Photo by Rod Long on Unsplash
Feeling crabby? How to make the most of Cancer season in Brooklyn
Relax: It's summer and the first water sign of the Zodiac is upon us. Here's what to do in the borough this Cancer season
The sun has arrived in the sign of Cancer, the first water sign of the Zodiac, and summer in the city is now meteorologically and astrologically underway.
As we Brooklynites excitedly skim the listings for the seasonal smorgasbord of al fresco dining, rooftop parties, open air concerts and outdoor movie screenings that make us want to live here, the Cancerian quality of time reminds us to get to the seaside.
Get crabs
For the classicists, Clemente’s Maryland Crab House, which is not in Maryland at all but in enigmatic Sheepshead Bay, offers a family-style dining experience, a bayside Tiki Bar with a view of the Venice Marina, an Internet jukebox and a renowned karaoke night. The crabs are prepared in many traditional styles, side by side with an array of all your usual seafood favorites.
Brooklyn Crab in Red Hook is more straightforwardly named and offers crabs of a spicier persuasion. Their Steampots are available in cajun style with an option to add a signature butter, lemongrass or key lime jalapeno. You can also chow down on Crab Nachos at Brooklyn Crab, while enjoying the spectacular harbor views from their main dining room on the rooftop which is covered but breezy.
“Glorious Cadillac in front of Brooklyn Crab” (Photo by Scalino, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0)
If you find yourself craving crabs in Crown Heights, there’s no need to look any further than Franklin Avenue where you’ll find the original Crabby Shack. While an open fire hydrant may be the closest thing you’ll find here to an ocean view, the crabs are steamed and prepared daily in the kitchen to a standard of excellence set by crab aficionados Fifi of Philadelphia and Gwen of Chesapeake who, homesick for the softshell staples of their not too distant shores, opened their flagship restaurant to such resounding success that a second Crabby Shack has appeared at 620 Atlantic Avenue to satisfy the hungry visitors to Barclays Center. Crabby Shack is a proudly Black- and women-owned business.
Get maternal
The sign of Cancer, while symbolized by the crab and its tidal watery habitat, tough shell and mushy interior (which are said by astrologers to represent the ebb and flow and sensitivity of the emotional realm) is in fact associated archetypically with women and womanhood, mothers and motherhood, both literally and symbolically. Whether or not we are a woman or a mother, we all contain the qualities attributed to these archetypes to an extent, and Cancer season is a fine time to tap into these themes.
Physically, the sign of Cancer is associated with the breasts and Brooklyn-based platform Boober, the brainchild of local doula Jada Shapiro, founder of Birthday Presence, offers complete care for pregnant women and new parents, including classes in childbirth and breastfeeding and a network providing instant access to doulas and postpartum healthcare experts. Cancer is governed by the moon; both the sign and the planet reflect how we nurture one another, which is why cooking for and feeding others is always a hot topic in the lives of Cancer natives.
Designed likewise with new parents in mind, Soup Doula, founded by postpartum doula Marisa Mendez Marthaller, is a weekly “soup share” of soups, stews and broths handmade in Brooklyn. Order by Monday at 10 a.m., and you or your lucky gift recipient in Brooklyn, Queens or Manhattan will receive a nourishing, soupy care package on Tuesday. Soups are also available for pick up at Bed-Stuy Barb’s or Simple Syrup Wines and Spirits in Crown Heights. Both Boober and Soup Doula were created by Brooklyn moms who know from experience what could be helpful for any new parent adjusting to the sounds of wailing which precede the patter of little feet. That said, a soup delivery makes a thoughtful gift for all of us childless mothers too.
Get cooking
If you have no foreseeable need of a breastfeeding class but want to tap into Cancerian themes by taking a course, get out of the heat and into an air conditioned cooking class at The Brooklyn Kitchen on Frost Street in Williamsburg. Here you can learn about knife skills, pantry, sauces, doughs and meats, which will certainly arm you with an impressive skillset with which to feed the hungry loved ones and perhaps throw a fabulous dinner party. Cancerians are famous for their hospitality.
Not everyone who lives in Brooklyn has a dream kitchen or an adequate dining suite to entertain at home; fortunately brownstone restaurants abound in our borough and we can experience the homey feelings which accompany gathering around the table and breaking bread by visiting the likes of Palo Santo or Parlour in Park Slope, both of which are housed in neighborhood brownstones. Palo Santo serves Pan Latin cuisine for brunch and dinner indoors and outdoors in the garden apartment of a house you can pretend is yours; Parlour welcomes those who’ve made a reservation (no walk-ins) for prix fixe afternoon tea service on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays to their quaint and charming tea rooms under the stoop at 69 7th Ave, which can also be rented for your private tea party. At Dinner Party on South Portland Ave in Fort Greene, guests may be communally seated and are encouraged to strike up a conversation around the table. Like at Parlour, the food is served on vintage flatware pieces, adding to the home dining atmosphere.
Get into Judy Chicago
If you want to explore Cancerian themes this June and July but are not hungry or pregnant, perhaps not even the nurturing kind, I recommend visiting “The Dinner Party” at the Elizabeth Sackler Center for Feminist Art at Brooklyn Museum. Created by Cancerian Judy Chicago, “The Dinner Party” comprises a massive ceremonial banquet, arranged on a triangular table with a total of 39 place settings, each commemorating an important woman from history. The settings consist of embroidered runners, gold chalices and utensils, and china-painted porcelain plates with raised central motifs that are based on vulvar and butterfly forms. Much of Chicago’s body of work has incorporated these references to the feminine form.
“The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago” (Photo by @KevinCase, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Even as Cancerians may be stereotyped as homebodies who are in their feelings, those of us who love the nightlife, but want to be in synch with the cosmic vibes without spending the night in crying and cooking might consider singing our hearts out at Brooklyn EMO’s Live Band Pop-Punk/EMO Karaoke Night (with All Killer No Filler) on July 13 at Purgatory or taking in a free movie in Fort Greene Park about a “House Party” presented by Brooklyn Magazine on July 6 (full summer movie lineup is available here).
Get in touch
Why do or feel Cancerian things in Cancer season if you’re not Cancer? Because it’s fun. Why astrology? Fun. Questions about astrology? Drop them in my mailbag and I’ll answer via a Story on Brooklyn Magazine’s Instagram page. Bigger questions? Book a Zodiac reading with me. Want to just get in the mood without doing much at all? Listen to Current Mood – Cancerian, my Zodiac Soundtrack for the season of the crab.
