I went to the edge of Brooklyn and all I got was a sweater that looks like a pizza box
jk I got tacos too!
I hope you were able to enjoy the false spring weather we had on Sunday! NY Metro Weather rated it a 7/10, but I think we were at least at an 8. I spent the weekend cat sitting in Greenpoint and can I just tell you, that neighborhood is the fuckin shoppy shop capital of NYC. I bopped in and out of with the cutest packaged food items, clothing that the aspirational Eden would wear, and of course tchotchkes galore. I did end up buying one sweater that is very pizzeria-core and I simply took pictures of everything else that I saw and liked but didn’t want to commit to purchasing.
And just like that, it’s March! Since it’s Women’s History Month, I’ve been planning some celebratory programming for my coworkers. We’ll be sourcing our coffee and treats this month from women-owned businesses - first up is Think Coffee’s Kellensoo Blend, recommended by my girl Aliyah! Portions of this coffee’s sales provide reusable menstrual products to young women in Kellensoo, Ethiopia. I’m also running a donation drive to I Support The Girls; I’ve donated to them at past companies before and they’re a really lovely org to support! Anyways, do some good stuff for the ladies/lady-identifying folks in your life this month and try to learn something new.
1. Noshing 😋
The area of Greenpoint I stayed in over the weekend was truly around the corner from so many restaurants I already loved and so many I’ve had on my to-try list. First up was Taqueria Ramirez. I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews of this taco spot for years and I wondered “how good can it be?” I’ve had Los Tacos no. 1, their tacos are amazing, can a better taco exist? Friends, it can exist and it exists at Taqueria Ramirez.
Taqueria Ramirez’s website explains that they’re dine-in only and they fuckin mean it. After placing your order, I recommend grabbing one of their only 10ish seats because you’ll want to eat these tacos sitting down. Your tacos will be ready fairly quickly and they’re served to you on a plate that they stress you need to return. Could you bring your own tupperware and transfer the tacos to go? Probably, but you’ll also want to dig in the second you smell them so maybe this system was less a limitation and more a necessity.
I am an al pastor girl for life, so I went with 2 al pastor tacos and one campechano (a combo of the suadero and longaniza). The tacos are single tortilla bebes; I usually enjoy a double tortilla but these lil guys held up well despite the absolute heap of juicy meat on top. The tacos come filling-only and you can add your own toppings: onions, cilantro, green salsa red salsa, and lime. Reviews said that the red salsa is very hot and I didn’t try it to test this because 1) I love salsa verde and 2) I wanted to make sure I could taste the meat so I didn’t want to deal with intense spice.
Yo these tacos were GOOD. Of course I was lucky that I went during an off time so there was no wait, but I feel like I would wait for these tacos. What first stood out to me about both the campechano and the al pastor was the amazing texture. The al pastor was shaved really thin so it has a nice crust on each piece, no little gooey fatty pieces. The campechano had a nice contract between the little firm sausage bits and the slightly larger beef bits. Both tacos were so goddam flavorful, no doubt from all of the juices that kept dripping down my hand as I ate. I told you, you’ll want to eat these sitting down, or at least hunched over a plate to catch any bits that escape the tortilla.
So, is it better than Los Tacos No. 1? It’s goddam close. There are less options (and less seats) here, but the tacos are all a standard $5 and the ordering process was less stressful. I always get nervous when I have to yell at the Los Tacos chefs to tell them my tortilla and topping preferences, I’m no good under pressure. If you haven’t had Taqueria Ramirez, this is your sign to make the trip to Greenpoint because I promise you it’s worth a ride on the G train.
2. Watching🍿
I finally watched The Banshees of Inisherin. This film’s marketing did absolutely nothing to pique my interest but I kept hearing nothing but rave reviews so I finally gave in and watched it. And I….simply did not get it. Am I not Irish enough? Probably, I’m not Irish at all.
All of the commercials I saw for this movie promised a movie where Brendan Gleeson (Colm) suddenly no longer wants to be friends with Colin Farrell (Padraic). Why anyone wouldn’t want to be friends with Colin Farrell is beyond me, but Colm explains that he simply finds him dull and life is short and he wants to spend more time following his artistic pursuits. Irish YOLO I guess. I don’t disagree with Colm’s ethos here, that’s why I write this newsletter. Life is short and I want to spend it doing the things I want to do. And I’ve certainly let friendships drift as I prioritize other things in my life. But this film takes that concept to Shakespearean extremes.
Colm tells Padraic that every time he tries to talk to him, he’ll cut off a finger. I understand the need for extreme measures at times, but Colm is a fuckin fiddle player. Cutting off fingers is directly counterintuitive to the whole reason he’s asking Padraic to leave him alone. My man can’t play the fiddle anymore if he loses all his fingers, so he’s only hurting himself! Men really will do anything but go to therapy.
Anyways, the only thing that did somewhat interest me about this movie were the Shakespearean-esque themes. And I’m not even a fuckin Shakespeare girl! It was simply the only thing that piqued my brain’s interest. There was a creepy lady who predicted death, Shakespeare plays always have one of those. This was structured like your classic Tragedy; from the beginning you knew it wasn’t going to work out. And the absolutely lush AF setting of an Irish island really nailed home the point that what looks beautiful on the surface is rotten underneath. I feel like weird bargains are classic Shakespeare, a la Colm cutting off fingers for every time Padraic talks to him. There was even a sad twist that pushes our mild-mannered Padraic over the edge as his beloved donkey dies after choking on Colm’s fingers. I felt like I was simply watching a classic Shakeapeare tragedy unfold but instead of everyone speaking silly Olde English, they spoke silly Irish English instead.
Did you watch this movie? Did you like it? Did you connect with it? I would really love to hear more about your experience because I am simply at a loss here. In other news, I have begun rewatching all of the 90s X-Men animated cartoon in anticipation of X-Men 97 - is anyone else excited for that?!
3. What’s Good 😎
Woodbine in Ridgewood is hosting a seed exchange on Sunday. They have some seeds to share, but folks are also encouraged to bring their own to swap. Any leftover seeds will live in their seed library which is open to anyone who wants access. The Stavros Niarchos brand of the NYPL also offers a seed library!
I’m officially a ceramic girly now and I’ve begun following so many studios! Clayspace in Greenpoint is offering a handbuilding sampler event on March 16, which will allow you to play with some clay and get a feel for what creating some pieces might feel like. At $85 it’s on the pricier side, but I can assure you that after taking a long form ceramic class this is, in fact, a good deal.
I love a nice calming art session and Heart of Dinner is hosting a bag decorating session on March 20 at The Standard Hotel. They’ll be providing snacks and art supplies, you just have to supply the creativity (but honestly no pressure, you can draw whatever). Brooklyn babes can get their coloring on at Color Club at McCarren Parkhouse on March 13 (this one costs $25 to attend).
I would love to be better at sewing and have been meaning to take one of UR Fancy Shop’s classes. They have a pretty full schedule for March and most of their classes are between $45-60, so not too pricey!
Calling all dessert lovers (it me)! Farm To People is having a dessert takeover from March 14-17. Reservations are open now and they promise that the menu is dropping any day now 👀
If you’re in the mood to get your jazz on, head to Bed-Stuy coffee shop Rita und Maria on March 13. A $10 cover will get you access to wine, snacks, and jazzy vibes.
4. Exploring 🛼
I realize I’m writing about a lot of stuff on the fringes of Brooklyn today; first Greenpoint and now Red Hook. I’ve written about exploring Red Hook before (it’s one of my most viewed posts!) and I’m always eager to have another reason to go to the part of Brooklyn. Recently, I ventured to the edge of Brooklyn to visit Shipwrecked. I love me some mini golf (I’ve written about that too) and have been wanting to check this place out for a while. Not only did Lorenzo and I play a sprightly game of mini-g, but my mom and 2 year old cousin joined too. Was Shipwrecked fun for the whole family or did I simply want to die and go to Davey Jones’ Locker?
Shipwrecked is a great reminder that different areas of Brooklyn are truly so different. The vibes inside definitely reminded me of the mini golf/arcade/amusement park venues of my childhood on Long Island. And that’s not a bad thing - I literally spent some of the happiest hours of my life winning tickets at many of the now-defunct parks on Long Island and riding the rides at the should-be-defunct Adventureland. Shipwrecked captures that nostalgia of my childhood but instead of excitement building as you drive down the highway and see the rides looming in the distance, Shipwrecked was distinctly more urban as you enter through a laughably nondescript door of a warehouse and take a random elevator up a few floors.
When it was our turn to golf, an attendant explained how the game would work: we’d move through a few different themed courses, there were spots to put in coins that would start music or animations, and we were off! There were 4 different themed courses to golf through that I found out were all actually rescued from a park in Maryland, so yay for recycling. The baby really enjoyed all of the music and animations that were happening around us, so if you have a kiddo in tow they will probably be able to keep themselves occupied with all of the stimuli.
The courses themselves were really nicely done; they were lightly challenging with enough tunnels and obstacles to keep the adults on their toes. Some of us managed to stick to par (me) while others routinely maxed out at 5 swings (everyone else). The pirate and jungle courses were my favorite and I appreciate that there was a net to fish your ball out of the water traps. I was most excited for the freak show course that would be at the end, but it was actually a bit underwhelming. It looked like there used to be more decor on the course and it was missing for some reason.
The last hole was what I was really looking forward to though - it’s subway themed! The hole itself was really easy, but I appreciated their attention to detail with the decor. There was a subway map! A metro card machine (rip)! Seats that probably hadn’t been cleaned ever! A very nice touch was that the ball return was the slot on the metrocard machine.
I know Red Hook can be a bit of a schlep to get to, but I maintain that it is another neighborhood worth the trip! Shipwrecked was a great way to spend about an hour on a rainy day. If you go there while the weather is nicer, you absolutely have to walk around the neighborhood afterwards. At the very least, get a meatball sundae from Ikea and then walk along the water until you reach Steve’s Key Lime Pie - enjoy on the pier while watching Lady Liberty in the distance 🗽
5. Learning 🧠
Speaking of Lady Liberty, I want to write about the woman behind the poem on her base: Emma Lazarus. Emma was born in NY on in 1849 and though she only lived a short 38 years (passing even before the boroughs were consolidated in 1889) she made her mark as a great poet. She wrote her first poem at age 11, spoke multiple languages, and was incredibly fortunate to be so highly educated. Emma was from a largely Sephardic Jewish family whose ancestors fled Portugal during the Inquisition and though she didn’t identify as religiously Jewish early on, she had a change on heart later in life when she heard of the Russian pogroms.
After becoming aware of the antisemitic violence facing Jewish refugees from Russia, Emma became an activist and began to advocate on behalf of the indigent Jewish immigrants arriving in the US. She helped establish the Hebrew Technical Institute, which provided vocational training to Jewish immigrants. She volunteered in the Hebrew Emigrant Aid Society employment bureau. And in 1883, she founded the Society for the Improvement and Colonization of East European Jews. And so while her early poems were inspired domestically by the American Civil War, her later works were inspired heavily by her Jewish identity and the injustices against them that she was witnessing.
That takes us to her most famous poem, The New Colossus, referring of course to the Statue of Liberty.
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
While this poem now resides on a plaque within the statue’s base, it was originally written for an auction whose purpose was to raise money to build the base in the first place. Yeah, France kind of gave us a statue and was like “some assembly required, also doesn’t come with batteries.” This poem was the first entry read at the exhibit's opening in 1883 and it remained associated with the exhibit until after the pedestal was fully funded in August 1885. However, it wasn’t read or referenced at all during the pedestal’s opening and was forgotten about, which just goes to show you that marketers were cutthroat even in the 1880s. After Emma’s sudden death, her friend Georgina Schuyler led an effort to memorialize her and her poem and in 1903 a plaque of the poem was placed inside the statue’s base.
I’m not much of a poetry girl, but I really like this poem. I think it does a great job portraying not only the hopes and aspirations of what the statue would come to represent, but Emma’s own dreams, as well. It likens the Statue of Liberty to the Colossus of Rhodes; while that was a male statue that guarded Rhodes this “new colossus” is a female. The “mother of exiles” stands watch and welcomes those who have come to the US searching for a better life. Emma’s own activism with displaced Jewish immigrants made her especially compassionate to the plight of those fleeing their homes and looking for a new one.
It’s such a shame that Emma didn’t live to see the impact that her poem would have on the future generations of immigrants who would pass through the harbor. And it’s even sadder to think of how we treat some of our immigrants now, no longer with the kindness and compassion that Emma envisioned. The influx of immigrants to NYC has been a hot topic lately with most news outlets calling it a “migrant crisis.” Emma was certainly looking at the world through rose-colored glasses, but what’s wrong with wanting everyone to be safe and happy?
where is the sweater pic I was promised a sweater pic!!!
I found Banshees to be utterly absurd in a droll way. I did think it was a bit overhyped, but still enjoyed it.