It’s always a pleasure to see Rick Kadlub, who runs A Tour Grows in Brooklyn, educational and historical walking tours around Park Slope and Prospect Park. I saw him at the bagel place on Union Street and 4th Avenue and he was getting ready to meet some tourists from Austria.

“I’ll take them to Al Capone’s house on Garfield, I’ll show them the Williamsburg Bank, we’ll have lunch at Pino’s.” Rick told me.

Rick is Brooklyn born and bred and he knows the ins and out of this neighborhood like no other. In addition to the history and urban folklore, he’s a fan of its many restaurants, including Two Toms, the legendary no-frills Italian eatery on Third Avenue near Union.

“It’s hard to get in there in November and December because the Fire Department, Police, Sanitation. They all have their Christmas parties there,” he told me.

People from all over the world have enjoyed walks with “Big Rick” as he’s called. That’s because he’s got a high ranking in Trip Advisor—40 rave reviews—and he’s a fun and interesting guy to walk the nabe with. Here’s one of those reviews from a woman named Mary Ellen Dickson.

My husband & I took A Tour Grows in Brooklyn today with Big Rick and it was one of the better tours (and we go on a lot!) that we have taken in NYC. Rick, a dyed in the wool Brooklynite, loves his neighborhood and it shows in his boundless enthusiam and extensive knowledge. He really made Park Slope come alive for us by sharing his personal family stories and was very generous in pointing out interesting places to shop and eat along the tour route. We can highly recommend this tour and Rick proved to be a wonderful ambassador for Brooklyn. Rick helped us realize that there really is more to NYC than just Manhattan! We’ll defintely be back to visit and getting better acquainted with a very interesting historical area.