Haircuts in PLG

You might think that with all of the hair salons along Flatbush, at least one would cater to "white people" hair. You would be wrong (and you probably shouldn't have thought it). But through a friend, I found a stylist here who works out of her apartment on Lincoln: Lola Lorraine. Four days a week, she works at a couple of salons in the city, but on evenings and weekends she sees clients here in the neighborhood. You can reach her at 917-915-9700 or lolalorraine@gmail.com.

Anyway, she's great, and she's affordable. Women's haircuts are $40. You'll need to block out time, though; she's very thorough. I have a graduated bob and it took over an hour to cut, but as an expert in my own hair I can verify that she did an excellent job.

Saturday: ArtMart 11225 Returns to Lincoln Road

If you find yourself woefully lacking in knick-knacks, this weekend is your chance to remedy the situation. PLG Arts is once again sponsoring ArtMart 11225, an open-air bazaar for local artisans.

Brooklyn Paper beat us to press on this, so we are going to crib some of their copy:

Lincoln Road will be taken over with handmade jewelry, including Lingua Nigra’s alluring gold bangles, knitwear, clothing, pottery, and even instruments...

In addition to the artisans, artists will be hawking their wares and, when you get hungry, Enduro and Meytex will be around (Selling? Offering samples? I don't know; all I know is that they will be there.) For a sampling of vendor bios, photos from last year and sponsors, check out the event site.

Finally, the Maple Street School will be selling children's clothes, toys and books as a fundraiser for the school.

Lincoln Road between Flatbush and Ocean (gmap)
Saturday, October 2d
10AM - 6PM
Rain or Shine*

*The Maple Street tag sale — but not ArtMart itself — has a rain date of Sunday, October 3d.

Calabaza!

Nope, I'm not talking about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Chief Thunderthud, but rather the ubiquitous neighborhood squash that you've probably seen a thousand times and wondered: "What is that? A squash? A gourd? Could I use that in a recipe?"

Calabaza, also known as West Indian pumpkin, is a firm-textured squash native to tropical regions. Sweeter than pumpkin or butternut squash, it is available year-round. We did some Googling and found that calabaza can be included in any number of dishes from flan to soup to just baking/roasting it on its own (the seeds can also be roasted, similar to pumpkin seeds).

One recipe that seemed fascinating to us was pelau, a traditional Trinidadian dish made in a heavy pot or dutch oven, and including such diverse ingredients as thyme, ketchup, coconut milk, and, of course, calabaza. The base meat, typically chicken (but from what we've read, could be almost any meat), is seared in a caramelized sugar or browning and then stewed with rice, pigeon peas and other diverse ingredients for 20-30 minutes. We tried it and the result was a divine dish combining the flavorful sweetness of the squash and the hot bite of Scotch Bonnet peppers in a creamy rice base. Cowabunga!

If you're buying calabaza for pelau, we recommend purchasing pre-cut or partial squash (available at almost every local shop in Lefferts Gardens). Or making sure you have a really (and I mean REALLY) sharp knife. Green seasoning is available at most of the local supermarkets (we bought ours at Associated).

Amazing pelau recipe can be found here.

Volunteer Needed To Make "No Flyer" Signs

Earlier this year, Karen Oh and I made these "no flyer" signs to post on stoops, an effort to cut back on sidewalk litter and paper waste. We've been selling them at Hawthorne Hardware, but ran out several months ago and haven't had any time to make more.

If you've got two hours or so to help us make new signs, please let me know. I'll provide materials; I mainly need someone with the stamina to wait in line at Staples. Email brooklynite282 (at) gmail.

Classic Archtecture on Rogers Avenue

Today's "Buliding of the Day" on Brownstoner is an interesting post about "the Flats" - a strecth of apartments on Rogers between Lefferts and Sterling.

I don't want to pinch too much, but here is a snippet of the write up:

The facades of these buildings are bursting with fine terra-cotta Classical busts of Minerva-like goddesses with laurel leaf wreaths, swags, elaborate keystones, arched windows,and an ocean of dolphins, which are symbols of prosperity and hospitality. By the 1960's and 70's, half of these buildings were sealed up and abandoned, and photos from Property Shark in 2007 show them being gutted and reborn, at least two of them a part of a HUD program.

Thanks, Adrian.

Hawthorne Street Block Party Revisited

How good was the block party this weekend? So good that it is Wednesday and I am only now recovering. Whew!

From the puppets to the cotton candy machine to the dueling DJ's pumping music, to the grills going up and down the block, Hawthorne Street had more energy on Saturday than I felt for this years J'ouvert. (Confession: I missed the West Indian Day parade but it sure felt like the post-parade activity was more sedate this year, right?)

And without further delay, after the jump, some more pictures.

Thanks for the pics, Patricia Perlo. You should also check out ClarksonFlatbed's recap for the adorable video.

Saturday: Jeremy Plays Guitar Dance Party at Lincoln Park

I regret to inform you that Jeremy Zmeda aka Jeremy Plays Guitar will be doing a show this Saturday at Lincoln Park Tavern (49 Lincoln Road - gmap). I regret to inform you because we're going to have to miss it!

The show is to promote a new album, Use Your Words, which will presumably be available for purchase at the show. Admission is $5 for people over 1, and it runs from 12 noon until 2 pm.

It's probably just as well that we can't make it. The last time my kid was at Lincoln Park (which is where he always wants to go when we're eating at Enduro) he screamed mercilessly until we let him play pool... and then got us kicked out!

Saturday: PLGNA Housing Town Hall with Assemblyman Jeffries

On Saturday, September 25th, the PLGNA Housing Committee is hosting Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries of the 57th A.D., which covers part of PLG. Jeffries will will be answering questions about housing and providing information about rent regulation legislation and other housing issues. The event will also provide information about tenants' rights and strategies for organizing a tenants' association.

Grace Reformed Church Chapel, 1800 Bedford Ave. (gmap)
Saturday, September 25th
4-6 PM
Free

Thanks, Jan.

A Sign That Trixie's Is Coming Soon?

We covered the "coming soon" banner for future Rogers Avenue pet boutique Bow-Wow because reader Babs was nice enough to send us a picture. That says something about the efficiency of our blogging, as we have been walking past the new sign for future Flatbush Avenue pet boutique Trixie's for weeks without bothering to snap a photo.

Well, here it is. A cute, unique little number that you can see at 575 Flatbush (gmap). No recent word on the exact date Trixie's is due to open, though we originally reported a September opening.

We hope someday to be able to spin off a pet-store-signage-only blog but for now you'll have to hear general neighborhood news also.

More Hate for Parkside Eyesore

It seems that someone new has discovered the abomination at 205 Parkside (gmap). On my way to work this morning I spotted this flyer taped to the scaffolding.

It is a fake letter "from" building owners David Tepper and Moses Fried imploring people to call 311 and complain about the building. Among the choice sentences:

"You see, we basically don't care about you or your neighborhood or the fact that honest working people could be living in this building if we'd fix it up or sell it. You'd think that after owning this building for MORE THAN A DECADE we'd have figured out how to change this public nuisance and eyesore into something halfway decent for the 'hood. But you know what? We don't live here and we don't care what you think."

Good for whoever posted the note.

Earlier: Free Building Prank and Follow-up
Rathole of the Month: 205 Parkside