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Tags: Food Travel / Restaurants / Jury Duty / Cheesecake / → All Tags

Dining in Downtown Brooklyn: It's Always 1977 in Junior's

For the past two weeks, I've sat on a grand jury in Brooklyn Supreme Court, indicting or dismissing charges against defendants accused of some of the most heinous crimes in New York. Unfortunately, it would be illegal for me to divulge the details of the evidence presented to me and my 22 fellow jurors, but what I can do is tell you about some of the restaurants I visited during my one-hour lunch period every day.

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Tags: Walking Tours / Brooklyn / Subways / → All Tags

Explore the World's Oldest Subway Tunnel

Even though New York has more exciting neighborhoods than just about anywhere else in the world, it can still be frustratingly difficult to find anywhere undiscovered, because everything is so overly-documented.

So here's one walking tour activity you won't find in your Lonely Planet book: climb down a manhole underneath Brooklyn's busy Atlantic Avenue and inside the world's oldest subway tunnel.

The Atlantic Avenue tunnel is a half-mile road that was built back in 1844, and then just completely forgotten about for decades until it was rediscovered in 1980. Today, Bob Diamond, who found the lost tunnel, takes groups down on expeditions. If you're already grossed out, we can say that at least from the photos, it looks a lot cleaner than any subway tunnel we've ever seen.

Tours take place once a month; the next one is Sunday, February 22. Bring a flashlight!

· Atlantic Avenue Tunnel Tours [Brooklyn Rail]
· Walking tours coverage [Jaunted]
· Brooklyn travel coverage [Jaunted]

Photo: [Brooklyn Rail]

Tags: Fall-Culture-Travel-Map / Maps / Coffee Shops / → All Tags

Fall Culture Travel :: Darfur in Brooklyn

Cold, rainy fall days make for the best museum visits. So over the next few weeks we're mapping the latest shows worth seeing--and a nearby spot to nurse your art hangover.

Some of the most interesting exhibits often come to the smallest of places, which is definitely the case with Darfur: Twenty Years of War and Genocide in Sudan at The Powerhouse Arena in DUMBO, Brooklyn. This exhibit for social justice features heartbreaking and tragic images of the 2.5 million people who have been displaced by violence in Sudan. Powerhouse may not be the nation's premier art venue, but with exhibit backers like Media for Social Justice, Amnesty International, and the Holocaust Museum of Houston, it's definitely worth a look before it closes this weekend.

Since this photographic display will probably leave you and your friends with a lot to ponder, head over to nearby Rebar, at 68 Jay St., which opened its doors late last year. Fans of the coffee house and wine bar say it feels intimate, but never cramped, which makes it perfect for post-Powerhouse chats.

Related Stories:
· Powerhouse Arena [Official Site]
· Fall Culture Travel Map [Jaunted]
· Fall Culture Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Powerhouse Arena]

Tags: Celeb Travel / New York City / Foxy Brown / Crime / → All Tags

Foxy Brown Eats 'n' Runs At Junior's

Here's a helpful hint: If you're famous, try not to take a five-finger discount when it comes to your food. People tend to notice.

That's how rapper Foxy Brown got herself banned from the delicious Brooklyn outpost Junior's Cheesecake after dining and dashing three times in the last two weeks, according to the NY Post. On the last occasion, Brown, who is currently in court-ordered anger-management classes for hitting workers at a nail salon, started cursing at waiters and the manager after spilling her ice cream soda all over herself.

Honestly, the threat of being denied Junior's famous cheesecake is enough to keep us in line. Foxy likes the strawberry cheesecake, but we're partial to the Brownie Marble Swirl. Should she have a hankering for one, she could always order it online... but at $39.95 plus shipping and handling, it may be cheaper to send her assistant to the Times Square or Grand Central Station locations to pick her up a piece.

If you're going to try to pull this stunt yourself, just make sure you're on the A-list. Owner Alan Rosen told the Post he wouldn't be dragging out the welcome mat no matter what because "One, she tries to skip out on checks and, two, she's not polite." Ooh, burn!

[Photo: wallyg]

Related Stories:
· 'DINE & DASH' FOXY TAKES CAKE [NY Post]