Nick Ford The leading women of the 2009 marathon make their way through Fort Greene.

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s almost here: the 2010 New York City Marathon. As we mentioned yesterday, several neighborhood haunts will have specials and parties for the event. New York Magazine has a piece up about the best places all over the city to watch. Myrtle Minutes announced that one of their staffers will be running the race with her husband for the third year in a row. Good luck guys!

What about you, neighbors, are there any marathoners in our midst? Or if you aren’t running, but you plan to go cheer on the race, let us know what your favorite marathon-watching rituals are.

Did all that talk of exercise make you hungry? If so, maybe you’ll want to head over to the outdoor Brooklyn Flea on Saturday to bulk up before the big race. The market will be moving indoors in a few weeks, and Feast has a post about British pies and Stroopwafels. The New York Daily News reports that Shake Shack will be opening a new location not too far away on the Fulton Mall.

This link is too fun not to share. You can decode Jay-Z lyrics and place them on a street map based on locations they reference. We hope you don’t feel like getting any work done (it is Friday, after all).

Judy Le The new voting machines caused some conversation during the primaries, but today, the results seem to be the biggest news.

The dust has settled Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, and  Sandra Lee is now will be the First Lady Girlfriend of New York State.  In non-Food Network speak, Andrew Cuomo along with Senators Schumer and  Gillibrand cruised to victory in New York State yesterday. Around the country, election results skewed far more red than blue. Republicans gained 60 seats in the House, says the Times, and John Boehner is now Speaker of the House.

Here are your morning links:

The Times has a spotlight on Berlyn, a restaurant that recently changed hands. The new owners have stuck with Germanic fare, serving dishes like corned beef with root vegetables, choucroute, and maultaschen — a ravioli in a mushroom broth.  All those sound like pretty good accompaniments to our brisk weather.

In keeping with new openings, new cafe Bedford Hill just opened their doors to Grub Street and gave them a sneak peak of what’s to come.  An interior designed by a visual artist, coffee roasted in Milwaukee and brown-sugar blueberry muffins, just might be enough to lure us over to Franklin Avenue to check out this Bed-Stuy breakfaster.

And this Saturday, Habana Outpost’s Habana Works is asking for your help with leaves.  The educational non-profit organization, which operates out of the restaurant, is going to be planting tulip bulbs in tree beds around the neighborhood. They’ll also be collecting your fallen leaves for composting on Nov. 6 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Michael TaittAutumn has officially begun.

Your DVR is going crazy, MTA service is already limping, and kids are back in school. But the weather isn’t exactly helping us make the transition to fall — the next two days are supposed to be perfect beach days.

In any case, plenty of change is coming this way on the gastronomic front:

Concord grapes are the hot fruit of the season, says the Village Voice (click here for Ned Lochaya’s take on the their jamming cousins).  They paid a visit to the Fort Greene Greenmarket and made off with some delicious treats.  Apparently, restaurateurs have also taken notice, with signature drinks like Purple Ladies and Concord Grape Mimosas.

The Feast has the scoop on Roman’s new brunch and breakfast menus.  The sister resto to Marlow & Son’s, has made a name for itself with a succinct and seasonal dinner menu.  The new daytime menus are just as slim, but deliver treats like house-made yogurt with spelt berries and peaches, and fried egg and tomato toasts.   Roman’s now opens at 9 a.m. on weekends. The savory brunch kicks in a little after, at 11 a.m, with service until dinner starts.

The falafel sandwich from Black Iris got a shout-out from Brokelyn.  The site did a roundup of Brooklyn’s best cheap sandwiches, and raved about the portions and fresh ingredients that Black Iris uses.  Any other neighborhood finds that you think should be on the list?  Do share.

And thanks for the invite, Brooklyn Exposed.  The blog is hosting their Fall Wine and Dessert tasting at Gnarly Vines next Wednesday.  Sparkling wines coupled with desserts will be on offer.  And yes, you’re invited too.

Vineeth Thomas Three restaurants — No. 7, Luz and Madiba — that have built loyal followings.

Luz, Madiba and No. 7 rank among the best restaurants in Brooklyn, according to reviewers at Zagat.com and customers at Yelp.com. The three neighborhood businesses share a determination to cultivate a loyal, local customer base as a cornerstone of their success.

Five years ago, Pedro Munoz opened Luz Restaurant with his wife, Vivian Torres. Mr. Munoz says that his quest is to raise a customer’s comfort level by combining the virtues of a bar and a restaurant.

“It is difficult to make both succeed,” Mr. Munoz said. ”But it’s good because sometimes one is slow and the other is happening.”

At the small, Nuevo-Latino bistro, he thought beyond tacos, offering Venezuelan, Brazilian, Chilean, Colombian, Cuban and Argentinean dishes. Munoz says that he wants to generate a local buzz around Luz.

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Scene I: “Naturopathic”

Nature, like everything else in Brooklyn, can be fairly progressive. To think, there are female cardinals all over the borough and no one is up in arms! Go figure. I heard that distinctive chirping as I pulled back the curtain a number of weeks ago. A female cardinal was hopping amongst the grapevines looking for a tasty morsel to whet her whistle and feed her late-season baby.

I knew the time had come. The harvest would be now or never.

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Alex Bitar Supper Club attendees beat the heat with Limoncello cocktails and good conversation.

Kara Masi has been living in Fort Greene since 2005. Over the years she’s kept very busy, making websites for non-profits and, for the last five summers, organizing The Great Hot Dog Cookoff. But what brings her the most joy is hosting the Ted and Amy Supper Club. She’ll be chronicling her experiences and offering a few recipes and tips on having successful dinner parties in a series of posts for the Local.

I just wrapped up another busy week for the Supper Club, with two dinners and one field trip over the stretch. The dinners included a vegetarian friendly weeknight meal and a Saturday evening backyard-grilled supper. Both dinner groups were full of new faces and it was another opportunity for me to test run some new-found recipes.

As many of the Supper Club crew know, I’m not a chef, but more of a cook. So I scour the web, cookbooks and magazines to pull together menus that fit my budget, impress guests and can be pulled together with ease. Here’s some of the most popular dishes from August’s Supper Club dinners, which you might want to consider whipping up for your Labor Day weekend BBQ.

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Mitchell Trinka A woman pushes a small child down the sidewalks of Clinton Hill.

Good morning, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill. Welcome to September! Perhaps you are celebrating the new month with a homemade breakfast. What’s your favorite thing to eat in the a.m.?

Grub Street got a sneak peak at the table of contents of “The New Brooklyn Cookbook.” Among the 63 dishes they list to illustrate “New Brooklyn cuisine” were recipes from The General Green, No. 7 and iCi in Fort Greene, and Locanda Vini e Olii in Clinton Hill.

Crain’s New York reported that Cake Man Raven takes the cake, and workers’ wages as well. Last week a judge ruled in favor of 15 former employees, who said the baker stiffed them on tens of thousands in overtime pay. The bakery just celebrated its tenth anniversary with a cupcake parade in Fort Greene last month.

Check back for more food coverage by The Local this afternoon.

Finally, in tree-related news, Take Back the Pavement, a Green Fort Greene and Clinton Hill project, is starting up in the ‘hood. The Brooklyn Eagle reported that, in a response to tree roots pushing up slabs of sidewalk, tree beds will be expanded to Parks Department standards of 10-by-5 feet. The expected result will be more air and water reaching the roots, fewer tripping hazards for pedestrians and increased spots for small street-side gardens.

Kara Masi Diners raise their glasses in a toast to an evening of good food.

Kara Masi has been living in Fort Greene since 2005. Over the years she’s kept very busy, making websites for non-profits and, for the last five summers, organizing The Great Hot Dog Cookoff. But what brings her the most joy is hosting the Ted and Amy Supper Club. She’ll be chronicling her experiences and offering a few recipes and tips on having successful dinner parties in a series of posts for the Local.

I started the Supper Club three years ago. Since then I’ve served home-cooked dinners to a couple of hundred friends and strangers in my Carlton Avenue apartment.

It’s great to see what transpires when a bunch of strangers are put together in a room with a ton of food and copious amounts of wine. Guests have forged friendships, networked for jobs and even sparked a little romance. I also thrive on the logistical challenge of preparing a four-course meal for 12 on a budget.

Over the course of three years I’ve learned a lot about entertaining, including how to throw a weeknight dinner party without stressing out or getting stuck in the kitchen for the whole evening. I hope to be able to share some of those insights through this column, from strategic menu planning, to best places in the neighborhood to pick up ingredients and get deals. I’m looking forward to helping inspire a return to home cooking and entertaining.
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Liza Eckert Habana Outpost took second place in the Greenest Storefront category of the Greenest Block in Brooklyn Contest.

Neighborhood Cuban “eco-eatery” Habana Outpost was named the second-greenest storefront in Brooklyn, after Burrito Bar in Prospect Heights, as part of the Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest.

“We’re very excited,” said Darcy Lefleming, Habana Outpost’s general manager.

The plants they have aren’t flashy, Ms. Lefleming said, because they stick to native species that are survivors. They have milkweed, which feeds monarch butterflies, lavender, which is good for bees and keeps rats away, and mint, which acts as a natural mosquito repellent.

The Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest is put on annually by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden through Greenbridge, their community environmental horticulture program. It started in 1995, and this year they received over 200 applicants. Winners are selected based on care, horticultural practice, participation, appearance, creativity, variety, soil and mulching, and maintenance.

Last year, Habana Outpost came in third, so they set out to improve their ranking, Ms. Lefleming said. They brought in a gardener, made new planters and educated the staff about their greenery, so they could take better care of the plants.

“We wanted to be first, so we worked,” Ms. Lefleming said.

Liza Eckert The “eco-eatery” uses native species plants.