Brokelyn

Brooklyn thrifting, Hollywood style. Image via CBS.

This week’s 2 Broke Girls was not only the best episode so far, but it also gave us the most legit portrayal of Brooklyn (and thankfully only two minor references to horse poop). When Max and Caroline go to Goodwill to thrift for cheap clothes, they realize that they have very different ideas about what it means to be a good friend to another female. While Caroline wants to trade sassy pick-me-ups (“You’re fierce!” “You got your glam on!”) and get two-for-one manicures, Max wants to not talk about feelings and be considered “a guy.”

The sitch gets resolved when it’s revealed that Max has been secretly walking Caroline’s horse for her. The two leads (Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs, who everyone seems to agree are the best part of this show) bring their chemistry to this loaded topic. By the end of the episode, Max and Caroline appreciate that they’re both trying to help each other out in their own way. And that’s a pleasant (and sorta rare) thing to watch on TV!

But who cares … what did they say about BROOKLYN? Read the rest of this entry »

Broke girls Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs at the Williamsburg Diner. Photos: Monty Brinton/CBS.

You’ve known about the concept of being broke in Brooklyn for years. But with this fall’s CBS show 2 Broke Girls, the lifestyle is getting Carrie Bradshaw-ed. The show, co-created by Sex and the City’s executive producer, focuses on two cash-strapped waitresses, Max and Caroline (played by Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs), at the Williamsburg Diner, a dive that recently changed ownership from the Russian mob. Max has been poor her whole life while Caroline suddenly finds herself without money after her dad gets busted in a Bernie Madoff-type scandal.

So how does the show’s portrayal of broke-in-Brooklyn life compare to the real thing? Brokelyn got a screener of the pilot before it debuts Sept. 19 to investigate. Here are some of the most accurate, and most confounding, representations of outer borough brokedom: Read the rest of this entry »

Brooklin's Sao Paulo, where the first walk was held

Williamsburg’s rapid evolution from Katie’s junk-selling tenement neighborhood in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn to today’s junk-buying arts community overrun by flea markets and studio lofts has been scrutinized from every angle. Gentrification and rezoning woes aside, the neighborhood has been through a lot since its inception as the Village of Williamsburgh in 1827, and French artist Fred Forest wants to relive this long history with you. On Sept. 8, join him for a free Sociological Walk that leads participants along Bedford Avenue to chat with store owners and in passersby in an experience curator Ruth Erickson calls “part performance, part ad-hoc school and part sociological study.” Read the rest of this entry »

This is the nineteenth in our series on the venues featured in the second Brooklyn Beer Book. This week we spotlight a Beer Book newcomer, Macri Park, a gem of a bar/lounge tucked between less-chattable Barcade and Union Pool.

Macri Park, photo via NY Mag

MACRI PARK
462 Union Ave., Williamsburg

What it is: Semi-quiet Macri Park that’s set up to flop — with seating outside in front and behind, booths, and vintage flicks playing. Read the rest of this entry »

Deal sites. We love ‘em. Except when we buy the coupons and forget to redeem them (like half of the coupon-buying population, we’re told.)

So when the folks at a groovy new deal site called Tenka told us about their wallet-friendly twist on the usual pay-up-front model, we thought you might like to know more. On Tenka, you don’t have to pay on the front or the back end—most of their deals are totally, completely free.

Tenka, an NYC-based site founded by two ex-Googlers, Nhon Ma & Tim Zhou, specializes in mom-and-pop places that are overlooked by the bigger players in the deal space. It launches in Brooklyn today with a veritable freebie-palooza in Williamsburg: Read the rest of this entry »

Body Language, Monday at BK Bowl

Hungry? Make some totally non-sexually-suggestive metaphorical sandwiches with Body Language tonight at Brooklyn Bowl. Or go folk yourself with some classical guitar melodies and ambient keyboards at the Issue Project Room on the Gowanus waterfront. Stroke your bagpipe urge with the caterwauling Celtic/South East Asian ensemble group that is Blarvuster. Or finish off your week with The Ravages at Hank’s Saloon. As always, free to $5. Read the rest of this entry »

Feather and Folly, tonight at Zebulon

If you missed your chance last week, check out Superhuman Happiness at Coco 66 tonight. They’re playing along with Oars, a sufficiently psychedelic rock band. Beyond that, there’s Feather and Folly, a couple of dance parties, sexy stuff and a few Ms: Megafortress, Mokaad, Miwa Gemini and Moomaw. All free or $5 as usual.

Monday, Nov. 15
Superhuman Happiness, Oars: Coco 66, 66 Greenpoint Ave. between Franklin and West Sts., Greenpoint, $5, 8 p.m. Read the rest of this entry »

I Am The Heat, playing for Haiti tonight

Combine the high-stylin’ festivities of Fashion Week with doing some much-needed good, and you get what we call an unmissable night out. Tonight, Sept. 14, at the Knitting Factory, the W’Burg brand Brooklyn Royalty is throwing Fashion Rocks for Haiti, a back-to-school fundraiser and indie gogo launch party. It’ll be an evening of live music, exclusive BKR fashion and dollars to help educate girls in Haiti. Read the rest of this entry »

We're pretty sure Ben Lerman is posing here.

Here are two things we love: comedy and secrets. Or at least the whiff of secrecy that comes from calling something “underground.” Starting tonight, there are some really unique and hilarious acts coming to Public Assembly as part of the BK Underground Comedy Festival. The mini-series, which starts tonight and runs through Wednesday, features Stacy Mayer’s Funeralogues, the puppet artist Nick Jones‘ “Smart Phone,” Dr. Steam Whipple and the Prescriptions (with “deep roots in southern voodoo and eastern confusion”), and the hilarious and talented Ben Lerman*, tinkling away at his ukelele. Tickets are $10 a night, and you can see all of the shows  here.

*Um, just saying… Ben Lerman will also be peforming this Wednesday at the awesome storytelling show at The Sackett Bar called The NutSackett. Just in case you don’t get enough of him Monday night … or want to see me as well.

Underground Comedy Festival at Public Assembly, 70 N. Sixth St. Williamsburg, 11211, (718) 384-4586, Sunday, Monday & Wednesday at 8 p.m.

The Mack's back.

It seems like yesterday that the ’80s was the surprise comeback decade of colorful t-shirts and hipster-laden Saturday morning cereal parties. Well, welcome back, ’90s. It’s your turn. And it’s all about the music. This Friday, Jul. 9, celebrate the decade at the 90s Sing-Along Episode III: Return of the Mack at Legion in Williamsburg (part deux was back in April). The free sing-along, which will have so much more than the promised Mark Morrison, boasts “2.5 hours of nonstop, heart warming, fist pumping, boy band dancing, cheesy rap booty shaking and angst filled shouting music videos.” And it wouldn’t be a real ’90s night without a Hip Hop dance-off. Read the rest of this entry »