The Hipster Grind

grindext
Originally uploaded by dangunderman.

On Friday evening, I met a friend in laughably-hip Williamsburg, Brooklyn. (Before I continue my assault on Williamsburg and Williamsburgers, let me add a caveat for those who've lived there for years. They are, obviously, the exceptions or, dare I say as the marketers do, the "key influencers." As for the followers...) Almost everyone in Billyburg looks like an independent filmmaker, and yet I think perhaps they're all too concerned with cultivating their image to spend time writing, directing, and/or producing films.

On my way to Williamsburg, where I feel like telling the inhabitants that they don't really live in Brooklyn, I noticed balloons swinging in the breeze, marking the opening of The Grind, Sunnyside's first coffee-based cafe. I'm not much of a drinker, which can pose a problem in an Irish neighborhood, so I embrace a place I can linger with my caffeinated drug of choice, even though I think The Grind is a dumb name (not as dumb a name, however, as their specialty drink - The Bump and Grind - a cup of coffee with an added shot of espresso; it sounds good, but I will never utter the words "bump and grind" in a coffee context).

grindint
Originally uploaded by dangunderman.

Since moving to the neighborhood six years ago, I've lamented Sunnyside's lack of "the finer things." But it's a trade-off I've been willing to live with to keep our 'hood under the radar. I'll travel for French food, the annual massage, and attractive companions. We've always had good coffee beans in the neighborhood (the organic java at the Middle Eastern Baruir's is spectacular), but haven't had a place to linger and enjoy that coffee, beyond the confines of my sofa. So while I welcome The Grind and its fairly dumb name, I hold onto hope that Sunnyside won't become Williamsburg.

I was pleased to see a schlubby old dude eating a waffle at The Grind on Saturday morning. I don't want to drink coffee where a schlubby old dude doesn't feel comfortable. One thing I've always loved about Sunnyside is its diversity and the cheap cuisine that comes with it. It was a relief seeing the place peppered with our local Koreans, Latinos, and Irish, and not just the non-immigrant whiteys.

grindview
Originally uploaded by dangunderman.

But really, Sunnyside's transition to Hipsterville will continue to crawl at its current pace, I suspect, because of Queens Boulevard. You can put as many cute boutiques and art galleries as you want on the Boulevard of Death, and it will still be the same enormous thoroughfare that it is today. The elevated 7-train will dominate our landscape, preventing the street from turning into Bedford Avenue. Someday, I suppose, the masses could consider the wasteland of Queens Boulevard part of Sunnyside's charm. I sure do. Without Queens Boulevard, after all, we wouldn't have greasy spoons like the New Post (not to mention the murders that happen inside) or the late-night taco cart, two of Queens' finest institutions.

But I wait to see what happens on our cursed block. My prediction: Now that someone in the neighborhood has determined that we are hip enough to support a sit-and-linger coffee shop, when that new retail space opens up in its prime mid-neighborhood location, a Starbuck's will appear. Hopefully, the curse will doom the mighty Seattle chain and allow The Grind to thrive.