Friday, November 13, 2009

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Albemarler



Brownstoner is hosting a new blog from folks renovating this big house on Albemarle, full of gory details for fans of this stuff.

The second installment includes this:

One contractor walking through remarked, "Oh yes, the old Federal Pacific firestarters." -- and that was before he saw [fuseboxes] concealed behind [a white door] which was in the back of the "hers" closet in the master suite. Yes that door is made of wood (though some cautious soul lined the inside of it with sheet metal). The contractor giddily took a pic with his cellphone and emailed it to his electrician.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Broomball in Prospect Park

Matt Archambault of the NYC Social Sports Club emails that if it's fall, it's "Ice Broomball" season.

His blurb:

Part casual competition and part social outing with fellow Brooklynites, Broomball is played outside and on the ice in your sneakers! Their five-week season, starting December 2nd, is perfect for beginners and non-athlete types...and if you bring a few friends with skills, you may pull a few victories along the way!

All games are followed by trips to the bar, with transportation provided!

Click here for more information and to register!
He also says it's "the ultimate winter sport."

The Yam Menu

To continue our obsession with this place, here's the menu:

Sambal, Chutney, Nam prik, Kimchi

$ 15 Tamarind shrimp with suman sa pandan (rice cakes wrapped in pandan leaves)

$ 13 Duck leg betutu with taro leaves (slow cooked in Balinese spices and coconut milk wrapped in banana leaves)

$ 9 Korean meatballs with kimchi in purple yam pockets

$ 10 Spicy tofu & Manila clams soup

The pig

$ 6 Tocino (sugar-achuete cured pork) sliders in purple yam pan de sal, served with pickled persimmon

$ 12 Sisig (pig cheeks, ears and snout in lime & chilies)

$ 18 Lechon kawali (deep fried pork belly) with pickled papaya

$ 18 Barbecued spareribs from our Chinese oven

Veggies

$ 12 Green market veggies in green curry with Asian greens

$ 12 Bibimbap with shitake, spinach, squash & gingko nuts (made with Philippine heirloom rice from the terraces)

$ 9 Breadfruit & lotus root chips with eggplant caviar

$ 8 Pomelo, green mango & jicama salad

Sides

$ 3 Haegeen’s homemade kimchi of the day (red or white kimchi, baby radish, scallions... the possibilities are endless)

$ 3.50 sml / $ 5 large Kimchi fried rice

$ 3.50 sml / $ 5 large Bagoong fried rice (Philippine fermented shrimp)

Cendrillon classics

$ 8 Ukoy, (vegetable & shrimp fritter)

$ 7 Fresh Lumpia (sautéed Napa cabbage, leeks & mushrooms in a rice crepe) served with peanut

and tamarind sauce

$ 10 Beef tapa (air-dried beef) salad

$ 12 Goat curry with fresh rice pancakes

$ 13 Wild boar pizza

$ 16 Chicken adobo (braised in vinegar, garlic, soy sauce)

$ 12 Pancit bihon (Philippine rice noodles with chicken, pork

& veggies)

$ 17 Oxtail kare kare with bagoong (braised in peanut sauce & veggies. Served with fermented shrimp paste)

DESSERTS

$ 6 Pandan leche flan (steeped in pandan leaves)

$ 6 Halo halo (Philippine iced dessert with sweet beans, palm seed, cocogel, agar agar, coconut sport, jackfruit topped with flan and purple yam ice cream)

$ 6 Buko pie (young coconut) with a scoop of macapuno ice cream

$ 6 Champorrado (sweet rice in chocolate & cream) topped with coffee ice cream

$ 6 Apple tart with macapuno ice cream

Homemade ice creams

$ 2 / scoop Purple Yam

$ 2 / scoop Coffee

$ 2 / scoop Macapuno (coconut sport)

$ 6 / 3 scoops

photo of the day.


New photos from Purple Yam including menu here

photo by flatbushnelson
from the Ditmas Park Flickr pool

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Yam Open

New heights of local restaurant hype from Eater, which calls Purple Yam a "potential neighborhood gamechanger." (Not too much, I hope.)

Grub Street has a little more detail.

The hype may be deserved: The food we had Sunday was amazing, and when we returned last night for dinner, there was a wait of at least an hour. (We consoled ourselves with Farm burgers and beer.)

photo of the day.


friends, originally uploaded by anniebee.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Corduroy!



Neighbor Miles Rohan emails over this invite to the Grand Meeting of the Corduroy Appreciation Club, happening tomorrow in Gowanus.

The New Yorker explains
.

beauty


beauty, originally uploaded by anniebee.

P.S. 139 Book Fair

The P.S. 139 PA emails that they're hosting a Scholastic Book Fair through Sunday in the school auditorium, entrance on Rugby just off Cortelyou.

The schedule:

Tuesday November 10th 1 to 3pm and 5:30 to 8pm
Thursday November 12th 9am to 3pm
Friday November 13th 9am to 3pm
Sunday November 15th 9am to 2pm, including:

Story Time 9:30 - 10
PS 139 Co-President and actor, Christine Siracusa, will read popular books from the Scholastic collection.

Musical performance by Carnaval Kids! 10 – 10:30
Carnaval Kids! specializes in Brazilian and Spanish-themed musical drum parties for children.

Free used winter coats.
Available first come, first served. In good condition. Limited supply. Sizes vary.
Funds from the event will go to stretch the budget for the Argyle yard renovation or purchase more Smartboards for classrooms.

Also, the Parents Association has a blog!

'Peaceful' Ditmas



The Daily News has a sweet, if occasionally misguided (not sure I'd cal the co-op a "cheap neighborhood staple," plug for the neighborhood today, describing it as "a peaceful place to live."

Also, a nice photo of Picket Fence waiter Ozzie, above.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Farm City at Vox



Sustainable Flatbush's Anne Pope passes on word of a reading Wednesday at Vox of interest to local gardeners, farmers, and eaters:

Tales of Squatting, Dumpster Diving, and other Urban Farming Pursuits: A Night with Novella Carpenter

Novella Carpenter raises pigs, rabbits, chickens, turkeys, and goats on squatted land in downtown Oakland. Her hilarious memoir, Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer, tells the real story of what it takes to grow your own food in a city.

Copies of the book will be available for sale.
The reading is Wednesday at 7:00.

photo of the day.

 Purple Yam's Backyard, photo by flatbushnelson from the Ditmas Park Flickr pool

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Purple Yum.


Created with flickr slideshow.


photos by flatbushnelson from the Ditmas Park Flickr pool

Purple Yam, Worth the Wait



We were lucky enough to have lunch at Purple Yam today, in advance of their opening Tuesday, and Amy and Romy exceeded even the very high expectations.

I'm not sure what I expected of their Filipino-influenced food, but it wasn't quite this: It was milder, more accessible, and generally more easy to imagine eating more than once a week than we'd expected.

The likeliest hit, and popular with the kids, were the cured pork sliders, on purple rolls made with purple yam flower, with fresh, unusual vegetables and savory meat. Our platter of samples also had tasty meatballs on skewers, crunchy and fresh mung bean pancakes, and noodles with nuggest of pork and strips of chicken. There was also wonderful kimchee and a sort of slaw made from carrots and green papaya.

Nelson took a lot of photos, so look for those here soon.

Saturday, November 7, 2009




breakfast of the day.

Grits with sundried tomatoes and poached eggs from The Farm