A small child in fear of the global cereal prices. But there is hope.

Maybe it’s the ominous-sounding GLOBAL CEREAL CRISIS, or maybe it’s just your local C-Town price gouging, but cereal in these here parts is absurdly expensive. At the grocery store on Graham Ave. by my first apartment in Williamsburg, I forked over $6 for a box of General Mills goodness in a moment of weakness. Several hours of crying later, I realized that paying nearly $10 for a gallon of milk and a box of cereal was silly, and that it was much easier (and cheaper) at the time to outsource breakfast to the bagel cart by my office.

But I digress. As I’ve discovered over the years, the magical Interwebs is the best place to indulge in your various breakfast-y needs. (more…)

Feeling a bit unhealthy lately?

Occasionally it sucks being a freelancer. The long hours, the “will I/won’t I get paid this week” anxiety … it can all add up to a lot of stress. Fortunately, Work It Brooklyn understands, and tonight they’re co-hosting a panel at 7pm tonight called “Wellness for Freelancers & Independent Workers” with Human At Ease, a fitness studio in Greenpoint, that might just put you on the path to better mental and physical well being. Aja Marsh of North Brooklyn Runners and Andrea Moss, a holistic health and nutritional coach, will take the stage with several other professionals to dish out some tips on how to keep yourself healthy while running your own business or managing your freelance career. Tips will cover eating when you’re broke or too busy, techniques for relaxation when you spend all day sitting at a desk and what you need to maintain when you don’t have insurance.

It costs $5, but be sure to arrive on time for some pre-panel networking and stick around afterwards for free hot chai and tasty snacks provided by Chai Mookie.

The outside of Lioni, where they serve meat 140 ways.

Bensonhurst, like much of the rest of Brooklyn, is an area in flux. Take a stroll down 18th Ave. or 86th St., and you’ll notice that what was once one of the largest Italian neighborhoods in Brooklyn is becoming predominantly Chinese. Italian bakeries and Sichuan restaurants share the same block, and you’ll hear a mix of languages — Italian and otherwise — from the people on the street. But it’s still the destination ‘hood for all kinds of Italian food, from spleen sandwiches to cannoli, in our fine borough. Read on to see what you can find for under $10. (more…)

Macarons: Almond flour, sugar, egg whites, unicorn tears.

Ah, macarons. The 1% of desserts. You know you’ve hit rock bottom with your food addiction when you wait more than 90 minutes in line on the Upper East Side for a $30 box filled with a mere six meringue-based orbs of deliciousness that were flown in from Paris earlier that morning. In my defense, they were incredible and I saved the box to collect spare change, but I digress. What it boils down to is that macarons are expensive, but they’re also really colorful, delicious, and sometimes filled with foie gras. And today you can get them fo’ free at many of the city’s most respected macaron purveyors during the second annual Macaron Day. Sadly there’s only one store in BK, but it’s only a short subway ride away to Lower Manhattan, where there are several options. If you have a car, I recommend schlepping to Queens to the oft-overlooked Canelle Patisserie. Located in an unassuming strip mall in Jackson Heights, this serious French patisserie is worth the trip. Get a Paris Brest too while you’re there. You’re welcome.

Girl Scout taste-alikes at Family Dollar, photo by Tom Sullivan.

If you love Girl Scouts as much as this ex-fat kid, you know that nothing quite beats the anticipation of that first bite of Thin Mints or Samoas, fueled in part by their only-once-a-year availability/hairy-nosed wombat level of rarity in our fair borough. (As of this writing, they go on sale exactly 27 days from now, according to this cookie countdown stopwatch.)

Enter Family Dollar. A few days ago, an Instagram photo of several boxes of cookies from everyone’s favorite discount store chain went around Twitter (Thank you @KateHarding.) While not legit Girl Scout cookies per se, the cookies on the box looked an awful lot like the Tagalongs, Thin Mints, and Samoas that I have an inappropriate obsession with/hoard shamelessly in my kitchen pantry/stress eat on a regular basis. (more…)

Non-fried curry puff from Sky Ice, a newcomer to Taste of Fifth this year.

Park Slope, in all of its fancy pants glory, isn’t exactly a cheap-eats haven, but on Sept. 15th many of the restaurants on the neighborhood’s Fifth Avenue strip will become oh-so-briefly affordable (or more so!). A Taste of Fifth Ave, running from 6-8pm, allows those with multiple stomachs (you mean you don’t have one just for desserts?) to sample a variety of dishes spanning numerous cuisines. Each of the 18 participating restaurant will offer a $5 food or drink special, though the folks at the Fifth Avenue BID also hint that free samples are not out of the question. (more…)

If you’ve exhausted Brooklyn’s dwindling selection of used bookstores, or if the idea of combing through slightly moldy hardbacks gives you the willies, powerHouse Arena’s epic Summer Skid Sale might be your time to browse. Offering a myriad of titles for up to 90 percent off, this book bonanza is the time to stock up on some discounted fall reads and quirky coffee table oddities. The best deals seem to be in the massive selection of art and photo books, where you can snag anything from a rather normal photo collection of Obama’s presidential campaign ($8.50 from $30!) to a decidedly peculiar portrait series of suburbanites who reenact medieval battles for fun. The sale is online too, and this is the last weekend!  (more…)

River Cafe is so romantic at night. Too bad the deal is only for lunch.

And just like that, it’s Restaurant Week season and Brooklyn gets the shaft yet again. Granted, we have Dine in Brooklyn in the spring, but it doesn’t compete with the myriad $24.07 lunches and $35 dinners that “official” Restaurant Week offers. Out of the 300 or so participating restaurants this year, only three (count ‘em) are in Brooklyn and, unfortunately, the selection doesn’t seem to have changed much from the winter version. Here’s a run down of this year’s slim list: (more…)

This is the 21st in our series on the venues featured in the second Brooklyn Beer Book. This week we’re featuring Project Parlor, whose ample backyard space and cozy interior is calling to us on these hot early summer days.

Photo via Project Parlor

PROJECT PARLOR
742 Myrtle Ave. Bed-Stuy

What it is: A charming and endearingly grungy Bed-Stuy watering hole with one of the biggest outdoor areas you ever did see, located on an otherwise desolate stretch of Myrtle Ave. (more…)

This is the sixth in our series on the venues featured in the second Brooklyn Beer Book. This week we’re featuring Iona, a classy little spot in Williamsburg you could take that special someone — or scout around for that new special someone.

IONA

180 Grand St., (at Bedford Ave) Williamsburg

What it is: An old candy store turned bar/performance space/occasional dance hall/UK sports mecca. It wears many hats. (more…)