This afternoon my sister and I happened upon a new eatery called Sun in Bloom (SIB) on that wonderful stretch of Bergen Street, which includes Babeland, Bark, Lulu Lemon and Bergen Street Comics.

Once in the attractive light-filled restaurant I had the sensation that I was in Santa Monica. I can’t explain why. Maybe it was the way the sun illuminated the room, the attractive customers in work-out clothing and the simple eco decor.

When we sat down at one of the communal tables, I noticed that an actual Park Slope celebrity was there, too.

At the counter we ordered something called the Macro-Inspired Journey Bowl with steamed collard greens, mushroom, chick peas, sauerkraut and  sesame ginger sauce. Other items on the menu include Make Your Own Miso (choice of five ingredients), the SIB Ruben with tempeh “corned beef” and SIB’s  live burger with cabbage, fresh tomatoes, crunchy caramelized onions and famous live ranch dressing called the Bloom Burger.

Wow.

While we waited for our food, the owner, Ame Follett asked “Would you like to get on line,” to which I replied, “No, thanks, I’ve already ordered.”

“I meant do you want to use the Wifi?” she said cheerfully and gave me their WiFi password. Doh.

The Journey Bowl was beautifully served and absolutely delicious. I especially loved the combination of chick peas, sauerkraut and the savory sesame ginger sauce.

Follett, a longtime yoga teacher and holistic lifestyle coach, explained that the food served at Sun in Bloom is raw, living food. I wasn’t sure what that meant.

“Living foods are sprouted and soaked; there’s a life force energy infused in the food. For instance, you can eat raw almonds but I prefer an almond that has been  soaked. There’s a lot that happens in food, enzymatic shifts,” she told me. “If you soak beans in combu they become a digestible food product.”

Follet want to bring freshness to the table as a way to nourish this community. “We take out anything that is not nourishing. I am passionate about nourishment. Nourishment comes on so many levels. Emotionally, physically, through our food and how we treat each other,” she tells me.

Follett’s philosophy informs the service as well. “I tell everyone who works here to create a personal connection with the customers. Getting to know each other translates into the food, how you’re going to sit with food, enjoy the food and nourish yourself.”

I told Follett about my California vision when I walked into her restaurant and she smiled.

“I had the inspiration for this place a few years ago in a restaurant in San Francisco called Cafe Gratitude. I wanted to create a loving compassionate space that invites people to experience living food in an accessible way.”

At the time she was thinking of moving to California. But Brooklyn is where Follett feels most at home. Born and raised in Rhinebeck, NY, she lived in Boulder, Colorado for ten years but always enjoyed visiting friends in Park Slope.

Follett has big plans for the restaurant, including holistic workshops and weekly community dinners. Starting soon on Sunday nights, she’ll take reservations for a special 6PM dinner seating. She’s already serving weekend brunch. And in the two months since she’s been open, there are more than a few regulars, who, she says, eat at Sun in Bloom 3-4 times a week.

Reflecting on her decision to open a living food restaurant, Follett says. “I feel like I’m living a whole new life running, owning and operating a restaurant. By myself. I haven’t slept in two and a half months but my spirit is fueled with energy.”

SIB is open 7 days a week starting at 9AM. 460 Bergen Street in Park Slope.

I just got this important note from an OTBKB reader. Earlier today I noticed many flyers about this missing man in the south Slope.

My very dear friend is looking for her father, who has been missing since March 15th. He suffers from dementia, is diabetic, and has high blood pressure – all of which he needs his medicine for. His name is Maxo Etienne, and he has been listed as missing on the following web site: http://missingpatient.com/page.php?id=618

He lives on 12th street in Park Slope, Brooklyn. We are just trying to get his picture out in as many places as possible.

Just a reminder that I’ll have a daily recap of the goings on at the SXSW Music Festival all this week at Now I’ve Heard Everything.  Posted so far: anticipation Monday and travel Tuesday (but I did get to see four bands last night).   Today’s score as of 4pm: eight bands and the official SXSW shows haven’t even started yet.

–Eliot Wagner

The Brooklyn St. Patrick’s Day Parade will kick off Sunday, March 21st in Park Slope. The parade begins at 1PM at 15th Street and 7th Avenue, goes down to Union Street and turns right ending at Prospect Park and Union.

Here is the schedule for the day:

9AM Pre-Parade Mass
Holy Name Church
245 Prospect Park West (between Windsor Pl & Prospect Ave)

12 Noon Parade Assembly Point: Prospect Park West & 14th St

12:45PM “Re-Dedication Ceremony” to the Heroes & Victims of 9/11 – WTC
At Prospect Park West & 15th Street, before Parade “step-off”

1PM Parade Route
Down 15th St to 7th Ave
Along 7th Ave to Union St
Up Union St to Prospect Park West

Brought to you by the Feldman Family from their local weather tower.

What to eat on St. Patricks Day: Serious Eats

Dinner at Bocca Luppo: Eat It: The Brooklyn Food Blog

Dine in Brooklyn Begins: All About Fifth

Dine in Brooklyn in Clinton Hill: Clinton Hill Blog

Does this pregnancy make me look fat? Momasphere

The Brooklyn Brunch Chronicles/Le Barricou: Free Williamsburg

Homemade focaccia with tomato, basil and rosemary: A Kitchen in Brooklyn

Review of Nigerian restaurant in Clinton Hill: Clinton Hill Foodie

City restaurants required to post cleanliness grades: NY Times

Taking the bake out of bake sales: NY Times

The owner of the bodega right next to the Cortelyou Road Q Station won $3 million dollars in the NY State Lottery. Wow. Here from the New York Lottery press release. I found this on Ditmas Park Blog. Thanks Liena.

Yemen-born Abdo Ashariki has owned the Cortelyou Deli & Grocery on Cortelyou Rd. in Brooklyn for three years. The father of 10 children who range in age from 4 to 39 said he liked to watch his customers scratch and win prizes on the New York Lottery tickets he sold to them. “But why,” he asked, “should they have all the fun?” That’s why Ashariki said he usually bought one or two tickets for himself each day, a habit that paid off handsomely on February 20, 2010 when Ashariki purchased a $10 Money ticket that turned out to be a $3,000,000 winner.

Ashariki said he never dreamed of winning a jackpot prize and is still having trouble deciding what to do with his $3,000,000 windfall. “I have not slept in 72 hours,” he said on February 22, 2010 when claiming his winning ticket at the Lottery’s Customer Service Center in Manhattan. “My future is up in the air. This is a very exciting and unpredictable time for me and my family.”

Ashariki said he did plan to continue working. As for any immediate plans for the money, the former merchant marine said he could now start looking for a new home for his large family. “I would really like to buy two homes – one here and one in Yemen so that I can visit my family there more often.”

As with most instant games, the top prize on the Money ticket is paid in 20 annual installments. Ashariki will receive his $3,000,000 prize as 20 annual payments of $150,000 each before taxes. His annual net check will total $93,573.

In 2007 Dexter Taylor started a digital film school called Brooklyn Movie Labs. He wanted to teach people the five elements of digital filmmaking:lighting, sound, camera ops, cinematography, and post production.

Three years and one Great Recession later they’re still around they somehow managed to open up a new teaching and shooting space in Bed-Stuy.

Good work, Dexter.

“Now I’m kind of walking the highways and byways of the blogosphere trying to spread the gospel of light, sound, space, time, and the 35mm,” Dexter writes in a recent email.

Glad to oblige. Definitely sounds worth checking out if you’re interested in digital filmmaking and podcasting.

Late night treats at The Costello Plan: Ditmas Park Blog

North 7th Street Bloomblight: NY Shitty

Stalled construction site collapses during “March Madness” storm: Sheepshead Bites

Marine Park devastated in storm: Gerritsen Beach

Adult sailing lessons: Gerristsen Beach

Second fatal shooting: The Local

Mugging on Minna and Dahill: Kensington Prospect

Key Food opens: Bay Ridge Blog

Umbrella graveyard: I Love Franklin Avenue

Daniel Meeter, the pastor at Old First Church, and Rabbi Andy Bachman of Congregation Beth Elohim, sat down for an interview with the Brooklyn Paper’s Gersh Kuntzman. Here in an excerpt the two men of the cloth discuss intolerance:

GK: So where does intolerance come from?

DM: It comes from fear. Many people fear that God will not come through for us. Or they fear that God won’t protect us. They fear someone who is dirty or someone who makes them feel dirty. Even squirrels have fear. You can’t get rid of it. You have to deal with fear. The question is how we deal with it. Do you project it or do you work your way through it?

GK: But God does not protect us.

DM: He doesn’t protect us from being humans. He does not go around protecting us from having bodies. We don’t see God as a constant interventionist. A lot of people want that from their gods, like Zeus of old.

AB: An analogy that I like is watching parents at the tot lot in Prospect Park. At 6-18 months, a parent is stooped over every step so the child doesn’t hurt himself. And at a certain point, the child says, whether in gibberish or English, “Leave me alone.” A mature adult understands that the ultimate test of the covenant relationship with God is that we have to take control at some point. God could not stop 9-11 or the Holocaust. Humans treat each other in an abominably poor way. People say, “Where was God?”

Here’s an excerpt from Pardon Me for Asking about last night’s unity vigil against hate crimes in Carroll Gardens. Oh, and she’s got video.

A very large crowd gathered on Luquer Street on Monday evening, in a show of unity against intolerance in Carroll Gardens. In solidarity, the community had gotten together for a candle light vigil to show support for a 22-year old victim, who had been viciously attached by five thugs as he was walking on Luquer Street near Hamilton Avenue. The attachers had yelled anti-gay slurs at him.

Many of our elected officials showed up to speak. There was also an impressive police presence from the 76th Precinct. Captain Corey and members of the precinct’s Community Affairs unit were there.

By Paula Bernstein

Two nights after throwing my first-ever dinner party, I was lucky enough to attend a dinner party at Park Slope’s Melt Restaurant.

Of course, I paid $50 for the privilege of attending this dinner party, but it was well worth the money. Hosted by momasphere.com, an organization that creates innovative events and programs for moms of all ages, the intimate evening began with an informal cooking class.

The event was billed as “How to Prepare a Restaurant-Class Dinner for Four for Under $20!” but the real draw was Melt’s executive chef, New Zealand born and bred celebrity “Top Chef” contender Mark Simmons, who is not only charming and informative (and talented), but also quite easy on the eyes. Simmons wasn’t the only New Zealand import of the night. The wine of choice was Savee Sea Pinot Noir Marlborough from New Zealand (2008).

Once we had settled in at the bar with a glass of wine, Simmons wowed the group of eight moms with his recipe for Beer and Honey Braised Lamb Shank with truffled polenta and charred asparagus.

“It’s all about trying to create a meal for your friends and family without breaking the budget,” said Simmons, who noted that the lamb shanks cost about $3.50/lb.

Simmons invited the ladies to join him in Melt’s cozy kitchen so he could show us how the pros work.

The secret to Simmons’ recipe is the mix of fresh spices, including lavender flower which he grows in his backyard, green cardamon, coriander seed, cumin seed and white pepper corn.

“If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you should run out and get one,” said Simmons. “People say variety is the spice of life, but I say freshly roasted ground spices are the spice of life.”

His other tip: buy lamb and other meat products at Los Paisanos, a small butchery at 162 Smith Street.

After seasoning the shanks with the spice mix and salt, Simmons dusted them with flour and then braised them (for non-cooks: braising means cooking in liquid with a cover).

“I like braising a lot because it imparts flavor into meat,” said Simmons, who likened the dish to an orchestra. “The spices are the percussion.”

Luckily for us, Simmons had prepped the meal in advance so we didn’t have to wait three hours for the lamb to be ready to eat.

We began the meal with a tantalizing amuse bouche of marinated baby beets with house made lavender-infused ricotta.

We oohed and ahhed at the delicately flavored grits and the tasty charred asparagus.

The lamb was so tender it fell easily off the bone. The group was collectively skeptical that we could pull off such a culinary masterpiece on our own at home.

“All my kids want to eat are frozen waffles,” said one mom.

“You should challenge yourself in the kitchen regularly,” said Simmons and we all nodded at the notion.

Of course, he’s right, but it’s easier said than done.

“No offense, Mark, but I will never be trying this at home,” said one mom of two young tots.

To be honest, I don’t think I’ll be cooking up lamb shanks anytime soon either, but it’s a nice idea.

“So what do you cook when you get home?” I asked him.

“Sometimes after I’ve been cooking all day, I want a break from the kitchen. My wife understands,” said Simmons.

“Any last questions for me?” he asked the group.

“Can we have your home phone number?” one mom asked and we all broke up laughing.

If you want to try some of Simmons’ cooking, keep in mind that Melt is participating in Brooklyn’s Restaurant Week a.k.a. “Dine in Brooklyn,” which starts today and runs through March 25.  In fact, Melt is extending the $25.00 dinner prix fixe promotion til March 31st. The menu will change weekly, so if you want you can try something new each week.

From McBrooklyn:

At 8 p.m. Sunday evening more than 1,000 homes in Brooklyn were still without power in the aftermath of Saturday’s nor’easter. Con Edison has been busy all day — more than 10,000 were without power Sunday morning. The map above was produced by Con Ed’s Storm Center. Each colorful little group of triangles represents multiple outages.

Customers are urged to call Con Edison immediately to report any outages at 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633).

No place for hate crime in our neighborhood: Pardon Me for Asking

Atlantic Yards a job creation engine?: Atlantic Yards Report

Upstart could bring Hip-Hop to the Hill: City Limits

How to bring healthy food to underserved nabes: City Limits

Hannah Senesh drops controversial plan to expand into garden: McBrooklyn

Over the Brooklyn Bridge for a free Tibet: McBrooklyn

Albany reform group led by Koch: City Room

Yoga license rebellion may soon claim victory: NY Times

Embracing NY Law by Leon Freilich: NY Times

Councilman Levin says no to Domino Sugar project in Williamsburg: Brooklyn Paper

Brought to you by the Feldman Family from their local weather tower.

Caesar:
Who is it in the press that calls on me?
I hear a tongue shriller than all the music
Cry “Caesar!” Speak, Caesar is turn’d to hear.

Soothsayer:
Beware the ides of March.

Caesar:
What man is that?

Brutus:
A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March.

Julius Caesar Act 1, scene 2, 15–19

Continue reading Beware the Ides of March →

I heard from my friend over at Deep in the Heart of Brooklyn who had tree troubles during the weekend storm.

Our big, Ol’ evergreen came down in the storm as did our neighbor’s…completely uprooted. No damage but phone and Internet service out(sending this on bb). My daughter her way to her weekend job on Cortelyou road took this photo of a tree that blew over onto a house at East 17th and Foster. Will send u a pic of our tree down separately..rough winter or global warming here we come?

A member of Park Slope Parents had this report from Prospect Park:

I just ran the loop and saw at least 15 large trees down–two blocking the road on the back side. Third st playground has two trees down on top of the playground equipment and another large one down on the road.

Diaper Diva has been stressing lately about where to send Ducky for summer camp. She just couldn’t decide — and there are so many choices (and they’re all so expensive).

As is often the case, she called Smartmom to meet for coffee at Sweet Melissa (Dumb Editor note: That is not a cheap plug for a fellow Brooklyn Paper columnist!), where they have most of their “there’s something I need to discuss with you” conversations.

Smartmom could tell that Diaper Diva had done her homework. She knew about all the camps in the area. She’d been online, read the mailers, and garnered a boatload of information from other parents, who were stressing about the very same thing.

“Scone-loving Mom is sending her daughter to Beth Elohim,” she said. “And Flirty Dad is sending his son to Park Explorers,” Diaper Diva told Smartmom.

The Diva was reeling with stories about what all the other kids are doing this summer. Buddha knows, she wanted the same for her daughter. It would be downright cruel to deprive Ducky of all that fun.

Would Ducky enjoy an arts camp? A drama camp? A traditional day camp with bug juice and lanyards? A daily trips camp? A tennis camp? A soccer camp?

The possibilities were limitless — but Diaper Diva’s budget is not. In these dark economic times, it’s not like money is growing on the trees in Prospect Park.

So Smartmom made a radical proposal: How about not sending Ducky to camp?

Diaper Diva looked like she might fall over. She was uncharacteristically speechless. Her face went pale, and Smartmom thinks she saw her head spin around. Twice. The Diva looked at Smartmom like she had just proposed sending Ducky to Fresh Kills landfill for the summer.

“What about the summer she’s entitled to?” Diaper Diva sputtered.

Entitled to?

Since when does a 5-year-old have to go to summer day camp? Sure, Diaper Diva and Smartmom went to day camps. But back in the 1960s and ’70s, you didn’t have to take out a second mortgage to afford it. And the truth is, they didn’t even like Hudson Day Camp and used to write musicals, yes musicals, which they performed for their parents, about how much they hated that camp.

So who’s got the entitlement issues? Smartmom thinks it’s the parents. Truth is, it’s perfectly OK to not spend money you don’t have on some inflated sense of what summer has to be. The kids will survive. They really will. But will the parents?

If she’s unemployed, Diaper Diva might be around in July, and she and Ducky can do Camp Mom (as one friend of Smartmom calls it) and go to local pools, zoos, museums and parks. If the Diva is working, their wonderful babysitter can take Ducky.

There was an odd moment of truth between the sisters. Then Diaper Diva went in for the kill.

“What about you? You always sent Teen Spirit to day camp,” Diaper Diva asserted. Clearly, she was looking for a loophole in Smartmom’s idea.

It was true. But they sent him to the inexpensive Park Explorers, which he loved, for years and years. The Oh So Feisty One hated day camp from the get-go. And that was that.

People complain that kids these days feel so entitled, but isn’t it the parents who set that up? Isn’t it the parents who, in an effort to outdo their own childhoods, insist that their children have an action-packed life filled with 24/7 activities that cost lots of money?

Diaper Diva thought about it. And then she thought some more. It was a radical idea. It was also, she realized, liberating.

There was no reason that she had to do exactly what all the other parents are doing. Sure, it would be fun for Ducky to go to that camp in Staten Island (which costs upwards of $2,500), but maybe this just isn’t the summer to do it.

And the kids will be just fine swimming at the Red Hook pool, touring around Central Park, visiting the Museum of Natural History.

It’s the parents who feel deprived if they have to say no; that’s the toughest word in the English language — for the parents, not the kids, though.

We switched to daylight savings time this morning at 2AM. You probably know by now. But it’s that spring forward thing. In other words, you lost an hour.

Last week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission vindicated Debbie Almontaser, the Muslim teacher who helped found Brooklyn’s Khalil Gibran International Academy.

The Commission said that the city Education Department discriminated against the former principal, when they forced her to resign, a federal commission ruled this week.

“DOE succumbed to the very bias that creation of the school was intended to dispel,” the commission wrote this week, finding Almontaser faced discrimination on “the basis of her race, religion, and national origin.”

No comment as yet from Almontaser but she is still seeking to return to the job of leading Khalil Gibran. Her lawyer, Alan Levine, said he was “gratified.” “Debbie Almontaser was victimized twice, first when she was subjected to an ugly smear campaign orchestrated by anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bigots, and second when the DOE capitulated to their bigotry,” he told the NY Daily News (who reported this story).