The mystery cheese shop at 502 Lorimer Street opened this weekend. It turns out, Baba is not just a small cheese shop, but also a charcuterie, grocery and little cafe all rolled into one. 
It may still be under construction, but yesterday was it, nonetheless... opening day of the Brooklyn Kitchen Lab and the Meat Hook! Take a look!
Sand bags and blue tape, some unfinished wiring (nothing that wouldn't pass inspection, though) and boxes and piles and whatnot... none of it means they can't start selling.
A charming old scale.
There will be so much more than just meat. Here is the start of a library of classic cook books and periodicals. They have old back issues of Gourmet I cannot wait to descend upon ravenously.
The beginnings of merchandising. It felt like a little bit of a family and friends celebration/ hangout/ unpack, so I didn't stick around long. I will be back this weekend to do some shopping. And to order my Thanksgiving turkey.
Potential around every corner...
With some well placed shelves, decent lighting, and things in place, I can tell this is going to be a great local resource. Congratulations to the team, and best of luck!
St. John's Bread and Wine is all fine and good, but nothing compares to my one and only true love when it comes to nose-to-tail, locally sourced, delicious food: Marlow & Sons. I went with a friend a couple nights ago and it was phenomenal as always. It was also very dark as always, so bear with me (as a side note, I am excited to report I will soon be taking a little crash course in G10 photography and post production from a helpful friend, which should improve the images you see on AHFAH a bit, I hope). 
I started with a glass of sparkling wine and some shared oysters. Then moved on to the carrot and frissee salad. It had gorgeous purple carrots, and while a little oversalted, was still satisfying.
No one does brick chicken like Marlow. It is a regular on the menu with varying sides, and the best chicken entree I have ever had anywhere. On this night it was served with a sausage stuffing style brioche. Mind numbingly good.
Dessert was a stock favorite as well: the chocolate and caramel tart with sea salt. Make your own with the recipe from Lottie + Doof (and admire their professional photography skills!). I had a glass of Amaro Nonino to finish it all up, then stumbled home. 
Can the new-arrival-on-the-scene cheese shop compete with Big Mama? It will be a challenge. Bedford Cheese at 229 Bedford Avenue is consistently rated one of the finest cheese shops in the city. Look below to understand why. 
I could crawl inside and take a nap! The descriptions are witty and yet straightforward and unpretentious. I had to pick up some cheese, just enough for a snack.
Ok, I'll take some baguette, salami and thick sliced prosciutto as well. Let's just make it dinner.
What is a dinner of cheese and meats without wine? Not dinner. Local favorite Blue Angel Wines, at 638 Grand Street, had a tasting of and a special on Clos Roche Blanche Cuvee Pif 2008. Yes, thank you.
The cheeses were: Pau (left) a Spanish goat's milk; Vermont Shepherd (right) a sheep's milk (which I don't usually like, but this one is great); and Grayson (center) an Virginian cow's milk whose scent will slap you in the face, but that goes down real smooth. Yum!
The last stop on the weekend of errands was local bookstore, Spoonbill & Sugartown at 218 Bedford Avenue. The shop is best known for its art books and obscure local magazine, I just wanted to pick up some travel guides because the looming task for next weekend is to plan and book all of our hostels, cars, ferries and activities as well as do research on great eats and sights for our upcoming trip to Australia, New Zealand and Tahiti. I can't wait! Just for the planning! You know me.
The interior is now apartments (of course) but this incredible quasi-neo-gothic arch work remains. An apartment in the building was featured in Nest magazine (RIP). If anyone knows which issues, please tell me!
I then stopped by Woodley & Bunny at 490 Driggs Avenue for some fancy guest hand soap for the bathroom. They no longer carry my favorite kind, which has the world's most beautiful packaging, so I got a substitute.
Here it is. Fine cheeses will be this close to my doorstep! How soon will it open? Will they have more than just cheese? And the biggest question of all... will it hold a candle to the city's greatest cheese emporium, the Bedford Cheese Shop. More about that tomorrow, stay tuned.
Brooklyn is full of beautiful tree-lined streets developed mostly from the 1830's-1890's with grand old brownstones and brick townhouses filled with original architectural details, dotted with the occasional historic church or huge patch of Olmsted and Vaux designed greenspace. Areas as diverse as Brooklyn Heights, Fort Greene and Bedford-Stuyvesant all have amazing residential gems remaining from their origins as middle and upper-middle class neighborhoods (albeit often in varying condition today). Williamsburg, on the other hand, lacks this grander architectural history. 
Both Williamsburg and neighboring Greenpoint have, since at least the 1850's and until very recently, been hardscrabble, working-class neighborhoods filled with a variety of industrial buildings and modest but often charming residential stock. The long decline of industry in New York, the gentrification of the area since the 1990's and the mega real estate bubble of the last decade meant Williamsburg was ground zero for an injection of new development. Massive rezoning from manufacturing to residential followed by a rush to beat a height restriction deadline meant that entire blocks, even stretches of multiple blocks were torn down just as the market collapsed. What is left is often depressing scenes like this one:
A mix of funky but original old warehouses, wood frame single and multiple family homes covered in vinyl siding, plus huge trash strewn empty lots and tacky new stucco and glass condos towering above the surrounding area. Not exactly a romantic landscape of architectural wonder. Despite its looks, however, I love my neighborhood. It has some of the best restaurants in Brooklyn (I'll even say in all of New York, but more on that later) and the list of well conceived, unique local businesses grows by the day. There are also lots of original "local" old family businesses that are hanging on or even thriving as the inexorable march of gentrification continues. It may be ugly, even tacky, somewhat toxic, and slightly forlorn at times, but it is home. 
This past weekend was spent running a lot of errands and doing a little domestic shopping. In the spirit of a Bay Area friend who regularly recognizes the merits of her neighborhood in Oakland (in my mind, the sort-of Brooklyn of San Francisco) I have documented my errand run in a celebration of my favorite local businesses. First stop of the day: Brooklyn Kitchen at 616 Lorimer Street. I picked up two new cookbooks, the Cook's Illustrated Best 30 Minute Recipe book for when I need to whip up something for myself or my boyfriend as well as Ruth Reichl's Gourmet Cookbook, for when we decide to entertain. Skimming them both, I am excited to move beyond the beloved Barefoot Contessa rut I have been stuck in. I also asked the girls at BK about their new venture, which I mentioned here. Opening day is November 9th. I am going to start a countdown clock, but in the meantime went by to get a look at the building.
Not much to look at, at this point. Inside culinary bliss awaits. OP-EN! OP-EN! OP-EN!
Judging from the interior details I spied, as well as the new window frames going in, my guess is semi-ironic BBQ joint. We will see if I am right.
Onward! I picked up some light bulbs at my local hardware store. The family owned Crest True Value franchise at 558 Metropolitan Avenue has really tweaked their business and marketing model to appeal the the neighborhood's younger newcomers, who seem to be into DIY home improvement. They always have great sales on gardening supplies, and are always super friendly to my boyfriend and me when we go in together... not a customer service quality you find often at all old-school local businesses in the area.
