Subject: Re: Write-Ups |
From: "BushwickBK.com" <write@bushwickbk.com> |
Date: 4/29/09, 18:08 |
To: Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com> |
Okay, I'll get a review of Life to you later this week, then I'll do those two others a bit later on.
Thanks,
Barrett Brown
Brooklyn, NY
512-560-2302On Wed, Apr 29, 2009 at 11:52 AM, BushwickBK.com <write@bushwickbk.com> wrote:
Hey Barrett, this is pretty great. However, I'm thinking since we don't have a review of Life yet (I know!) that should be done first before talking about it so heavily here. So if you want to do that, it's cool. You have a great style.
Also, at the end of reviews, include this info:
Name of business (linked to site)
Address | phone
Price range
Hours
Delivery Y/N
--JOn Wed, Apr 29, 2009 at 11:12 AM, Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:
Jeremy-
Here's the first of those three pieces you approved earlier this month. Sorry about the delay, I've been unusually busy. Let me know if this piece works for you and if so I'll go ahead and write up the other two.
Thanks,
Barrett Brown
Brooklyn, NY
512-560-2302
Wreck Room
We haven't quite reached the point at which someone would make a Thursday evening proposal to "go to Flushing Avenue" in the same sense that one might propose to his or her friends that they "go to Bedford;" the portion of Flushing that runs through Bushwick is still flanked mostly by vacant warehouses, tortilla factories, and import/export firms that are either out of business or doing very well (it's hard to tell with import/export firms). But the little stretch between Evergreen and Bogart shows promise. On one side, we find Life Cafe NINE83, the second incarnation of the original Life Cafe in the East Village. On the other, we find Wreck Room, a fine little bar that is perhaps best thought of as Life Cafe's evil twin.
Whereas Life gives off a suitably wholesome vibe - perky people dining with friends, consuming food first and drinking only as an afterthought - Wreck Room is a drinking person's bar, darker and more fun than its competitor across the street. Life is the place where you order a ten dollar salmon burger when money is reliable and you're on a protein kick because you've been working out; Wreck Room is the place where you borrow a few bucks from a friend because you blew all your money on salmon burgers at Life, or would have if you hadn't blown all of your money at Wreck Room first.
Your friend won't have to lend you much; pricing is one of Wreck Room's great charms, with the beer in particular being as cheap as you'll find in any bar above the equator. From six to ten, one may partake of a Tecate or some other such fine thing for a scant two bucks; better yet, you can order one of several drink combo deals of the Tecate-and-Sauza variety for five. Chief among resident bargains, though, is the Genny-and-Beam special comprised of a Genesee Cream Ale alongside a shot of Jim Beam, priced at only four dollars and thereby economically comparable to drinking bodega-bought beer on one's porch.
But it's easy to overstate the joint's dive-esque attributes, as I've been doing for three paragraphs. Wreck Room is a cheerful place in its own way, often very much so, and the bar offers a range of nifty activities aside from borrowing money from friends. Bartenders lead weekly games of bingo and other such improbable things, for instance, and it's also one of the few spots in the area with pool tables. When it's on, the TV hanging above the bar itself is generally tuned to either The Simpsons or some appropriately bizarre film like Dune (Sunday evenings are officially given over to viewings of Adult Swim, which would have been a nice feature several years ago when Adult Swim was good). For the most part, music is care of a bartender's laptop hooked up to the stereo, though weekend nights bring in local DJs and the occasional live band with an apparent emphasis on punk, which apparently still exists.
Though Wreck Room doesn't look like the sort of place that would sport a nuanced food menu or any food menu, the edible offerings include all of the things you'd expect to find (fried pickles) along with plenty of things that you wouldn't (Korean sandwiches). Even the more mundane items are generally served with flair; popcorn shrimp comes served with thai chili lime sauce, for instance, and the BBQ ribs are made with guava. Wreck Room, like Bushwick, is filled with such pleasant surprises.
On Thu, Apr 2, 2009 at 4:39 PM, BushwickBK.com <write@bushwickbk.com> wrote:
Hey Barrett, yeah I'd like something on those bars, but as separate pieces and most definitely not geared toward outsiders coming to Bushwick, rather toward the residents of Bushwick.
Fat Albert's = yes! I have never been inside but that place is fascinating. For example, how all the awning signs say Fad Albert's and they couldn't give enough of a shit to send them back for correction!
As for "beats," I'd be very impressed if you came up with community news stories. The idea is to gear the site more toward being a newspaper. We can talkmore about that -- for now I'd liek to see what kind of pieces you can turn out. It's not a lot but I'm currently paying $20-$30 for most pieces. Something magazine-quality would obv get more.
--JOn Thu, Apr 2, 2009 at 12:16 PM, Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi, Jeremy-
This is Barrett Brown; we met at the Bushwick BK meeting last month. I'm ready to start contributing, and was wondering if you'd be interested in a piece on King's County (the bar on Siegel) and Wreck Room (on Flushing), theme being places to grab a drink when leaving/arriving at the Morgan stop. Also, would you be interested in a piece on the joys of shopping at Fat Albert's, the wacky department store on Flushing and Broadway? Let me know if you need more details.
Also, what sort of beats are you still looking for people to cover, and what are your primary content needs in general?
Thanks,
Barrett Brown
Brooklyn, NY
512-560-2302