My soup

When word got out last month that Moonshine, the Prohibition-era themed landmark bar famed for bulldog decor, its beer selection and a rare working cigarette machine, was closing, the neighborhood mourned.

Then they worried – rumors about a re-opening and new owners circulated. But the entire affair was shrouded in mystery, and the cherished bar's fate came into question.

As it turns out, Moonshine is officially no more – at least, not in its current incarnation. But the neighborhood can breathe a collective sigh of relief because Moonshine, the "Best Little Bar in Brooklyn," has been taken under the wing of its trusty next door neighbor, The Jalopy Theatre.

And soon, it will be back in business as part of the bigger and badder-than-ever Big Time Jalopy Tavern Bar & Grill.

The Big Time Jalopy Tavern Bar & Grill will cover pretty much all the bases: food, drink, music and fun, in addition to the existing music school, cafe and vintage instrument shop.

Jalopy owner Lynette Wiley said plans for the menu will be your typical "mom's kitchen" kind of food: soups, salads, sandwiches. 

"Light fare, open late," she said.

Perhaps one of the most dramatic changes to Moonshine will involve the music. In keeping with Jalopy's style, there will be a lot of "traditional roots music" influences, with a jukebox containing ragtime blues and jazz, and there are also plans to bring in a piano. The owners are also looking into featuring a country band as part of Friday and Saturday happy hour.

Some of Moonshine's beloved trademarks, such as the cigarette machine and the bulldogs, will be going with Moonshine's owner, who has no plans on relocating them or opening a new bar. But, said Wiley, the interior will remain mostly the same, with some functional changes being made, and the much-admired Prohibition-era backbar remaining as is.

And beer-lovers, fear not – the generous selection of beers at Moonshine will remain at Big Time.

Wiley said they felt like it was time to expand, and when the space opened up next door, it was a no-brainer.

"It should be a nice next step for Jalopy," said Wiley.

She said like many others that had good times at Moonshine, she'll miss it, but she's thrilled that she can now call it her own.

"It's very exciting for us... eventually we'll open it up as very similar to the Moonshine [where] we spent a lot of time over the years," she said.

Wiley said the response from the community has been positive, and that her Facebook page was inundated with approving sentiments as soon as the announcement was made.

"Everyone's been really supportive," she said. "We've heard wonderful things."

There are even plans to bring the pool table back in.

"It's tough when things change, and the pool team had to go find another place to play pool, and I felt really bad about that," said Wiley. "I'm sure there are people that are saddened by it, but I hope that we can win them over in the future."

Although there is no official opening date, Wiley said the hope and expectation is that things will be up and running in three months, pending some slight redecorating, a liquor license and all the standard procedural details.

But for longtime fans of both venues, and those who had any doubts about whether Moonshine would ultimately be in good hands, it will likely be worth the wait.

Ice cream fans, rejoice! Steve’s Ice Cream, the locally sourced and flavor-adventurous company, is opening soon on Atlantic Avenue in Boerum Hill.

Steve’s Ice Cream first opened in 1973 in Somerville, Massachusetts. The company introduced the idea of custom-made flavors, where customers could choose to mix whatever ingredients they fancied into their ice cream. The flavors were mixed right there and served immediately -  an idea that became wildly popular over the next few decades.

David Stein, the founder of the current Steve’s Ice Cream, worked at the original Steve’s in Somerville as an ice cream mixer. The original Steve’s Ice Cream went out of business in the 90s, but Stein has recently brought Steve’s back, this time to New York City.

He wants “to create the same excitement, not the same company,” said Amelia Mayberry, director of marketing and communications.

While the original Steve’s Ice Cream was all about innovative ideas that brought something unique to the ice cream world, the new Steve’s is more of an “ice cream for foodies,” bringing in alternative flavors and local ingredients for their products.

Two locations are opening in the city: one near Bryant Park in Manhattan, which opens officially next week, and the shop at 420 Atlantic Ave., opening later this summer.

The shops will also sell artisanal products but, as Mayberry said, “everything in the store ties back to the ice cream.”  

The Boerum Hill location features a 900-square-foot outdoor garden area, which will make for a great hang-out. They may even grow herbs in the backyard which will then be used in ice cream flavors.

Steve's is interested in taking chances with flavors. Mayberry said one favorite flavor is blue cheese and peppered walnut ice cream.

And when the new shops open, Mayberry says Steve's will take the opportunity to use customers as guinea pigs. More unique flavors can be tried out, she said, before they are packaged and sold in pints.

“We look at it as a test kitchen,” she said.

Mayberry and others have been travelling throughout Brooklyn, tasting local, artisanal foods and ingredients that they could use in their ice cream.

Already they have made strawberry ricotta ice cream with ricotta from Salvatore Brooklyn, a kombucha sorbet with kombucha from Kombucha Brooklyn, coffee ice cream with coffee from Plousher’s coffee in upstate New York, and Brooklyn Blackout ice cream, with cake from Ovenly.

Ideas in the making include a beer ice cream that uses Six Point beer, and a key lime pie ice cream using Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pies, based in Red Hook.

The dairy base of the ice cream comes from Hudson Valley Fresh, a co-op of dairy farms in upstate New York. Steve’s also offers a non-dairy line, that uses coconut creme.

Until the shops open, you can enjoy Steve’s Ice Cream by the pint. In Brooklyn, it's sold at Union Market, Brooklyn Fair, Park Natural, Perelandra, and the Park Slope Food Co-op. 

Hundreds of additional drivers will begin competing for parking spots in already parking-challenged Park Slope and Gowanus tomorrow, when the lease runs out on a Con Ed parking lot that provides parking for employees on Sixth Street between Third and Fourth Avenue near its Gowanus facility.

The energy baron says it’s pulling the plug on the parking perk as a cost-cutting measure – and next month will expire the lease on yet another employee parking lot between First and Third streets, sending something in the neighborhood of 400 additional drivers hunting for parking on the streets. Con Ed spokesman Allan Drury said the company hopes employees will instead utilize public transportation, which is subsidized by the company.

But utility workers said that using public transportation is unrealistic for countless employees – many of whom commute from Staten Island, Queens and Long Island and frequently work up to 16-hour days, arriving on the job before dawn.

“We don’t think this neighborhood should have the undue burden of us driving around, looking for parking,” said utility worker Vinny Kyne, at a recent rally in front of Community Board 6 meeting, encouraging the company to restore the lots. “I’m commuting from Long Island, public transportation just isn’t realistic.

Harry Farrell, president of Utility Workers Union Local 1-2, emphasized that many of the workers are first responders and need places to park during emergencies like last year’s post-Christmas blizzard – when public transportation was out of commission.

Locals were peeved to learn that the quest for parking will soon become even more difficult.

“There’s not going to be enough parking. There’s already not enough parking,” said Chris Stylianou, owner of Third Avenue car dealership. Stylianou said he already spends at least 20 minutes circling the neighborhood in search of parking.

The union is in talks with Con Ed to potentially utilize other company properties in the area for employee parking, but Drury said the chances of that happening are slim.

“We’re cutting costs to cut costs for our customers,” said Drury. “We stepped up those efforts recently due to the economy. This is a cost we want to relieve customers of.”

He added: “We are aware that the availability of parking in the area is a concern for neighbors, but we think employees will use public transportation or other lots in the neighborhood, if they have to drive.”