Big Night — Local services in New York

In romantic comedies there is often that one character, usually "the best friend," who comes from Brooklyn, is quirky, colorful, has impeccable taste, and is dripping with charisma. Big Night is THAT character in store form.

The place is no bigger than Carrie Bradshaw's shoe closet and is chock-full of nearly as many delights: housewares, placemats, the perfect pasta bowls (and a great cookbook to help you prepare it). There are fancy stemware options and bar tools next to sundries like dishtowels, pasta sauces, and a cooler stocked with beverages (if you happen to be passing on a warm afternoon). They have a surprisingly deep array of hostess gifts, greeting cards, candles, and kitchen gadgets, too.

When I was there Quin and Claire were at the register, and they had a ton of suggestions, ultimately pointing me toward the perfect gift: a minimalist vegetable peeler that would be right at home in MoMA's design collection.

They host frequent in-store pop-ups (they were demonstrating skincare products when I was there) and the vibe is always welcoming and fun. They also have another store (their first) in Brooklyn, but it's even smaller!

(Side Note: Some of us remember when the village was bustling with shops like this—before they all went out of business or were replaced by one of the many Marc Jacobs shops. So, add "nostalgic" to the list of adjectives that...

Loved all the interesting sauces, non-alcoholic drinks, and other foods to try out.

The Hazelnut Date Better (pictured) chocolate covered dates were incredible, very fun. I had the hazelnut flavor and it really brought out the hazelnut flavor, which was cool.

The Phony Mezcal Negroni (pictured) had a very strong, unique flavor for the first several sips, then mostly tasted sweet as my taste buds adapted. Loved the strong flavors. Would probably prefer to sip this, wait a bit, then sip more, so not the best thing to drink while walking, and would wait to get home to drink it.

I also liked how the store is...

So disappointing! I had been wanting to visit this shop for so long and was so excited to finally stop in this afternoon (Monday, August 25th). The two people working (guy & girl) could not have been more disinterested. Barely got a lukewarm “hi” before they resumed chatting and ignored us the rest of our visit. We were the only ones in the shop the entire time. I ended up not purchasing anything because I felt so unwelcome. Sadly, Big Night...