Ciao, bitches
I'm in Italy!
Oh hey there new friends! I think a bunch of you came over here from and - they’re two of my favorite writers on Substack and I am always so flattered when they recommend my work. If you wanna go back to the beginning, here’s the first issue of BCLF. Things have changed a little bit since then, but each Thursday you can expect me to write about some mix of NYC restaurants, activities, history, and movies, along with a collection of links for upcoming events or just interesting local news.
BCLF is Free.99 baby! But I do have a paid tier available in case you wanna show me some support by throwing a little $$ my way. A yearly sub is $50 or you can pay $5/mo if that feels better. Paid subscribers can also feel free to reach out to me anytime for like, honestly whatever you want. Want me to plan a dinner and activity for friends coming into town? Want a custom hot chocolate crawl route? Wanna hear all of my very details thoughts about Josie and the Pussycats? I gotchu.
And since we’re nearing Virgo season (and my birthday), I’ll throw up the 15% off button, so get that deal while you can!
Today, I’m leaving to spend some time in Italy with my friend Danielle, so next week’s issue is a bit of a tbd. Can I get my shit together and plan ahead for you all? We’ll see ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
When I was staying in Clinton Hill I knew that I had to try Brooklyn Curry Project. It’s a South Indian dosa stand that pops up in Ft Greene Park every Saturday and is run by wife and husband, Swetha and Venkat Raju. They started the stand in 2021 and gradually became a park side sensation, blowing up even more after appearing in an Eater article a few months ago. They serve a variety of dosas and other little snacky foods, along with chai and mango lassi, all for $10 or less. I spent an hour in 90 degree heat one Saturday to find out if it’s worth it.
For something like this, the line itself is a vibe. I arrived at 10am (they open at 10:30) and found them still setting up, so I took a short walk to grab a drink to keep me cool while I waited. Upon arriving back at 10:15, the line was already 15-20 people deep. You need to become friends with the people waiting with you because otherwise you will go crazy and have no one to hold your spot when you simply need to duck into the shade for a few minutes. Some people in the line brought umbrellas and if you’re waiting on a sunny day, this is the move. The stand is set up just outside of the market proper on the corner of Washington Park & Willoughby Ave and it there is absolutely no shade. I suffered stoically, but you should come prepared.
Upon arriving at the tent, you’ll first be asked if you want to order a drink; they do drink and food ordering/payment separately. I was fucking parched so I ordered a mango lassi and asked if they could put it in the empty cup I had from an earlier drink. I saw multiple people arriving with their own containers and had heard that you actually get a little discount for bringing a reusable - yay sustainability! I was offered no such discount, but my cup was way larger than the one they were serving out of so I happily paid the full price of only $5. The drink was an absolute lifesaver and tasted slightly different than the sweet yogurty drink I was used to. There was a bit more spice to it and a hint of cardamom that gave it a really nice depth of flavor.
Eventually, I turned the corner and was asked what food I wanted. I had been googling items the entire time I was in the line because the menu is so tiny and you can’t actually see it until it’s time to order. I went with the masala dosa and called it a day, though now I regret not just ordering one of everything for the sake of science. I paid the man and rounded the corner one more time, finding a tiny sliver of shade to wait in while my dosa cooked.
Swetha is the woman running the grill and I simply do not know how she remained so chipper in this heat. I watched her pour dosa batter in little circles on the cook top, sprinkle some spicy powder on top, add a dollop of ghee and potato filling, and eventually wrap everything up and pop it into the waiting containers. She worked with a sense of urgency for sure, but it also looked like she was in her own little happy zone. A few people stopped by with their own containers and collected dosas while I was still waiting and their familiarity with Swetha made it clear that they were regulars.
After a solid hour of waiting in the heat, I had my lassi and dosa and was ready to dig in. I can’t deal with the chaos of farmer’s markets, so I walked my bounty home to eat (but made a quick pit stop on the way to meet my friends’ new dog Poppy!) So, was it worth it?
I admittedly haven’t eaten a lot of dosas in my day because Lorenzo doesn’t like Indian food so I don’t get to eat it often. This dosa was definitely delicious. The thin crepe wrap was the perfect balance of soft and crispy. The potato filling had a hint of spice and really good savory flavor. The picked veggies were necessary to provide some tang to the dish and cut through some of the spice, something the little cucumber yogurt sauce on the side also helped with. I waited an hour for my dosa and finished eating it within about 10 minutes.
I do think this is worth it, but not in 90 degree heat. Wait for a cooler day or go with a bunch of friends and make the wait a part of the event. The food is very clearly made with love and a respect for the Raju’s home culture and also their new one here in Brooklyn. They source a lot of ingredients locally at the farmer’s market, so it’s just all around a lovely business that I would love to support. I will just not be supporting when it’s this hot out.
I am not a theater person. I know, it’s a crime for me to live in NYC, the fucking Broadway mecca, and not ever go see a show. I just have a hard time suspending my disbelief when I can see the edges of the stage and all of the wires the actors are hanging from. I also fucking hate musicals and let’s face it, a lot of shows involve singing. So Broadway is not for me. However, I’ve been getting served ads for this things called Twenty Sided Tavern for a while now and when I finally looked into it, I thought it might be something I would enjoy!
The show touts itself as an interactive Dungeons & Dragons game with no experience needed. Now I might seem like a person who’s played D&D, but to that I say #notallnerds. It’s a game I’ve always been interested in playing, but I never found myself surrounded by a group of people who were similarly interested in engaging in a make believe pseudo-improv game where dice rolls decide our fates. Le sigh. The format, however, did seem very well suited to this “live game” show structure, so I selfishly scheduled it as a Wowza Hangout and tagged along with my group to see the show!
We went on a Thursday night, so the theater wasn’t completely full and we were moved down to better seats. I would recommend not spending top dollar on the best seats and just try your luck at being moved. The actors do a good job of moving through the theater and interacting with more than just the front rows. Once we sat down, the actors passed out 2 things: a sticker with a QR code that you would need to scan to join your particular player’s guild (trickster, strength, or magic) and a piece of paper that you had to write a noun or adjective on that would be used later in the show (I wrote “frog”).
The show began with a bit of exposition and rule explaining, but I found it incredibly engaging and not a drag at all. They also very quickly brought up an audience member to roll the big die to drill home the fact that the audience will be participating and the dice will play a big roll. The audience’s first big task was to choose which characters the 3 main players would inhabit; we ended up with a French detective (strength), a faux wizard (trickster), and a bad bunny (magic). The players zipped off stage to put on their new costumes and our amazing Dungeon Master and Tavern Owner took over storytelling while we waited. I cannot extend high enough praise for these two; they were hilarious, had amazing chemistry, and were just pros at improv. The Dungeon Master would not only narrate the story at large, but also play about 5 interim characters.
The show was so fucking fun. I don’t think I stopped laughing the entire time because the cast was just so goofy and you could tell they were genuinely having a good time. The bad bunny mage made a Damon/Affleck/Good Will Hunting joke that only me and the other 5 old people in the audience got and I simultaneously felt elderly and cultured. I would repeatedly have to answer questions or engage in brief mini games on my phone throughout the show and as someone who fucking devoured choose your own adventure books as a kid, this was right up my alley. Folks are encouraged to take photos and videos throughout because 1) it gives the show free publicity and 2) we’re all on our phones anyways.
The show cost around $50 for the mid-level seats I got and again, I don’t recommend buying the expensive seats unless you absolutely need to sit in the front row. Buy a cheaper seat and you’ll likely get moved up. Twenty Sided Tavern is officially running through April 29, 2025 so you have plenty of time to catch a show!
Surely you’ve heard of the Bed-Stuy koi pond by now? It’s not actually a pond and there aren’t actually koi in it, but it’s what we have 🥲 In fact, it’s a puddle fed by an open fire hydrant that is filled with goldfish. And while this sounds cute, it’s actually such a horrible thing. I’ve owned and killed a lot of goldfish in my day until I learned why: they are absolute poop machines. Goldfish spend their day swimming and shitting and they need a good filtration system otherwise they’re gonna drown in their poop. The pond has caused quite a stir in the neighborhood: some folks recognize it for the animal cruelty puddle that it is and others simply want to take pictures and make tiktoks of it so you know they were there.
If all of the Wowza Hangouts I talk about in this newsletter sound fun, then you should attend New Friends Pool Night tomorrow. Usually Wowza hosts small events that match groups of 5ish people, but every so often they hold a big event where you can meet all of the friends! This one is at Sour Mouse, which I wrote about before and had a really good time at.
Got a couple fun supper clubs coming up:
Green Tile Social Club x Mala Project are teaming up for a prix fixe dinner + mahjong combo on Aug 21. Tickets are $75 and include a tasty family style meal followed by games of mah jong!
Stay For Supper x foodbaby.bklyn are hosting a Lunchbox Club on Aug 20. You’ll play some old school games while noshing on a nostalgic snack spread made by Lottie of Stay for Supper & Izzy of Foodbaby Brooklyn! To participate, pack a lunch & bring it with you upon arrival to swap with a new friend (cute)! Tickets are $25.
Send Chinatown Love is throwing a Supper Club & Karaoke Party at Insa on Aug 22. Tickets are $55 and the purpose of these supper clubs is to feature businesses from SCL’s cookbook Made Here!
Local celebrity NY Nico is running a scavenger hunt thru Oct 22. If you buy his book, send a screenshot, and follow the clues he sends you have the chance to win tons of prizes.
Finally, newsletter of note
is having a Happy Hour/Birthday Party on Aug 22. Celebrate a great newsletter and Abigail’s upcoming birthday at Last Call in Brooklyn!
1st: Can you IMAGINE trying to usher our friends through a game of D & D?
2nd and more importantly: ENJOY ITALY!!!! Eat so much pasta, ride a Vespa, get mistaken for an Italian pop star and have a night that dreams are made of!!!!!!!