November Events @ Tillie's

November Events at Tillie’s248 DeKalb Avenue Brooklyn NY 11205 718 783-6140 www.tilliesofbrooklyn.com Music

Friday, November 2nd 8 p.m. The Mr. Handband Jesse Neuman, trumpet Anthony Barba, tenor and soprano sax Kris Davis, keyboard Rob Jost, bass Ted Poor, drums Hard-driving experimental jazz: Leader Barba plays frequently at venues in Brooklyn such as Barbes and the Tea Lounge in Park Slope, and at Webster Hall and the Highline Ballroom in Manhattan.

Friday, November 9th 8 p.m. Eyal Maoz’s Slavic Trio Eyal Maoz, guitar Ron Caswell, tuba Briggan Krauss, saxophone Rhymically propulsive music by a first-rate guitarist and composer born in Israel and now living in New York. “Keep your eyes and ears on this guy.” John Zorn “A musical deep thinker.” Washington City Paper “Mesmerizing composer and guitarist.” The New Yorker

Friday, November 16th Dream Fox 8 p.m. High-energy pop electronica from Astoria, Queens, featuring: Marshall McLaughlin Christopher Passig Jessi Almstead Cover for all performances: $5, $3 with student ID Open Mic

Thursday, 11/15/07 Thursday, 11/29/07 Sign-up: 8:30 p.m. Performance: 9:00 p.m. Host: Nick Noir Art

Linda Shere The Victor Series and the Camel Box prints November 12th – December 15th, 2007 Linda Shere has a studio in the Navy Yard and resides in Fort Greene. A native New Yorker, she lived in South Dakota for fifteen years and also in London.

She has exhibited extensively in South Dakota and in New York City and has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts as well as the South Dakota Arts Council. Her Brooklyn shows include work at the Corridor Gallery, the Holland Tunnel Gallery, Urban Glass, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. She is represented in the collections of the Plains Art Museum in Fargo, North Dakota, and of Citibank in New York, among others.

Her statement about the work on view: “My father died when I was quite young and these drawings grew from the simple wish to stand face to face with him as an adult. I was always very taken by the photograph of my father as a young messenger boy on the streets in Manhattan. Like this one, and in most of the photographs taken of him up until his death, the stance was the same in whatever situation, and always anchored by a graceful hand with a cigarette. This series and the Camel Box prints are not about that which contributed to his death, but rather the lingering romance of his ever- present camel -- the pyramid, sand, and faraway places I associate with my father.”

The four pieces in the Victor Series are composed of graphite and wax drawings on archival matte duralar. The Camel Box prints are chine colle relief prints.

In the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn, Tillie’s has been presenting the best in coffee, light food, and deserts for art and music lovers since 1997. For more information on any of the above, call Patricia Mulcahy at 718 783-6140 or contact her at mail@tilliesofbrooklyn.com.

New Restaurant: EN

Easy Being Greene and Brownstoner have posted about the new restaurant opening on the corner of Cumberland and Lafayette (once rumored to become a 7-11 and/or a Thai restaurant). Just wanted to give my two cents: I'm really psyched about this place, since it's something NEW and not another French restaurant. img_0074.jpg

The Great PUPkin: Recap

This year's PUPkin was great! I was fortunate enough to be a judge, which meant that for the first time ever I was able to see ALL the costumes. Lots of great homemade costumes this year. I wasn't able to take as many photos as I'd have liked, but here are a few of my favorites: top dog

li'l devil

albus dumbledor

second prize

Prizes:

First: Astronaut (This is the same guy who did the flying monkey in 2005. How he got his dog to wear the plastic bubble on his head is the question of the century.)

Second: The Three Tenors (Three gigantic slow-moving dogs dressed in human tuxedos with a banner and an entourage)

Third: Nipper, the RCA Dog (Complete with gramophone that was actually playing music on the dog's back)

Honorable Mentions: Albus Dumbledore (wonderful homemade wig and spectacles made of tin foil), Sunflower (TINY Chi dressed as a sunflower bigger than her head, made out of recycled materials), and Gilligan (complete with red shirt, life vest and sailor hat).

Other favorites of mine (and close finishers) included Carol Burnette dressed as Scarlet O'Hara, a tiny Chi dressed as a devil (his ears were his horns, pictured above!), a Frenchie in pajamas and slippers, and a Boston Terrier as the G train.

Thanks to my fellow judges, Ellie Balk and Carl Graur!

the honorable judges

Great PUPkin: MOVED TO SUNDAY

Hello PUPS, Due to a forecast for rain and thunderstorms tomorrow, we will be moving the 9th Annual Great PUPkin Dog Costume Contest to this Sunday, October 28. The registration time will still be 11:30 am at the top of the hill. Judging will start at noon. PUPS asks for a suggested donation of $5.00 per dog.

Sorry to have to move the event, but it does give you one extra day to work on your dog's costume! I hope you will be able to join us on Sunday, and if you would, please spread the word about us moving the contest. I am not sure, but I think the Fort Greene Park Conservancy may also be moving their Halloween Festival to Sunday (try checking their website later today).

Sunday looks to be sunny and warm, so I'll see you on Sunday with dogs in costume!

9th ANNUAL GREAT PUPKIN DOG COSTUME CONTEST

dorothy! An important reminder to get your dogs ready! Plus, I'll be a judge this year!

Voted “Best Halloween Dog Costume Contest” in 2005 by the Village Voice, Fort Greene PUPS will host the 9th Annual “Great PUPkin” Dog Costume Contest in Fort Greene Park on Saturday, October 27, 2007 (rain date Sunday, October 28). The contest will be held from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. at the top of the hill, near the monument in Fort Greene Park.

As in previous years, the 2007 contest will feature dogs competing for prizes in front of three judges. This year's judges are Robin Lester (founder, Clinton Hill Blog), Ellie Balk (fine artist and muralist), and Carl Grauer (co-owner, RePop). Contest sponsors, including ScooterFood, Thirst Wine Shop, Jill Seitz Custom Dog Portraits, and Who’s Your Doggy, will be donating prizes. Prize winners will also be awarded custom rosettes.

A suggested donation of $5.00 per entrant will help defray event costs. Registration begins at 11:30 a.m.; judging begins promptly at 12 noon.

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Green Fort Greene + Clinton Hill

Looks like this group is ready to kick it into high gear, and it sounds like a cool way to get involved in the neighborhood. Personally, I'm in for a "tres chic reusable shopping bag." One of my neighbors bought one at Trader Joe's, but I just can't stand the long-ass lines to get one: Dear Neighbors:

Green Fort Greene and Clinton Hill is a project of neighbors making our communities even more environmentally friendly. The initiative is sponsored by the Fort Greene Association with the support of the Society for Clinton Hill.

After lots of work getting organized, Green Fort Greene & Clinton Hill is ready to hit the streets. We are ready to begin selling energy efficient light bulbs, signing people up for electric accounts that do not contribute to global warming and selling tres chic reusable shopping bags. The other projects we have been pursuing -- for instance, tree planting and new bike racks -- are beginning to show results. Others in the works and additional ideas welcome.

We will be at the Green Market, at other community events, at churches and schools, and in building lobbies. Merchants will help distribute information to our neighbors.

Our web site is about to be launched. Beautiful leaflets, decals for participating merchants and posters featuring our strikingly handsome logo are going to print.

Con Ed Solutions is doing an 11,000 piece mailing on Green Power jointly with us.

So, we need you to come and see how you can do your part.

Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church 85 South Oxford Street 7:00 pm, Thursday October 18.

This Just In: Transportation Meeting!

This looks like it could be great. I know that Hakeem Jeffries held a meeting regarding some electric meter problems in the CH Co-ops, and those who went were impressed. Town Hall Community Speak Out

Sponsored by State Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries

Mass Transportation – problems and more problems

Need more rush hour service??

*Problems with the A,C,G lines??

*Buses got you down??

*Congestion pricing??

*Residential Permit Parking??

Featuring speakers from MTA & DOT

Wednesday, October 17, 2007, 6:30 pm

Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church (corner Lafayette Ave/So. Oxford St.)

718-596-0100 for more information

Gnarley Vines: OPEN

A few of you have mentioned this in the comments, and I haven't yet stopped by. BUT, they're hosting a FREE wine tasting tonight! Please join Gnarly Vines for the first of many free winemaker tasting events: Wednesday, October 3rd from 6-8pm at Gnarly Vines, 350 Myrtle Avenue (between Carlton and Adelphi). Chrystal Clifton of Brewer-Clifton and Palmina Wineries will be pouring the following spectacular, handcrafted, small-production wines made by her, her husband Steve and their partner Greg Brewer:

2006 Palmina Malvasia Bianca, Larner Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley (187 cases produced) 2005 Palmina Dolcetto, Santa Barbara County 2005 Brewer-Clifton, Cargasacchi Vineyard Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills (576 cases produced) 2005 Melville, Estate-Verna's Syrah, Santa Barbara County (2864 cases produced)

Their grand opening party is slated for November, and they hope to have several events lined up, including wine-food pairings with local restaurants. Welcome!

Myrtle Minutes has a great article about Gnarley Vines here.

History Shots

Local photographer Geralyn Shukwit has been in the 'hood for awhile. Recently, she posted some "Then and Now" photos on her blog that really highlight the changes we've seen in the last decade: Cumberland at Myrtle: Then (1998)

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Now:

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Candy Store on Myrtle near FG Park: Then (2000)

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Now:

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For more of Gerayn's photos, click here. Her professional website is www.eyemaze.net.

October Events @ Tillie's

October Events at Tillie’s Art

Around the Corner Tamara Thomsen

October 8th – November 10th

Reception October 18

7-9pm.

"Around the Corner" is a series of paintings on wood panels inspired by the industrial landscape on the East River waterfront in Long Island City, where artist Tamara Thomsen lived for several years. Muted colors and flattened perspective capture the look and feel of a neighborhood growing beyond its early twentieth-century roots.

Thomsen, who now lives in Bedford Stuyvesant in Brooklyn and maintains a studio in Gowanus, uses various techniques and materials, as well as experience gained in a two-decade stint in the design world, to investigate the premises of an overly embellished environment.

From 1981 to 1998, she was a co-founder and Senior Vice President at Smart Design, an award-winning, multi-disciplinary design firm with offices in New York and San Francisco, best known for developing Oxo Good Grips kitchen tools.

Thomsen earned an M.F.A. in Painting at Virginia Commonwealth University in 1981, and a B.F.A. in Painting Syracuse University in 1976. All work in the exhibition is milk paint, wood stains and veneer on wood panels. For more information, see http://tamarathomsen.com

A member of the Gowanus Artists Association, Thomsen will also show her work in her studio during the A.G.A.S.T. 2007 Gowanus Artists Association Open Studio, October 21 and 21st. For more information about hours and location: http://gowanusartists.com Music

Friday, 10/5/07 J. Phoenix

8 p.m.

J. Phoenix is a winner of the ASCAP/Sammy Cahn Award for excellence in lyrics ad has performed in clubs all over New York, including the CBGB Gallery and Arlene’s Grocery, as well as the Sundance Film Festival and Intel Music Festival.

Music journalist Brian Cogan says: “J. Phoenix is by no means a soul singer in the traditional sense. While trace elements of Al Green and Sam Cooke can be detected on the Geiger counter, there is just as much craft as a typical Disney show tune, somehow funneled through Seal.”

J. Phoenix’s songs have been recorded by Nancy Wilson, Tupac Shakur, Michelle Wright, and Earth Wind and Fire. This fall he releases his debut CD, Masterpiece (From The Soul Music).

Cover: $5

Friday, 10/12/07 Nhojj

8 p.m.

Nhojj started singing as a child in Guyana, where he performed in churches, on radio programs and eventually for the president. At 18, he moved to New York City, where after graduating from NYU with a B.A. in Economics, returned to his true calling - music. He has recorded two CDs, “I've Been Waiting for You” (2001) and “Someday Peace Love & Freedom” (2003).

”If Wyclef is the new face of social conscience and Arrested Development its history, then Caribbean-born, NY-raised Nhojj is its voice. What a voice. It manifests itself through his throat as a honeyed, subdued and unadorned combination of Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. It manifests itself in an imagination that has created a hybrid of soft Southern soul, folk and jazz-reggae. His is a voice that is as familiar as an old friend, as comforting as a happy memory, as stirring as the first flush of love. LOGO-Magazine / UK's #1 New Music Magazine

For more information, see www.myspace.com/nhojj

Cover: $5 Open Mic Hosted by Nick Noir

Every other Thursday

10/11

10/25

Sign-up: 8:30 p.m.

Show: 9:00 p.m.

Come one, come all!

October Events in the Nabe

It's never too early to plan ahead! Monday, Oct. 1, Fort Greene Park Conservancy Gala Wine Tasting This annual party will be held at the roof top gardens and penthouses of the Forte Condo project on Fulton/Ashland which provide stunning views of our park and communities. There will be 100 wonderful wines, food, wine experts, and friends of the park. The VIP session will start at 5:30 pm for a ticket price of $150, the general admission starts at 6:30 for $80 advance and $90 at the door. (All tickets are tax deductible.) Tickets are VERY limited, so purchase early. Contact Amy Bennett at amy@greenegrape.com. Tickets available at www.fortgreenepark.org.

Sunday, Oct. 14, noon, DDDB Annual Walkathon to support the Legal Fund. This exciting event is for the whole family and features entertainment, our favorite elected officials, community activists and others. We need coordinators, team leaders, behind the scenes volunteers, artists, technical experts and others to make this all happen. So, save the date. Plan to walk or sponsor a walker or team. Make a generous contribution. For more information, contact: DDDB.net or Scott Turner at scott@fansforfairplay.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , (718) 499-8729

Saturday, October 20, Daffodil Bulb Giveaway, 1:30 pm to 5 pm. Free daffodil bulbs will be distributed for planting in tree pits, sidewalk containers, front yards, community gardens or anywhere they can be enjoyed by the public at large. Bulbs are being provided by the Brownstone Brooklyn Garden District as part of the Fort Greene/Clinton Hill greening initiative. Planting is up to you. For more information contact natashaharsh@earthlink.net.

Saturday, October 20, Artisan Market, DeKalb Ave. near park entry. What the Fort Greene Greenmarket does for locally-grown food products, the Artisan Market does for local art and design. Open 9am to 6pm. For information contact natashaharsh@earthlink.net.

Saturday, Oct. 27, Fort Greene Park Conservancy Children’s Halloween Fest. Bring the kids in their costumes for a day of excitement. There are free pumpkins, costume parade at 2pm, hay ride, ponies, games, great sponsors, and the dog costume contest listed below. Everyone loves this day in the park. For more information contact: www.fortgreenepark.org. SCH is proud to be a sponsor of this wonderful event.

Saturday, Oct. 27, noon, PUPS Dog Costume Contest, Fort Greene Park. Bring your dogs in costume, many owners are also in coordinating costume attire, join the pageant and maybe you’ll win one of the fabulous prizes. Meet M.C. Christine in her lime green tuxedo. Hilarity is guaranteed for all. For more information contact: info@fortgreenepups.org.

Wednesday, Oct. 31, 5 pm. Society for Clinton Hill Children’s Halloween Walk. This event gets bigger and more exciting every year. Meet at the SCH Garden at DeKalb/Hall to pick up maps for the best locations for entertainment and treats. Parents must accompany children. FREE.

Wednesday, Oct. 31, 6-9 pm, 313 Clinton Avenue, Continuous Halloween Show. The show is put on by the Clinton Hill Players featuring Janna Hyten, DK Holland, Claudia Howard, Andrew Watts, Kelsey Hyten and other Clinton Hill stars. Show to be featured in Time Out NY. SCH is proud to be a sponsor. Janna is currently raising money for this year's set and show. Anyone who provides a $100 donation will receive a free ticket to the famous Halloween party at 313 Clinton Ave. (The show is very expensive to put on, and Janna has bankrolled it herself for many years.) Contact janna.hyten@gmail.com.

CHAIN PHARMACY, PRAISE THE LORD!

Myrtle Minutes reports today that Walgreens will be coming to Fort Greene, at the corner of Myrtle and Clermont. This is wonderful news, as Walgreens is generally cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing than Duane Reade.  Swoon - a place to buy toothpaste, cleaning supplies, a greeting card, prescriptions and probably a cheap lawn chair, all in one glorious locale.

Tillie's September Events

September at Tillie’s

Art

Ellie Balk

September 5th – October 7th, 2007 Between the Extremes

Ellie Balk lives in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, and travels frequently to the Pacific Northwest. She oversees mural projects and other examples of “collaborative art” in both locations, with a keen eye towards local landscapes, both physical and social.

The paintings in this exhibition function as documents of process, created through layers of paint and imagery. The works are expressions of both tension and beauty, and the balance of the space that lives between the extremes. Color, line, expression, documentation, and fantasy all find common ground and harmony on found objects and canvases.

Balk has an M.F.A. from Pratt Institute in Painting and Art History and a B.A. in Art History from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. She also studied painting in Florence, Italy. She has exhibited her work widely in New York, Portland, Oregon, and in the Midwest. She has been a Teaching Artist at the 92nd St. Y Art Center in Manhattan, as well as the Rotunda Gallery in Brooklyn, and has executed numerous mural projects in the New York City public schools and at street fairs and block parties.

Reception: Friday, September 7th from 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Music

9/14/07 Fraud 8 p.m. Andrew and Freddy, singing and songwriting brothers from Drogheda, Ireland, perform everything from melancholic ballads to love songs to rock and roll. Their debut CD, “Twinstate No. 1” was released last year. Distinct and original music with “Irish soul.” Cover: $5; $3 with student ID

elastiCity festival A new music series dedicated to showcasing Brooklyn-based composers with a common vision and a sense of reaching out for something new. Now in its second season, elastiCity, features up-and-coming composers the last Friday of every month at Tillie's.

9/21/07

Remy LeBeouf 8:00pm www.lbjazz.com

Search 9:30pm Matthew Maley - saxophone RJ Avallone - trumpet David Moss - bass Bryson Kern - drums $5 suggested donation

9/28/07

Jacob Wick 8:00pm

9:30pm Peter Van Huffel Peter Van Huffel - saxophone Samuel Blaser - trombone Michael Bates - bass Ziv Ravitz - drums

Lily Maase - guitarist.composer.creative director www.lilymaase.com www.rules-of-addtraction.org www.myspace.com/elasticityfest

Open Mic

9/13/07 9/27/07 Every other Thursday Sign-up: 8:30 p.m. Performances: 9:00 p.m. Cover: $2 Come all you singers, rappers, poets and commentators – make a Fort Greene contribution. Host: To be announced.

For more information on any of the above, call Patricia Mulcahy at (718) 783-6140 or see www.tilliesofbrooklyn.com.

Tillie’s is located in Fort Greene at the corner of Vanderbilt and DeKalb. See “getting here” on the website for directions.

More on Little Piggy (Market)

BrooklynJay, who is just about moved back INTO the nabe, spent some time at Little Piggy (Market) this past weekend to chat up the owners and try some new food. Here's what he said about it: so we grabbed lunch at smoke joint yesterday and ben was nice enough to give us a little food preview of the little piggy market, i think that's what it's gonna be called - gotta check my timeout to verify, which is slated to open next door sometime next week.

ben made a black eye peas salad which had black eye peas obviously, corn and heirloom tomatoes. he also gave us a little taste of a macaroni salad too. both were outstanding. as one of my friends said "this tastes like summer. this is the stuff you'd love to bring with you on a picnic." it was so fresh - those heirloom tomatoes...wow.

he also gave a little walk thru of the new space and it's really cool. it's going to sell items by weight, like the two salads above, so you can bring it home to accompany your own cooking. (They are some awesome sides that would go with just about anything.) It's also gonna accommodate seating for 12 people (for now) and offer, along with food by weight, a blue plate special type deal - a protein or two, a couple of sides, etc. for one set price.

the cool thing is they're gonna have good COFFEE and DESSERTS. Pastries! Pies! Oh My! Fresh baked in the morning! and the coffee's gonna be the same as the coffee served at some of the finer gourmet restaurants in the city.

the menu's gonna change according to what's fresh. If, for instances, they can get nice peaches then they'll not only have fresh peaches for sales - they'll also possibly have peach cobbler available too.

I think it's gonna be amazing. since the menus gonna change it'll allow ben and craig to both experiment and be creative and offer some dishes that wouldn't have fit at the smoke joint. (mention of fried chicken and meat loaf had my mouth watering.) i personally can't wait for it to open.

oh and the smoked joint was awesome as always! lunch definitely is the way to go - nothing is sold out yet and plenty of seats available. (the food coma afterwards and napping in the early evening were the only side effects.)

Another friend who lives nearby and was kind enough to give me her own witty spin on the place:

I was headed to Smoke Joint for a bag of Brooklyn wings to celebrate my roommate having moved out when I noticed that Little Piggy Market was finally open. After several weeks shrouded in secrecy the owners of Smoke Joint had finally opened what they billed as a little sister to their successful BBQ joint.

More different siblings could not be. You will not find a drop of barbeque sauce at Little Piggy, instead what you will find is a changing roster of salads, sandwiches, entrees and sides that are determined by what’s in season at the moment. On my first visit they were out of the meatloaf sandwich but I was encouraged to sample the chicken salad sandwich which was billed as “awesome” by the cute cook. Although I hate chicken salad I like cute cooks so I obliged. The sandwich was in fact quite good and huge and the heirloom tomato salad I got as a side was quite tasty as well. In order to round out my meal I decided to get a cupcake, which kudos to Little Piggy was frosted with cream cheese icing instead of the typical butter cream that seems to be plaguing other cupcakes around this city. The cupcake was tasty and baked in a stiff foil cup which necessitated the use of a fork to eat it and made my cupcake into more of a cake in a cup.

On a return visit I finally got to try the meatloaf sandwich that had eluded me on my prior visit. One bite and I knew exactly why it had sold out the day before. It consisted of crusty bread surrounding a warm slice of meatloaf, heirloom tomatoes and caramelized onions. To round out my meal I decided to forgo any vegetables and got a s’mores cookie that was crispy on the outside and nice and chewy in the center. Everything was tasty and despite its large size and slight messy factor and I finished every bite with the reckless abandon that can only come with dining in the privacy of my newly empty apartment.

Much like The Smoke Joint next door Little Piggy and its sociable staff are a welcome addition to the neighborhood. Plus, here's some info from Brooklyn Based. Man, I need to get over there now.

(Lafayette at S. Elliott)

Finally, a Plan for Liquors

liquors is gone for real A drawn-out mystery comes to a close. The old Liquors space on DeKalb (between Adelphi and Clermont) will become a Moroccan tapas restaurant/lounge, in approximately two months. The space will be run by Nadir Khelifi, who owns Cafe Lafayette on S. Portland. Cafe Lafayette makes a mean burger, so hopes are high for tasty food.

No word on whether or not the old Liquors sign will stay, but I hope it does.

Thanks to Dana Rubinstein, who got the scoop in the Brooklyn Paper.

Heena Tatto: Closed?

Noticed the awning above Threading Place (Vanderbilt just north of DeKalb) has been taken down, and I haven't seen them open in the last few days. Either they're on vacation, having the sign replaced with one that features correct spelling, or they've thrown in the towel already. I have had my brows done there a few times, and I was never alone in the shop. There was always a (reasonable) wait for services. Anyone know what's up?

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