Open for Business: The Monro Pub, 481 Fifth Avenue

The bar that's been in the works in the former Puppets Jazz space, on Fifth Avenue between 11th and 12th Streets, opened last Friday night. In a neighborhood teeming with bars, it's one of only a couple that can officially call themselves a proper English pub, and this one doesn't cut any corners.

Owned by the husband and wife duo of Vinnie Evans and Nicole Fusco (who hail from Liverpool and named the bar after the pub there where they met, which was in turn named after a merchant vessel), The Monro is a dim, comfortable spot adorned with old maps of their hometown, taxidermied deer heads, and a few nautical touches.

Eight English favorites are on tap, including Fuller's, Wells Bombardier, Boddington's, and Bellhaven IPA (served in their proper glasses when possible), and the 15 bottles include Aspall and Strongbow ciders, Old Speckled Hen, and several others that you don't see too frequently. There are a couple food options to wash it all down with, including five varieties of pies from The English Pork Pie Company (served alongside Branston Pickle) and Walker's Chips. This is a very English pub.

There are about 10 seats at the bar, and the back room seats about 25 (booths are a very nice touch). There's a Happy Hour every day from $4-8 when all drinks are a dollar off, and a couple TVs in the back to show soccer and other sporting events. There's also free wifi.

The Monro Pub, 481 Fifth Avenue Brooklyn NY 11215. Phone: 718-499-2005.

Open for Business: YogurBerry, 77 Fifth Avenue

The new FroYo joint that's been in the works on the corner of Fifth and Prospect opened on schedule on Friday, in the space last occupied by the short-lived Juice Masters. It's a sleek, bright space, with lots of self-serve yogurt options and over 30 varieties of toppings.

YogurBerry is part of a burgeoning franchise, opening up all across the world. While they're certainly late to the FroYo game (and don't really offer anything different from the competition), it's hard to see them failing in this space, especially with both summer and the opening of the arena right around the corner.

It's laid out in a self-serve fashion, with frozen yogurt (which sells for 49 cents/ounce) available in 14 flavors including peach, mango, pomegranate, coconut, blueberry, passion fruit, green tea, and green apple. The usual sprinkles and fresh fruit are available as toppings, with unique items like carob chips, mini caramel turtles, cookie dough, and cheesecake available as toppings. They're also serving up smoothies for $4.99.

All the FroYo on offer is all-natural and fat free. And for those who are wondering if a certain commenter is actually the owner, after visiting it's very clear that the answer to that question is no.

YogurBerry, 77 Fifth Avenue Brooklyn NY 11217.

The Great Googa Post-Mortem

So, the Great Googa Mooga happened over the weekend. For some the massive food, booze, and music festival was a total disaster, for others it was time well-spent. What it ended up coming down to is when you went.

If you went on Saturday, you probably spent a very long time on lines. For the Googamoula, for the booze, for the food. Because you had to put money on a Googamoula card before you could buy booze (and the system was down), early on the booze lines were empty while the ID/ Googamoula lines were endless, and the volunteers were ill-prepared to be of much help. Then there was the food to worry about, and access to water and toilet paper.

For those who had Extra Mooga tickets, it seems as if you got the particularly short end of the stick. After forking over $250, you were met with equally long lines for very small portions of food, which ran out quickly. Getting booze didn't seem to be a problem, though, but nothing I've heard made it seem worth the expense.

Berbere Chicken from Red Rooster Harlem

I had tickets for Sunday, so by that point it was pretty clear that getting there early was key. When I arrived at about 11:15, it was a pleasant surprise to learn that Googamoula had been abandoned entirely, and all booze vendors were now cash-only. The crowds didnt really begin to pick up until about 2 or so, and by that point I had tried just about all of the food I wanted to. By the time the (hilariously insane) Peelander-Z show ended, I had both maxed out my budget and tolerance for excessive sunlight, so I called it a day. I heard that the lines died down again by about 5:30 or so, and that Hall and Oates rocked out far more than expected.

Peelander Red (Kotaro Tsukada) on the porta-johnsSo at the end of the day, I think what it really comes down to is when you were there. If you went on Saturday or had Extra Mooga, you most likely left angry, hungry, and disappointed, and for that the organizers should apologize (and offer refunds to those who felt they wasted money on EM tickets). But they should also be commended for turning it around for Sunday. I think Anthony Bourdain put it best last night: "Yesterday: googamooga no like. Today: better. Lots better. Even kinda awesome."

What was your experience like?

Don't Forget: The Fabulous Fifth Avenue Fair is This Sunday

With all the hoopla around that other festival going on this weekend, there's another big event on Sunday that's definitely worth your time (and will certainly be less of a madhouse): The Fabulous Fifth Avenue Fair, taking over the avenue from noon to 6 PM, from Sterling Place all the way up to 12th Street.

Like in previous years, the street will be shut down and most of the avenue's restaurants will set up booths along the way, serving up samples from their menus. There will be three stages: one on Sterling, one on Third, and another on 12th, with a full schedule of programming. Lots of stuff for the kiddies as well, like puppetry, kids' music, and maybe a bounce castle or two.

It's been a smashing success every year that the Fifth Avenue BID has assembled this, and there's no reason to doubt that this year's one will be any less fun.

The One Thing You Should Do Before Heading to GoogaMooga

The Great GoogaMooga is upon us, folks, and it's shaping up to be a hell of a weekend. Nice weather, food, music, and what's sure to be a massive, massive crowd will be taking over Prospect Park's Nethermead, and if one thing's for certain, it's that it will definitely all be overwhelming.

The festival organizers have been helping us out by sending out plenty of emails to those who scored tickets, and last night they send out the big one, going over what is and isn't allowed in, imploring people to bring cash and to not drive there, and the usual assortment of festival dos and don'ts, but there was one particularly useful bit of information tucked in there:

Download the app!

Not only does it provide a map of the entire festival grounds, it allows you to click on each vendor and see what they're serving up. So for example, you'll know to stay away from The Spotted Pig's booth, because they're selling $28 Pan Roasted Skate, and to seek out Joseph Leonard's $6 Fried Chicken Banh Mi or Roberta's $8 Pizza Margherita (just make sure you save room for Do or Dine's foie gras donut and Momofuku's Crack Pie). If you click on a venue you'll see its full schedule and lineup, and even the ATMs are on there.

There also a place in the app to create your own eating and listening schedule from all the offerings, rate the menu items for others to see, get all the latest news, and apply a GoogaMooga-themed frame around the photos you take there.

But seriously, that map is really going to come in handy.