Early Fall at 6/15 Green

Closed

I noticed these signs at the Lopez Bistro last week.  The Lopez bakery appeared in the neighborhood at Fifth & 8th back in 2005, and moved down to Fifth and 19th five years later, expanding to offer restaurant food as well as baked goods.  It became a well-loved local staple, with more of a cafe/diner feel than a bistro. Checking on the dates of their arrival/move surprised me a bit - it felt like they'd been around much longer.  They'll be missed.

34th Street

Los Colibríes Community Garden

Raylicious

At the Pier, Coney Island

Architectural Grille

In September

What's sweeter than a cherry ice at summer's end? The sun's still hot, but days are shortening, as summer dips into the fall.  And coming home from the train, there on the block, is the ice cart.  The luck of it! To buy an ice for a couple of bucks, and take it only steps away, and sit to eat it on the sidewalk by your door.  To spoon it in its concentrated cold before it melts, with movements both rapid and precise. By the end of it all your mouth's stained red. The ice is gone and you're the cherry flavor now.

Truth be told, the carts are easy enough to find, and stick around well beyond summer, or even fall.  I've eaten cherry ices in Detective Joseph Mayrose Park in winter, when the weather turned mild enough.  It's pretty great to eat a cherry ice outside round Christmas.  If you don't think about it too much.  But the ones in September are the best, so loaded with sentiment, what with the year turning and another birthday gone, and everything speeding up beyond control.  Eat them as slowly as you can.  But hurry. 

Penthouse Perfection