Carroll Gardens: September 2006 Archives

that used to be Sparky's, might be a sports bar, and shows a rather earnest love of flagstone is called Leo's and has a large orange plastic pumpkin in the window. I'd have taken a photo, but my batteries are dead from taking movies of cows. More on that later.

On the surface, buying an ice cream cake for a birthday party sounds innocent enough.  Some may even have fond thoughts of childhood parties with the cooling sugary finale (for me, it was trips to the Carvel store in West Chester, Pennsylvania). But when you stop and think about what it means for me to have bought an ice cream cake today (or two days ago), it might dawn on you that there's really only one place to buy such a confection in Carroll Gardens.  And then it might dawn on you that I've often wished that Dunkin' Donuts not make my neighborhood its home. But dammit if Baskin-Robbins (nee Dunkin' Donuts) doesn't make a kick-ass ice cream cake! I'm an especially big fan of the "icing" they use to write the letters on top--it's semi-transparent, and has a texture unique unto itself. I suppose that once every six months won't make or break a business.

As Crafty so subtly pointed out, it's kind of a slow weekend for events in the neighborhood. After a summer packed with free music and spanking new restaurant openings (Sapodilla? Nicky's? Bueller?), we're in a bit of a lull here. I guess everyone's just back from fabulous trips to white-sand beaches or, if you're me, rearranging their supply drawer at work. So maybe it's a good time to check out the opening of the Court Street location of Park Slope's much-loved (or is loathed?) Tea Lounge, across the street from Cobble Hill Cinema, and then pop across the street to check out Little Miss Sunshine or Half Nelson. I did see LMS last weekend, and though the bulk of the audience burst into applause at the end, I thought it was so-so--a passable feel-good family flick dressed up in hipster clothing. If it weren't for the freak show kiddie pageant at the end, it would be a total wash. Haven't seen Half Nelson yet, but I've heard good things. My only concern is that Ryan Gosling is so hot, he'll probably have half of New York's teachers reaching for the crack pipe after their first pop quiz. Fortunately, we have Google to help protect our impressionable minds with images from his "Young Hercules" days.