Myla's favorite's

By Adam Warner

Myla Goldberg is a Brooklyn writer, but no, she doesn’t live in Fort Greene, Park Slope or Boerum Hill. For the past six years, she’s called Kensington home, and wouldn’t have it any other way.

“If I was single and living in Kensington, I would be miserable. But it’s great to have a family here,” said Goldberg, a mother of two young girls. “There’s not much of a book scene in Kensington, but that’s fine. I can get to other parts to do that sort of thing if I wanted to. But to be honest, I don’t do it that often, anyway. That’s not the kind of person I am.”

Indeed, Goldberg is a big fan of “nerdy German board games” like Settlers of Katan and watching old French noir films. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t get out in Kensington. To follow, she shares with us some of her favorite places and why.

  

Brancaccio’s Food Shop

“Joe Brancaccio’s $6 whole roasted chicken stuffed with lemon, garlic, and herbs, is one of the best take-out deals in Brooklyn. He also does a great tapenade and a three-cheese mac and cheese with truffle oil, which he sells by the pound along with all his other homemade prepared foods. Plus, he carries Chinotto, an obscure Italian soda that I’m kind of addicted to.”

Brancaccio’s Food Shop [3011 Fort Hamilton Pkwy. between Third and Second streets, (718) 435-1997].

Monk Vintage Thrift Shop

“A genuine thrift store with genuine thrift store prices, and good music to boot. There’s always something interesting in here hiding in the racks, and I never feel like I’m not cool enough to set foot inside.”

Monk Vintage Thrift Shop [579 Fifth Ave. between 16th Street and Prospect Avenue, (718) 788-2950].

Green-Wood Cemetery

“Reading the gravestones in here is like sitting down with a really intense short story collection. The inscriptions and the dates of people’s births and deaths provide surprisingly in-depth family sagas, as well as a lot of unsolved mysteries. Not to mention all the spectacular trees.”

Green-Wood Cemetery [777 Fifth Ave. at 28th Street, (718) 768-3333].

Coots at Prospect Park Lake

“A coot is a small black water bird with a white beak, and there’s generally a few of them swimming among the ducks and geese at the lake. When one dives underwater to look for food, it’s this whole aquatic Marx Brothers routine, where it disappears beneath the water’s surface, and then pops up somewhere completely different, usually displacing a duck in the process. Think Harpo and Chico, if Harpo was a coot and Chico was a mallard. If you ever need a little cheering up, visit the coots.”