Questions for youz guyz about stores in PH

Subject: Re: Questions for youz guyz about stores in PH

JournoB wrote:
--are there enough food shopping choices in the neighborhood? I saw a spirited debate on Met foods and on the store on Flatbush that charged different prices. Is buying groceries a problem in PH/

There are enough stores to choose from; I just get annoyed by the fact that each individual store sometimes doesn't have enough selection. If I'm cooking something elaborate, I often have to go to a second grocery store to pick up one or two additional items.

--Clothing/shoes--there are three choices I know of in PH proper--Red Lipstick, Sole and Pieces. Do you need more? Or are you content to shop elsewhere in the city (and on Flatbush Ave.?) Also, no men's clothing stores...

Clothing is something that I don't see much sense in shopping for locally. There's some discussion of that issue here: http://www.brooklynian.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1476

sje wrote: JournoB, are you the woman who just came in my shop {RedLipstick on Vanderbilt} and told me you were from Columbia Journalism School? If you are, and you print anything I said, I will sue you for lying to me to get information, as well as call your boss at Real Deal magazine and try to get you fired. I'm not joking. :x

I know a good lawyer.

Who needs soap operas?!?! :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

Subject: UPDATE

JournoB did indeed leave me a message on the shop machine. As strange as it is, I was actually approached by 2 separate journalists one day apart, the one on Sunday was NOT JournoB, speaking with her editor again, I now definitelly believe that. The woman on Sunday asked the EXACT same questions, with the same inflections and other subtle similarities. A day after I told her to post here, JournoB posted, with the very same questions. Go Figure.

JournoB, I sincerely apologize for thinking Sunday's reporter was you. It was not.

I have spoken with JournoB's editor a second time, and all is well. As a result, I did consent to be interviewed by JournoB for this story, I feel bad about the mixup, but how damned weird is this story already? Jeez. sigh.

Let that be a lesson that not everyone is out to get the people on this board. Now, maybe this poor person can get some real comments about the retail environment in the neighborhood. Not to be mean, but after all that flaming, and as a former writer, I don't think I'd give Red Lipstick a mention, despite the kind and sincere apology.

Just saying...

So, here are my personal comments to Journo B's questions...

1) I think the Farmer's Market at GAP is a godsend. If it weren't for the Market, there'd be no decent place around here for fresh veggies (why are the veggies in supermarkets so so bad???). That being said, the Met Foods on Vanderbilt and the Key Food on Flatbush are great for staples and Delicacies is great for cheese and gourmet food stuffs. However, a proper butcher's is what this neighborhood really needs. We have to trek to Los Paisanos on Smith Street for any meat-related products.
2) Not enough clothes shopping options, although Pieces has great stuff for men & women. Not sure if we need those little clothing boutiques anyway though - Park Slope is inundated with them. And I can just shop there or in Manhattan...
3) The eating out choices are pretty decent, but we need more take-out options of the cheaper and ethnic variety (sure there's Islands and Joy Indian, but what about Thai? Vietnamese? good Chinese?)
4) the Ratner mess is gonna be hell... chain stores/ restaurants galore...

Asil wrote: I'd say a more immediate question is how all the new condo developments will change things once people start moving in--that's going to happen a lot sooner than Atlantic Yards.

This is a very interesting question.

Part of the answer may lie with whether they end up getting sold or converted to rentals.

stores in the nabe that I frequent:

the met on vandy & the key food on flatbush - both decent places to pick up my major staples of cheese, diet coke & bread. also they usually have fresh lazy bitch salads.

natural heights - cat food, household goods, paper goods, beauty products. I used to go to yaba for the household, paper & beauty stuff but it is WAY far away compared to natural heights. I used to get cat food at the pet store on vandy, but they close an hour earlier than nat. heights (and I tend to show up at nat. heights in the last hour before they close).

fermented grapes - despite having a higher price than the other liquor stores in the nabe, they don't have a huge percentage of corked bottles, which is what the other liquor stores suffer from (I don't think most liquor stores in the nabe properly maintain their bottles of wine, so the only stuff that tastes decent is the stuff with high turnover, like yellow tail). now that I'm not drinking, I need to see if they'll order a variety of dealcoholized wines for me to try (though the key food on washington does carry fre, the sutter home variety, which isn't terrible). in any case, fg is still a great place to pick up gift certificates for locals and nice bottles to take to dinner parties.

stores in the nabe I wish I frequented more:

red lipstick - I wish I could buy all of my clothing there. I'm on the chunky side, though, so I can't. I like to go there for gifts and accessories, though.

pieces - in addition to the chunky factor, their price point is way higher than my norm. but they have nice stuff, and I wish I could fit/afford their stuff.

red beri - I've only been in there a couple of times and in addition to having the issues pieces has, it also has a really nasty owner. or shopkeeper. every time I go in I'm greeted with a sneer. le sigh. I could be shopping for my wealthy, skinny friend, ya know.

housebroken - there are only so many gifts I can buy, and my friends aren't making very many babies, so it's hard for me to shop at this store. but, whenever I need some baby stuff or a nice housewarming gift, this is one of my go-to spots.