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Is the mystique of Brooklyn finally getting squelched? Not long after Brian Williams poked fun at the New York Time’s obsession with Brooklyn, food writer Mimi Sheraton shares these choice words with Capital New York:

I’m from Brooklyn, but it would take a lot to get me there for dinner. When Lundy’s was Lundy’s, I’d be there. When Gargiulo’s was Gargiulo’s, I went. I certainly went to Gage and Tollner. There were one-of-a-kind things there, but so far anywhere I’ve been to there has not been worth the trip from Manhattan. I haven’t been to Al di la, because you have to wait on line, and I’m not going to Brooklyn to wait on line. Not when there are 10 good Italian restaurants in Greenwich Village. The Times has certainly been very exaggerated in its Brooklyn coverage, because most of them live there. They begin to see it as being better than it is because it’s so close to them. I would go to Brooklyn if it were exceptional.

Chow Time: Mimi Sheraton on What’s Changed Since Lutece [Capital via Eater NY]
Photo by kathyylchan


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  1. She’s an old bag, but makes an important point… her New York is disappearing, and she doesn’t like it. My mother is the same age, and can’t believe all her kids still live in Brooklyn. Many people of that era only wanted to make it out of Brooklyn, and once they did, never looked back.

    I worked on the Lutece Cookbook, and Andre Soltner has led an amazing life. Her point about the restaurateur living above his place is sadly sweet; it can’t happen in today’s New York.

    And, yeah, the Brooklyn thing… way overdone, especially for those of us who have been here for decades. And as much I love Brownstoner, it’s part-and-parcel of the overkill.
    Brooklyn is one of the five boroughs and would be nothing without the other four… the segmentation is ridiculous.

  2. i think way too many people have completely missed her point. not sure why im defending this foodie snob from manhattan, maybe cuz im tired of foodie snobs from brooklyn? eh, i dont know.

    okay, goes to make my artisinal vinegar sandwich now.

    *rob*

  3. Since Mimi Sheraton has, by her own admission, never eaten here, then how the eff would she know whether a restaurant here is exceptional?

    But really, Mimi, we don’t miss you. You just keep on going to the same old “exceptional” restaurants you always go to. Safe on your island.

    Whatev.

  4. Yeah, why can’t the NY Times just cover Manhattan? I mean, it’s “the City” and it has the Nexus of the Universe. Everyone in the “outer Boroughs” just sits around all day dreaming about someday living in Manhattan. Some day when they’ve “made it.” When they’re finally somebody.

  5. Brooklyn is a neighborhood, and it’s restaurants are neighborhood restaurants. You like them because you live near them, not because you’d travel for them. (There are exceptions, but it’s generally true.) Manhattan is a destination.

    I’m fine with that, and I don’t need to convince myself that my neighborhood is a destination. This old-timey Manhattan-hating thing is embarrassingly transparent. Not good for the Brooklyn brand.

    By the way, ADL is so overrated. It would get a 23 in Zagats if it were in Manhattan. And their no-res policy is a fraud. I was there on a Sat nite and they said it was a 2 hour wait. But they held this table in the window for over an hour while denying they were doing so. Totally brazen as well as moronic.

  6. quote:
    What makes Brooklyn exceptional is the fact that we don’t need to deal with the stuck up attitudes of those who make comments like that.

    lmfao. okay, if you reeaaaaaally believe that. all these brooklyn places the times and most brooklyn blogs cover ARE snob places, just snobs dressed in sheeps clothing (like literally sometimes)

    *rob*

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BFC Partners, the developer of the new building at 150 Myrtle Avenue (and a Brownstoner advertiser as of today), is courting Apple to locate its first Brooklyn store on the ground floor, said partner Joseph Ferrara. The tower is expected to be finished Spring 2009. “Aesthetically, I think our building really does fit their design guidelines,” he said, adding that he just put a call out to the company but hasn’t heard a response. Otherwise, Ferrara is thinking some type of organic market and deli. CRES Chief Executive Chris Havens said Apple is having a hard time finding the perfect Brooklyn location, not wanting to make its grand entrance in the average shopping mall cubby. What do you think, would Toren (rendered out the wazoo above) make a suitable throne?
SOM-designed Toren About to Hit the Market [Brownstoner]


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  1. I second the Atlantic Ave. suggestion by Trader Joe’s and Urban Outfitters. Hey, how about in the proposed retail space in the House of Detention along with the golden arches?

    They can call it Macs, Big Macs ‘n Mac Daddies!

  2. No way. It’s a nice building, but (as of now) the location isn’t prime.

    I think an Apple store opening on Atlantic is the best bet, probably no more than a stone’s throw from the (yet-to-open) Trader Joe’s and the (newly opened) Urban Outfitters.

  3. I don’t get this building (for that matter, I don’t know what to make of 4:21s ramblings). It appears from the rendering (and yes, I know the rendering hardly reflects the finished bldg) that there are only windows in the corners. What bout the middle, is that gonna be brick or something else?

    Also, why do people employ SOM to build towers anymore. They design basic program stuff that is very uninteresting (e.g. the Freedom Tower). I know they have a ton of tower experience, but I’m sure you can get more creative from a newer firm and a good engineer.

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