The Myrtle Ave Eco-Shopping Bag

Just purchased one at Gnarly Vines along with a Hope bottle of wine for my Easter meal on Long Island. Oh and they’re open til 6pm in case you were wondering. (Not true of the liquor shop at the corner of Washington.)

[where: 350 Myrtle ave, Brooklyn 11205 ]

– Posted using MobyPicture.com

Abistro-Gnarly-Abistro

Step 1

It may or may not work like this: you show up at ABistro [where: 154 Carlton Ave, Brooklyn, 11205] on a Saturday night, having heard about the delicious food despite the crammed space and non-decor and having forgotten it is BYOB. You have a guest in from Canada, eager for a Fort Greene culinary experience and you see all the people waiting on the bench outside holding a bottle of wine. The waitress puts you on the waitlist and suggests you go get a bottle of wine so you can be distracted during the wait.

Step 2
Your choices are:
1) the ghetto liquor store across the street, the kind with the jail-like bars and buzz-in cellar, the kind people accused of predatory practices when the avenue was nicknamed “Murder Avenue” and
2) Gnarly, a block and a half away. [Where: 360 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn, 11205]

You pick Gnarly despite the longer walk on what was once “Murder Avenue”, especially since your Canada guest wants an Upstate New York wine. When you show up, the owner, a relatively recent import to Fort Greene who is doing his best to get to know everyone, apologizes for having forgotten your name the last time you were there. (True story!) Your Canadian guest really likes Fort Greene.

Step 3
You go back to ABistro and savor the spicy fare and upstate wine despite the warm but inconsistent attention from the overworked waitress. You explain that it is due to understaffing. Not to mention Pratt students and budding genius artists have more important things to contribute to the world than excellent service. Your Canadian Guest falls in love with Fort Greene after the first bite of plaintain gnocchi.

Okay, this only happened to me once. But it is a precious instance of a neighborhood ritual that people will be talking about in 20 years. I love that it was documented by the Village Voice in What to bring to A Bistro, Fort Greene.