How to Have a Cheap Day in Brooklyn

 

 Time Traveling

Yesterday, we bit the bullet and went under the river to Brooklyn. The train ride was long and lurchy--no wonder none of our Manhattan friends wanted to visit us when we lived there. We didn't make the trek for social reasons, however.  We had tickets to a Harold Pinter play at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), my Fathers' Day gift to my husband.

When we finally arrived, we went to the theater to find out that they'd cancelled the performance. We were welcome to see the evening performance or tomorrow's matinee, neither of which worked for us. They refunded our money and gave us free passes to see the movie Moonrise Kingdom, a quirky film with some very famous actors, directed by Wes Anderson. I recommend it.

It was early so we decided to walk around our old neighborhood. We lived in Fort Greene in more challenging days, when a crack house threatened from across the street, gunshots rang out in the middle of the night, and muggings and murders were the plats du jour. And we weren't even the pioneers, who'd preceded us by a decade. 

Adelphi Street is still quiet and sleepy. We didn't see one person. We walked around the block to the Brooklyn Flea Market which was overpriced. We ducked into a small bar/restaurant on Lafayette and had some really good mojitos. A little more wandering brought us to another market which was more reasonable. I bought a long flowing dress for $40 bucks. This was more like the old Fort Greene. Not-so-rich folks trying to make a living selling their wares. I didn't see any hipsters, just a nice blend of ages, colors and backgrounds.

My friend Dianne, who lives in the neighborhood, had recommended a restaurant called "7" for dinner. It was quite good. The entrees were a bit pricey so we had smaller dishes like salad, strawberry gazpacho, steamed mussels in coconut milk and a turkey/eggplant sandwich with poblano sauce, all of it delicious.

The trip back to Manhattan went well. We got off at 86th Street and stopped at Fairway for local strawberries, cherries and oranges. When we got home, Harry was there working on his dinner. He'd been away for a couple of weeks, attending a concert in Tennessee, Bonnaroo. I would so like to see those musicians, but my hanging out with 80,000 exuberant youngsters is never going to happen again.

 If you're wondering how this was a cheap day, consider that we saved $170 on BAM tickets, saw a movie for free, and consumed about $130 in drinks, a dress, and dinner. Add in the subway fare, and we were still ahead. .