THIS JUST IN: THE ITALIANS ARE IN CHARGE HERE

Click to Englarge (image via very small arrayAs you may have surmised from my obsession with documenting every business in Park Slope, block by block, I'm a fan of deconstructing the makeup of cities. What it really boils down to is that I’m in love with maps. How much do I love them? Once, I was on a "date" and my female companion and I went into a Barnes & Noble and we sat on the floor for almost an hour looking at maps. It was like something out of a Wes Anderson film, right down to the part where things never worked out between us. I still had my maps though. They’ll never leave me.

To be honest, it's been a while since I've had good map, so when I stumbled across this map earlier this week, I just about lost it in my shorts. That's figuratively, of course. I was wearing pants anyhow. So this map...it breaks down the "Most Common Type of Restaurant in a Zip Code According to the Village Voice Restaurants Guide." Wait...the Village Voice is still relevant? Wow. Well, I guess it’s better than using Timeout NY as the basis of your map. They're kinda douchey.

According to the map breakdown, Park Slope's DOMINATED by Italian restaurants. I suppose it makes sense. There are a pretty good amount of Italian places and this was once an Italian-dominated neighborhood. Personally, I live on enough pasta at home that when I go out, there’s a 99% chance I'm not going Italian. That means that over time, I've effectively programmed my brain to devote zero real estate to their existence. That being the case, I would've thought that Japanese or Mexican would've prevailed, but I guess it's really a moot point. In five years everything will be New American Fusion anyhow.

See more from the map makers, very small array, here.

BREAKING: Mack's 140 = DUNZO?

image via MetromixHot off the presses, we just received the following tip from an anon FIPS tipster...a FIPSTER about Mack's 140 on 7th Ave:

Under the cloak of night the asshole owner Tony, who told no one what the deal was, not even his staff, dragged all the food and liquor out. He bailed on the joint after it wasn't living up to his expectations.  Not that they should have been that high given the space was so sterile and blah, nor did he give a crap about any customers. I truly did see him berate customers and staff alike. The place has been locked up since Monday with no signs or explanations.  Apparently he brought in partners who are taking over the joint and reworking it into a high end Italian restaurant though he still will have a stake in it. Here we go again. What a said missed opportunity for a much needed real bar on the North End of 7th Ave.

Well, well, well. Gotta confess: I checked that place out twice and thought it was insanely mediocre both times. And I agree re: the ambience...there was none.

Anyone else have scoop?

NYC Food Film Festival: Review

The Fourth Annual NYC Food Film Festival showed up in DUMBO this past weekend, and maybe it was the food, maybe it was the fact that I am ridiculously in love with DUMBO, maybe it was the heat stroke affecting the part of my brain that controls all cognitive reasoning—but I really liked this festival.

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Watch What You Eat: NYC Food Film Festival

Okay, okay, you can file this one under "technically not in Park Slope."  BUT, if you can get your lazy asses on the train and go a few stops up to DUMBO, you'll be in for a treat.

The fourth annual NYC Food Film Festival features an array of short films that are food-centric.  On tap for this year, we have Smokes & Ears, a doc about how good a pig ear sandwich can be (what?!), The Perfect Oyster, where a guy waxes poetic about—you guessed it—the perfect oyster, and many more.  THEN, they've got food events where you can eat some of the things you saw on-screen. 

Genius, right?

There are a few events happening throughout Manhattan (including the unfortunately named oyster bash, "Suck 'n' Shuck"), but check out the sick events happening right here in Brooklyn.

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FIPS Food Throwdowns: The Pizza Edition [Joe's Pizza vs. Tomato & Basil]

If you’re unfamiliar with FIPS Food Throwdowns, it’s a monthly series where we order the same exact thing from two different Park Slope restaurants, get it delivered, and evaluate which was better.  It's a culinary smackdown...a triumph of the delivery will.

This month, it's pizza, and truth be told, I was more excited about this than the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  And we know how much those heros on a half-shell love their goddamned pizza.

Say yes to pizza (and obesity!), say no to drugs!

You would honestly think that ordering a couple stupid pizzas would be easy, so I headed over to Erica's apartment so we could plot world domination and stuff our faces.  But it wasn't true.  IT JUST WASN'T TRUE.

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