I (heart) Greenpoint

Here are some of the things I've loved about living in Greenpoint. Lots of entries about food.

- Jesse & Marisa live there. By summer 2008, I'd lived at 149 Calyer for nearly four years, and Jesse & Marisa had moved in two or three years after me. I was reading some online reviews of Futurama and realized that I recognized the names of two of the critics...from the mailbox downstairs. I poked around to read more of their reviews and thought, "Gee, I bet we'd get along." So I wrote to Jesse through one of the websites (I believe his editor may have forwarded my message on to him?) and proposed that if he was indeed the same Jesse whose name I'd recognized, that we should probably hang out at some point. We got in touch and made a plan to go see The Godfather during a revival at  the Ziegfeld. Six years later, they are two of the best friends I've ever had. I've spent Thanksgivings at both of their mother's homes, been fortunate to attend their wedding, went with them on a road trip out west, and have generally had some of my best times in New York with them.

- 149 Calyer's Roof. Living on the third (top) floor meant that I had ready access to the roof simply by climbing the ladder from my fire escape. I'd go up to read, or to make phone calls, or just to get some sun or enjoy the view (you could see the Empire State Building! the one that King Kong climbed!). When the 4th of July fireworks were over the East River, they were visible from our roof. In 2006, I had a fantastic birthday up there with my mom, Ellen Laux (she made terrific grilled cheese sandwiches!), and Tom and Kelly Blunt. In later years I have really fond memories of going up there with Jesse & Marisa to play Scrabble and share strawberry rhubarb pie.

- Seagulls. Having grown up in the desert, I still find it novel and delightful to have lived somewhere where you can occasionally hear seagulls (or even spot one flying overhead).

- Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop. A Greenpoint institution, Peter Pan has terrific doughnuts (even more amazing if you catch them just out of the kitchen). Tina Fey agrees. They have a red velvet doughnut.

(Bonus mention of Moe's Doughs Donut Shop, a Peter Pan-alike that opened right around the corner from me. And gave out free doughnuts to advertise their grand opening.)

- The loose tile in the bathroom. There was a loose tile on the wall of our bathroom at 149 Calyer. It was down near the floor, tucked behind the door, and it sat amongst the other tiles without seeming amiss, but it wasn't affixed to its place by grout or glue. I used to daydream about finding a map or even a hole with something secret tucked inside behind the tile. About halfway through my time in the building, I created my own note and tucked it behind the tile, figuring maybe the next tenant would find it. (Though now that the building is getting a real renovation, it's probably lost.)

- Newtown Creek. If you lived in Greenpoint long enough, you were bound to have had that summer night where a sewer-y smell wafted over the neighborhood (though I must say it's been a long time since I've noticed it happening). That was thanks to the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in northeast Greenpoint. Tucked back on Newtown Creek, an estuary that is locally famous for being diseased (like hepatitis diseased), the treatment plant has these big egg shaped towers. And a few years ago, they opened up the Newtown Creek Nature Walk. This proved to be a small park with some greenery and tables along Newtown Creek. I wouldn't recommend it as a Must Visit for out-of-towners, but I'm pretty fond of it as an earnest attempt to put lipstick on Greenpoint's most embarrassing pig.

- The laundromat. When I moved in to 149 Calyer, there was a laundromat a few doors down. It was incredibly convenient. But after a few year, it became apparent that it wasn't long for this world. The driers broke and they just didn't fix them, offering the option of hanging things up out back. After malingering for months, that first laundromat finally closed. It became a real item of interest to see what would open up in that space. There was a convenience store with extremely limited stock and (my favorite) a vegetarian diner called The William Taft. I loved this place. The employees were really nice, they showed movies out back at night, they were open late, and the food was delicious. They had excellent breakfast food, sandwiches, and baked goods, but the thing I still think about most is probably a sandwich that had slices of avocado, pear, and (I think) walnuts. Sadly, they too closed and the wait to see what would come next began again. And then, finally, we got another laundromat! This one actually took over the space next door as well. It was bigger, shinier, and open until late at night. Oh, it was glorious.

- The library. I've absolutely adored living no farther than five blocks from a Brooklyn Public Library branch for the last ten years.

- Brooklyn Woodwind & Brass. I've never bought anything there (or even gone in!) but I so love walking by and seeing those gleaming instruments in the window. There's a whole window filled with different saxes!

- McCarren Park. It's been fantastic to live a few minutes away from a park for the last ten years. McCarren has nice grassy lawns to lie on and read (or sit on and chat with Jesse & Marisa), an all-weather track (for when it's muddy) and a runners' footpath (for when it isn't). During summer weekends, the park is positively brimming with attractive sunbathers, families with funny kids, all manner of dogs, musicians, and tightrope walkers. It's also the home of...

- The McCarren Park Greenmarket. It's also been fantastic to be a few minutes' walk from a weekly market where I can stock up on my dairy needs (milk, yogurt, ice cream, and egg nog when it's in season), my bakery staples (loaves of bread and sweets like chocolate chip pumpkin bread or macaroons), carrots, pumpkins (when they're in season), bottles of honey, and fruit (apples, peaches, apricots, blueberries, strawberries, rhubarb, and apple cider in the fall). The compost bins provide a handy place to dump a week's worth of apple cores, and sometimes there's a woman there selling tamales!

- The bells of St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church. This church sits prominently on Manhattan Avenue and is a terrific landmark for navigating, has a clock tower which makes for a handy way to spot the time, and has bells that ring on the hour. When I lived at 149 Calyer, I used to find it nice and reassuring to hear the bells ring (and fun to try to count them to identify the time if I hadn't been paying attention to a clock for a while).

- Oasis's $3 falafel sandwich. (Plus $0.50 to add humus.) After years as a just-off-the-L-train treat, Oasis opened a Greenpoint location a year ago, and their falafel sandwiches are terrific. And just three blocks from 45 McGuinness.

- Papacito's (RIP). One of the things I miss about Arizona is the ready access to good Mexican food. So much of what they do up here is Tex-Mex, which isn't quite what I'm looking for. There are certainly good chains for fast food tacos around (Dos Toros Taqueria! Chipotle, etc.), and Greenpoint has Vamos al Tequila, which is a good approximation of going to a restaurant back home, but for a while there the real jewel of Greenpoint was Papacito's. The food was really tasty, their guacamole was delicious, and I made sure to stop by every weekend to pick up three seitan tacos (for $7.75). They sadly closed last year, but I still get those taco cravings.

- Ice cream selection. Greenpoint has some pretty standard options (two Baskin-Robbins and a Hershey's ice cream counter in a Subway sandwich shop), but we've also got a Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory (fantastic butter pecan!), a Van Leeuwen's (I go for the ginger), and (for two shining years) an Uncle Louie G's (peanut butter cookie dough! or a harvest pumpkin milk shake!!!). And when it's late, and you can't find a place to sell you a scoop, there was always...

- God Bless Deli. There are surely other reasons to be grateful for a 24-hour deli just over two blocks from home, but the one I valued the most was that I could get a pint of ice cream at any time, day or night. The God Bless was a handy landmark when giving directions, and an invaluable ice cream supplier, and while they have a shiny new red sign now, I'll always remember it with the green awning.

- Jimmy's Diner's chicken & waffles. In the last year or two that I lived at 149 Calyer, Jimmy's Diner opened a location two blocks away. They have really delicious diner-y breakfast fare, and the dish that really got me was the chicken and waffles. While I like fried chicken well enough, I'd almost never order it at a restaurant (I'm obviously pretty generally pro-waffle). But the Jimmy's chicken & waffles is a giant, terrific waffle with equally terrific fried chicken, gravy, and maple syrup on the side. I never objected in theory to the combination of chicken and waffles, but I didn't really get it. Now I get it.

- Dinner at Erb with Jesse & Marisa. Erb is just a thai restaurant on Manhattan Avenue, and while I quite like the food, what I really like about the place is going with Jesse & Marisa and getting the Early Bird Dinner special (which lasts from 5pm to 9pm). It's something of a default favorite of theirs, and I love just going and sitting with them. And for the record, my go-to is: steamed veggie dumplings, thai iced tea, and tofu pad thai.

- Beloved. I've literally never been inside, but I love that there's a bar that has Godzilla on their sign.

- The post office. I've heard many complaints about the service at the Greenpoint post office, but one thing I couldn't complain about is that when I lived at 149 Calyer I was only one block from the post office.

- Photoplay (RIP). Greenpoint was the home of two great video rental stores (Film Noir Video is still open). Before it closed earlier this year, Photoplay was a reliable institution. They had an amazing selection, the clerks knew their stuff, and Michael, the owner, was a really lovely guy who loves movies. Even when I wasn't renting anything, I still loved to go in there and leaf through the racks.

- Key Food. This is really just a big grocery store of the sort that you'd find back in Apache Junction, so this is a specific (probably nostalgic) pleasure of going to a store with big aisles full of food. Maybe it's just homesickness, but I love having it nearby.

- The Garden. This grocery store is like the heart of Greenpoint to me. They've got swell produce, a dry goods counter with big tubs of nuts, oats, and whatnot, a deli and prepared foods section with pretty good vegetable tamales (and fantastic pizza around lunch time), and a pretty reasonably priced selection of organic/fair trade/etc options. And (burying the lede, I know), the bakery counter has these big (I think vegan) pumpkin whoopie pies.

- Huron Street waterfront. In recent years there have been efforts to provide actual waterfront park spaces, and they are nice. But ever since I moved to the neighborhood, a reliable place to get a beautiful view of Manhattan was to walk down to the end of Huron Street. As you walk that last block, the street basically becomes an alley, with windowless and graffiti strewn buildings on either side, a concrete barrier to hop over, and smashed cement jutting out over the water. And it's just a peaceful, beautiful view. It's also where I found the skeleton.

- Krolewskie Jadlo. Despite living in a predominantly Polish neighborhood, I haven't eaten that much Polish food in the last ten years. I've certainly picked up pierogi from the grocery store, and I had a bad experience on a Thanksgiving (I was spending it alone in New York, so I went to a Polish restaurant for their Thanksgiving meal; the thing I was most looking forward to was stuffing, so I saved what I thought was stuffing for the end of my meal; it turned out to be some kind of cold paste...maybe liver or lard or something? it was hard to remember to feel thankful). But there is a Polish restaurant in Greenpoint that I am particularly fond of. The decor certainly contributes a lot to my affection, and the Polish Plate (basically a little of everything) is a really delicious way to get my yearly fill of Polish cuisine.

- The hall at 149 Calyer. The building I lived in my first nine years in Greenpoint was a three story, three apartment building. I lived on the third floor, which was a decent sized two bedroom apartment (the bedrooms were small, but we had a good amount of space; of course, at various times we actually had three people living in the apartment). The stairways were narrow, but the hall had a somewhat open feeling, with a bit of a skylight above the stairs up to our floor. And the carpet on the stairs and hall was just old and ratty enough that I didn't feel bad about tracking slush or dirt onto it, but not so cruddy that I wouldn't run between the second and third floors on my bare feet. It was a real gift to be living mere seconds away from my best friends in town. But some of my fondest memories of that hallway predate my meeting Jesse & Marisa. The first couple of winters that I lived in the building, at the first big snowfall of the year my roommates and I would rush down to the deserted, lamp-lit streets and wage an epic snowball fight up and down the block. We'd hide behind the parked cars and then dump the snow that had accumulated on top of them onto each other. We'd wrestle around in the snow until we were too cold and soaked through to stay out any longer, and then we'd pile back upstairs and strip down to our t-shirts and underwear on the third floor landing, hanging our slushy clothes out on the bannister before we went inside to warm up. The hallway at 149 Calyer was also the primary haunt of the the Phantom of 149, which could be counted on to appear on...

- Halloween. I love Halloween, but I'm a little at sea when it comes to Halloween in the city. We don't have trick or treaters here the same way as in Arizona (it's fun to go hang out on Manhattan Avenue to see the kids trick or treat at all the stores, but I've never gotten to give candy out myself). But a few years ago, upon heading back upstairs after an evening hanging out at Jesse & Marisa's, I was struck with some kind of inspiration. I assembled a costume from a black sheet, a bird mask and viking helmet I had lying around, and some skeleton gloves I'd made the previous year, took a bucket of candy and went down to reverse trick or treat on the second floor. Thus was born the relatively short lived career of the Phantom of 149 Calyer (now displaced). Around Halloween, he could be found looming at the top of the stairs when Jesse & Marisa got in for the evening.