Celebrating Community
A few weeks ago, I went shopping at Caputo’s Bakery Shop, and Court Street Pastry in my old Carroll Gardens neighbourhood. During these hard times, there is nothing like ciabatta bread and sweet delicious pastries to bite back on that locked-in feeling. Thankfully, bakeries are considered essential businesses. Stopping in at Caputo’s first, I recognized a neighbour, Lorraine, who had […]
There are a few genuine Italian speciality food stores left in New York City. One of them is D. Coluccio & Sons. In what used to be the centre of Little Italy in Brooklyn, D. Coluccio & Sons is sandwiched between Borough Park, Bensonhurst and Bay Ridge. Founded by Domenico Coluccio in 1962, D. Coluccio & Sons has the finest […]
There are a few genuine Italian specialty food stores left in New York City. One of them is D. Coluccio & Sons. In what used to be the center of Little Italy in Brooklyn, D. Coluccio & Sons is sandwiched between Borough Park, Bensonhurst and Bay Ridge. Founded by Domenico Coluccio in 1962, D. Coluccio & Sons has the finest […]
Of course, everything’s different now due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So instead of walking over to the shop, I called Farhad Soheili, owner and founder of F.S. Lutherie in Brooklyn. F.S. Lutherie is a custom guitar maker and guitar repair workshop started by Farhad. Originally from Los Angeles, he has spent the past two decades repairing, restoring, and building custom-made […]
25 years ago, Ibrahima Diokhane opened Keur Djembe, an African drum shop, on Union Street. When I stopped in to talk to Ibrahima last month, he was sitting on a stool, as if waiting for me. “Ibrahima?” “Yes, that’s me.” The store was about as big as my living room. I told him that I wanted to write an article […]
Like most of us, Ethan Fiks has had to respond creatively to the new reality of the Coronavirus. Ethan has been teaching my nine-year-old-son, Travis, guitar for the past year and a half. Travis went from not being able to play guitar to now playing songs like “Stray Cat Strut” and “Wonderwall.” We go to Ethan’s house on East 16th […]
I’m at Vox Pop, an artist lounge and cafe-bar on Cortelyou Road in Brooklyn. It’s Sunday night, open mic. It’s 2009. Many of the performers are good. Some, like me, are playing solo and singing for the first time in front of an audience. I’ve been playing guitar for a long time, but never carrying the load by myself with […]
I live down the block from Di Fara’s Pizzeria on Avenue J in Midwood, Brooklyn. I must admit that I have a love-hate relationship with Di Fara. Well, maybe annoyance is a better word than hate. Let’s talk about the annoyance part first. Mostly, when I pass Di Fara there’s a long line wrapped around the block. And you can […]
Juan Carlos Pinto is our artist. Originally from Guatemala, Pinto has made Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, his home for the past ten years. Pinto and I met at Vox Pop in Ditmas Park. Now closed, Vox Pop was an artist cafe-bar. A place where people gathered to create. Unlike other gentrified parts of NYC, Vox Pop was a home to Brooklyn […]