BBQ Update

In our first post about the upcoming Lincoln Road BBQ joint, we wrote that all we knew about Mr. Mamary's chef/collaborator was that he was named "Richard." According to Bret Thorne at Food Writer's Diary, that information was more telling than we realized: The planned restaurant is going to be named "Richard's Barbecue." Bret reports that the restaurant, due to open in December, is planning to focus on St. Louis-style cue, though the menu is a work-in-progress.

Bret also mentions that he has a friend named Milford in the neighborhood who makes his own excellent barbecue. This sounds like a person I should know. Milford, if you're reading this, drop me a line. I'll bring the beer and cole slaw.

Image from Wikipedia.
 

Still Plenty of Good Eats in PLG

In light of the fact that Mike's International is sadly closing its doors (and opening them somewhere else), we're going to have to look for other local places to satiate our need for Caribbean cooking.

A decent article in today's NY Times  focuses on our neck of the woods, spotlighting some of the special eateries and take-out joints on Flatbush and Nostrand Avenues as we gear up for J'ouvert and the West Indian American Day Carnival next weekend. The article includes a nod to Culpepper's (dining room still under renovation but annex open for business), Ali's Roti Shop, Peppa's (a favorite of Hawthorne Street), and Erroll's, among many others. Notably missing from the list is Hammond's Bakery & Jerk Center (1033 Nostrand Ave), winner of Hawthorne Street blog's annual Jerk Off.

While most of these spots don't have the sit-down waiter service of Mike's International, they sure do have some tasty food. And the more visitors they get, the more likely they are to stick around. Eat up!!

Goodbye Mike's International

Businesses in PLG open and close all the time but some places feel like they are part of the neighborhood. Even though I had yet to eat there, I was stunned to see that Mike's International closed without warning over the weekend.

I suppose that this shouldn't come as a big surprise - proprietor Michael Hylton passed away last October - and the restaurant probably took a huge hit when an apartment in its building caught fire. Also, though Mike and the restaurant had tons of supporters it always seemed empty. Like a very popular take-out restaurant that found itself attached to a banquet hall. Still, I regret that I never tried their lauded jerk chicken - I'm a Peppa's man.

In any event, as you can see from the sign, if you are willing to travel, Mike's isn't closed - it is moving to 4404 Avenue J, off of Troy Ave in Flatlands. When it opens, if someone let's me know, I'll post the news.

In other PLG business news, I'm worried about two stores in the neighborhood: First, Famous Seafood has had its gates down the last two times that I walked by. The bodega next door has a For Rent sign too, so that is some bad mojo. Second, NYC Swag had its windows papered over on Monday; either they are renovating (NB: the store just opened) ... or they're in trouble. If anyone has information about either place, please comment or send an email.

On the positive side, clothier L&L Stores opened this weekend in the space formerly occupied by Stones, next door to Hai Sun (or as I call it, The Chiner) on Flatbush between Hawthorne and Fenimore.

An Open Letter From Senator Adams

This was left today as a comment on an old post but I see no reason to let it linger in obscurity. Rather, we will elevate it to semi-obscurity by putting it on the main blog:

Dear Neighbors:

When I was elected in 2006 as New York State Senator for the 20th District, I was excited about the opportunity to represent a community in which various groups would illustrate for our city and state the many ways in which to celebrate the beauty of diversity. Throughout my first term in office, as I interacted with numerous residents who shared the vision of the magnificence of diversity, I identified a great strategy to transform this theoretical conception into a day of celebration.

The initial goal is the establishment of a “Celebrate our Diversity Day.”

BBQ Coming to Lincoln Road

Cafe Enduro is pregnant! Sort of...

Enduro owner Jim Mamary has signed a lease for 47 Lincoln Road, adding another to the long list that makes up his Brooklyn restaurant "empire."  The new barbecue restaurant will be in-between Enduro and K-Dog, where the nail salon used to be. The only other thing I know about the place is that the chef is named "Richard."

Will it be authentic barbecue? Hard to imagine. As far as I know, the only place in NYC with a real smoker are Blue Smoke in Gramercy (and its million-dollar state-of-the-art ventilation system). (Pearson's in Queens appears to be closed.) Do I care? Not much! I'll take a well-executed fake in my neighborhood, thanks.

Don't get out your calendars for reservations, though—planning has just begun (the restaurant is as-yet unnamed) and opening isn't expected for four to six months, which probably means ten.

(Thanks to C-PAC for the image.)

Cleaning up the neighborhood

Our street got a little cleaner last week with the addition of a garbage can corral in front of the apartment building at 15 Hawthorne. The cover over the garbage cans means a lot less crap gets blown down the street and, inevitably, into the tree pit in front of this blogger's house. Apparently, a similar structure has been added to 11 Maple Street.

Kudos to the Department of Sanitation for getting on top of the building owners.

If you know of a building that needs to better take care of its trash or recyclables, you can let Sanitation know using one of these handy forms:

Failure to Properly Store Receptacles - Receptacles that are placed out prior to collection day or before 5pm on the evening before collection or that are not removed after collection.

Loose Rubbish Violation - Rubbish such as newspapers, loose papers and cardboard cartons must be flattened and securely tied when put out for collection.

Overflowing, Broken or Uncovered Receptacles - Building owners are required to provide adequate receptacles for collection.

Apartment Owner/Manager Recycling Violation - Building owners must provide storage areas for receptacles and recyclables, post signs and remove mixed trash from recyclables.

Aftermath of the 57 Lincoln Road fire

The fire at 57 Lincoln Road burned out the top floor and water damage affected even more apartments than that - but the fire has forced all the residents of the building out of their homes.

According to NYC.gov, "all apartments will remain vacated until gas, water, and electric utilities are restored." It looks like it was posted on Sunday, so it may be out of date, but when I drove by yesterday it looked like police were controlling entry into the building.

Among the victims of the fire are two recent arrivals to the neighborhood, Jennie and Joel, who have set up a donation site for assistance. I'm sure there are other deserving tenants but these are the only ones that I know about. (NB: I don't know them personally but they seem legit.)

Six-Alarm Fire at 57 Lincoln Road

It wasn't exactly Armageddon but there was a 6-alarm fire at 57 Lincoln Road on Friday night, destroying much of the top floor of the 84-unit building and causing 25 injuries, none of which at this point appear to be serious.

Over 200 firefighters were on the scene attempting to subdue the fire, and 23 of the injuries came from their ranks. It is currently believed that the fire was the result of faulty wiring.

Kate Daisley posted photos of the fire (including the one seen here) and a short video filled with the sound of windows being broken and onlookers cursing in wonder, here. Tara Fire Ball posted photos here.

Hawthorne Street wishes a speedy recovery to those injured and a rapid resettling of the families displaced by the fire.