Not Eating out in Park Slope (The results!)

So remember when we approached Cathy Erway of Not Eating Out in New York to recreate a beloved dish from a local Park Slope restaurant to provide us with an easy-to-follow recipe that we can make at home? 

Well, here it is, yo.  

In our original requests for dishes to create, BK Girl commented, asking for a recipe for a good squid salad.  And I was all like, "Stone Park Cafe's octopus appetizer is so good that it makes me want to fork over what meager salary I make every goddamned time I walk in that place"  (Full disclosure: I actually went to Stone Park Cafe this weekend and dropped $60 on dinner.  I guess I'll pay the ConEd bill, uh, never), so I suggested that Cathy try that one.

She she did, and here are the results!

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FIPS Food Throwdowns: The Burger Edition [Suggestions, pleaze]

Many of you may or may not be familiar with our monthly series, FIPS Food Throwdowns.  Basically, this is a battle royale of the take out world.  We judge on ordering ease, delivery time, price, taste, and how the food held up in transit.  We've done Asian, Mexican, and now, in honor of the beginning of BBQ season—we're doing burgers.

There are tons of restaurants around here that offer up a-m-a-z-i-n-g burgers, but a burger in a restaurant is a whole different ball game than a burger that's delivered to you.  So many things can go wrong!  For one, if it's shoved in a styrofoam container, the bun will almost certainly be soggy and gross.

So, what two places should we try out for the ultimate burger smackdown?  Remember, they HAVE to deliver.

Help a sister out?

Benchmark: No Longer a Secret

We're not sure whether the owners were trying to keep Benchmark a secret or not, but the cat's out of the bag now! 

This sign (among a few others) was slapped on the side of Loki Lounge, alerting Park Slopers of its presence.  And I'm so glad they did, because goddamn, this place is GOOD. 

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Not Eating Out in Park Slope

The blessing and curse of Park Slope is that we can't walk two feet without running into a restaurant of some sort.  The blessing, obviously, is that we don't have to cook—like, ever.  The curse, of course, is that eating out all of the time is e-x-p-e-n-s-i-v-e.  Just look at the FIPS Throwdowns if you want proof—$17 for some noodles and breaded chicken? COME ON, SZECHUAN DELIGHT, SOME OF US HAVE FAMILIES TO SUPPORT.  And since we spend all of our money on rent, it's difficult to justify shelling out $20 for a single meal, especially since $20 can buy a week's worth of groceries.  

Cue The Art of Eating In, the blog-turned-book of Brooklyn's own Cathy Erway.  The book details Erway's two-year jaunt not eating out (the experiment was also documented in her blog, Not Eating Out in New York).  

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OPEN LETTER: STAY OFF MY SIDEWALKS

If you can find the fucking sidewalk, stay off it or else.

Dear Delivery Men of Park Slope,

First, let me start this off by saying I'm very grateful for you.  You do a job that I don't want to, and for a mere few extra bucks, indulge my sloth and gluttony right to my front doorstep.  I'd give you all one massive hug, but I'm usually too busy stuffing my face with Thai food that I make you deliver during the ninth blizzard in this month that's probably going on outside right now.

Now that that's out of the way, here's the deal.  Just because you are bringing some equally fat and lazy Slope resident delicious treats doesn't mean that you are allowed to ride your bike on the fucking sidewalk.  It does not mean you are allowed to put my health and life in danger.  And it definitely does not grant you the permission to keep going on a fucking straight trajectory while you expect me to dive into the bushes to avoid you, ostensibly testing my athletic ability to play human Frogger.

I'm sure you'll all tell me to get off my own ass and get my own food.  But that's beside the point.  And as long as I have this forum to bitch - and as long as you riding on the sidewalks is illegal, because I'm preeeety sure it is - I will continue to shout obscenities at you as you ride by.

Listen, I have sympathy - I was almost engaged to a man who delivered pizza throughout his teen years, so I not only understand how much your job blows, but also commiserate with your girlfriends who have to hear your whining about how undertipped you were.  But for fuck's sake, keep it off the sidewalks.

Compassion through bitching, 

Meredith