Jeremy Wilson, Bar Manager at Ramona with the Painting the Daybreaks cocktail
Need a new signature drink as your summer of frosé becomes a very distant memory? Ramona’s bar manager Jeremy Wilson takes this tricky life decision off your plate in this week’s installment of our winter survival guide. Check out our previous winter guide interviews here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
Greenpointers: Is there a favorite cocktail that you have on the menu that you could recommend if you want to feel more uplifted in the winter months?
Jeremy Wilson: We usually come up with a couple of hot drinks for the winter. We have the hot toddy that we always do called Elsa’s Toddy, named after our sister bar. Especially when it’s snowing, people come in and ask for it. It’s rye whiskey, lemon juice, maple syrup that’s cut with water, fresh mint, hot water and angostura bitters on top. It’s pretty clean and refreshing and just makes you feel better.
GP: What are some other drinks that you’d recommend at this time of year?
JW: The other drink would be the Black Book which is bourbon, honey, lemon, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and jalapeño. The cinnamon really comes out in the forefront and the jalapeño lingers at the end. A lot of people think it tastes like Christmas. We also have a cocktail called Painting the Daybreaks which is for the relief fund for Puerto Rico and it’s coconut, tequila, cinnamon, cassis, orange rind, lime juice, and coconut La Croix on top. It’s a very big, loud drink and it’s really good. When you use cinnamon, coconut and tequila with other ingredients, you can make a pretty great holiday cocktail.Continue reading →
Surely just surviving the walk to the G train in this freezing weather must mean we’re burning enough calories to outweigh all of the apple cider donuts, right? This week, as part of our 8-part winter survival guide series, we spoke with Crunch personal trainer Kaitlin Mazzei about changing up our fitness routines in the winter months. Check out our previous interviews here, here, here, here, here, and here.
FITNESS: CRUNCH | 825 Manhattan Avenue Kaitlin Mazzei, Personal Trainer
Greenpointers: Do you see more or less people in the gym in winter?
Kaitlin Mazzei: As soon as it starts to get cold people pretty much stay at home. Especially because that also tends to be the time around the holidays and I’ve noticed that most people say fuck it because they’re going to be eating poorly anyway. But once January hits, BOOM. The New Year’s resolutions are back and the gym is packed for about a month or two. Then it’s quieter again until right before summer.Continue reading →
Steffanie Ostrowski, Floor Manager of Word Brooklyn.
What types of books are your fellow Greenpointers curling up with this winter? More winter survival tips are coming your way this week, this time we get some solid literary recommendations from Word Bookstore’s Brooklyn floor manager Steffanie Ostrowski.
BOOKS: WORD BROOKLYN| 126 Franklin Street Steffanie Ostrowski, Floor Manager
Greenpointers: What types of books are currently the most popular at the Greenpoint store?
Steffanie Ostrowski: I think that in general, everyone is looking for a lot of social science books so that they can learn about things that are going on today. Also, there’s the escapism of fiction so that they don’t have to deal with the world, so people are getting the new fiction that’s coming out. When Pete Souza’s Obama book came out, that was our big ticket item. Now it’s out of stock everywhere because everyone just wanted to remember.Continue reading →
Laura Estroff, Head Colorist & Amy Bradbury, Head Stylist at Kennaland
If you’re well into a season defined by hat hair and rogue static, check out the next piece of wisdom in our Winter Survival Guide series from Kennaland stylist Amy Bradbury and colorist Laura Estroff who delivered their mane knowledge to us. Check out our previous winter survival interviews here, here and here, and here.
HAIRCARE: KENNALAND| 113 Franklin Street Amy Bradbury, Head Stylist & Laura Estroff, Head Colorist
Greenpointers: What are the biggest changes that your hair goes through in the winter months?
Amy Bradbury: It tends to be more dry so a lot more people need to use a heavier conditioner or a mask and use products that help with a drier scalp for dandruff or static.
Laura Estroff: Also, your hair tends to get really tangled on the ends due to scarves or hoods or hats, so using moisturizing products is huge, as well as masks. A lot of people also have hat hair from their hats so something like a dry shampoo will help reduce the oil and give you a little more life and volume.Continue reading →
The dark and cold of these frosty months tends to provide the perfect backdrop for indulging in a good, winter wallow when it comes to music. Next up in our series of winter survival tips, we chat to Academy Records Annex’s manager Cory Feierman about his recommendations for some solid hibernation music. Check out our previous interviews here, here and here.
MUSIC: ACADEMY RECORDS | 85 Oak Street Cory Feierman, Manager
Greenpointers: What music would you recommend to people to feel more uplifted this winter?
Cory Feierman: I think that music is always directed to how you’re feeling and how the world is treating you and that includes the weather. What I find uplifting in the winter time are the classic power pop records like the first two Big Star records, Todd Rundgren Something/Anything? or maybe the second Carole King record. Something that is lyrically a little heart-breaking, but still sounds sweet and driving and moving.Continue reading →
Rob Garcia, General Manager at Champion Coffee, 1107 Manhattan Ave
There’s nothing more enjoyable than cradling a hot coffee in this insanely cold weather. In our next interview as part of our winter survival guide series, we spoke to Champion Coffee’s Manhattan Avenue manager Rob Garcia about his favorite cold weather drinks when visiting Champion or when you’re planning a day of hibernation at home. Check out our previous interviews here and here.
COFFEE: CHAMPION| 142 Nassau Ave, 1107 Manhattan Ave Rob Gargia, General Manager
Greenpointers: What is your favorite type of coffee drink to get through the winter?
Rob Garcia: I feel like drip coffee is underrated in general and I know that that is boring, but I really would suggest it. People think that espresso has more caffeine, but drip coffee has twice the amount. I’ve been really enjoying just sitting with a drip coffee. If you do want an espresso drink, macchiatos are also underrated in my opinion.Continue reading →
PLANTS & FLOWERS: HOMECOMING | 107 Franklin Street Vanessa Chinga-Haven, Owner
Greenpointers: Which plants do better in a heated apartment in the winter months?
Vanessa Chinga-Haven: I like to go with philodendrons, because they’re easy and a lot of people know those. They’re my go-to because they survive and they’re a low light plant. Otherwise you could go with ZZ plant which is also very resilient. We also have snake plants that are very hardy. Those would be my three go-to plants.Continue reading →
It was a long time coming, but the past week’s snowfall seems to indicate that winter is finally upon us! To fully equip you for the season, we spoke with eight local businesses to get their Greenpoint winter survival tips and favorite local haunts for the cold days ahead of us, and this is the first one in our series. I’m feeling better already.
WELLNESS: MAHA ROSE | 97 Green Street Gabrielle Gray, Studio Manager
Greenpointers: What tweaks should we make to our routines in the winter months?
Gabrielle Gray: One of my favorite things about the winter is that naturally we just go within. The weather is so terrible that you want to hibernate a little bit and we want to quieten down and we want to get cozy. That instinct I think is natural and we can all honor that a little more. New York City is such a go city, but allow yourself to relax a little bit more. That’s what the weather is calling for.Continue reading →
Independent Greenpoint filmmaker Ron Brodie. Photo by Don Brodie.
Greenpoint local Ron Brodie is a freelance independent filmmaker and creative consultant who has lived in the neighborhood for the last five years and used these streets as a backdrop in scenes in his recently released short film, JUMPMAN. A few blocks from that filming location, at Franklin Street’s Moonlight Mile (200 Franklin St), we chatted about filming on 35mm, why Greenpoint feels like a creative utopia and the project that started as a nod to the 35th anniversary of the Air Jordan sneaker and ultimately became about where following any dream can take you.
Greenpointers: Where did the idea for this project first come from?
Ron Brodie: My Director of Photography John Schmidt had come to me with this idea of paying homage to the Jordan sneaker turning 35. His idea was to shoot a 30-second spec commercial and he wanted to shoot on 35mm. 35 years and 35mm, it makes sense, right? I have a commercial background so I think he trusted me with this endeavor and thought we’d make a good, collaborative team. I came back to him and said, ‘We have an opportunity, why don’t we make a short film out of this?’. So the elements inspired by Jordan are still present, but the place I suggested we bring it to was a retrospective look at ourselves and maybe even our generation. Whereas a lot of kids dreamed about becoming Michael Jordan and being excellent, world-class basketball players, we’re still passionate about becoming amazing filmmakers. Whether we could be Jordan, or David Fincher or Steven Spielberg that is a little bit of a gamble and we’ll see where we land, but at least we have a dream and a passion.Continue reading →
Daniel Birnbaum of Ramen Railroad, serving up ramen at Budin (114 Greenpoint Ave) on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from noon till 10pm. Photo by Melissa Loseby.
The Greenpoint restaurant scene offers a wealth of wonderfully diverse and exciting dining options, but for some reason, finding a soul-warming bowl of ramen has remained elusive. While the American ramen obsession has often been credited to chef David Chang and the bowls he started serving at Momofuku Noodle Bar, Japan has been riding a rollercoaster of emotion over ramen since it was brought to them by Chinese tradesmen in the nineteenth century. Over the last few decades, Japan has created museums to ramen, ramen-themed video games and has even established ramen dating services to pair you with a partner who shares your passion for the dish.
Greenpoint is long overdue for its ramen moment.
While many would lament this culinary gap and continue to accept their fate of having to venture further afield for their broth, Greenpoint resident Daniel Birnbaum decided to take matters into his own hands. His passion for the hearty warming soup has lead him on a nourishing adventure which ultimately meant changing career paths in order to bring ramen to the neighborhood. Continue reading →
