn-ish , new year's eve-ish by tangentialist at 02:38 PM on 03 Jan 05 | Perm-a-link | TrackBack (0)