Bay Ridge
Did ya eat yet? Well don’t, until you visit the Facebook page of South Brooklyn Food and Drink. Founded by borough gastronomes Frank Tilelli and Bianca Papas, the page provides a space where you can post the best of the best of restaurants and how good the eats are.
Frank and Bianca started the page about a year ago and now it boasts more than 5,000 members.
Frank told the O, “South Brooklyn doesn’t get as much coverage, and nothing makes me sadder than to walk down Third Avenue and see perfectly good restaurants with nobody in them,” adding, “I feel it’s been a while since someone went out of their way to put Bay Ridge, South Brooklyn food on the map.”
Although the group focuses on posts from members who like to cook at home and dine out, they are not above organizing potlucks where local establishments can come together for one big gastronomic feast. Recently Frank, Bianca, and member Vladimir Vizner organized a potluck event at the Irish Haven where restaurants including Cebu, The Kettle Black, Ho’brah, Tuscany Grill, The Danish club, the Schnitzel Haus, Brooklyn Firefly, Blue Agave, Patsys, Slimak, Babas Peirogies, the Bean Post, A.I.C. Grocery, and Tanoreen donated trays of food.
Group members were also invited to either bring their own home cooked specialties, or pay a stipend for the cause. Non-members were also invited to attend.
So the O is telling you to sign up, get on board, and share those tasty places. Members post snaps of their meals with brief reviews of restaurants, nearby foodie news and events, how-to videos, and swap recipes for some ambitious eats.
Frank told the O, “We are planning on another potluck sometime in the spring.”
You can e-mail Frank at FKRid
Prospect Heights
Sparking winners
Cheers to the five local non-profits who were selected to receive the Spark Prize. Brooklyn Community Foundation announced groups who were honored for their excellence and impact in the borough’s thriving nonprofit sector.
The winners are Cave Canem Foundation, the Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College, Exalt Youth (exalt), GRIOT Circle, and Red Hook Initiative.
The Foundation launched the Spark Prize in 2016 to recognize outstanding pioneering nonprofit organizations in the borough that have demonstrated a deep commitment to advancing racial and social justice.
Each non-profit will be awarded $100,000 in general operating support from Brooklyn Community Foundation.
“As Brooklyn’s community foundation, we take immense pride in lifting up longstanding local nonprofits that exemplify our borough’s creativity and innovation as well as deep commitment to justice and social change,” said Cecilia Clarke, president and chief executive officer of the Foundation.
The organizations will be honored at the Spark Prize Celebration breakfast on Feb. 8 at 501 Union. The event will also pay tribute to Hildy J. Simmons, a philanthropic leader, former head of the Global Foundations group at J.P. Morgan, and longtime board member of Brooklyn Community Foundation, who initially conceived of the Spark Prize as part of the Foundation’s strategic relaunch in 2014.
Brooklyn Community Foundation [1000 Dean St. at Bergen Street in Prospect Heights, (718) 480–7500].
Sunset Park
There is still time
Regina Opera Company is looking for four child actors, boys or girls, 3–5 years old, to portray the child in a fully-staged production of the opera Madama Butterfly. The role does not require any singing or speaking. Performances will be Feb. 27 at 7:30 pm, as well as March 3, 4, 10, and 11 at 3 pm.
Most rehearsals will be on Saturday afternoons, and some rehearsals will be on Tuesday evenings.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Academy of Brooklyn [5902 Sixth Ave. in Sunset Park, (718) 238–1422, Regin
