Sunday, September 28, 2014

Do Not Miss Your Chance to Blow

40th Annual Atlantic Antic 2014
New York's oldest and largest street fair

The Atlantic Antic is our street fair and I took a vacation day just so we could walk the length of the Avenue and back listening to music, watching dancers, and tasting as many treats as we could.  There are many street festivals in the boroughs and even Brooklyn alone but this is the best. In my opinion.  
For me it's been like a treasure hunt.  You just have to get yourself there and then keep your eyes open for all these fun surprises along the walk.  There are interesting vendors if you're shopping for a gift.  In my case I was looking for something for my newborn great nephew.  Nailed it!  Forgot to get a pic but it was a baby blue onesie of Chuck Taylors slung over power lines.
First of all its a rich environment for people watching but it's not what you imagine.  So much better.  Still super diverse with a pinch of seediness and lots of soul.  The Japanese DJ's with their enticing mixes of classic R&B, you cannot resist it.  The Gospel singers that you don't think anything about as you're approaching until you center on the lead's face and you're over there bawling because its so freaking powerful.  Or the little kids sporting their freshly painted faces so proudly.  It's a day where everyone takes off their armor and loosens up just enough to almost appear friendly.

Hank's always has the best bands as far as entertainment factor and the Get It! did not fail to captivate.  A JB horn section and enough rhythm to back it up, and they came equipped with not one but two singers.  One a regular modern day Harry Wayne Casey (yes, a white boy willing and able to get down!) that was part comedian, with impressive pipes.

These little moment gems you get to experience, like this man who probably smelled heavily of his favorite scent and had on his best duds approached a young woman in the crowd to dance and then proceeded to steal the stage with his smooth moves and have THE best time ever!  


More old hippies.





There were other bands along the way that we enjoyed for other reasons.  This one had Peter Grant reincarnated as their manager bringing enough stress you'da thought they were playing the Garden.

Poor kids gave a new meaning to angst.






This band was great, playing the One Love Animal Hospital stage, a swing blues jazz outfit.  I think they are called the Blue Vipers of Brooklyn.  The singer was incredible and should be playing for big money.

The DJ that spins all the old R&B every year is always popular with the ladies.  His familiar sweet soul beats never stop.

One day I need to shop for clothes.
This was a dance class performing the Thriller dance.
I convinced myself with a couple of weeks of training, I could do much better. ??!!




The food can be carnival type but still great or the specialty kind from the local chef restaurants so my taste buds were like little drunk children, spinning around and had no idea where to go next.


The Montero Bar gets gyped a bit because they don't close that block down but that never stops them from having bands and attracting crowds.


This brick oven pizza was goooooooood!  We have pizza that looks like this next door but the taste was a world apart.  The dough was like mother's milk and I secretly wanted to grab it and run, devour it all to myself around the nearest corner rather than sitting and sharing a slice on a bench with P.  But I did, and there I caught a celebrity sighting of actor Michael Shannon and the guy next to us said he lives in Red Hook and he sees him all the time.  The funny thing was that we just watched Take Shelter and Premium Rush that same week and I just crowned him my new favorite actor.  What are the odds?


Lots of meat that we should have tried....meat regret.
These old goats do what they do very well and I admit that I usually love hearing them.   If I didn't make the mistake of looking at their crowd swaying to their rendition of Tax Man, I woulda had a much better time of it.
Lobster Rolls are not New York enough, so I boycott them.  Plus we need a new 'it' sandwich.  This is not special anymore.  We can do better.  And it better not be Kimchi or anything to do with Kale.
This cheddar brat exploded in my mouth and I lost 20 minutes of my life because I was transported to food heaven!!!  And I would gladly go again and again!
Hands down, best edible of the 40th Anniversary.




The belly dancers on the big stage were not in costume and you'd be really surprised how off-putting it is to witness that dance performed in bermuda shorts and sneakers.  This woman had the right idea but we didn't wait around for it.  Rolling flabby housewives' mid sections in the hot summer sun was enough to keep us ramblin' on.


This slider was a very close second.  It doesn't look like much but it was the tastiest little burger I've had this year.  The beef had such distinct flavor that you wonder what the heck we've been eating because it's tasted nothing like this!



I don't know why old buses are interesting to look at but I guess when you're in a good enough mood, you could be open to just about any display.





The guy that I assume owns Dig, the plant shop does it up quite nicely and is one of my favorite attractions.
He's another friend in my head.
I wonder if anyone has ever head befriended me?




This girl was 10 feet tall in those heels.  And God bless her for wearing these gorgeous pink ruffled hot pants.




I hate leaving every year because this fair is therapeutic.  A batch of little reminders of how Brooklyn can be inspiring and impressive despite itself.  The only thing that could drag me away was knowing I had a huge vat of leftover chipotle chili waiting for us. 

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