Bodega This!

Full disclosure #1: I've only lived in Brooklyn for a decade.

Full disclosure #2: I've never lived in Park Slope.

Full disclosure #3: I LOVE judging the people & businesses & whatnot of Park Slope.

I know. I know, obnoxious FIPS commenters. I realize that I'm not a TRUE resident & I never will be even if I hit the lottery & buy a Park Slope apartment & eventually die a lonely, crusty ol' elderly death within its walls. As a non-resident, I'm not allowed to complain about what goes on in Park Slope one single bit. Luckily, today I've come to compliment your EXCLUSIVE neighborhood.

Around this time last year, I moved from my "Greenwood Heights" apartment to a place way down in Dyker Heights, where I've been ever since. I'm a devoted, obsessive snacker & drinker and down in those parts, the options for quality snacking are basically non-existent, especially after the clock strikes seven in the eve.

To fill this void, I've spent many a night riding the subway back & forth from Park Slope to procure snackables & drinkables. I've made countless snack-related booty calls at one in the morn on my way home from Manhattan.

I don't if you know this, but you Park Slopers have a bodega in your hood that's pretty much the awesomest bodega in existence—5th Avenue Market. It puts the rest of the hood's bodegas to shame, shining like a beacon of snacking light twenty-four hours a day from the corner of 5th & Berkeley.

As one who loves drinking, every time I go there I head straight to the back of the store, where there’s a whole cooler of mostly non-HFCS sodas and a beer selection that's made me cheat on Bierkraft many a time.

Snackwise, you've got a ton of options. The whole front corner window is filled with a ridiculous selection of chips & popcorns. They've got a bunch of organic cookies & relatively good produce & a rack of salsas & another rack of gourmet chocolates. In the back, they've got a freezer full of high-priced, organic dinners. For the most part, a majority of the stuff they carry has a healthy bent to it. Although I've never ordered one myself, they'll even assemble a fresh, late night sandwich for your drunk ass. Last I checked, if your jar of almond butter is empty & you're out of green apple blunt wraps, they've got you covered there too.

What really seals the deal for me is the dudes who work there, who treat me like I'm oh so special practically every time I'm there. The short guy with the hat has jokingly charged me $75 for a bag of chips & a beer a number of times over the past year and for some reason, it still hasn't got old.

So yeah…It's the complete package...BEST bodega in Park Slope hands down. Recognize, suckas.

Read way more from Shawn at eatdrinksnack.com.