The 18th Avenue Feast, in my opinion, is the Brooklyn annual pre-game to San Genaro. Over the…read moreyears, the feast has become smaller, and seemingly shorter in duration. I've never had a bad experience, but it's not what it used to be. As I'm older now, to allow my daughter to have some fun. Some rides, a few games and some quality food. After a year off, due to Covid, it's made it's return. I'd suggest if you have small kids, it's better to go earlier in the day, before the teenagers and adults come out.

Love the Feast of Santa Rosalia. I try to go whenever it's on. sausage Sandwiches are blazing from…read morethe Lucy Carts!

Fleet Week kicks off my Memorial Day weekend into high gear! Not as many ships visited this year…read moreas in previous years (due to budget cuts) and were spread out over 3 boroughs. The big ships like the amphibious landing ships with their marines, armored vehicles, helicopters and hovercraft usually dock in Manhattan north of the Intrepid. The destroyers and cruisers usually dock in Brooklyn and sometimes in Staten Island. So I took the Friday off and hit as many locations as possible. I planned my day to hit the Manhattan upper west side cruise terminal first thing in the morning, then head to Staten Island. It's pretty simple to get to the the Stapleton Navy pier which is just 2 stops on the SIRR from the St. George ferry terminal. This year, the pier hosted 3 US Coast Guard ships and one US Navy Littoral Combat Ship, the USS Little Rock. The Little Rock was what I was here to see because it is one of the newest in the fleet and I was one of the design engineers of the class 10 years ago. I had the unfortunate timing of arriving at the same time as 4 elementary school classes and it took forever to get on for the ship tour. If I had just arrived an hour earlier or later, I would have had the ship almost to myself. I snapped a lot of pictures and I think that got me noticed. A trio of men in suits came up to me and asked if they could have "a talk". They flashed their NCIS badges and I thought, "Wow, I love your TV shows! When are you gonna do a NCIS:NY one?" (but I didn't actually say that). They asked what I did, who I worked for and basically made sure I wasn't a spy, though I think I was just profiled as one. Even though you might not notice them, security is tight at all the Fleet Week sites. I finished up the day heading to the Brooklyn cruise terminal via the S79 bus across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (Hi Nadia!). After 15 segments of subways, buses and ferries, I really gave my unlimited Metro-Card a major workout and made it a Fleet Week to remember.

I love Fleet Week! It's a really fun time for kids and adults. It's a great time to show support of…read moreour military and learn a little about what they do. I've never bothered to go to the other boroughs because they do such a great job on SI every year. Parking is usually pretty easy (a little tougher now that URBY is built right there). Park on the street and walk through the security checks. Make sure you bring ID with you. When you get down the pier the crew will gather a small group and give you a free tour of their ship. Every year the ships are stationed in different places so you will probably never tour the same ship. If you're bringing small kids or seniors be aware that many of the ships have steep staircases. You can still do the tours but a crew member will bring you an alternate way to avoid these things. Bring cash. They always sell souvenirs (hats, tees& commemorative items) on the ship. Best time to go is early morning or late afternoon when the crowds are not as bad.

What a gem. $5 admission to a place that is relaxing and beautiful with the bamboo, ponds, rivers,…read moretemple, and more. It's nice to just take it all in. It could use a little freshening up, but highly recommended!l for peacefulness.

The Chinese Scholar's Garden is as picturesque as it is serene. The architectural forms and beauty…read moreof the garden are a work of art. Definitely worth taking a trip to Staten Island! I particularly like how the wandering paths lead me back to the towering bamboo which is the entry point to the garden. The natural elements and the architecture built in the garden is a peaceful place fit for the scholar's meditation and study. There is a circular portal that leads to a courtyard with rocks that form a geometric pattern on the ground, guiding the eye to the organic shapes of the plants and trees. One element guides the eye to another element through contrast and even through repetition of shapes as can be seen in how there is a scallop edged wall behind this courtyard with the circular doorway. The circle motif is echoed in the design of the scallop edged wall beyond which flows another pond and yet more plants of different sizes. The landscape design also includes the waterfalls, pavilions and a rock-carved walkway with steps on it as well as a walkway that is zig-zagged! A great backdrop for picture taking with interesting rock formations along the pond in the courtyards. Also, when you pass by the koi fish pond, you could hear the splashing sounds they make as they swim around in the water. It brings an inner calm, tranquility and peacefulness to the viewers when they see the koi fish swim in the still water. I highly recommend a visit to the Chinese Scholar's Garden!

Only a few hours left so stop reading and get on the PATH. I recommend the pork skewer at Kanto,…read morethe jerk chicken at Cool Runnings and the eponymous hot dog at Cruz Missile.

I was in Newark because I wanted to try a pizza restaurant there. While walking to it I stumbled…read moreupon this street fair. There was a bit of everything ranging from food to music to drinks to apparel. The best part was that there were a lot of local vendors. Yay! I Love NJ. Well, I was born here so I am a bit bias! So it's nice to see all the different stuff they are selling. It wasn't super crowded which was great cuz you can actually walk around without bumping into anyone. It was organized and quite big in size for a street fair. I got there in late afternoon so I only got to spend 3 hours here. It's usually in September so make sure you mark your calendar and check online next year. I had a great time!

I love the vibe. The music the food was awesome I am back today to enjoy the music....read more

If you really want to know the whole story, it's all laid out on their website but reading a bunch…read moreof bullet points on a screen about some big neighborhood spectacle is about the most depressing thing you can do, so I'll explain. ​Basically, the Giglio Feast is a historic 12-day Italian-American festival that happens every July at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It's been going on since 1887 when immigrants brought it over from Nola, Italy, to honor Saint Paulinus commemorating when he returned from captivity after sacrificing himself for his people and Our Lady of Mount Carmel. That part actually sounds pretty decent, if you want to know the truth, but the way spectators in attendance make a huge circus out of it just drives me crazy. Then participants are amazing. ​The main event is this thing called the "Dancing of the Giglio," where they take a giant 70-foot tower made of wood and steel weighing four whole tons and covered in lilies, angels, and religious figures and hoist it up. They've got a live brass band and a singer literally sitting right on top of the timber frame while roughly 120 guys lift, spin, and "dance" this enormous four-ton thing down North 8th Street on their bare shoulders. ​Guys in matching outfits blowing saxophones and yelling on the platform, and crowds of people crammed together in the street taking photos and cheering. There's even a statue of a saint perched at the very top against the blue sky, looking down at all these phonies sweating and carrying on in the heat. It's supposed to be this grand, sacred tradition, but looking at a hundred guys breaking their backs to carry a four-ton tower with a band riding on it just makes you feel sort of tired and thirsty. It really does.

Last year everyone was so friendly and wonderful. I enjoyed the food the area and the items vendedread more

I was there about 10 years ago , I had a great time . The only thing was I drove around for parking…read more.

You had me at bagpipes…read more Through the years I have been to this festival many times, even when they were located in South Beach. It has definitely changed. Our last trip here was two years ago, it had rained heavily the day before so the fields were quite muddy. Today was a gorgeous day, bright and sunny. Maybe it was the luck of the Irish. There are two stages with entertainment performing simultaneously. We were able to catch the following: The Celtic Rebels, the Dawn Daniels Dancers, the Sashing and Mashed Pipe Bands ( they played God Bless America), Clan Erin Pipe Band and Robbie Doherty. Since it is never too early to Christmas shop, our first stop was the Tinker's Shopping Village. There are plenty of vendors selling everything Irish. There is not much celebrating the Irish on Staten Island. It is either this festival or the St. Patrick's Day Parade on Forest Ave in March. Which happens to be the third largest in the country. For lunch we tried The Irishman's Bar B Q. They are currently a catering business located in the vicinity. The ribs were delicious, fall off the bone with a slight kick. The smoked Mac and Cheese could have been warmer, but it didn't stop me from finishing it. Prices were very reasonable at all vendors. Looking forward to next year's Fair.

I had such a fun time experiencing this, but maybe not the vendors. The various vendors definitely…read morehad their work cut out supporting the massive crowd. They mostly had great attitudes despite the chaotic event-professionals all the way. There were extended wait lines, and sometimes popular items would run out to the disappointment of many. But that didn't stop the festivities! The music was lively, the artists had beautiful displays of wares, the food was delicious, and the city provided a perfect backdrop.

This is it! Bahn mi in halves for $5, for those of us that can't take the entire thing. A duo of…read morehipster sandwich thieves must have felt the same way because my bahn mi was hijacked. ROBBED. The food truck remedied the situation, thankfully, and I say mine was better. See the pix for best Vietnamese food if you're in Bklyn, but they are 404 on the map in Bath Beach. I'm guessing it's a roving food truck. Maybe you can summon them via the phone #. The best, most deliciously rich little cheese tarts had virtually no line, which I am still trying to wrap my head around. Ube and matcha cheese tarts went in my greedy little belly. Their card is attached. I had no room for the basque cheese cake, which looked delicious but was simply too big for me. Fancy. Many varieties of food, sugar cane being juiced with a roller machine to order, music, sugar painting and on and on. DJs, lights, the city.... Don't miss the next one, which is the last of the summer, sometime in August. Be early, the lines were long.

(This is the one in Newark, NJ.)…read more As far as my fun meter goes, I'd give them a full FIVE STARS! It was set up like a carnival with carnival rides (the basics, the classics, the ones we know and love), carni' foods, and even a carni' freak show with deformed and giant animals. Further down, a stage was set up for live performances. There were performers from all age groups, singing, rapping, dancing, you name it. Definitely a family-friendly show with some pretty impressive acts (some more impressive than others). I had to drop a star for the lack of food variety. It may not sound like a big deal, but seriously, my choices were fried fish, fried chicken, or fried shrimp...or the other booth with fried fish, fried chicken, or fried shrimp...or the other booth with the same exact menu. There was one other booth with jerk chicken and that was pretty much it. I may not be African American, but I found this to be a little offensive. There is so much more to African American cuisine than fried foods and I didn't feel like any of that diversity was represented. I settled for a plate of fried fish with mac and cheese and greens...all mediocre.