'Collective Kind', a Progressive Pre-School, Is Coming To Gowanus

Great news for those with little ones! Collective Kind, the first NYC-based network of Montessori Microschools "providing high quality early education for working families of all backgrounds", is coming to Gowanus.

The progressive pre-school offers a socially engaged early childhood education. It is based on the wonderful mission of creating a space where children are taught empathy for all, care of the earth, and love of learning.  Founded by Anna Caroline Tehan,  Anna Ellis Nesser and Clara Planel, Collective Kind supports "children to love themselves, their community and the planet."

This women-owned school also offers multicultural classrooms, slicing scale tuition to enable access to families of all backgrounds, flexible subsidy plans for employers of all sizes, access to co-working for adults, and above average salaries and intersectional feminist benefits for its teaching and school staff.

In short, everything we, as a community, should be supporting.

Collective Kind already has a location in Fort Greene and will soon open micro- preschools in Prospect Lefferts, Boerum Hill... and Gowanus, near Third Avenue.

Anna Ellis Nesser, the school's Director of Learning and Sustainability, wrote to us to express her excitement about the Gowanus location:

"As we, Collective Kind, are growing we are so excited to be coming to work with the Gowanus/Carroll Garden community. Adding this as part of our growth plan was a quick and easy decision - not only is Clara (one of our co-founders) a Carroll Garden resident raising her daughter in the community, this is also where Anna (another of our co-founders) grew up! Something that has not changed over the years here since Anna was a kid and Clara became a parent is the need for progressive early care that families can afford.

As our network of local families has continued to grow with families joining our adult-child classes we have been hearing that Collective Kind is just what the community wants! Anti-bias and nature-based education that supports children to love themselves, their community and the planet is what we are here to share and we look forward to having you join us soon."

Collective Kind just launched a crowdfunding campaign HERE for its teacher-led, female-founded school network. All information about the program can be found at thecollectivekind.com

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Newly-Opened On Court Street, 'Mexico In My Pocket' Celebrates Mexican Culture And Artisans

In case you have not yet discovered Mexico In My Pocket at 415 Court Street yet, permit us to introduce you. This colorful and joyful little store, which opened just recently, celebrates the culture of Mexico. It features wonderful home decor items, gifts, and jewelry, crafted by artisans from different parts of the country.
The selection has been lovingly curated by store-owner Luisa Navarro, a Mexican-American journalist, who writes a successful travel blog under the same name as the store.  When the pandemic made travel nearly impossible in 2020, Luisa saw an opportunity to help Mexican artisans, whose businesses were impacted by the lack of visitors to Mexico.  By bringing their wares to an online shop, as well as to this small showroom in her Brooklyn neighborhood, Luisa is fulfilling not only her own dream, but directly connecting the artisans to customers here.

We stopped by the store last week-end and were charmed. We fell in love with the fancy handcrafted candles and hand painted Milagro hearts.  Do yourself a favor and Check Mexico In My Pocket out. You won't regret it.

Luisa Navarro

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Cookies And Coffee: Chip City Opens On Smith Street

Chip City, a small chain that started in Astoria, Queens, has just opened its seventh New York City store at 361 Smith Street in Carroll Gardens. The store offers freshly baked cookies in four different flavors every day and rotates its menu weekly. Besides classic cookies like chocolate chip, peanut butter chocolate, and white chocolate macadamia, the offerings include more unusual flavors like Nutella Sea Salt and Glazed Pear. 

The price per cookie is $4, or $20 for five.  Customers also have the option to purchase frozen cookie dough bundles that can be baked at home.

Though Chip City also offers coffee to go and is right next to the F train subway station, I wonder if a store selling just cookies will do at this location.  After all, Momofuku Milk Bar, which had a similar menu, decided to close its location right across the street in 2019.

Personally, I would have preferred if Swallow, the lovely artisans gallery that thrived at this location for 21 years, had not been forced out because of a steep rent increase in early 2020.

What do you think, dear Reader?

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Cremini's In Carroll Gardens Honors The Simple Artistry Of Italy's Le Marche Region

Owners Riccardo Massetti and Elena Salati

For the past few weeks, most New Yorkers have probably been fantasizing about where they will have their first meal once New York City allows restaurants to re-open after the Coronavirus  lockdown.
Personally, I have already made up my mind that I will eat at Cremini's, a charming Italian aperitivo spot, which quietly opened at 521 Court Street in Carroll Gardens last summer.

Yesterday, I had the great pleasure of meeting owners Riccardo Massetti and Elena Salati  in their cosy bistro, which has stayed open for take-out service. They were so welcoming, the space so in viting, that I can't wait to come back when I can actually sit at one of the tables.

If 2020 has been a slow year for restaurants so far, 2019 was incredibly busy for Riccardo and Elena, as they moved to New York from their native Italy that spring, got married, and opened Cremini's all within a few months.  
Cremini's gave them the opportunity to introduce New Yorkers to the flavors and gastronomy of Riccardo's home region of Le Marche, Italy. Their menu offers Ascolana Olives, pitted olives that are stuffed with meat and then breaded, before being fried, Italian Focaccia bread filled with various ingredients, and pizzette, small pizzas with fresh toppings. It also includes fresh mediterranean salads as well a Elena's special burger and various aperitivo platters. Riccardo will set you up with a special Spritz cocktail or a glass of red wine to pair with your food.

For the time being, Creumini's has switched to a take-out/delivery menu that also includes cocktails to go.  Give them a try the next time you order out and help support this wonderful new dining spot in our neighborhood.  And hopefully, we can all make a reservation and eat at the restaurant very soon.

A note from Riccardo Massetti and Elena Salati on their restaurant's web site:
Le Marche is Italy's land of bounty, the birthplace of artists, composers, and poets. Think of Raffaello, Gioachino Rossini, Giacomo Leopardi. The culinary tradition of Le Marche reflects the beauty and harmony of its natural environment. That unique tradition inspires our carefully crafted recipes, which are married to innovative techniques and bold pairings.

We proudly honor the simple artistry of Le Marche’s regional cuisine every day at our bistro in Brooklyn, and we’ve fallen in love with our home-away-from-home in Carroll Gardens.

We hope you will too.

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Santo Brúklin: Amidst A Pandemic, A Brazilian Restaurant Opens In Carroll Gardens

Operating a restaurant during a pandemic in New York City is hard enough, but how about opening a new one?  That is the position Santo Brúklin faced in early March, just as the City went into lock-down mode. The Brazilian eatery, which took over the former 'Sloteria' space on Court Street between West 9th Street and Garnet Street in Carroll Gardens, decided to move ahead with its launch by shifting gears to offer food and drink take-out service. They modified their menu "to fit the needs of the community amongst the recent Covid-19 outbreak," and according to the Yelp reviews, their service and the food is solid. Especially the to-go drinks.

The restaurant's owners would like the community to know that they are not a corporation. "We are not a chain business. Santo Brúklin is a small family owned restaurant, created by real people. Just like you. We are pursuing our dream and doing what we love. We hope that you
will love it too."
To show that they are here to serve the community,  the owners offer "10 complimentary 'Family Meals' from 8pm to 9pm every day for pickup. No questions asked, for Our Neighbors in need."

That kind of commitment to the neighborhood should be acknowledged, Give them a try next time you order food and welcome them to Carroll Gardens.

Santo Brúklin

548 Court Street, Brooklyn 

(917) 909-1231

Thank you to Carroll Gardens reader Thomas F. for alerting us to the eatery's opening.

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Tribeca Pediatrics To Open Office On Court Street In Carroll Gardens

   

Tribeca Pediatrics will soon be opening an office at 327 Court Street at the corner of Sackett Street in Carroll Gardens.  Founded by Dr. Michel Cohen in Manhattan 25 years ago, Tribeca Pediatrics has expanded rapidly in recent years and now serves communities all around  New York City, New Jersey, and Los Angeles. There already are satellite  office in Boerum Hill and in Park Slope.

Obviously, the Carroll Gardens location makes sense, given the amount of young families who have moved here in recent years.

Just recently, Douglas Elliman* moved out of the commercial space on the ground floor and the real estate office's signage over the front door was removed. Underneath, one can now clearly see the outline of a shop that occupied the space many years ago: "Vaccarino's Flowers".
I do faintly remember a flower shop at that location when I first moved to the neighborhood in 1985, but have a more vivid recollection of the Red Apple Chinese restaurant that occupied it for at least fifteen years in between the flower shop and the real estate office.

There is no mention of Vaccarino's online, but I did come across an ad in a special publication on the occasion of the 9th Annual Dinner Dance held on November 7th, 1980 by the Independent Neighborhood Democrats.
We would love to hear from Carroll Gardens who remember Vaccarino's.

*For those keeping track, Douglas Elliman relocated to 327 Smith Street to the former American Apparel store.

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Xochitl Taqueria Opens In Former Red Star Sandwich Shop On Smith Street

screenshot from Fulton Street's Xochitl Taqueria's Menu on  Grubhub 

Smith Street has a new Mexican food option. Xochitl Taqueria has taken over the storefront at 176 Smith Street, which was previously occupied by Red Star Sandwich shop.

Xochitl is part of a little Brooklyn chain, which includes an eatery of the same name on Fulton Street,  Fior Café, also on Fulton Street, as well as Besito Restaurant on 5th Avenue.
If this location's menu will be the same as the others, we can look forward to pretty standard Mexican Burritos, Tacos and Fajitas. The prices seem pretty average.

What do you think? Excited to have another Mexican food option on Smith Street?

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