Eating New Years Eve in Brooklyn near Brooklyn Tabernacle

Though it may sound boring to some, I think I%26#39;m taking my daughter New Years Eve to Brooklyn Tabernacle for a 7 pm (free) program (with the BT Choir). 3 questions come up: 1. What time do we need to be there to get a seat? 2. Recommendations for eating nearby at 5 pm (on google maps, I see Singas Famous Pizza at 129 Livingston St. 3. Anyone know how long this program would run (it%26#39;s safe to ride the subway back to Manhattan afterwards?)

Itinerary to include:

Arrive 31 Dec. 11 am, get into Manhattan hotel. See if we can get discounted tickets for the Rockettes Christmas show for Sunday or Monday. Top of the Rock on Sunday or Monday, with other area sites. Phantom tickets for Monday night. Tuesday, south to Battery Park, Staten Island Ferry, back to Chinatown and then tickets for Wicked Tues. night. Wednesday, pack up, shopping, until departure for 5pm departure LGA back to Iowa.

We%26#39;re excited!

Barry

Eating New Years Eve in Brooklyn near Brooklyn Tabernacle

Topping for you.

Eating New Years Eve in Brooklyn near Brooklyn Tabernacle

Well, there%26#39;s a great Caribbean restaurant nearby called Sugarcane on Flatbush Avenue and 6th Ave, and there%26#39;s also a nice bistro appropriately called St. Mark%26#39;s Bistro appropriately on St. Marks Place. (around 6th Ave., too.) On Flatbush Ave around Sterling Place is the New Prospect Cafe. Pleasant food, good black bean soup.

There%26#39;s a slew of very casual places for wings, pizza, diner food, etc on Flatbush Ave around the BT. Lots of Domincan and Puerto Rican cuisine places, too, if you want to try Mofongo or Arroz con Pollo.

NOTE: Flatbush Avenue is diagonal, so it cuts through the street grid that is in the area.

On 7th Ave, a short walk from Flatbush Ave, there are many nice restaurants. The original Lemongrass Thai (still much better than their other locations!) and a little further, tons of restaurants.

Also on Flatbush Ave (but further west - around 5th Ave.) is the Fashion Cafe. (Not sure if it is still open.) It has Caribbean seafood, and might be a little pricey. It is in a building that will be torn down to make way for the %26#39;glorious%26#39; new Nets basketball stadium, so see a piece of history!

In general, here%26#39;s a way to put any destination at the epicenter of a Citysearch search and find nearby dining and shopping around it:

www.brooklyn.citysearch.com

First, search for the location (Brooklyn Tabernacle) on the main home page. When you find it, click on the listing. On the left side of the web page, you should see a column that says, ';Find nearby....bars, restaurants, clubs, shopping....';

Click on restaurants, and it uses your location as the center point. Sort the list by distance. You can also refine your search by feature such as ';good for groups';.

Bistro St Marks has closed, but there are plenty of great eateries around including Franny%26#39;s on Faltbush ave, Garden Cafe on Vanderbilt and Melt on 5th and Bergen.

Too bad! Thanks, doledrums. I moved out of the nabe exactly one year ago, and how I miss it!

What about that nice Italian place on 5th Ave and Dean, with the wrought iron doors?

Franny%26#39;s and Garden are great recos!

It depends on what you want to eat and what you want to spend. There is a chain restaurant BBQs literally next door to the church. There is Junior%26#39;s on Flatbush %26amp; De Kalb. I have to agree that Sugarcan on Flatbush has some excellent food and great Sorrel Martinis. It is very safe to ride the subway at night time, just be aware of your surroundings as you would do anywhere. I have never been the Brooklyn Tabernacle for New Years, so I wouldn%26#39;t be able to tell you what time to arrive, but I think that at least an hour early should be sufficient. I imagine it will be anything but boring, enjoy! Oh one other restaurant nearby is La Traviata, it%26#39;s on montague which is off of Court street, it%26#39;s an italian rest.

Thanks for all your advice!

Now I%26#39;m checking who%26#39;s open at 5 pm. Franny%26#39;s is closed NYE, Garden opens at 6 pm (with $65 fixed price for NYE). Maybe we%26#39;ll have to try the BBQ.

Merry Christmas, all!

Looking forward to NYE in the big city!

Barry

You could check their site and call them for how long it runs and when to get there. If you haven%26#39;t already, AAA membership comes in handy for all those free maps. The larger offices have the bigger selections. You ask at the desk...at least in ours. See how specific they can get for the locales you%26#39;ll be visiting.

I would say that La Traviata is too far from the Brooklyn Tabernacle. It is not within walking distance, esp for a visitor.

For maps, use Yahoo maps, or get this excellent book: The Not For Tourists guide. A ';little black book'; with a very low ';goofy tourist'; factor. Once you sign up on their website, all maps are printable, but I%26#39;d invest in the book anyway.

www.notfortourists.com/newyork.aspx

Park Slope is Map #33, and Fort Greene is Map #31.

Yes, 5pm is a little early for dinner in these parts. Many restaurants are closed for ';change over'; from lunch to dinner. I%26#39;m sure you%26#39;ll find something!

I found Apartment 138 Restaurant, at 138 Smith Street (not far from the Brooklyn Tabernacle), and called them. They are open, with fixed price for New Years Eve of $45/person. There is a restaurant.com $25 gift certificate available for $10 for there, so maybe we%26#39;ll try that. They are open all afternoon, and we could eat dinner at 5 pm.

Anyone heard of ';Apartment 138';?

Thanks,

Barry

OK, I am a doofus. Yikes! I really hope you get this message!!!

Thanks for saying the words ';Smith Street'; because I was thinking of the old location of the church on Flatbush Avenue. I completely forgot they moved around 2003-2004.

OK, now that is straightened out, YES, you should absolutely dine on Smith Street. That is now the obvious no-brainer. Forget everything I said before! Duh!!!

Smith Street is chock full of cool restaurants south of Atlantic Avenue. You%26#39;ll have to walk maybe a quarter mile from the church to the beginning of the Smith Street strip, past a couple of parking lots. Suggestions:

Robin Du Bois (aka Sherwood Cafe)

Funky interior with art for sale, might be good for kids

http://www.sherwoodcafe.com/

Bar Tabac (feel sophisticated and French!)

Faan Asian Fusion (every Asian food.....ever. Nightclub downstairs.)

Zaytoons (some of the best and most affordable Middle Eastern food in the city.)

I think Apartment 138 must%26#39;ve opened after I moved to Queens. I%26#39;m sure it is wonderful, since Smith Street sets a high standard these days.

Smith Street is one of the hippest places in Brooklyn. Around 1990, it started on its journey of gentrification from working class insualted community surrounded by poor housing, to boutiques, restaurant, bars and general overpriced renovation. It is now pretty unbelievable. Take some time to walk around the neighborhood in the afternoon.

It even has its own ';cool'; new real estate name: BoCoCa - an acronym for the 3 nabes of the strip: Boreum Hill, Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens.

Nobody in their right mind uses this.

See these websites:

http://www.bococa.org/

http://www.brooklynnow.com/bococa/index.html

callalillie.com/archives/2004/03/bococa_cowa鈥?/a>

gothamist.com/archives/2004/03/15/bococa_not鈥?/a>

To read what this area was like in the 1970s - 1980s (with a great contrast to it%26#39;s new genetrified self), read The Fortress of Solitude or Motherless Brooklyn, both by Jonathan Lethem.

http://www.jonathanlethem.com/index.html

Click on the words ';glove compartment'; on the webpage.