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Dust Off Your Top Hats and Capes: The Opera is Coming to Brooklyn

October 25, 2008 at 2:30 PM | 0 Comments

Everybody likes to make fun of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, with its insufferably ironic scenesters and their asymmetrical haircuts, but it's still one of the best neighborhoods in New York to find bold new ideas in music and art. Case in point: the 'burg will host the borough's first opera in years this November when OperaOggiNY stages a performance of Franco Leoni's one-act verisimo opera L'Oracolo. The company is renovating the 600-seat McCaddin Memorial Hall Theater on Berry Street between South 2nd and South 3rd Streets, and will welcome city opera buffs to its grand opening performances on November 6, 7, and 8. Admission is only $20, which seems like a bargain for a "real" opera, and there are dozens of great bars and restaurants nearby - Dressler comes to mind - where patrons can discuss the tenor's register over drinks and snacks. It will be interesting to see what kind of crowd is drawn to these classical performances in the midst of hipsterville.

[Photo: nag-brooklyn.org]

Related Stories:
· OperaOggiNY [Official Site]
· OperaOggiNy to re-open McCaddin Memorial Hall Theater on Berry Street [nag-brooklyn.org]
· Opera Comes to the Burg [Gothamist]
· Opera Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

The Egg: A Symbol of Life. Also: A Great Spot for Brekkie in Brooklyn

September 7, 2008 at 3:34 PM | 0 Comments

We had a day off in the middle of the week not long ago and decided to go out for lunch in the neighborhood. Having heard many rave reviews of Egg, a newish restaurant on N. 5th and Bedford in Williamsburg, we popped in to see if it lived up to the hype.

Egg is a small, modest joint specializing in breakfast, though they now have lunch and dinner menus as well. Their gimmick, if it can be called that, is that they use only free-range eggs, pasture-raised meats, and artisanal everything else. The atmosphere is casual and airy, with wooden tables and chairs that feel like they were taken from a third-grade classroom circa 1965. A cup of crayons lets you doodle on the paper tablecloth as you wait for your meal. Jenn made a quick sketch of the tattoo on the back of a girl at the next table, a skull and crossbones with angel/devil wings and flames, perhaps a tribute to lost love or something. The crayon drawing looked better than the actual tattoo.

Jenn ordered the Eggs Rothko, an egg in a slice of brioche with broiled tomatoes and a side of Col. Bill Newsom's country ham. I had a steak sandwich made from ribeye (my favorite cut) on Italian bread with Roquefort cheese. Both dishes were lovely, delivering the satisfaction derived from diner food with the culinary touch of a real chef using high-end ingredients. The only complaint we had was that the good colonel's ham was ringed with a generous layer of fat which could have been trimmed a little better. No big whoop. My steak sandwich was a perfect medium rare, and the Roquefort was both tangy and complex.

The big surprise at Egg came with the bill. Based on all the fawning praise, I expected the prices to be closer to Balthazar's than the Kellogg Diner, but our check came in at under $30. Egg seems to have found a pleasant middle ground between humble diner  and fancy restaurant. That it breaks new ground in the use of sustainable ingredients - they own their own farm in Upstate New York - makes it all the more worthy of accolades.

[Photo: Victor Ozols]

Related Stories:
· Egg [Official Site]
· Breakfast Coverage [Jaunted]

New on the Scene: D.B.A Brooklyn

May 29, 2008 at 3:35 PM | 0 Comments

D.B.A Brooklyn is a boutique specializing in the holy trinity of casual fashion essentials: t-shirts, jeans and sneakers. Opened a little over two weeks ago by a trio of New York natives, it's a small space that's packed with wares and boasts a bold, eye-catching design.

The walls are lined with an impressive stock of exclusive designer kicks ranging from neon New Balances and Nikes to dressy Spring Courts to all-leather Converse. Further inside, there are t-shirts, art books and vinyl figurines.

On weekends, D.B.A plays host to hip hop DJs, and people hang out on the stoop outside. The atmosphere is laid back and the wares are treated like works of art. D.B.A has Lucite cases holding ultra-rare Nikes while vinyl figurines from the owners' private collection and sneakers with high-three-figure price tags line the upper shelves.

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The Farmer's Daughter

October 9, 2006 at 10:02 AM | 0 Comments


Brooklyn's got a brand-new cake doyenne. The Farmer's Daughter, the brainchild of Brooklyn attorney-turned-baker Rebecca Ditsch, produces made-to-order layer cakes, breakfast cakes, and cupcakes.

The name of the business refers to Ditsch's mother, who learned to do amazing things in a kitchen of a working dairy farm in the hinterlands of Minnesota and eventually passed on her baking knowledge to her daughter.

Even in the cake-crazed NYC market, The Farmer's Daughter's nostalgia-tinged goods stand out. While Magnolia and Billy's push a 1950s or even early 1960s vibe, The Farmer's Daughter is a bit more old-fashioned, citing the 1930s and 1940s. Forget bright frosting hues and ultra-sweet buttercreams. Expect fillings (including lemon curd, caramel, and hazelnut praline) made from scratch and (finally!) a prioritization of cake over frosting.

Ditsch has been selling cakes for several months. At a recent SoHo House birthday party (for an entertainment lawyer who represents several high-profile hip-hop artists, natch) Ditsch's cakes were so well received that several party attendees placed orders with her.

The Farmer's Daughter's layer cakes begin at $35, breakfast cakes are priced $20 and $25, and cupcakes begin at $1.50. Ditsch currently bakes in her home kitchen in Fort Greene, though no doubt sooner rather than later, she'll need to up and move to a storefront of her own.