Sunday, July 15

I Heart the Outer Boroughs

seems like i've been spending most of my spare time galavanting through all boroughs EXCEPT manhattan. even as a manhattanite, i am not ashamed to admit that i have a soft spot for the outer boroughs. my grandparents live in flushing, so queens holds a tender place in my heart. and besides, flushing has the Best Dim Sum in new york city. i specify that because really? the best dim sum is in hong kong. other great things in queens: The Mets, home to my favorite sporting even (the U.S. Open), and two places I spent browning myself last weekend:

Water Taxi Beach
dude. i love this place. they even have their own blog. it's also just a great place to chill on a sunny weekend when the thought of venturing to a beach via train or car seems too overwhelming. My cous and I took the water taxi from the 34th street pier (also reachable via the 7 train-- 1 stop from manhattan) and parked ourselves on one of their benches. the sand here was hauled from new jersey (stop hating on the jersey!) and the spot overlooks the east river and the nyc skyline-- a perfect spot to drink cheap beers, eat bbq (even vegetarian options!) and watch the sunset. and on weekends they have Big Name DJs (i kid you not--Grandmaster Flash is friggin spinning in August) spinning till you're too wasted to worry if you're burnt to a crisp.

Jacob Riis Park
me and my NC gals road-tripped through all of brooklyn (and i mean, ALL of brooklyn) to get to "deserted" Jacob Riis Park in the Rockaways (that's the edge of Queens kids). and by deserted, i mean it was fucking crowded. holy shit, this place was packed with a whole other side of new york--tons of families (this place definitely shows Queens strong and growing latin population) grilling on the lawn and tons of more families frolicking on the beach. walk east a little, and you find the gay side of the beach. which is also the nude side of the beach. holy crap, i saw some boobs that i really wasn't prepared to see...and i thought the sun was blinding.

this weekend, i was all about BK! that's brooklyn bitches. except, the part of brooklyn i frequented was more refined, more grown-up, and more unlike my life. i spent half the weekend pretending that smith street was les champs elysses and celebrated bastille day with the rest of the cool brooklynites (often cool brooklyn couples walking hand-in-hand) and got in a game of petanque. my friend C and i had the Best Petanque Team Name: Team Twinkie. if you saw us, you would get it. the cafe owner who set up petanque courts showed me the proper way to toss un boule and i must admit, the game is friggin fascinating.

the other part of my weekend was spent at a friend's rooftop party in boerum hill (celebrity followers: they live 2 blocks from Heath and Michelle) and admired the incredible view from their newly refurbished roof. i have to admit, i had a bit of life-envy as i watched my friend's hubby grilling from their brand spanking new grill (with a nightlight included!) and admired the idyllic patio furniture as I sat munching on cucumber salad, staring over at manhattan in the not-so-far distance. yes, i aspire to a hip brooklyn lifestyle, including a hip brooklyn hubby who maybe cooks and is handy around the house and appreciates my affinity for a good roasted pork loin. mmm...pork. but last i checked, i'm still a manhattanite who lives alone, cooks (and drinks) by herself some days when not laughing up a storm and being stupid with friends on other days. i guess my dream life in the brooklyn (or another borough for that matter) will have to wait.

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