Let’s hope that dude’s wearing a hair net. Meatopia photo 2011 ourtesy of Food and Drink Digital.

Another NYC weekend, another pig head on a spit. (What is it about pig heads, BTW? You never see charred chicken or cow heads on anyone’s dinner table.) The latest foodie orgie to hit our spice-rubbed streets is Meatopia, a “giant meat bar” on Randall’s Island prepared by the likes of chefs Adam Perry Lang and April Bloomfield.

Single tickets are $140, which, it turns out, is enough to feed a starving New Yorker for a year and a half. How do we know this? From the good people at Meatopia themselves. (more…)

Is it just us, is Fashion’s Night Out peaking like a pair of harem pants? The annual fall shopping crawl created in 2008 to inject energy and dollars into retail is tonight, and it doesn’t seem quite as fevered as past years, perhaps because all the fashion people are still shaking sand out of their neon gladiator platforms. (more…)

Soft-core composer Michael Hearst, image courtesy of Wired.

Did you know someone in Brooklyn actually has the job title of “ice cream truck music composer”? Michael Hearst made a whole album of alternatives to the cloying, poke-me-in-the-eye-with-a-Spongebobsicle Mr. Softee song. Sadly,  his frozen dairy ditties never caught on in our neighborhood, but you can hear him talk about his work on a Brooklyn Independent Television special, airing this week, about odd jobs and the Brooklyn folks who do them. Also meet: a pro scrapper, a softball umpire, and someone who makes, dare we say, artisanal boots in his garage. Airing and live streaming Thursday night at 8. Details here. The show is part of this week’s “Best of BIT” series, with other episodes focusing on BK crafties, foodies, oldies, ladies and more. Full lineup here.

Afropunk style, photo courtesy of Fashion Bomb magazine.

And the winner of the best-dressed event in Brooklyn goes to… this past weekend’s Afropunk festival, a pounding, screaming, skating orgy of high-altitude hair, nuclear graphic prints and more boots than the Bolivian army. Fashion Bomb magazine and Highsnobette have glorious photos of the two-day fest at Commodore Barry Park, with Erykah Badu, Gym Class Heroes, Janelle Monae, Reggie Watts and more. Mighty good show, Brooklyn — not that anyone would be surprised.

One of the more popular song selections at kids’ karaoke.

Ever notice how parents of babies are the most sanctimonious ones? Because only babies have to put up with organic kale, breast milk, unbleached organic cotton diapers, and sustainably harvested wood blocks. Not to mention all that quality message music from well-intended kindie bands. As soon as children are old enough to assert their own tastes, they want to eat crap, play with shitty plastic toys, mind meld with brain-frying electronic devices and listen to Z-100 nonstop.

If and when you’re ready to capitulate to your child’s top-40 tastes, consider taking him or her to kids’ karaoke Tuesday nights at Cheeburger Cheeburger in Park Slope. That is, if you can handle watching a gaggle of 6-to-9-year-old girls singing There’s passion in my pants and I aint afraid to show it. 

You actually might find yourself singing along. (more…)

Futuristic machine photo via Gothamist.

Maybe you’re irked that there won’t be an NYC bike share until next spring and you finally have to spring for your own wheels. How do you think the good people at Transportation Alternatives must feel? Months ago, the pro- biking / walking / public transit group had scheduled a Citi Bikes launch partay for tonight at Roulette, with Brooklyn Brewery beer, live music from Dujeous, and something intriguing called Bike Ballet. The group is going ahead with the launch festivities even though the bikes themselves are still MIA. Yes, tickets ($10 TA members, $25 non-members) are still available, and proceeds go to fund things like car-free parks and more bike lanes. “It’s going to be a really fun party,” says TA’s Caroline Samponaro. “Next year at this time we will definitely not remember the delay — we will be too busy riding Citi Bikes.” See, biking is good for your attitude. (In unrelated news, Roulette is hosting something called a “Harry Pussy Record Release Party” next week, not to be confused with a Pussy Riot Defense Fund party at Public Assembly.)

Alternately, the fun and action-packed “Camp Grocery Store” is also open next week.

Why do so many summer camps fizzle out mid-August, as if parents automatically get three weeks off a the end of summer to hang around Sesame Place? While a few Brooklyn camps are still open this week, only a handful of holdouts go all the way up to Friday, August 31 this year. (School starts Sept. 6, and you’re pretty much SOL from Labor Day ’til then.) We found six places to park your kids next week, ranging in price from $335 to $450 for full days that range from six to eight hours. If you know of any other kids’ programs open for business next week, please add ‘em in the comments:  (more…)

Sign outside Bedford-Hill, a coffee shop with a beer-and-wine license. Er, define dependent?

It’s this kind of a store.

And here’s yet another fine opportunity from the offices of Brokelyn Executive Recruiting Inc: The Future Perfect in Williamsburg is looking for a full-time store manager. Do you know this place? This cleverly curated home design shop is where your humble bloggerist would blow her fortune on stuff like this if Google bought Brokelyn LLC. Working there must be the next best thing to owning a Three Sixty Table, but beware that your customers can actually afford their own and you must not hate them for it. Here are the other job requirements: (more…)

Huge’s new site for Barneys. We hear an intern thought of the gold purse pop-up.

It’s get-yourself-a-damn-job Monday at Brokelyn! Here’s another great gig: Huge, the appropriately named DUMBO-based digital agency with a few clients you might possibly have heard of (er, Barneys, IKEA, Jetblue and Target?), is hiring a paid copy intern to “support and contribute to some of the biggest and most innovative media projects online.” At Huge, apparently “support” doesn’t translate to “supply with Starbucks blonde lattes.” The ad promises that interns “work alongside other copywriters and will be called upon to participate in many aspects of the creative process.” So, all you commerce-friendly young wordsmiths, apply or you’re a [insert clever word for fool]. Here’s what it takes: (more…)