The V-Spot

If you've ever shopped at Beacon's Closet (5th Ave and Warren), you understand that once you emerge, clutching your inexpensive thrift/resale finds, you will need a snack ASAP. Maybe it's just me, but something about a shopping trip that requires focus and dedication makes me hungry. But then, a lot of things make me hungry.

Regardless, as my two friends and I wandered 5th Avenue not sure where to go, we passed The V-Spot (5th Ave between Douglass and Degraw). We snickered about the name, but they were handing out samples of vegan empanadas, so we swallowed our pride. I am not, and nor do I plan to ever be, vegetarian, but these empanadas were delicious: crisp, flaky crust stuffed with tasty Latin-seasoned seitan and veggies and topped with fresh spicy salsa.

We sat outside on the sunny patio and paired our empanadas with fried plantains and sweet potato fries. I also ordered homemade lemonade - the perfect refreshment on a sweltering summer day in Brooklyn. If you're in the area and feeling herbivorous, check it out.

A Brooklyn State of Mind

Hello and welcome! In case you stumbled across this publication, or if the address came up on your Ouija board, we'd like to take a moment to introduce ourselves.

We live in Park Slope, Brooklyn, which is a pretty rad place. It is picturesque, charming, and runs the gamut from stroller-wielding moms to the ultra-hip literary set. We fall somewhere in between -- neither hip nor moms.

Since we emigrated to New York from the Wild [Mid]West, we share that insatiable desire to explore and learn and do.

So we're at your service as anonymous observers of the Brooklyn way of life.