Ridgewood Reservoir, romance, and more in the QNYC Evening Edition for Monday October 15, 2012

The Ridgewood Reservoir upgrades are looking great

In Highland Park (GMAP), out in Ridgewood near the Brooklyn border, is the decommissioned Ridgewood Reservoir, which used to service Brooklyn and its water needs. They closed it in 1989 and then nature took over, with a birch forest growing in its place. It’s a popular spot for birds, birders, and anyone who wants to hang out and enjoy time there. The area around the Reservoir has been upgraded, including new fencing; new staircases; installation of ramps to allow handicapped accessibility; and newly repaved walking trail around the old basins. Locals say it’s looking mighty fine. The rest of the upgrades should be done by Spring 2013.

Romance in the air – art world missed connections

ARTINFO is tickled by the missed connections happening at art spaces in LIC. Here’s an example:

A shy sitter at Socrates Sculpture Park couldn’t work up the nerve to talk to a young woman visiting the riverfront park with friends. His post, “Socrates Sculpture Park – m4w – 22 (Astoria),” is quite sweet:

“We were sitting on overlooking the east river at around 3:30 or 4pm yesterday. You were with your friends and I should have said something you were so pretty. Hope you see this and would love to connect.”

We wish them all the luck in the world!

Updates on SingleCut brewery – awesomeness is the name of the game

Over the weekend, we joined a group of other craft beer enthusiasts for an update on the SingleCut brewery, to take a tour of the facilities as they are now, and to taste some brews. They’ve done a lot of work in the building – some rooms have been constructed and tanks have been brought in; beer should be brewing in the next few weeks. We were particularly taken by the giant walk in cooler, too. They expect to have live music there, performing in the to-be-constructed mezzanine, and plenty of beer to try in the tap room (the bar for the tap room has already been poured). Exciting stuff is going on there! And the beer is gooood.

Mezze Place, successor to Astoria gem Mundo, is good

We Heart Astoria writes about their first experience with Mezze Place, the restaurant now occupying the old Mundo (RIP) space. They tried some of the meatless options (the writer is vegetarian-vegan) and were particularly impressed with the hummus.

“Oh, their hummus – it’s divine. Rich with tahini and perhaps worth the trip alone. Served with warm pita presented in brown paper bags, we ate this alongside everything we ordered.”

Get COFFEED on Northern Boulevard

It’s great to see that new cafe, COFFEED, has opened up in the building that Brooklyn Grange has their farm – 37-18 Northern Boulevard (GMAP). They are offering single-origin coffee and other beverages, baked goods, and sandwiches; the food is reasonably priced (sandwiches are $5 to $7 apiece). Brooklyn Grange sells its produce there, too, including honey and hot sauce. Nice.