Charlotte Canda was a young high society debutante in the 1840’s. On February 3rd, 1845 while coming back from her 17th birthday bash, she was flipped from the horse carriage and died. Her death, and its circumstances shook New York. Charlotte herself designed some of the features of her own tomb in Green-Wood. Her father, who served under Napoleon, utilized some of Charlotte’s elements from the memorial of her aunt which Charlotte helped design a year earlier. Her grave is 17 feet high, 17 feet long, and her statue wearing 17 rose petals circling her head. Her fiance (I know, 17) Charles Albert Jarrett de la Marie killed himself a year later, and buried a few feet away. Not as close as he’d like because it was a suicide.
It’s one of the many stories that visitors came to see at Green-Wood around that time. I hesitate to write “cemetery” because this doesn’t feel like one. But the more I learn about this place the more I understand why it was once NYC’s number one attraction for over 100 years. Before NYC was a tourist friendly city, people came to see destinations like Niagara Falls, and Green-Wood. It was our first major park that inspired the creation of Central and Prospect Park.
Yep, its now officially the strangest food blog in the world. And my Brooklyn tour where we spend about 45 minutes in the cemetery is the oddest food tour out of 206 in NYC (rank #7 but who’s counting). NOLA did this! If you’ve been with me since the beginning, you’d understand my obsession with cemeteries. Important cemeteries around the world like Zagreb, Genoa, Arlington, and even tiny ones like in Getaria, Spain are a good way to connect to local culture, and history. Just like food in a way.
Out of all the famous cemeteries I’ve seen, Green-Wood is still the most striking, and approachable. While its hilly, and massive, it doesnt require a great effort especially if you have a vehicle. But yet, many New Yorkers still havent been or dont even know about it. When I was a kid living in Brooklyn, no one took me there or told me about it. Today its lost in the shuffle of the many attractions NYC has to offer. Considering the lack of crowds, its arguably NYC greatest hidden gem, and the best free museum.
Some of the notable sights at Green-Wood:
Battle Hill – Highest natural point in Brooklyn with striking views, Leonard Bernstein’s grave, and Minerva the roman goddess waving to her cousin Libertas (Statue of Liberty)
Inventors like Steinway, Peter Cooper, Elias Howe (Sewing Machine), Samuel Morse (Telegraph, Morse code), and perhaps the most important inventor of them all, Charles Feltman (Hot Dog)
Controversial statues like Civic Virtue, and James Marion Sims (currently in storage) – gynecology pioneer who experimented on slaves. Green-Wood is where unwelcomed statues go to die.
Henry Chadwick – “Father of Baseball”. Grave adorned with a baseball theme
Statue of 12 yo Drummer Boy – first Brooklyn casualty in the Civil War
Artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Louis Comfort Tiffany. I toured with Tiffany’s relatives once.
Bill the Butcher and William Tweed (Gangs of New York)
Notable pets like the infamous Rex and Fannie Howe. Read about them before visiting.
The grand Nicholas Cage-like Van Ness-Parsons Pyramid. Nick Cage has a similar tomb in Saint Louis Cemetery in New Orleans. As of this writing, he’s still alive.
The odd looking bear sitting on top William Beard who painted the famous Bulls and Bears in The Market.
DeWitt Clinton grave and statue that once served as the main advertisement for Green-Wood when it stood in front of City Hall.
Four lakes including the mesmerizing Sylvan that make you forget you are in a cemetery.
The church and dramatic main entrance. The nest on top of the gate is home to Argentinian Monk Parrots. One of many bird species residing in Green-Wood.
Charlotte Canda
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This is not your father’s Coney Island Ave. When I lived in that part of Brooklyn in the 80-90s, Turkish places like Sahara dominated. Turkish, car washes, ice cream, and affordable divorce lawyers to be exact. Nowadays, the business hub, that doesnt quite lead to Coney Island, features even better Turkish (Taci’s Beyti), respectable Moldovan (Moldova), Uzbek royalty (Nargis), swanky Russian nightclubs like Chinar, and a plethora of Pakistani joints between Foster and H. And when I want to kick it up a notch, there’s always 
Meats in a form of kebabs and lamb chops dominate the menu. Lulya kebab (minced meat) here is thick and juicy. But what sets them apart here is they are wrapped with thin dough. Get the lamb over chicken. Guru Hingal is a thin pappardelle like noodles topped with a “ragu” of onions, and lamb cooked in its own fat. You wont find better tasting pasta in south Brooklyn.
Every time I sneeze a new restaurant opens in Brooklyn. Every time Mrs Z sneezes, a dove commits suicide. Its the loudest sneeze on the planet, that comes without warning. Think a samurai shout or a mother giving birth to triplets. Some of the new restaurants generate hours long waits or impossible to reserve, but thankfully plenty of solid oldies around. Today you get three for the price one.
Olivier Bistro – Its beginning to sound like another cliche, but Olivier Bistro is the type of place every neighborhood needs. I’ve been frequenting Olivier for a few years now but for some reason never wrote about it. Talented French born Olivier Verdier is constantly on his toes, offering a mix of specials and a plethora of French classics for the steady regulars. Its the closest you’ll get to an authentic French Bistro in Brooklyn. The burger is always solid. As are the Shishito peppers, Cassoulet, Moules Frites, Hanger Steak, and make sure to ask about today’s poison! (fish). I’ve never had a bad dish here. 469 4th Ave (Gowanus)
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you may or may not have noticed a slow moving shift. A shift in the type of establishments I frequent, and write about. Gone are the days of the almost weekly expensive meals. Hooray fast-casual! There was a time when I would enthusiastically read the power rankings and 
Owners Riccardo and Elena live upstairs, and the only thing missing in their little place on Court Street is a bell. “Like eating in someones house” is a cliche these days, but there’s no better way to describe this one. Perhaps one day they’ll get busy enough to hire more staff and function more like a regular restaurant. But for the time being, its like walking into your neighbor’s house, grabbing a newspaper, pretending you can read Italian. And after chatting about politics, and 80’s Eurotrash with the owners, about an hour later, maybe eat something.
The Crescia is like a cross between a Piadina and Laffa flatbread where you can mix and match various meats and cheeses. The Mortadella and Gorgonzola settle nicely once the taste buds get over the initial Gorgonzola funkiness. One thing about the new Italian immigrants is they dont mess around with the raw materials. No need to bastardize much these days like the old Sicilian immigrants did. Another such example here is the excellent Tiramisu.
This is not a drill, nor a sales pitch. Just a friendly heads-up. Last year during the last few months of the year, I answered so many requests starting with the word “Unfortunately” that my smart phone started completing “Unfortunately” every time I started a sentence. This year its happening much earlier. I got plenty of availability between now and then, but the month of December is looking mighty busy already, especially with Brooklyn tours.
Social Media is a wonderful, powerful thing. Until its not. I dont recall how I first learned about Casa Vieja in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Perhaps I read about it on Chowhound or the excellent 
This is more of an important public announcement, rather than a full restaurant review. Pok Pok, as expected by some, ran its course and closed around a year ago. I never want to see restaurants close, but admittedly, I havent visited Pok Pok in the final year or so. The fact that it was never open for lunch (weekdays), and other serious Northern Thai joints like Ugly Baby popping up in Brooklyn had something to do with it. But with Krok, opening up in its place there are reasons to celebrate, and visit.
When I was very young, like around age one, I was really really handsome. And I dont mean how all young babies and toddlers are beautiful in a way. I’m talking stunning beauty, almost girlish like. My nickname in daycare was Kendall. I had this ravishing hot blonde (I think that’s the correct color name) hair, and I was extremely pleasing to the eye. So pleasing that my parents were constantly worried of the ‘
In the black sea of Uzbek and Ukrainian eateries on Brighton Beach Ave, one can easily forget the avenue two blocks up, Neptune. Like 10th ave in Hell’s Kitchen, 7th avenue in Sunset Park, these are the forgotten practical blocks. As a visitor you tend to gravitate towards the hubs. But when you live in the hood, this is where you fix your chipped tooth, visit your favorite tarot card reader, or get that pastrami sub from the deli guy that knows exactly how you like it.
Eating With Ziggy 