Open Thread Wednesday

LOL, cute video.

But complete bunk. The Richard Mortimer who lived in this house was a woolen merchant, called a “draper” back then, not a sea captain. He made a boatload (no pun intended) of money in that trade and moved back to Manhattan after retiring early, going into real estate. He has a building named after him: 935-939 Broadway aka 159-161 Fifth Avenue, at 22nd Street – somewhat recently the Restoration Hardware location, now the Harry Potter store. When he died in the early 1880s, had a fortune worth over $100 million in today’s dollars.

The truth is even more interesting than the fiction, not sure why someone invented this story. SMH.

+1 and any news on L’Appartement 4F…?

Unfortunately, neither their beautiful website – “food porn” if ever the term meant anything – nor their kickstarter page

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/apt4f/lappartement-4f

mentions a timetable, although mid-April will be a great time to spend one’s IRS refund on something delicieux.

Interesting to note the $62,000+ that enabled them (helped them ?) go from “in home” to “sur le boulevard.”

Just wondering if a phone call to “Books are Magic” – a serious hike from Brooklyn Hts – suggesting that Ms. Straub would do well to let our community facilitate a similar venture on her part. Signing a lease on Montague for the TOP-RATED “WE NEED A …” per the BHA poll last year.

Ditto for another one that ranked high on the BHA poll – a fishmonger. Here, “Fish Tales” would probably jump at $50K to set up a 2nd location that would probably have a block-long line if it opened on Montague.

Or are you like me and wonder why the community should have to bribe merchants to rent on an affluent neighborhood’s prime shopping street?!

According to Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon, “Clark Street 2/3: MTA tells us that they are on schedule for the completion of the Clark Street 2/3 station elevator replacement project, and will reopen the station with the three new elevators by the end of April 2022.”
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7769815cdfa963c495bcfc7936b32bb49bd30954e578fb443b58a717c569698b.jpg

We need a little something to argue (genteel-ly) about! Here goes.

Made it to Inga’s one recent evening. WHO KNEW that there were so many “young families” in the neighborhood?! (Not I, obviously.)

And/But … they took a not small proportion of the tables – yes, I know that it may not be representative; I have one visit under my belt.

The Times had a recent article about seeing movies in theaters, and someone much harsher than I said that s/he said “no more” of THAT when s/he became aware that parents who couldn’t get or couldn’t comfortably afford a sitter brought their young kids to an R-rated film.

Obviously, my question is along those lines. What would you guess those parents are thinking? “Kids are noisy. Deal with it.” I won’t bother with a dozen alternative mindsets, but –

Is there a “right” or a “wrong” here?

BTW, I’m genuinely conflicted, the furthest thing from anti-family – whatever that might mean. It IS relevant, of course, because now that there are 20 reviews on places like Google & Yelp, a recurring “nice but noisy” note is pretty recurrent. (AND there’s now a “sound track”/music that strikes me as seriously ill-considered.) FWIW, the mom next to us was pretty firm and the kid (6?) altogether fine…. Not so, some others further away.

That Delarocco’s is “family friendly” to everyone’s advantage I get; why do I think Inga’s maybe *should* be different?

If anyone wants, they can have the one that sits outside my 2nd floor living room window & move it north.

Can’t wait for this to reopen. Know it’s been discussed, but Drip coffee is operating in the station as well and is fantastic — surely they will be excited for the return of commuters.

It probably comes down to the menus. If they have a kid’s menu, or kid-friendly food, then expect young families (and the expected kid-like behavior). If the food is aimed strictly at grown-ups, you’re reasonably safe.

Another tact would be to eat later, but then, as you rightly noted last week, you run into the boisterous party crowds.

No, I haven’t been to Inga’s but it doesn’t strike me as a place for kids. But then again, JTH didn’t either and I remember seeing my share of them there. Your theories make sense.

Of course, in the 1950s when my cousins and I were toddlers, and we were taken out to dinner, we were put on telephone books, given a sheet of paper and a crayon, and sat drawing when we weren’t actively eating. Does anyone remember Michele’s on Flatbush Avenue or the Rivoli farther south on Flatbush? Vintage Brooklyn restaurants, no kids running past tables, no food tossed at siblings.