Meet the Inspiring Brooklyn Ladies of PLAYGROUND DETROIT!

New York City is a breeding ground for smart, successful people. The women especially in this city are some of the most inspiring we've come across.

Driven, creative and interesting, women in our fair city work hard and are constantly supporting each other in their personal and professional endeavors.

Paulina Petkoski and Isabella Bruno are part of this upswing of talent and ambition. We met them at a summertime backyard party and knew we wanted to share their amazing organization, PLAYGROUND DETROIT.

The organization was started after Paulina, a Detroit native and current designer at RACHEL Rachel Roy, spent time in the city in 2011 and realized the potential, but limitations, of the art community there. That's why PLAYGROUND DETROIT aims to connect incredible artistic talent in Detroit with opportunities in New York City.

Paulina Petkoski
"After growing up in Detroit then moving to NYC in order to pursue my chosen career [fashion], I returned to Detroit for a few months in 2011 and was very inspired by my experience. Noticeably, the city seemed to have an exciting new energy downtown; an increase in DIY music events and venues, artist visits from international artist coming to make their 'mark' in Detroit, new galleries popping up, and a increasing growing young, creative population under 30 years old moving to the downtown or city limits of Detroit (opposed to the suburbs or 'Metro Detroit,' which has been majority of the case for years."

"Our mission is to enhance Detroit's artistic reputation by connecting artists, entrepreneurs, and influencers to opportunities," says Paulina. "New York is our base currently, but Detroit is our home."

Local Business Spotlight: Fort Defiance

Straddling the line between bar-cafe-restaurant and neighborhood-gathering-spot, lies Fort Defiance in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

(Fort Defiance's Huevos rancheros: tostada, pork chili, cheddar, sour cream, and two eggs over easy, Cheddar Biscuit Egg Sandwich: with ham, jalapeno jam, and fried egg, a fizzy cucumber Tom Collins, and the Breuckelen Corpse Reviver, photo copyright TheDrift 2013)

Want to try out Pop-Up Restaurant Bunna Cafe? Now's Your Chance!

If our previous review of Ethiopian Pop-up restaurant, Bunna Cafe, had your mouth watering, then you're in luck because they're hosting two-day dinner events for the rest of the summer!! The dinners will be held in places all over town, with the next one THIS Thurs/Fri (Aug 8/9) from 6pm to 10pm at The Drink (228 Manhattan Ave b/w Grand and Maujer in Williamsburg.) For more info, including the menu, check their facebook event page.

It's Heating Up In the City

It's Monday and 95 degrees outside. When it gets this hot and miserable in New York City, things can get a little weird.

More people are outside, away from their hot apartments and looking for some reprieve from the heat in the form of air conditioning. Duane Reade, movie theaters and the service entrances to office buildings will do.

An Ethiopian Pop-Up Restaurant Brings New Energy to the Bushwick Food Scene

Bunna Cafe has been hosting dinners around New York City for the past year and their vegan Ethiopian fare has gained a following if their last event at The Drink on Manhattan Avenue in Brooklyn is any indication.

A small, three-person operation, Sam Saverance, along with his two Ethiopian partners, hope to continue offering their version of Ethiopian vegan food to city dwellers in a permanent home by 2014.

New York Business Spotlight: Prohibition Distillery

Bootlegger 21 is named for the 21st Amendment that repealed the ban on alcohol in 1933. While John Walsh and Brian Facquet run an operation far from the bathtub distilleries of the 1920's --their shiny, oversized distillery operates out of a pristinely renovated firehouse in Roscoe, NY-- their company, Prohibition Distillery, holds true to the spirit of love for booze of that era.

Brooklyn Business Spotlight: Brooklyn Kolache Co.

The reinvention—or gentrification—of Bedford Stuyvesant is well on its way in 2013.

Rockaway Taco Is Up and Running Again

The Rockaways and the boardwalk are synonymous with North Brooklyn kids and summer.

And the one place that feeds all of us hungry souls after sunning, beaching and drinking in the seen and be seen part of the Rockaways is Rockaway Taco.

After opening in 2008, this taqueria is the go-to for all of us who take the trains down on the weekends to surf and beach. But, after Hurricane Sandy devastated the Roackaways and other coastal regions in the area, those cool kids came down to help, partnering with the Rockaway Taco owners to help the neighborhoods who needed supplies, food and continuing help. 

Fight the System Deliciously... Try These New York DIY Eats

Courtesy of thewanderingeater.com

Pop-up and DIY underground restaurants are all the rage in New York and there's little wonder why.

With the majority of these small, homegrown storefronts and chefs based in Brooklyn, the draw of limited open hours, pop-up schedules and the cool resulting Instagram pictures bring the see and be seen kids in droves.

The Drift will keep an eye on the must-visit pop-up kitchens around the city this summer. And based on last summer, there will be a lot to choose from.

For now, in the spirit of Punk Week at The Drift, discover these DIY kitchens and discover your inner "f*ck the man" spirit, even when eating.

1. SCRATCHbread.
    Lauded by Gothamist and other foodie blogs, this neighborhood favorite in Bed-stuy is a must visit
    for anyone who likes breakfast food, crusty bread and good coffee. Limited hours and the weekend
    brunch crowd make for long lines at the walk-up storefront at Lexington and Bedford in Brooklyn.

Celebrating the Roaring 20s Is the Bee's Knees

With New York head over heels for all things flapper and Art Deco-inspired this spring, it's no wonder we are constantly looking for a little Jazz Age diversion after work or on the weekends.

And with the Great Gatsby opening on Friday, May 10, Fitzgerald references and classic cocktails will be in full effect this week.

To help you get your Gatsby on, here is a list of Manhattan and Brooklyn locales to satiate your champagne needs, because after all, as Fitzgerald said: "Too much of anything is bad, but too much champagne is just right."

Speaking of champagne, head on over to the Plaza (after getting paid) for the original location of many a Fitzgerald scene. Their Champagne Bar is turning into a pop-up Möet Champagne Bar and serving a cocktail called the Möet Imperial Gatsby. Storied Sips got the recipe, so if you can't afford the Plaza, you can at least create your own Jazz party in your Brooklyn apartment.


Classic Harbor Line is hosting a Jazz Age booze cruise on the Hudson. Perfect for a date night or friend night, you'll learn how to make four Prohibition Era cocktails and their history, as well as hear 1920s live jazz music for the duration of the cruise. Price includes the four cocktails, plus a glass of champagne.... that's a very Gatsby-inspired amount of booze. The fun launches at Chelsea Piers.

The Bushwick Book Club is hosting a musical, Gatsby-inspired night this Thursday at Moody Blue Monday on Broadway. There will be songs inspired by the book, as well as classic cocktails and lots of literature-minded people to meet and converse with about how the frailty of Fitzgerald's characters are juxtaposed with the energy and hardness of their surroundings. Or something like that.

Art Deco Decor and an All-American Menu at Alameda in Greenpoint

Oysters and fluke and candlelight, oh my!

If Brooklyn is the center of the New York food scene, Greenpoint is its Mecca. People think Williamsburg is where all the star restaurants are, but people in the know head north to Greenpoint for the 5 star quality without the European tourists.

One of the newest in the neighborhood, Alameda is the brainchild of the brother Haslegrave who also designed DuckDuck, Manhattan Inn and the Mast Brothers Chocolate Shop to name a few.

The Drift went to dinner this week a few days after Alameda opened and had a grand time in this Art Deco-inspired space.