Open for Business: Vice Versa Vintage, 550 Fifth Avenue

A sprawling new thrift store opened last week in the space last occupied by Blockbuster Video, on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 15th Street. Not only is it the largest vintage/thrift store in a neighborhood chock full of them, it's also the least expensive.

Vice Versa is a branch of L Train Vintage, which operates five other stores, all located near the L line, in Manhattan and Brooklyn: Village Style and No Relation in the East Village, Vice Versa near the Bedford Avenue stop, Atlantis Attic off the Graham Ave. stop, and Urban Jungle off the Morgan Ave. stop. This is their first store on this side of Brooklyn, and also the largest.

There's just about every clothing item imaginable in here, and it's all incredibly inexpensive. Shirts cost $5, pants are $10, jackets $15-20, even leather ones. It's nearly impossible to leave here emptyhanded, and the racks just beg to be explored; you could easily kill an hour in here and have no idea where the time went. There's clothing here for people from all walks of life; it's more along the lines of Salvation Army than Guvnor's.

Unfortunately they don't accept donations, but judging by the sheer amount of merchandise in here their coffers are pretty full.

Vice Versa, 550 Fifth Avenue Brooklyn NY 11215. 

Open for Business: Woodland, 242 Flatbush Avenue

Some thought the day would never arrive, but after much delay, plenty of contention, and a name change, Woodland opened Monday on the corner of Sixth and Flatbush, in the pace last occupied by Royal Video.

It's a massive venue, with seating for a couple hundred across two levels and an outdoor garden, and the Director of Operations for the restaurant group that owns it, Brendan Spiro, also owns East Village gem Vandaag. There's a 12-seat bar up front, serving craft beers and specialty cocktails like the Forest Julep (made with apricot-infused bourbon, rosemary and walnut bitters), big windows that open up to the sidewalk, and a large backyard where you can find burgers, brats, and weiners cooking on a large open grill. Downstairs there's a lounge where live DJs will provide the entertainment, and at night live music will take the stage in the main dining room. There's also a 30-seat private dining room, which will host private parties as well as events like wine and cheese tastings.

Chef Merrill Moore comes from Tulum, Mexico's well-known Hartwood restaurant, and seventh generation Irish butcher Jack O'Shea, who oversees the restaurant's "meat program," also supplies meat to star chefs Fergus Henderson and Heston Blumenthal in London.

Spiro put a lot of work into finding a top-notch kitchen crew, and the creative (if pricey) menu (below, click for a larger version) definitely highlights their areas of expertise, namely meat.

There's braised rabbit, a Berkshire pork chop, Label Rouge chicken, lamb T-bone, bullet steak, and a select-a-size NY Strip ranging from 24-58 ounces (that 58 ouncer will set you back $150 and is the biggest in the area). There's also a whimsical assortment of apps and sides, including clams & crayfish, homemade bratwurst, venison tartare, smoked quail eggs, grilled oysters, and caviar with a vodka shot. This is a very luxurious restaurant, and a meal here will most definitely set you back.

This is a new type of restaurant for the neighborhood: sprawling, multi-level, glamorous, pricey. But it's anything but inaccessible: the front room, with its exposed brick, bar tables, and long bar, is an inviting place to down a creative cocktail, snack on a grilled cheese, and throw back a few oysters. Come late night, though, it'll be interesting to see how it all comes together.

Woodland, 242 Flatbush Avenue Brooklyn NY 11217. 718-398-7700. Open at 5PM daily.

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) Walker's Chips, and Monster Munch. The Monro isn't just an English pub, it's 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.

Open for Business: Banyo, 421 Seventh Avenue

When signage went up on the corner of Seventh Avenue and 14th Street a couple weeks ago for a new store called "Banyo," I assumed that the name was a tongue-in-cheek play on the Spanish word for bathroom, and that the store would be stocked with kitchy bathroom-themed knick-knacks, like rubber duckies and funky shower curtains (especially because their first sign said simply "For Your Bathroom").

It was a surprise, then, to discover that the store, which opened last weekend, is in fact stocked with high-end Turkish bathrobes, pestemals, and other textiles, artfully displayed and lovingly arranged. The store is run by two local women of Turkish descent, and they've brought over some really high-quality, hand-loomed merchandise.

As explained in handy notecards posted throughout the shop, all the fabrics are imported from Turkey's Denizli City, which is world-renowned for its high-quality textiles. The selection is small, largely comprised of bathrobes and pestemals of different sizes. Pestemals, towels that are made from 50% cotton and 50% bamboo, come in various sizes and "absorb water as fast as a towel, dry very quickly, and take up less space" than a traditional towel, according to another notecard. Robes are also made from the same material. Turkish bath mitts known as kese are also for sale, hand-loomed from mohair and intended to be used without soap to "remove dead skin and impurities while improving circulation."

This is high-quality stuff, unique to the neighborhood if not to the entire city, and it doesn't come cheap: pestemals run about $40-50 each, and robes cost $75.

Banyo, 421 Seventh Avenue Brooklyn NY 11215. 718-768-2999.