Brooklyn, I'm Trying

Brooklyn, I'm Trying

an urban lifestyle + travel blog by liz norment.

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The Weekend Guide | 23-26 March 2017

breakfast &
lunch &
dinner &
WEEKEND.

ah, the iconic new york bodega. the reason that we are truly incapable of planning too much, because we know it will always be there, open for business. the keeper of both the fanciest of exotic chip flavors and overpriced kombucha as well as the greasiest of BECs and muddy, oversweetened coffees. it’s that high-low, push-pull we crave about new york. it’s humbling and elevating and intoxicating. it will nod approvingly as we strut in at midnight wearing too-tall heels for a red bull to accompany our flask on the subway, and will reserve all judgement when we trudge in the next morning in too-tall heels to retrieve a breakfast sandwich to accompany our hangover. it’s the question and the answer, the yin and the yang, the apha and omega, because we know that in the end of everything, there will somehow be a bodega and a little bodega cat to greet us warmly.

i will be your virtual bodega. i’m a guiding light for your weekend. i’ll be the reason you don’t have to plan ahead. i’ll be both the catalyst and the cure for your hangover, the pandora’s box of indulgences and keeper of your late-night secrets. ill be the feeling you get when you reach into your pocket and feel that $5 scratcher you forgot you bought last night.and like your classic new york bodega, i have everything you needed plus plenty of surprises, along with a cat, wandering around, always.

so bring your ragged heart and curious mind and come, dear brooklynites, like moths to the neon OPEN sign. your weekend guide awaits. come and get it.

 

 

 

THURSDAY

el jefe's nachoria

El Jefe’s Nachoria Pop-Up Dinner at The Diamond, Brooklyn.
usually we only get to have a taste of el jefe’s flame-cooked nachos at the diamond, but friday’s international pop-up meal brings the boss and an expanded menu for our dining pleasure. arepas join the party, along with their beloved nachos with cheese torched before your eyes, just after they ask for it. because they are naughty little nachos. get there quick because the new yorker has gone and decided to tell fucking every body about our favorite bar. GREAT. the diamond doesn’t belong on those glossy pages! it belongs in our hearts and being filtered through our livers and licked off of our greasy nacho fingers. and off of each other’s fingers, in the backyard gondola. dinner starts at 630pm. info and such here. 43 franklin st. get tipsy and chipsy. then maybe a little lipsy.

 

The_Naked_Heroes
The Naked Heroes play Don Pedro, East Williamsburg.

this edgy brooklyn duo embodies the name of their band on (and off!) stage in all of its pure, unadulterated and genuinely courageous connotations. if you’ve never seen these guys play live, absolutely go to this show. and if you have seen them, i’ll see you there. their sound uses “rock ‘n’ roll as a springboard and infuse it with elements of r&b, blues, and dance music to create their own unique foot-stompin’, ass-shakin’, soul redeeming elixir.” (there’s no way i could have described that better.) see what i mean by checking out all their cool shit here then see them play in the back of the kitschy grunge of don pedro alongside winkie and bunny x. it all starts at 8pm. 90 manhattan ave.

  

 

 
dirty thursday 90s night house of yes
Dirty Thursday: 90s Night at House of Yes, Bushwick.
it felt dirtier, getting dirty in the 90s… didn’t it? because we still had to sneak out of the house with a dasani bottle full of aristocrat vodka, wearing our underage clubbing gear under our track warm-ups and reciting the information on our fake IDs all the way downtown. well, let’s get back into the spirit, thursday night. sneak out the fire escape. lie to some of your older friends, tell them you’re studying. who cares. drink shit vodka. sloppily makeout with everyone. stealthily clomber back into your apartment. gum down a generous finger-scoop of peanut butter to hide the liquor on your breath. pass out. and feel on top of the world in the morning. dirty thursdays is always free. and so are you baby, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. all info here, 10pm-4am, 211 wyckoff ave at house of yes, where they put the sensual in consensual.™

 

 

FRIDAY

LoftOpera presents Rossini’s Otello at Lightspace Studios in Bushwick.

high rents and demand lead us all to live grandiose lives in bite sized spaces. let’s celebrate it, eh? loftopera takes the opera out of the opera house and into our spaces. found and rudimentary, listen to the acoustics reverberating off of exposed ceilings and unfinished walks and let the passion pour out sanctimoniously just as the drunken fights or love you make with your lover often do. we’ve been waiting since their epic performance of macbeth left us breathless, so come see rossinis otello, which hasn’t been fully performed in this town in 40 years. be a part of it at the lightspace studios in bushwick for an intimate affair of truly heartbreaking and earth-shattering proportions in the only way an opera this intimate can be. tickets $30 (which is an insane steal for this talent), available here. the show runs through the 27th, all info here. 1115 flushing ave. bet you’ll like it better than pirates of penzance.
 
comedy at secret loft
Comedy at Secret Loft (with free pizza!), Bushwick. 
things that everyone likes – secrets, laughing, pizza. i even like secretly laughing while eating pizza, laughing with others about a pizza secret someone should have never divulged to me, having secret pizza at 5am on the way home on the weekends and laughing because i will tell no one, ever. come experience most of these scenarios completely free at the secret loft party in brooklyn. it’s everything you like. 830pm-2am. all info here, 255 mckibbin st.

 

 

SATURDAY

the lot radion anniversary party

The Lot Radio’s One Year Anniversary Party at the Brooklyn Bazaar, Greenpoint 

the lot radio. the happening that was born out of the small triangle of land that some guy had been squatting on for yearssss has now become a radio station run off of coffee sales and out of a converted container, with a huge antique tour bus hang out space and a pretty sacred collab with the hipster mission church across the street. this is why we live in brooklyn, so come celebrate it. this event takes over the entire bazaar saturday night with 5 rooms of djs, karaoke, games, prizes, dancing, and everything you love about life. tickets. $15 advance, $20 at the door – available here with all other info too. 7pm-5am, 150 greenpoint ave. 

 

DJ Bengey at Union Hall, Park Slope.
you know that good dance music and a good venue big enough for all your moves but intimate enough for all your bad decisions is goddamn hard to come by. well, the master of ceremonies of exactly such a place is back and wants to see you. and you. and you too. all gettin’ down with your bad selves. DJ Bengey maintains his monthly residency to make your saturday nights better than your memories of last weekend are. midnight-4am, all info here,  702 union st.
Life-Liberty-and-the-Pursuit-of-Happy-Hour
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happy Hour at Die Stammkneipe Beer Garden, Fort Greene. 
one of our best ways to resist is to combat ignorance. in this 24-hour news world we live in, we are constantly being bombarded by information, and plenty of it is questionable. come get your facts straight and build your intellectual defenses against MAGA hat wearing assholes debaters so we can represent our beliefs and our goals in our country in a way that continues to build momentum. this event focuses on reproductive rights, immigration, health care, and climate change, and features hands-on action stations, policy experts and local reps. plus drink specials and a raffle! #revelwithacause brooklyn. 2-5pm, all info here. 710 fulton st.

 

unicorn party the abbey
Unicorn Party at The Abbey, Williamsburg. 
ah, the abbey. a dive bar without the divey appeal and home to one of the worst photo booths on the block, but a fantastic place for a fernet and maybe a little bit of fornication, or like a beer and a shot and a round of pool. however you want to do it. i’ll tell you what i have never found there – glitter, rainbows, unicorn-like feelings of fantasy… so that is why im on to you, the abbey. this is the kind of ironic gentrification social commentary that has materialized into an actual event that is no doubt going to leave a big fucking mess to clean up, and i want to be a part of it. therefore you should too. 3pm-10pm, much briefer description here. 536 driggs ave.
 art of the altarThe Art of the Altar Workshop at Helio and Solene, Greenpoint.
let’s start spring with a refreshed space. purge all of that extra shit (you can join my stoop sale!) and make a promise to decorate with more intention. come saturday to the art of the altar workshop and learn how to create a sacred and spiritual space in your home. it’s happening at helio and solene. $30, all other info here.

 

SUNDAY

come help me move!
well, hey… it was worth a shot. here are some other options. i just hope you can fully enjoy them as you are thinking of me, huffing and puffing and moving 7 years of my life up manhattan ave. with cat.

 

brooklyn kitchen doughnut class
Doughnuts Cooking Class at Brooklyn Kitchen, Williamsburg.
it’s time to make the doughnuts. no, for real. it really is time. i don’t know about you, but a damn good hangover cure for me is doing a hands-on activity and creating something that doesn’t take too many words or thoughts but is thoroughly pleasing. preferably with a sweet scent in the air. and if it all ends in doughnuts, well then, that’s fucking perfect. head to brooklyn kitchen sunday for a doughnut-making (and eating!) class, including vanilla bean glazed doughnuts, meyer lemon cream-filled doughnuts, and some cinnamon sugar old fashioned puppies too. starts at noon, $85. sign up NOW, it’s rare that space is available in their classes! all info and here,  100 frost st.

 

Stephane Wrembel plays Barbes in Park Slope. 
because what do we all need after a long and intense weekend of demonstrating, protesting, organizing, believing, and deciding that our drink dollars went to very noble causes and thus doubling them without blinking an eye? well, we need spanish guitar playing in a dark and cozy room by a frenchman who isn’t short on anecdotes or charm. (you know where this is going.) stephane wrembel plays live in the coziest of backrooms at barbes in park slope. his set usually starts around 830ish. bring cash for the pot but entry is free. there are some details here, but just trust me and go. i can’t wait to see you. 376 9th st.

 

go forth now, and do all of the things.

<3L.

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