powerHouse Arena

I love this bookstore. It has hand selected collection of books. I especially enjoy the array of cookbooks. There's also usually art shows hanging up. I still remember the "afro" photography exhibit displayed. Recently I was here with my sister and her kids for the "Holiday Tasting & Book Signing with Brooklyn's Best Bakers and Treat Makers". How could I resist an afternoon filled with book readings about treats, samples of baked goods and even a signature blood orange cocktail offering. Some of Brooklyn's cutest and tastiest bakeries were at the event. I had met the lovely ladies of Greenpoint's Ovenly, Erin Patinkin and Agatha Kulaga at the"Baked" event earlier in the week. They are such sweet hearts. They were set up at a table along with other bakers/treat makers. They remembered me and introduced me to the super nice, sister duo pie masters from "Four and Twenty Blackbirds", Melissa and Emily Elsen. I have been to their Gowanus pie shop a fair amount and the pies speak for themselves. I of course had to get their new pie baking book. There was also 3 book readings from authors Teddy Wayne, Emma Straub, and Diana Spechler. Emma Straub was a definite fave! I loved her going into the details of raw egg awareness while pregnant and how it resulted in the hunt for the perfect treat. You stepped into's Emma's shoes and felt the sadness of not diving into a bowl of cookie dough before tossing them into the oven. It made me want to read her novel "the Vacationers". This lovely afternoon made me appreciate this bookstore, for supporting local bakers and writers. We Brooklynites are very lucky to have this amazing bookstore on our side of the bridge. I should also mention that there has been a ton of events just like this offered all the time from new cookbooks to fashion faves who have books. So keep your eye out and follow their facebook page for future events.

I've attended a few more events there, and this evening was my all-time favorite. The turnout wasn't real large this time, but it was a very special and poignant event; the son & granddaughter of (the late) photographer Fred Stein spoke about his life and showed many of his beautiful & heartwarming photos. They also played lovely accompanying music and it was a memorable evening. As an aside; if you love street photography in particular and if you appreciate a rather extraordinary life story (there's a fascinating write-up about Fred Stein on Wikipedia), I highly recommend the book ("Fred Stein, Paris New York"). I think there aren't too many bookstores that would have sponsored such a "personal" event, so I really give credit to The Powerhouse Arena - and that plus the fact that all three people working there tonight were exceptionally friendly, made me decide to upgrade my rating to five stars.