Vegan Eats: Four Seasons Vegetarian Restaurant

It's difficult to fairly judge a vegan Caribbean soul food restaurant on Church Avenue. The entire time you are at Four Seasons you can't help but compare it to the now-closed Veggie Castle, just across the street. It's hard not to reminisce about sitting in that converted White Castle, listening to reggae while you eat vegan mac and cheese and ox tail and jerk chicken. But since Veggie Castle closed at the end of 2007, we have had to look to its neighbors to satisfy our cravings for vegan lo mein and mock meat. Comparisons to Veggie Castle aside, Four Seasons, on Church Avenue at Bedford Avenue, is a good place to get your soul food fix, although with fewer choices. (I told you it's hard not to compare!) It is cafeteria style and has a few tables for those who want to stay to eat, although the restaurant isn't air-conditioned and can get toasty in the summer.

The selection (all vegan) varies from day to day, but you can usually count on rice and beans (dry, although if you liked VC's r&b this tastes the same), lo mein (delicious), steamed vegetables (wonderful), mock meat (chicken is great, beef is good, but nothing special), and jerk tofu (haven't tried it).

More than a restaurant, Four Seasons also has a juice bar and sells bulk nuts, baked goods, and dried fruit as well as vegetarian frozen foods, including a few mock meat selections from May Wah. The front of the store also sells mostly Caribbean-themed clothing. I do wonder how they keep such a big space going because we are usually the only customers in there.

The staff is really friendly and happy to run down that day's menu. The small plate in the picture has lo mein, veggies, and mock beef- all for a very reasonable $6.

Food: A-
Service: A
Value: A+
Atmosphere: C

Four Seasons || 2281 Church Ave at Bedford Ave || (718) 693-7996

Newkirk Plaza Juice Bar Opening Friday

Bally's Energy Food Fuel is planning to open on Friday in Newkirk Plaza where the card shop used to be, right next to the Newkirk tunnel. According to the menu above, which the friendly owner gave us last night when he saw us peering in the windows, Bally's EFF will include a variety of vegetarian options, including Boca and Quorn burgers and a vegetarian wrap. The juices include remedies for skin problems, anemia and headaches, and there are also smoothies, including a Peanut Butter and Jelly smoothie. The owner told us the restaurant will be open 24 hours a day and there will be outdoor seating on the plaza overlooking the tracks. Now there are two places that you can eat while trainwatching!

Bally's Energy Food Fuel || 45 Newkirk Plaza || 718-421-0526

Update: The owner tells us Bally's will be open the evening of Monday, September 29th.

Flatbush Shirts

A few months ago there was talk about a local artist creating a Ditmas Park t-shirt. There seemed to be a demand for it, but we haven't seen anything yet. So if you're still searching for a stylish way to rep your nabe, look no further than these Flatbush Ave. shirts, based on the giant Flatbush Avenue tree signs on Ocean and Flatbush.

They are the creation of Pocket Change Equity, a local group that promotes Brooklyn artists and shows. I picked up one of these at last year's Flatbush Frolic and have worn it so much and received so many compliments on it that I decided to get the new green trees design on sale at this year's Frolic. At $28 online, they're a tad pricey, but worth every penny. You won't find a hotter neighborhood shirt than these. I guarantee it.

Found in Newkirk Plaza: Most Awesome Folders Ever

I found these really cool two pocket folders in the 99-cent store next to Dunkin' Donuts in Newkirk Plaza. They are enlarged replicas of 1988 and 1989 Topps trading cards, and happen to be in pretty good shape, considering the fact that they are 20 years old. The backs of the folders are designed to look exactly like the backs of the baseball cards, complete with player stats and bios. I picked up folders of Darryl Strawberry, Wade Boggs, George Brett, Bobby Thigpen, Alan Trammell, and Kirk Gibson. Three for a dollar!

Vox Pop Hosts Free Political Comedy Show TONIGHT

Tonight's comedy show at Vox Pop is shaping up to be a cool one. It's billed as "a night of lefty comedy hosted by Scott Blakeman," featuring "New York's top progressive comics." I know what you're thinking. It sounds obnoxious to me too. But I checked out Blakeman's site and he seems to be the real deal. He used to be the warm-up comic for Letterman, he's produced and hosted shows at the 92nd St. Y, and he's even taught Jon Stewart and Caroline Rhea a thing or two about comedy. Not too shabby. Opening for Blakeman are 236.com writers Lee Camp and Katie Halper. Oh, and it's FREE!

Scott Blakeman: Laughs from the Left
with Lee Camp, Katie Halper
8- 10 p.m.
FREE
Vox Pop || 1022 Cortelyou Road

Check out Scott Blakeman talking about progressive comedy on Air America below:

"Fringe" Star Discovers Ditmas Park

The cast of "Fringe" discussed the show with Filming in Brooklyn at the New York Television Festival, including the scene they shot in Ditmas Park last week. Blair Brown, who plays Nina Sharp and has an amazing prosthetic/robotic arm on the show, had only nice things to say about the neighborhood.

"We were just filming in Brooklyn the other day. We were in an area called Ditmas Park on Thursday and the edge of Prospect Park and it was spectacular.... The best part about working in a place like New York is, I didn’t even know about Ditmas Park, and now I want to go back."

She also had an amusing anecdote about witnessing the diversity of Brooklyn while filming in Prospect Park:

"When we were shooting in the park the other day Joshua Jackson and I were shooting a scene, and we couldn’t see [what was going on behind us], but the crew was in fits of laughter. It was like the history of transportation behind us. At one point a girl on a horse came by, then a father with a girl on a tandem bike, and then a young Hasidic Jew on roller blades. You couldn’t have planned to have those extras."

For the full interview, check out Filming in Brooklyn.

Sycamore Draws Huge Crowd On Opening Night

We stopped by Ditmas Park's newest bar Sycamore last night and were pleasantly surprised to see how packed it was on its very first night. Owners Gary and Allison were helping behind the bar and there was still a wait for drinks when we came in at 10:30. Not that we're complaining- we were happy to see the place so bustling. When we were there the crowd seemed like a mix of people in their mid-20s to mid-30s. We overheard someone say he was from Fort Greene, so we assume other neighborhoods along the Q were also represented. We didn't take a close look at drink prices, but our Buds on draft were a very reasonable $3.

Patrons enter through the cute flower shop, where a few stools provide a quiet drinking spot and a neat lookout on Cortelyou Road. A jukebox sits at the entrance of the bar and in the back are two cozy horseshoe-shaped couches tucked into the corners. The inside was so jam packed that we had to step outside to their beautiful garden, which has received quite an overhaul since the days of Cortelyou Vintage. Ivy covers three of the walls and there's a large wood patio that steps down into a pebble-covered area with more seating and even a stand-alone cast iron fireplace. We couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the neighbors, though, whose windows and terraces overlook the bar's garden. Maybe they can get a few free drinks every now and then.

Sycamore || 1118 Cortelyou Road (between Westminster and Stratford)

Sycamore is Here! Ditmas Park's Newest Bar Opens Today

Last night we got a sneak peak at Sycamore, Ditmas Park's newest bar (and flower shop), and it looks great! The bar stools are lined up, the liquor and wine bottles are displayed prominently on the wall, and the flowers were picked up early this morning at a nearby market. Expect the doors to open around 5 or 6 p.m., and if this nice weather sticks around, we're told the garden in the back will be open.


















We spoke with Allison McDowell, co-owner of the bar with Gary Jonas, whose enthusiasm about the opening makes us all the more excited to see this place blossom (pun most definitely intended). And if the success of Pomme De Terre and The Farm on Adderley, Gary and Allison's other neighborhood ventures, are any indication, Sycamore will be the next big neighborhood hang-out. She mentioned that people have been hankering for a place to sit back, relax, and have a drink. "I think the neighborhood's finally ready for this," she added. We certainly are.

Sycamore || 1118 Cortelyou Road (between Westminster and Stratford)

Update: Sycamore Draws Huge Crowd on Opening Night

Filming in Flatbush: J.J. Abrams' "Fringe"

We stopped by the set of the new J.J. Abrams show "Fringe" Thursday night to see what all the commotion behind this Fox hit is all about. Unfortunately we didn't get any plot details, and the only exterior action was a scene with the show's star Joshua Jackson ("Dawson's Creek", The Mighty Ducks) walking up to the front door of a house. But we did get a chance to see Jackson put his kindness to the test when two teenaged girls asked him to take a picture with them during his walk from the snacks table on Ditmas Avenue to the set at 515 E. 16th St. (between Newkirk and Ditmas). He politely put their request on hold at first, promising them that he would take a picture as soon as they wrapped the scene he was about to film. But when one of the girls told him her sister was a big "Dawson's Creek" fan, he took a few steps back in their direction and happily posed for a couple of shots.

Jackson was just as cool the last time we saw him- about 5 1/2 years ago, while filming scenes from the last episode of "Dawson's Creek" in Wilmington, North Carolina. At the time, he was cornered by a fan who was chatting non-stop with him about their shared love of hockey. And even though he had every right to thank her for her kind words and get the hell away, he was as friendly and down-to-earth as they come, participating in her discussion and putting everyone around him at ease. We can't say the same about Katie Holmes, who raced between her trailer and the set, blowing off fans along the way.

This season of "Fringe" is shaping up to be an exciting one, with a few episodes filmed in Ditmas Park already. Look for this episode to air in the next few weeks. It will be the sixth episode of the season. And thanks to Filming in Brooklyn for the tip!

No Thank You to the New Q

I also love the stops along the Q, but I am not a fan of the R160 trains that seem here to stay on our line. While I appreciate that they are cleaner and tell the time in easy to read red numbers, they are really best suited for tourists and Manhattan riders. For those of us who ride the Q train at least 10 times a week and commute 30 to 45 minutes on that line, these trains just mean fewer seats and an unnecessary LED route map.

The R160 has 44 seats per car (or 40 on the cars with space for wheelchairs), and that's assuming no one takes up more than his or her allotted seat. And without seat markers like on the older Q trains, it's easier for people to take more than one seat. The older Q trains have 70 seats. That's a big difference. The lack of seats is fine if you're taking the L train, another R160, a few short stops from Union Square to Bedford Avenue for the best vegan pizza in the city, but when you're on the train as long as we are coming into Manhattan from Flatbush, it's nice to have a seat. It's also nice to have a seat because the poles are so high and they don't stick out far enough, requiring me to practically stand on top of the people sitting in order to reach them.

Also, I don't know about you, but I have the Q route down, and I know exactly how many stops I have left before I get home. I understand how helpful the light-up station map is for people who don't usually ride the Q, but when it's stuck on Canal Street half the time or just completely blank (pictured) it becomes irrelevant.

These new trains are an example of the MTA putting tourists and Manhattanites before the people of the outer boroughs. These trains are designed for people who get on for a few stops and then get off again, bouncing from Times Square to Union Square and never crossing the Manhattan Bridge. The MTA is sacrificing our comfort in their effort to pack more of us onto one train. And what's next, seatless trains, where they squeeze riders in like cattle? Actually, yes, according to this article.

The R160 may have a better color scheme and airbag suspension, but I'm not sold on them at all. What are your thoughts about the new trains?

Celebs In Ditmas Park!

US Weekly is reporting that Michelle Williams and Spike Jonze enjoyed a romantic dinner at The Farm on Adderley last month. Those are some pretty A-list names for this little ol' neighborhood. I'm sure the neighbors appreciated seeing Hollywood types on Cortelyou without having to give up parking spaces to the film crews.

Cortelyou Flower Shop/Bar Opening Friday

Well it's official: the flower shop-by-day, bar-by-night on Cortelyou and Westminster will open its doors this Friday. And DP Blog is reporting that it will be named Sycamore. Sycamore! Now that's a name we can get behind! Last month we asked our readers to vote for what they wanted the bar to be called. With only one day left in the polls, it looks like the simplistic "Cortelyou Flower Shop & Bar" was the top choice, with "VineBar" coming in at a close second. It appears the owners passed up our suggestions, but we can all be thankful that they abandoned their original idea, "Monkey's Wedding." Ugh. Sycamore sounds a thousand times better, don't you think?

Update: Sycamore Draws Huge Crowd on Opening Night

Filming In Flatbush: Law and Order

This Wednesday the cast and crew of "Law and Order" descended upon Flatbush to film scenes for the second episode of the upcoming season. 1203 Albemarle Road (left) was the setting for a scene in Great Neck, Long Island. The scene sounded kind of boring- something about a character who was deciding on a new method of forensic testing I'm already asleep. The real action of the day was filmed a few blocks north in Prosepect Park, complete with a dead body and probably one or two unassuming joggers. Just around the corner from Westminster and Albermarle, the show filmed an exterior scene in front of 147 Rugby Road (between Albemarle and Beverley). Even though they were only a couple blocks east of the home in "Great Neck", this shot was supposed to take place in Nyack, Long Island.

We spotted stars Anthony Anderson (The Departed, Harold and Kumar) and Jeremy Sisto (Thirteen, "Six Feet Under") walking down Westminster Road on the way from their trailers on Church Avenue to the set, stopping for a quick bite to eat at the crafts service table along the way.

Be on the lookout for the Flatbush episode of "Law and Order" when the show returns with new episodes in 2009.