Raise your hand if you think she should suffer.
Cafe Lulians please…please forgive me. I can explain. Remember how fun it was when I was unemployed? Busting out new Cafe Lulus every Sunday? Unfortunately, I have been in the thick of it. Mentally, physically, etc. etc. and not to mention it was Brat Summer, your honor.
Microdosing Routine Check-in
DOES CREATING A ROUTINE WORK? Yes. DOES IT MAKE YOU CONSISTENT? No. My main takeaway is that as much as you’d like to create a routine, it can’t instantly be applied to your lifestyle because your day-to-day life is not the same as it was the day before. At least for me it isn’t. There’s some days that I have to wake up earlier than others, causing me to miss the opportunity to read in bed or doodle like I said I would in the previous episode of Cafe Lulu. But, I think if there’s moments where I could lean into those pastimes, then I should and I should find the discipline to drop TikTok and read instead.
On the bright side, I am reading more and I have re-worked some days to include my favorite morning ritual: walking to and from Fort Greene Park (4 miles). Some weeks it is hard to include two yoga sessions during the week because I’m just exhausted. I’m realizing that’s ok and I should listen to my body. The other positive is that I’m almost all caught up with Real Housewives of Salt Lake City and I am on-track to be caught up for the mid-September season 5 premiere #FreeJenShah
I Know What You Did Brat Summer
So I know most of you are probably exhausted of hearing that phrase, I am too even as a Charli xcx stan. I wouldn’t say Brat pushed me to go out to the club but maybe it inspired me to lean into my youth since it is fleeting. I just turned 27 and I have a shit ton of grey hairs so that’s what we’re dealing with. This summer, I went out way more than I have previous summers and I’m very happy I did. Here are my ratings on the few-ish clubs and venues that I visited. And in the order that I visited them:
Basement
Rating: 7.5/10
Location: Ridgewood, Queens
Notes: Getting in is somehow more fun than the actual club.
Nowadays
Rating: 8/10
Location: Ridgewood, Queens
Notes: Actually really fun with a group of people and I loooooved swaying in the hammocks at night.
House of Yes
Rating: 6/10
Location: Bushwick, Brooklyn
Notes: I went on a fun night but I wouldn’t say every night is a fun night there so beware.
Public Records
Rating: 8/10
Location: Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn
Notes: It has so much to offer and I think it’s an extremely versatile space. Also has a serious, older crowd but I think that’s what also makes it fun.
Mood Ring
Rating: 3/10
Location: Bushwick, Brooklyn
Notes: This place is dead unfortunately. Been there plenty of times and it just isn’t the same.
Body Bag Rave on the Rooftop of 117 Grattan St
Rating: 7.5/10
Location: Bushwick, Brooklyn
Notes: Really fun because it was random and extremely DIY but a bit scary because there must have been 500 people on the roof of a commercial building y uno nunca sabe.
88 Palace Restaurant
Rating: 8/10
Location: Chinatown, Manhattan
Notes: This is more of a venue rather than a club but the space is inside of an old mall under the Manhattan Bridge and it’s fucking awesome.
Joyface
Rating: 8/10
Location: Alphabet City, Manhattan
Notes: Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. I know the owner’s Pinterest board went CRAZYYYY when they built this place. It’s quite literally a time capsule in a non-cheesy and cheesy way and I loved experiencing a waterbed for the first time in a life. And in a club, no less.
Elsewhere
Rating: 7/10
Location: Bushwick, Brooklyn
Notes: This place is HUGE and I can’t believe it’s taken me five years in Brooklyn to finally come in. Stephanie and I absolutely loved the safety monitors because A. it’s a great concept and B. they looked like safety monitors and I feel like you have to have a pure soul to work this job and deal with drunk and high people on a sober level.
So now you know what I did Brat Summer. I used to think that the pre-game was more fun than the actual act of going out but I found myself really enjoying to just let loose on the dance floor. Overall, I’d like to rate club culture a 8/10 and I would definitely recommend to do it with the right people. I would also say that if you work Saturdays and Sundays then it’s less than ideal to go out but you should still make an effort because we’re really only getting older. I just turned 27.
Now that fall/winter is approaching, I’d like to go out to more bars and listening rooms. Here’s a quick list of the ones I visited this summer as well that I would highly recommend:
Tomi Jazz in Midtown (listening bar)
Sunken Harbor Club in Downtown Brooklyn (tiki bar)
Dear Friend Books in Bed-Stuy (chill bar)
Frog in Bed-Stuy (wine bar)
Please recommend me bars for the winter!
Brat Birthday
Virgos stand TF UPPPPPP. I celebrated my 27th birthday last month and opened my apartment to my friends for a Birthday Brunch Smorgasbord. I was extremely inspired by a J.Crew x Maryam Nassir Zadeh boat party that I attended this summer as a part of my job. Shauna Saneinejad of Joon Eats worked as the chef for the event and created this beautiful mezze spread centerpiece that included honeycomb, feta, mint, all delicately placed on a flatbread rather than a large charcuterie board.
I left the event feeling inspired and intrigued to try it myself. So I did! For my birthday, I invited a couple of friends for a “Birthday Brunch Smorgasbord” and asked them to bring a dish that they’d like to share with others and for the overall smorgasbord. Honestly, it was a hit. I was a bit worried about the execution given that I wasn’t exactly sure what the people were bringing as well as where I could find this flatbread that Shauna used but…lucky for me, we live in New York. I visited Damascus Bakery, a Syrian bakery, on Atlantic Avenue and picked up lavash bread to serve as the large charcuterie board. I laid the bread on the table mantle and started to slowly fill up the space with food and fruits. I started at the corners and copied the food placement on each side for aesthetic purposes. Then, friends started to bring their dishes and bit by bit, we filled up the whole table. From Patrick’s delicious french toast slices to Luana’s friend chicken and Stephanie’s homemade blueberry scones, everything was delicious and I can’t remember ever eating that much in my life. As the host, I provided soft-boiled eggs, sourdough bread, figs, kiwis, and bacon. Eva also baked me a delicious Dominican cake.
It was such a nice day and hours later, Patrick and I scurried to Gage & Tollner where we had one of my favorite dinners of my entire life. Think dirty martinis with freshly baked dinner rolls, crab cakes, creamed spinach, crispy onions, and a New York strip steak. I also tried my first Baked Alaska ever and I fear that every Baked Alaska that I try from now on will just be compared to Gage and Tollner’s. Either way, life is soooooo sweet when you have good company and excellent food. Hope you all had a great Brat Summer and Virgo season overlap because I know I did.
So glad you had a stellar summer and virgo szn ✨ I need to read more of your previous cafe lulu dispatches!!!