Jets-Less Super Bowl: Now I Can Rest Easy, and Bar Spotlight: MikNic Lounge

I really dislike the Steelers. But for those who know me, I dislike the Jets even more. Sitting at the Berman Bothers household watching this unfold with a tallboy of Joose, basically a knock off Four Loko, I at least was content with the 24-19 result, even if I wasn't thrilled with the Green Apple artificial flavors...

Cold weather aside, our fair borough was particularly pleasant with some Apt. 138'ing on the holiday this week and Hana Cafe'ing for weekly sushi (apparently the Tuna Lover special wasn't all it was cracked up to be but man that spicy sauce on regular rolls is intensely good).

Brooklyn Fare's expansion is starting to show a little more; they are starting to stock the additional space with goods and the lines are getting longer and longer; they should figure out a way to create real lines so people don't end up fighting over who was first to purchase the 6.99 organic lentil chips (you'd think yuppies wouldn't yell at each other as much but it certainly happens there, it's almost more fun than going to Pathmark). Flank steak was on sale again which was great.

Getting rid of potato "eyes" while prepping meals is kinda gross for some reason; it's like a mini-cactus bug that grows out of the potato. It makes my hands stiffen up.

I need to eat in Fort Greene more often; somehow Flatbush acts as a larger divide than it really is and there's plenty of great food across the way, the most I've gotten out of it was Black Iris but definitely want to partake of the small soul food joint about a block or two east of Flatbush.

MikNic Lounge (misspelled MikNik by Gothamist) is opening up next week on Columbia to give some additional watering hole options slightly closer to Atlantic without having to usher all the way down to Moonshine. Singer/songwriters rejoice: live music and a backyard could make for a relaxing summer spot. The west side is certainly an area that could use some additional burst as people look for the next bustling area in Brooklyn to latch onto. It looks cute and true to that part of the neighborhood and we'll see what kind of vibe will inherit the space. Here's a sneak peek from their Facebook page below. I really dig Columbia and hope that more traffic will come around, there's a few staples like Alma but this might seem more like a Last Exit.

The MTA this week just didn't have it's shit together at all. I say that with utmost prejudice due to the fact that all of the things that required speed and or convenience of the subway this week were not supported by timely and consistent service. There's nothing more defeating about New York public transportation than seeing three B trains come through one station before you finally see a Q train, which is what you want. The look on people's faces are so volatile, the head shakes so terse and violent that you're afraid that they might have not gotten enough neck stretches earlier in the morning to warrant such movement. Couple that with the MTA dude on the front end at Dekalb who just belts out incoming trains as if he's on a radio show and proceeding to yell out the synopsis of The Kids Are Alright, and you have a recipe for putting on the iPodz.

Digital Dumbo is coming up, can't wait! 2nd anniversary of canoodling and rubbing elbows with all kinds of agency types. I might want to try to meet more than 2 people this time...

Or I could just creep:

Keep it on the down low.

Brooklyn Eagle to 370 Jay Street: You Ugly

Photo courtesy of Brownstoner.

Some numbers are indeed crunched in the Eagle's report on 370 Jay Street as a not so heralded point of conversation and central hub above the Jay St. - Borough Hall stop. I guess it's vacated but nobody has done anything with it and the article focuses on since the rest of downtown is trying to get in step (although you really won't notice for a while still, example Willoughby and Duffield), this MTA building should do something with it's life. It's like the one friend who doesn't get his act together.

The Eagle reports several opinions that are positive on how to turn around the building and the space would be ideal for firms and agencies that are heavy in DUMBO currently but could stand to go one stop further and check it out.

It all goes toward the MTA who has the dibs on this structure and who as we all know needs some funds. The F train wasn't even running this past Saturday evening. Lamesauce.

In a larger sense, what is downtown really going to look like? What is it moving toward? Geo-wise, it's like a sandwiched neighborhood (if you call it that) having access to all trains without really having a core space. Would it become the next DUMBO as buildings like 370 Jay are bred into a higher scale of business and use? Do I really like DUMBO? Sure, with the exception that it really doesn't have a busy, working sense; I still want my neighborhood to have bodegas and stuff. On top of that, with BAM buying out space in the Forte condos and the Atlantic Yards project finally kicking off, just what exactly is this going to turn into?

Speaking of Fah Q'ing the subways, tell it to the MTA tomorrow evening in person!

Think scaling back and raising prices doesn't make sense either? Especially when the numbers are in the hundreds of millions?

The Daily News is reporting that the MTA is holding an open (probably slightly open) forum from 6pm to 9pm tomorrow, Jan. 29th, at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Brooklyn.

Hooah! I might just take a look, or take a minute to voice that R train ear stabbing. Not that it'll be a problem because we'll be going over the bridge in the evenings from now on folks...

Check out the story here.

Can't picture it? Here you go: You see the Marriott from the outside (it'll be darker out, less light, etc. etc. than this picture)


Then! You'll be yelling at the MTA...INSIDE the building, in the nice lobby before the shindig and then in the conference room ballroom whatever room (hotel room if she's really a cougar). That guy is rushing in this picture by the way:


Then! After all the headaches acquired from yelling and howling (as my dad would exclaim), you want to jump off here:

Yup there are the bridges, so nice and lovely at night.

Fah Q: Stupid R Train Between City Hall and Rector Street

So on my way home each day, I wonder, all those weekends that they cancel service in lower Manhattan and the first couple stops in Brooklyn, couldn't they just douse Tribeca with a little of Rachel goddamn Ray's E-V-O-O? I try to close my eyes and picture nice things, and then between these two stops, I get an earful of shrieking screeching until my ears start to bleed.

If I want that noise I'll go to the green line stop at Union Square, bub. Can someone fix that noise before I go deaf on the high end?