You can read a little about my stay in Fort Greene on the New York Times Fort Green/Clinton Hill Local Blog. Tamy Cozier, from the CUNY School of Journalism, visited Wesley and I in Ft. Greene on Sunday.
Stayed
With Wesley, Nibby (the dog), and Posey (the Cat) in a studio loft in Fort Greene. It’s one of the best laid out apartments I’ve stayed in. It’s a studio, but the areas are distinct and it feels much bigger than it is. Wesley also has a great backyard.
Wesley came to New York by way of North Carolina where she worked at Penland School of Crafts, but she’s also done a stint in Detroit which was fascinating to hear about. She works for Ripe Time, a small professional theatre company, and has written plays that have been produced around the country.
Slept
On the floor in my aerobed (of course), but I had a friend in Nibby who curled up on my bed. She is a very sweet dog and generally would wait until I was awake in the morning which is more than I can say for Wesley’s snooze alarm (she said I could say that).
- Nibby and Posey
I was nervous about my Aerobed popping with dog and cats bouncing around, but after 10 months and probably close to 100 nights the bed is still going strong.
Cooked
Brunch. Wesley provided eggs, duck bacon (salty and delicious), and cheese from the Farmer’s market and I made spinach and cheddar cheese omelettes seasoned with jalapeno hot sauce on Sunday morning.
Ate
Madiba. Everyone I talk to that has spent time in Fort Greene is excited about this South African spot. I really loved the décor – Mandela is everywhere. The food was okay. We had the bunny chow, which is a hollowed out loaf of bread filled with curry. I’d like to go back to give the food another chance. Restaurant.commakes it ridiculously cheap to do so. Use the password DINE and get a $25 gift certificate for only $2 (through Feb 28)!
Romans. For dessert and drinks. They have a daily bitter drink and a daily sour drink which goes with the rest of the menu that changes daily. The restaurant is owned by the same people who run Diner and Marlow and Sons in Williamsburg. It’s a classy, cool spot that was really busy when we were there. And everyone should taste the chocolate sorbet.
Lucali. Not Fort Greene, but I was an invited guest for an evening of Pizza and Bluegrass music with Wesley’s aunt and uncle, her friend, and her cousin. It was quite a crew. Her aunt and uncle were visiting for the Westminster dog show, and did us all the favor of waiting in line for over an hour on a Sunday night. Lucali is excellent, especially the calzone. The freshest ingredients.
Brooklyn Public House – Had a huge Cobb Salad here. Solid beer selection.
Out
Jalopy Music theatre – The Dixie Bee-Liners were here from North Carolina and Wesley’s aunt and uncle are big fans. It was a great a show and Jalopy is one of those places that takes you out of New York City. Here’s some music.
Brooklyn Flea – so not really “out” per se, but I visited here on a Sunday. When I get my own place, I want some of the maps they have on sale. I met some of theslant shack jerky team. They make it in Vermont and you can even build your own! I’ve been proselytizing a bit because its some of the best jerky I’ve had. It also helps that the owners seemed like nice people.
Chez Lola – I met a new friend, Dave Ford, through someone I spent time with at a meetup a few months ago. We came to find out that Dave hiked through Columbia with my former host (and brother-in-law) in Murray Hill. I’m making some interesting and far off connections in this journey. Dave even wrote a blog post about me here. We both had lamb shank ravioli that is cheap ($12.50) and delicious.
I think Dave deserves a separate post, as he is starting out on something similar, but still quite different from my project. Stay tuned.
Ran
With Nibby, around the neighborhood and in through Fort Greene Park. Walt Whitman is fast becoming one of my New York City heroes. He advocated for this park when he was the editor for the Brooklyn Eagle.
We capped off a run at WTF coffee, a great name to make what most would consider pretentious to be something fun. I had the siphon coffee preparation. The people working there really know their coffee. The siphon method was originally patented in France, and then rediscovered and made popular in Japan.
Interviewed
With Katey Schultz, a kindred spirit of sorts, who is spending 2 years moving around the country and writing on various writing fellowships. We chatted on Skype and she wrote about it. You can find the interview here and other great blog posts about her experience. I love her term for moving day. She calls it “the big sort.” I can relate. I’m envious of how much she is able to write.
These posts are getting too long, but I’m almost caught up at which point I will try to write more “in the moment” posts.
It was a great week with Wesley, my third week with someone as a direct result of the article that ran in the NY Times.
Email me if you want to host!
Related articles
- The NYC Nomad Bids Fort Greene A Farewell (fort-greene.thelocal.nytimes.com)
- Fort Greene Fresh: Winter Wear (fort-greene.thelocal.nytimes.com)
- The Day: Oh, the Places You’ll Go! (fort-greene.thelocal.nytimes.com)
- Memoir: When Brooklyn Was Mine (fort-greene.thelocal.nytimes.com)
- Smashburger Will Land in Fort Greene (dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com)
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