My Neighbourhood

The man who owns this bike is a fixture in my neighbourhood. Sometimes he parks it while he has lunch in the Puerto Rican restaurant. Other times he hangs out in front of the neighbourhood deli while he blasts some tunes - there's a boombox hidden in among those stuffed animals, if you can believe it. One other thing that is cool about my neighbourhood is the barbershop next to my apartment. It's called Don Juan. It's more of a social club than a barbershop. There are always a ton of guys there, hanging out. They watch movies, they chat, they play the Cops theme song really loudly (you know, bad boy bad boy, whatcha gonna do when they come for you), and on Fridays they drink Coronas. They're pretty nice guys. What else - there's Sale Price Liquor, which is a liquor store that you can't actually go into. You have to order through a bulletproof window. There's no chance of perusing the selection! If you know absolutely nothing about wine, like me, you just have to trust their selection when you ask for something white that is under ten dollars. They won't let you down!

The best falafel and hummus is at Cafe Rakka. Lyndsay and I are their best customers because Lyndsay goes through forty ounces of hummus a day. Sometimes, if I go in there and they haven't seen her in a while, they ask me about her in a very concerned manner. Joseph, one of the Rakka staff, quit recently so that he could concentrate on his pharmacy exams. Before he left he made me a CD of his favourite Arabic music. See, I truly am a regular! Another place of note is Ninth Street Espresso, which makes the best coffee I have ever tasted. It has this vague chocolately taste which I love. They take their coffee very seriously. They wear plaid and converse, play indie music and make latte art. You get the sense that everyone who works there is from the Pacific Northwest.

Oh, how could I almost forget Olivio's Fashions! It is a truly unique store. Half of the store is dedicated to video games and related paraphenlia, and the other half is dedicated to ladies' fashions, Avon products and knitting patterns. One time I bought a pair of tights there for a buck. They sell the kind of clothes you might imagine when you hear the phrase "ladies' fashions" - old-lady bras in boxes, dowdy skirts, one-dollar pantyhose. I still haven't figured this place out because I can't imagine how they ever turn a profit.

The only con to my neighbourhood is that there is dog poo everywhere, and this is true of New York generally. So I guess there are no cons. It's utopia! I love it here.