Parking in Park Slope

When I first got here I had my car with me. Everyone told me how hard it would be to park, but I figured, they don't know from parking here in the Slope. They wear funny hats and go to a co-op and push strollers around. What could they possibly know about parking cars? And for several days I managed to easily find a spot right next to my apartment, only confirming in my own mind what a parking genius I was.

Then it came time to move my car for the whole alternate side of the street thing, and I ended up driving around for more than half an hour before I found a dubious spot on a street blocks away from mine. And then when I took the car out for a short spin the next day, it took me another half hour to find another horrible spot. Time to check out parking garages....oh my god, $325 per month? Are you kidding me? For a car? That's more per square foot than I pay for my not inconsiderably priced apartment!

So I took a step back to reassess and decided I wasn't even using the car that much (being single with no kids help). So F this parking situation, I'm going leave my car at a friend's house about 45 minutes away where parking is plentiful and there is no alternate side rule. And now I'm LOVING the fact that I don't have to worry about scrounging for a spot all the time! And yes, Park Slope, you were right about the parking problem...

Park Slope - 1
Park Slop Blogger - 0

Sweet Melissa's

So one of the first places I went in Park Slope was Sweet Melissa's, which is right around the corner from me, on 7th Ave. between 1st and 2nd streets. It's kind of an upscale bakery and sandwich shop with an interesting menu that includes things like "Welsh Rarebit" (not "rabbit" as I keep mis-reading the menu and sadly thinking "I love rabbit...oh, wait") and a Madeira Pate Sandwich. My friends tried the quiche which was amazing and I had the Boeuf Bourguignon which was also quite good. We then sampled more pastries than were entirely healthy for our waistlines. All were a little pricey but excellent, and I walked out of there with a pumpkin pie that I brought to a dinner party. The pie was super fantastic.

I only have two minor qualms with Sweet Melissa's: 1) On a later visit I had the Filet Mignon sandwich which was aggressively mediocre. 2) The entrance with the pastry counter is set up so that once more than three people are in line, it's crowded. And since the food is so good, there are always more than three people in line. But those are minor quibbles . Overall it gets and A rating from me!

The Big Move

So I moved to Park Slope in January 2007. I work in mid-town Manhattan but all the one-bedrooms on "the island" were either too cramped or in crappy neighborhoods so I decided to look elsewhere. A friend told me to check out Park Slope, where for the same price I found a spacious one-bedroom with a little side room, in a nice neighborhood, and close to a subway that takes about 20 minutes to mid-town. What's not to like? Plus I can now wear a "Brooklyn" hoodie like all the cool kids!