A good percentage of the people who work in the Jewcy office live in or around the Park Slope area of Brooklyn, and we get all of our neighborhood gossip from one source: Fucked in Park Slope. Erica Reitman is the brains behind the site that has scooped up the dirt on everything from why our favorite barista was no longer slinging our coffee, to hipping us to what the baby:adult ratio is at the local bar we’re considering for drinks.
Reitman is branching out too. Her new site, Design Blahg, might be the first “snarky” design blog we’ve ever seen, and of course, we are instant fans.
What’s the deal with the name of the site? Any great story behind it?
I wish there was some killer story. I mean, honestly: I should just make one up…cause how the fuck would anyone know anyway?? The truth is, I started the site with my friend Benjamin, who has since moved on to greener (read: not totally lame) pastures, and we both just have filthy mouths and liked the name. To me it sort of means, we’re all in this bullshit together: we’re all fucked in park slope. I will say though: our name has sometimes been a major bummer. We often do stories that get picked up by other media outlets, and rather than linking to us, we get b.s. like: “a local Brooklyn blog…” with no link. I’ve even thought of selling out and changing our name to F’d in Park Slope, but I haven’t been able to overcome the fact that that would be TOTALLY FUCKING LAME.
Is Park Slope the most misunderstood nabe in Brooklyn?
Uh, I kind of feel like Park Slope is the *most* understood neighborhood on the planet. Every nuance, characteristic and quirk has been deconstructed and analyzed to death. I’ve had people email me from the Midwest, who tell me that they know nothing about nothing when it comes to Brooklyn, but they’ve read about Park Slope in the papers, blogs, etc. I think pretty much everyone’s got our number, and sometimes people don’t like that. My take is: yes our nabe is often ridiculous, yes some crazy shit goes on here, and yes there are BREEDERS and bebes everywhere, but also its beautiful, and has great restaurants and shops, and Prospect Park and its an amazing place to live. However, I’m not gonna pretend like I didn’t notice that 11 year old screaming “YOU NEED TO BUY ME MORE STUFF” at her dad at Haagen-Dazs the other day when I walked by. That was rad.
What are your favorite spots in Park Slope?
7th Avenue Donuts is like a gift to me from the heavens above. I’ve raved about this place all across the interwebz, but the donuts are E-P-I-C and ridiculously cheap. I’m not even normally a donut person, but this place rules my face so hard. I partake in the $13.99 brunch with unlimited mimosas at Scottadito on almost a weekly basis, and I love, love, love Blue Apron (I always get my Robicelli’s cupcakes there and all sorts of delish cheeses). Also, Franny’s and Flatbush Farm are amazeballs and we usually order from Istanbul Park several times a week. Finally, Save on 5th may be the best discount store in the history of the universe…or at least close to it.
I’ve gotten into screaming matches defending the bagels at The Bagel Hole, saying they’re the best bagels in Brooklyn. Am I right about this?
Look, I routinely use the hashtag #myfatass on Twitter, and I’ve been on Weight Watchers since like 1999, so I know what the fuck I’m talking about here. Also, I did a Bagel-Off two years or so ago with a bunch of other bagel places in The Slope, so yeah: heed my words: BAGEL HOLE IS THE BEST BAGEL IN BROOKLYN (maybe even New York). Trust.
Do you think Park Slope could ever get fucked so much that you’d consider moving?
I don’t know…I’ll never say never. I mean, I can’t really ever imagine living anywhere else in Brooklyn, and I don’t really wanna live in Manhattan anymore, so aside from saying screw it all and moving to Italy I’d say probably not. * Photo by Dorthy from Jauntsetter
