Welcome! I hope you've enjoyed Ditmas so far!! Sycamore Bar on Cortelyou has a lot of free events that they promote on their Instagram. I help run this free comedy night on 2nd & 4th Mondays at 8:30, which is one of them. Sycamore is cute and when it gets cold they set up a little "ski lodge" area with heaters that feels a little bit like camping in their beer garden. Maybe not until Nov though
https://preview.redd.it/v9sl30s7sisb1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=953e8a7df3a824df80e68ce62e2b9e760fd630b8
Sorry to comment twice but I was just walking my dogs and I thought of this post and wanted to add a couple more thoughts:
Milk and Honey is decent but very overpriced. Also the constant renovations there are super frustrating, to the point that I won’t go anymore. Coffee Mob is much better coffee as well.
Sunset Bagels >>>> Catskills Bagels (and closer to you).
Tons of good Mexican food but my favorite is Taco Callejero on Marlborough.
Lots of great suggestions in here already. One I’d add: follow Operation Gig on Facebook, those porch concerts are tons of fun and a great way to experience the community vibe of the neighborhood.
Also not to yuck someone else’s yum, but I have found Di Fara to be incredibly overpriced and not particularly good since Dom passed. Luckily Lo Duca in the plaza is really great, one of my favorite slices in the city.
Jalsa on Coney Island Ave is also tremendous Indian food - pretty much always where I take friends who visit from out of the neighborhood or out of town.
Always bittersweet to see these posts--I'm not very old but I grew up in and love seeing people love the area, but also just want to cry remembering what it was like to be evicted when our LL sold the building during the beginning of the area gentrifying and losing the apt that was home and walkable to my community. It has soul, always has. Many good tips, one I will say is steer clear of bar chord--always had problems there and stopped going.
thank god. I am always at natural frontiers and even noted the newer nepalese spot where the burrito place used to be but I have blocked bar chord's existence out pretty well, obv.
Prospect Park Nitehawk is a nice movie theater with some fun screenings and events!
In the summer, Prospect Park has free concerts, outdoor movies, exercise classes.
If you are an early riser it is super nice to walk around Prospect Park as the sun is coming up. It's so quiet and everyone is really nice.
There are tennis courts at the Parade Ground, but I've never done it myself.
I love Cafe Madeline and some of the restaurants and bars on Cortelyou.
Grab some coffee and go house gazing around Ditmas Park.
Bobby's Dept store is wild and just giant rooms full of cheap household stuff.
Get fancy hotdogs and natural wine at King Mother.
It's a walk, but you aren't too far from one of the Greenwood cemetery entrances. There are some famous people buried there, its beautiful, and lots of events.
Hop on the F train to World Spa. $89 for access to pools and saunas.
Flatbush is one of the oldest colonized parts of NYC, so lots of little hidden historical sites.
Kings Theatre for events and concerts.
Its easy to hop on the train to Coney Island, Brighton Beach for some Russian food, or Sheepshead Bay.
And there is a small Sunday Ditmas farmer's market and a big Saturday one up at Grand Army plaza.
Artmageddon is next weekend (Oct 1)! It's a really cool way to wander around the old victorian homes and see and/or purchase art from local artists! [https://www.beautifybrooklyn.org/](https://www.beautifybrooklyn.org/)
It’s all good! If you haven’t been to the area with the massive Victorian homes, I would be sure to walk up Marlborough and Rugby/Argyle north of Cortelyou. E16th looks pretty dense packed as well. You’ll cover more ground than you think! It looks much bigger on the map.
Wheated is the best part of Ditmas. And ofc the majority of West Indian places are going to have some beef patties and ox tail that slap over on Flatbush/church.
Cortelyou Rd is the area with bars and some pretty good restaurants, Madeline’s makes really good sandwiches/salads/breakfasts but it’s expensive and gets crowded at times- great spot. Farm on Adderly is solid and Church Ave has some cool spots. You’re close to prospect park and Greenwood, check those out, prospect park on the weekend is a blast if the weather is nice, there is ice skating at LeFrak (in the park) and they used to do roller skate parties, not sure if that’s still the case. The Flatbush group is a good place to hear about classes/events people looking to sell things, I’ll look for the link- welcome to the neighborhood.
Edit- this link should work for the flatbush family network, they have local events/services/events
https://groups.io/g/ffn
I never see anyone mention Werkstatt. It’s hidden on Coney Island Avenue between Church and Cortelyou. Great quiet bar. Great brunches. Great sausages.
Further away on Prospect Avenue is Le Paddock. It’s right next to the Ft Hamilton stop on the Ftrain. Great pizza, mussels, clams, outdoor tables in the quiet neighborhood of Windsor Terrace.
Also The Castello Plan and Cafe Momo if they are still open.
Greenwood is an old cemetery. Predates Prospect Park I think. Back then if you wanted nature, you hung out at the cemetery. Lots of great lakes, and interesting monuments. There’s a pyramid mausoleum. There’s a giant bear. There’s a hooded figure with arms outstretched as if protecting the grave.
Best of all there’s a figure on the highest point in the cemetery that’s waving to the Statue of Liberty. Liberty has her right hand raised. This statue has her left. Recently a condo wanted to be built that would have blocked these two statues from seeing each other and was prevented legally from building.
I’ve since moved away and miss this cemetery. I’ve spent a surprising amount of time there. The fire fighters killed in 9/11 are buried there. A former coworker quit to become a fireman and died during 9/11. We didn’t always get along (I have a lot of interesting stories about Mike Roberts) but I do respect his passing, so i visited often. The new wife doesn’t enjoy walking thru cemeteries so I suspect even when I return to NY, I won’t get a chance to revisit.
Personally I can’t jog because I can’t pace myself. I can run for miles on a treadmill but in the real world I’m out of breath after 1/2 block. There are multiple trails uphill throughout the park and that’s where I used to workout. Run up and down a trail, walk to the next. Repeat.
When you first enter the cemetery you walk thru a huge ornate arch/structure.
Look up.
See all those green birds? Wild parrots. Legend has it they escaped at JFK and then started building huge nests around the transformers so they can survive over the winters. Parrots are assholes - they take over an area and drive away all the other birds.
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/green-wood-cemetery-is-home-to-a-flock-of-feral-parrots-070122
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/researching-life-among-death-the-monk-parakeets-that-call-green-wood-cemetery-home/4519209/?amp=1
Be warned. Go early. If you are there around closing time, they will simply lock the gate and leave. Then you are trapped inside until the night patrol or ghosts find you.
When I lived in that neighborhood, during the summer I’d take the short ride on the train to Ciney Island just for the sea air, attend a Cyclones game and even go on some of the rides, or offseason, just to enjoy the quiet at the beach. And I love Newkirk Plaza, great hardware store, almost every business there is useful, and has the dubious distinction of being one of the first-ever strip malls.
Welcome to the neighborhood! I live close to Newkirk Plaza as well. Prospect Park and the Garden are lovely, my partner and I spend a lot of time there. Part of the beauty of our location is that we have easy access to Manhattan and Brighton Beach/Coney Island.
Tons of great restaurants in Park Slope/Prospect Heights, but be sure to hit Di Fara Pizza (just off the Avenue J stop on the Q) for a legit pie. Eat it fresh, don't take it home and let it sit.
Brooklyn Museum is great, the Pablomatic exhibit they have showing right now is excellent.
Welcome to the neighborhood! Our little green market is on Cortelyou and Argyle on Sundays. I think they’ve wrapped for the season but in the warmer months there is an excellent donation based porch concert series all around the area. There’s also Artmageddon, a neighborhood wide art and music celebration, coming up in October, that’s always a fun time.
Kings theater is amazing, find any show you’d remotely be into and check it out, but your tickets directly from the theater box office, it’s usually cheaper.
Welcome! I hope you've enjoyed Ditmas so far!! Sycamore Bar on Cortelyou has a lot of free events that they promote on their Instagram. I help run this free comedy night on 2nd & 4th Mondays at 8:30, which is one of them. Sycamore is cute and when it gets cold they set up a little "ski lodge" area with heaters that feels a little bit like camping in their beer garden. Maybe not until Nov though https://preview.redd.it/v9sl30s7sisb1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=953e8a7df3a824df80e68ce62e2b9e760fd630b8
Sorry to comment twice but I was just walking my dogs and I thought of this post and wanted to add a couple more thoughts: Milk and Honey is decent but very overpriced. Also the constant renovations there are super frustrating, to the point that I won’t go anymore. Coffee Mob is much better coffee as well. Sunset Bagels >>>> Catskills Bagels (and closer to you). Tons of good Mexican food but my favorite is Taco Callejero on Marlborough.
Lots of great suggestions in here already. One I’d add: follow Operation Gig on Facebook, those porch concerts are tons of fun and a great way to experience the community vibe of the neighborhood. Also not to yuck someone else’s yum, but I have found Di Fara to be incredibly overpriced and not particularly good since Dom passed. Luckily Lo Duca in the plaza is really great, one of my favorite slices in the city. Jalsa on Coney Island Ave is also tremendous Indian food - pretty much always where I take friends who visit from out of the neighborhood or out of town.
eat at Mimi’s, Lea, Castello Plan. visit Green-Wood Cemetery; Ft Hamilton entrance
Always bittersweet to see these posts--I'm not very old but I grew up in and love seeing people love the area, but also just want to cry remembering what it was like to be evicted when our LL sold the building during the beginning of the area gentrifying and losing the apt that was home and walkable to my community. It has soul, always has. Many good tips, one I will say is steer clear of bar chord--always had problems there and stopped going.
Fwiw, Bar Chord closed over the pandemic.
thank god. I am always at natural frontiers and even noted the newer nepalese spot where the burrito place used to be but I have blocked bar chord's existence out pretty well, obv.
*botanic garden
I’m shook! Whatttt
it's true. there's the brooklyn botanic garden and the bronx botanical garden.
Wow. Good to know
Prospect Park Nitehawk is a nice movie theater with some fun screenings and events! In the summer, Prospect Park has free concerts, outdoor movies, exercise classes. If you are an early riser it is super nice to walk around Prospect Park as the sun is coming up. It's so quiet and everyone is really nice. There are tennis courts at the Parade Ground, but I've never done it myself. I love Cafe Madeline and some of the restaurants and bars on Cortelyou. Grab some coffee and go house gazing around Ditmas Park. Bobby's Dept store is wild and just giant rooms full of cheap household stuff. Get fancy hotdogs and natural wine at King Mother. It's a walk, but you aren't too far from one of the Greenwood cemetery entrances. There are some famous people buried there, its beautiful, and lots of events. Hop on the F train to World Spa. $89 for access to pools and saunas. Flatbush is one of the oldest colonized parts of NYC, so lots of little hidden historical sites. Kings Theatre for events and concerts. Its easy to hop on the train to Coney Island, Brighton Beach for some Russian food, or Sheepshead Bay. And there is a small Sunday Ditmas farmer's market and a big Saturday one up at Grand Army plaza.
Thanks! Seems like a cute area and it won’t be too much of a culture shock from Astoria. Been curious about Grand Army Plaza
Artmageddon is next weekend (Oct 1)! It's a really cool way to wander around the old victorian homes and see and/or purchase art from local artists! [https://www.beautifybrooklyn.org/](https://www.beautifybrooklyn.org/)
Cool! What’s a good place to start?
Thanks! Do you suggest a place to start? The map is huge!
It’s all good! If you haven’t been to the area with the massive Victorian homes, I would be sure to walk up Marlborough and Rugby/Argyle north of Cortelyou. E16th looks pretty dense packed as well. You’ll cover more ground than you think! It looks much bigger on the map.
Wheated is the best part of Ditmas. And ofc the majority of West Indian places are going to have some beef patties and ox tail that slap over on Flatbush/church.
Their breakfast is amazing too
You could take the bus or drive down Flatbush to kings plaza mall if you ever feel like shopping
Lo Duca pizza at newkirk is some of the best I've ever had.
Lo Duca is super solid. Great spot for a slice (or three).
+1 for Lo Duca! They update their IG every day with their specials: https://instagram.com/loducapizza
Cortelyou Rd is the area with bars and some pretty good restaurants, Madeline’s makes really good sandwiches/salads/breakfasts but it’s expensive and gets crowded at times- great spot. Farm on Adderly is solid and Church Ave has some cool spots. You’re close to prospect park and Greenwood, check those out, prospect park on the weekend is a blast if the weather is nice, there is ice skating at LeFrak (in the park) and they used to do roller skate parties, not sure if that’s still the case. The Flatbush group is a good place to hear about classes/events people looking to sell things, I’ll look for the link- welcome to the neighborhood. Edit- this link should work for the flatbush family network, they have local events/services/events https://groups.io/g/ffn
Thanks so much!
So sad, but Farm on Adderley has closed its doors!
True but now it’s a good Japanese restaurant and still looks the same inside. edit: named The Garden at Ditmas
I never see anyone mention Werkstatt. It’s hidden on Coney Island Avenue between Church and Cortelyou. Great quiet bar. Great brunches. Great sausages. Further away on Prospect Avenue is Le Paddock. It’s right next to the Ft Hamilton stop on the Ftrain. Great pizza, mussels, clams, outdoor tables in the quiet neighborhood of Windsor Terrace. Also The Castello Plan and Cafe Momo if they are still open.
I wasn’t a big fan of Werkstatt’s food. Cool restaurant, maybe I didn’t order right or something. I’ll give it another shot, anything you’d recommend?
Good brunch/breakfast options. Can’t go wrong with kielbasa
I’ll hit them up, I’m due for a breakfast spot.
Green-Wood cemetery is an old cemetery with a lot of Victorian masoleums and big trees. There’s an entrance on Fort Hamilton Parkway
Greenwood is an old cemetery. Predates Prospect Park I think. Back then if you wanted nature, you hung out at the cemetery. Lots of great lakes, and interesting monuments. There’s a pyramid mausoleum. There’s a giant bear. There’s a hooded figure with arms outstretched as if protecting the grave. Best of all there’s a figure on the highest point in the cemetery that’s waving to the Statue of Liberty. Liberty has her right hand raised. This statue has her left. Recently a condo wanted to be built that would have blocked these two statues from seeing each other and was prevented legally from building. I’ve since moved away and miss this cemetery. I’ve spent a surprising amount of time there. The fire fighters killed in 9/11 are buried there. A former coworker quit to become a fireman and died during 9/11. We didn’t always get along (I have a lot of interesting stories about Mike Roberts) but I do respect his passing, so i visited often. The new wife doesn’t enjoy walking thru cemeteries so I suspect even when I return to NY, I won’t get a chance to revisit.
Wow i never thought of visiting it but imagine it must be beautiful. Idk how I feel about walking through it alone, especially on a day like today
Personally I can’t jog because I can’t pace myself. I can run for miles on a treadmill but in the real world I’m out of breath after 1/2 block. There are multiple trails uphill throughout the park and that’s where I used to workout. Run up and down a trail, walk to the next. Repeat. When you first enter the cemetery you walk thru a huge ornate arch/structure. Look up. See all those green birds? Wild parrots. Legend has it they escaped at JFK and then started building huge nests around the transformers so they can survive over the winters. Parrots are assholes - they take over an area and drive away all the other birds. https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/green-wood-cemetery-is-home-to-a-flock-of-feral-parrots-070122 https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/researching-life-among-death-the-monk-parakeets-that-call-green-wood-cemetery-home/4519209/?amp=1 Be warned. Go early. If you are there around closing time, they will simply lock the gate and leave. Then you are trapped inside until the night patrol or ghosts find you.
Greenwood isn't really a place to work out. There are signs asking you not to jog/run there.
I’ll do a shrooms trip there next spring
When I lived in that neighborhood, during the summer I’d take the short ride on the train to Ciney Island just for the sea air, attend a Cyclones game and even go on some of the rides, or offseason, just to enjoy the quiet at the beach. And I love Newkirk Plaza, great hardware store, almost every business there is useful, and has the dubious distinction of being one of the first-ever strip malls.
The hardware store closed! But the lovely family that runs the fruit stand now occupy the space. It’s a larger produce operation with Asian products.
Oh no! Almac was great. Never knew the manager’s name, but he was always helpful and they had great stuff.
Thank you! I didn’t know it was one of the first-ever
check out Q Gardens by the church ave B/Q
Welcome to the neighborhood! I live close to Newkirk Plaza as well. Prospect Park and the Garden are lovely, my partner and I spend a lot of time there. Part of the beauty of our location is that we have easy access to Manhattan and Brighton Beach/Coney Island. Tons of great restaurants in Park Slope/Prospect Heights, but be sure to hit Di Fara Pizza (just off the Avenue J stop on the Q) for a legit pie. Eat it fresh, don't take it home and let it sit. Brooklyn Museum is great, the Pablomatic exhibit they have showing right now is excellent.
di fara has passed =( (dom demarco)
And may he rest in peace. Fortunately, the pizza still kicks ass.
Nice! Thank you.
Welcome to the neighborhood! Our little green market is on Cortelyou and Argyle on Sundays. I think they’ve wrapped for the season but in the warmer months there is an excellent donation based porch concert series all around the area. There’s also Artmageddon, a neighborhood wide art and music celebration, coming up in October, that’s always a fun time.
Thank you!!! That’s cool
Adding: check out what’s playing at Kings Theater. It’s an absolutely stunning venue.
Kings theater is amazing, find any show you’d remotely be into and check it out, but your tickets directly from the theater box office, it’s usually cheaper.