How should I spend this Saturday on my own in Brooklyn/NYC?
May 10, 2018 6:23 PM Subscribe
I'm visiting a friend in Brooklyn (Crown Heights) this weekend and due to unforeseen circumstances he won't be around at all on Saturday, so I'll be on my own. I want to spend the day reading, journaling, wandering, and reflecting on turning 25 -- where should I go and what should I do?
I turn 25 next Sunday, so want to use at least part of the day reflecting on that, as well as doing some reading and hopefully writing -- in a park? Cafe? Museum? Bookstore? I'd also love food recommendations where it won't feel odd eating on my own -- or a favorite vintage clothing store to pop into.
I'll be based in Crown Heights, but don't mind taking the subway/Lyft elsewhere in Brooklyn or to another borough. Queer-ish spaces a plus!
I turn 25 next Sunday, so want to use at least part of the day reflecting on that, as well as doing some reading and hopefully writing -- in a park? Cafe? Museum? Bookstore? I'd also love food recommendations where it won't feel odd eating on my own -- or a favorite vintage clothing store to pop into.
I'll be based in Crown Heights, but don't mind taking the subway/Lyft elsewhere in Brooklyn or to another borough. Queer-ish spaces a plus!
Note that rain, and possibly afternoon thunderstorms, are in the forecast for Saturday.
posted by plastic_animals at 7:24 PM on May 10, 2018
posted by plastic_animals at 7:24 PM on May 10, 2018
Response by poster: Thanks for flagging, plastic_animals -- I love Prospect Park but with the likely rain inside recommendations would be preferred!
posted by kylej at 7:26 PM on May 10, 2018
posted by kylej at 7:26 PM on May 10, 2018
Housing Works has a bookstore in Manhattan that has a great cafe. Very queer friendly space, housing works supports people living with HIV/AIDS, so it feels good to spend money there.
Another bookstore with a cafe is Bluestockings (a slangy word for an intellectual woman), also in Manhattan.
posted by bilabial at 7:32 PM on May 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
Another bookstore with a cafe is Bluestockings (a slangy word for an intellectual woman), also in Manhattan.
posted by bilabial at 7:32 PM on May 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
I second Bluestockings. It's very chill. And they have cheap coffee and awesome books.
posted by starlybri at 7:50 PM on May 10, 2018
posted by starlybri at 7:50 PM on May 10, 2018
Best answer: Can’t go wrong popping into the Brooklyn Museum. Also, literally anywhere is fine to eat by yourself, totally a common thing to do. If you want to wander and pop into stores, the Fulton stretch heading west from Crown Heights is good, or Smith and Court in Cobble Hill are also good corridors for shopping/coffee shops/bookstores/etc.
posted by greta simone at 7:51 PM on May 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by greta simone at 7:51 PM on May 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
It's a long ride on the subway, but I would still enthusiastically recommend a day at the Met or the Cloisters. I have intermittently made a habit of spending my birthday at one or the other for years. Both have spaces that encourage contemplation and stock-taking and reflection.
On preview: as greta simone suggests above, I bet the Brooklyn Museum could offer the same.
posted by minervous at 8:19 PM on May 10, 2018
On preview: as greta simone suggests above, I bet the Brooklyn Museum could offer the same.
posted by minervous at 8:19 PM on May 10, 2018
Best answer: Outpost is a sweet coffee shop maybe near you.. 1014 fulton. Used to be able to reliably find seating there ..also easy parking (esp on a sunday) if need be. Hopefully still true re seating! ! They have snacks also. If you decide to be intrepid re met and cloisters know you're in for a bit of a schlep and crowds since it will be the weekend. Can also second bklyn museum, botanical gardens (theres lovely conservatories so you can be inside if it rains), or bklyn central library branch. Or you could see a movie at bam. If it were me i'd nap lol. Happy early bday!
posted by elgee at 8:37 PM on May 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by elgee at 8:37 PM on May 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
Not sure about the weather, but if you're up for a looong subway ride to the Bronx, the New York Botanical Garden is an extremely underrated gem, and perfectly suited to the 'wandering around reflecting with a journal' kind of mood. I preferred it to Prospect Park and Central Park. Note that there is an admissions fee.
For an indoor alternative: the New York Public Library. Plenty to wander around and look at, and then head up to the Rose Reading Room to read or write. Be sure to spend at least five minutes looking up at the ceiling.
Another indoor alternative, if you like tea: Te Company. Bring a book. Get a pot of tea and a pineapple linzer, which is expensive but also the single best cookie I have ever had. Sip and read or write to the sound of quiet jazz. Drop in on Three Lives and Company, a small but cozy bookstore nearby. Get a slice of Joe's Pizza afterwards since it's just a block away.
You might also be interested in this recently-posed question.
posted by perplexion at 8:43 PM on May 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
For an indoor alternative: the New York Public Library. Plenty to wander around and look at, and then head up to the Rose Reading Room to read or write. Be sure to spend at least five minutes looking up at the ceiling.
Another indoor alternative, if you like tea: Te Company. Bring a book. Get a pot of tea and a pineapple linzer, which is expensive but also the single best cookie I have ever had. Sip and read or write to the sound of quiet jazz. Drop in on Three Lives and Company, a small but cozy bookstore nearby. Get a slice of Joe's Pizza afterwards since it's just a block away.
You might also be interested in this recently-posed question.
posted by perplexion at 8:43 PM on May 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
Best answer: The Brooklyn Museum is great. And I'll put in my requisite plug for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (right next door) if the weather permits since absolutely everything is in bloom right now. Also if the weather allows for it, I'd recommend finding a long street and just walking for a while (the day before I turned 24 I walked all of Bedford Avenue, which I found to be a pretty magical experience; Eastern Parkway, which goes east from the museum area, is really nice as well).
Cafewise, if you can get in, you would probably really enjoy the new diner Meme's, where as a bonus I can attest that they are super nice to solo diners (though I agree with greta simone, you'll be totally fine anywhere). You may also like the tiny new Cafe con Libros, which does have a few seats, and/or Butter and Scotch, both of which have a feminist bent, if not an explicitly queer one.
As a side note, all the recommendations in the thread for destinations outside of Brooklyn are excellent, but if that sounds like a lot of trekking around, I think Brooklyn's attractions are more than sufficient. (I will note that I hate leaving Brooklyn on the weekends and avoid it whenever I can 'cause weekend subway service has gotten so bad.)
Enjoy!
posted by ferret branca at 8:50 PM on May 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
Cafewise, if you can get in, you would probably really enjoy the new diner Meme's, where as a bonus I can attest that they are super nice to solo diners (though I agree with greta simone, you'll be totally fine anywhere). You may also like the tiny new Cafe con Libros, which does have a few seats, and/or Butter and Scotch, both of which have a feminist bent, if not an explicitly queer one.
As a side note, all the recommendations in the thread for destinations outside of Brooklyn are excellent, but if that sounds like a lot of trekking around, I think Brooklyn's attractions are more than sufficient. (I will note that I hate leaving Brooklyn on the weekends and avoid it whenever I can 'cause weekend subway service has gotten so bad.)
Enjoy!
posted by ferret branca at 8:50 PM on May 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
Bureau of General Services - Queer Division is in The Center and is a queer bookshop. (I think it's more narrowly queer-focused than Bluestockings in terms of its selection.)
Somewhat contrary to what the subway map would have you believe, on the weekends, the 4/5 replaces the 2/3 in Brooklyn on the weekends. So if you go into Manhattan you'd be on the 4.
posted by hoyland at 3:58 AM on May 11, 2018
Somewhat contrary to what the subway map would have you believe, on the weekends, the 4/5 replaces the 2/3 in Brooklyn on the weekends. So if you go into Manhattan you'd be on the 4.
posted by hoyland at 3:58 AM on May 11, 2018
Go to the Bowie exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum! (If there are still tickets!)
posted by whuppy at 11:10 AM on May 11, 2018
posted by whuppy at 11:10 AM on May 11, 2018
I would go to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's greenhouses. On a rainy day they might be almost deserted. Perfect for reading or journaling.
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:44 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:44 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
(Also, on such a short vacation it would be criminal to spend a three hour round trip going all the way to, like, the Cloisters in upper Manhattan or the botanic garden in the Bronx when Brooklyn has so many of its own attractions!)
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:47 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:47 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
Best answer: That's my neighborhood! Maybe you're an odd duck like me and like the rain, and if that's the case I suggest walking down Eastern Parkway to the Brooklyn Museum, then heading over to either Prospect Park or the library. If you're not a rain person, maybe take a Lyft?
Sakura Tokyo is my go-to for take out if you're feeling peckish and don't feel like paying crazy prices, and while I haven't been there yet my roommate takes her friends over to Butter and Scotch when they're in town, and they always say it's great. I think it's a dessert-and-drinks place, mostly.
I also want to plug Greenwood Cemetery, in my old neighborhood. It's not too far (if you're a crazy-long-walk person like I am you could even just wander over there) and it's absolutely gorgeous.
posted by Urban Winter at 11:52 AM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
Sakura Tokyo is my go-to for take out if you're feeling peckish and don't feel like paying crazy prices, and while I haven't been there yet my roommate takes her friends over to Butter and Scotch when they're in town, and they always say it's great. I think it's a dessert-and-drinks place, mostly.
I also want to plug Greenwood Cemetery, in my old neighborhood. It's not too far (if you're a crazy-long-walk person like I am you could even just wander over there) and it's absolutely gorgeous.
posted by Urban Winter at 11:52 AM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
If you want great ice cream, there's Ample Hills Creamery on Vanderbilt.
posted by the_blizz at 1:45 PM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by the_blizz at 1:45 PM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Jon_Evil at 6:45 PM on May 10, 2018 [2 favorites]