[My Favorite Park Slope...]: Pizza

Photo credit: City Search

I love pizza. I love pizza in such a completely non-discriminatory way that I’ve never met a slice I would turn down. There have been times in my life when I would literally eat pizza at every meal for at least two days in a row.

And that is all because of Smilie’s (side note: it's actually called “Smiling Pizza,” which I think is a stupid name, but until the age of 10 or 11 I thought it was called "Smilie's.".

Look, it may not actually be the best pizza in Park Slope, let alone the world, but I wouldn’t know since it’s the first and only pizza I ever really ate until around second grade. Smilie’s set my personal standard for pizza and began a lifelong love affair.

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[My Favorite Park Slope...]: Place To Buy Vintage Clothes

While Park Slope has a lot of vintage/consignment/thrift stores, they mostly offer casual-ware (at least for us guys).  But now and again I like to dapper up, al la Don Draper, which is why I pop into Allure from time to time.  

The owner, a 70-year old Ukrainian named Alexandra, has been on 5^th avenue since back in the days when there wasn’t much open on 5^th Ave.  What sets her apart is the quality of goods.  Rather than reselling as much merchandise as possible, she curates the offerings and so it’s generally high quality stuff.   For example, I just bought an Ermenegildo Zegna blazer for a fraction of what it would cost new, plus a couple of ties from Versace and Valentino.  Score.

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[MY FAVORITE PARK SLOPE...]: MEDIUM

Look: Despite the fact that I know you'll ignore me and make fun of my ass in the comments no matter what, I am sooo not interested in getting into a back-n-forth thing with anyone on whether or not: 

*I'm a complete fucking moron for believing in this sort of stuff.
*What happens to dead people when they die.
*Why you think I've watched too many eps of the Ghost Whisperer (for the record, I've watched zero). 

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[My Favorite Park Slope...]: Place to Buy Cold Cuts

I grew up on the Upper West Side. It was here that I'd visit a little vegetable and grocery store that also employed a butcher. I can still remember excitedly reaching up for the slice of bologna I was handed as I waited beside my mother for our order to be ready. It always tasted so great, and made me feel like I’d been good and deserved a treat. 

Imagine my surprise when, decades later, I was handed an even better slice as I stood among olive paste and Jacques Torres chocolates in an upscale Park Slope store. Luckily, I had grown enough to reach the counter and therefore was able to look the owner of Blue Apron Foods on Union Street in the eye as I thanked him. Turns out the bologna was a Polish kind that he gets from a secret source, and I am telling you, if you are a fan, the not-too-salty slices are worth a special trip.

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[My Favorite Park Slope...]: Coffee Shop Breakfast Options

Kos Kaffe's Granola BowlAs an unemployed loser relentlessly hopeful freelance writer, I spend most days working in coffee shops around the neighborhood. And because I often forget to buy basic morning essentials like eggs, milk and Peanut Butter Puffins while out grocery shopping, I usually end up eating breakfast at said coffee shops. I'm thankful that we've got so many great cafes in this neighborhood -- Postmark, Cafe Regular, Tea Lounge, Cafe Grumpy, Cocoa Bar, Cafe Martin, Gorilla, Noella Brew Bar -- but when it comes to breakfast options, I have to tip my shabby cap to Kos Kaffe. When the coffee shop first opened a few months back they weren't offering much for food, but have recently introduced breakfast and lunch options via a chalkboard hanging above the counter. And I've slowly been sampling every single dish.

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