Habana Outpost

Go HERE for more photos from this event by Andrew Harris

The Brooklyn neighborhood of Ft. Greene really is everything it's purported to be. A haven of friendly, nice, hip, culturally diverse, young folk in an enclave of New York that looks more like the neighborhood of the Cosby Show than some gritty street reality scene. On the Corner of Fulton and S.Portland stands Habana Outpost, an eco-friendly restaurant that specializes in Spanish/Cuban cuisine. Over the weekend Habana opened its patio for the season with an all day block party of food, music, an artist/designer market and MAD eco-love.The party drew a good sized crowd of of neighbors and beyond the hood cats on a decidedly cloudy ,cool day for May.

The Designers Market,a street fair-esques block of artists and artisans selling everything from original photo prints,and paintings to hats and t-shirts to Native tongue type fabrics started at noon. D.J.s Cato and Juice E and bands like the decidedly authentic Cuban Conjunto Guantanamo and the community based Hungry March Band kept everyone flowing and dancing. The spicy, cheesy Famous Corn and all types of burritos ,salads and quesadillas kept the hunger down, while Coronas, Margaritas and Mojitos kept the festive mood in high gear.

Not only an eco-eatery meaning Habana Outpost uses earth friendly practices, in design,construction, and daily operations It is NYC's only solar powered restaurant meaning that your food and drinks are made with the energy the sun gives to a grid that powers the restaurant Their toilets use rain water to flush and fill back up, a design marvel courtesy of of and for real the utensils are made of corn or rice product and then after use divided from the other trash to be used in composting,obviously they do a lot recycling of bottles can, cups and whats not as well. Habana is a a bit of hot spot for the on coming warmer weather with it's laided back vibe good food and huge patio.

Neighbors appreciated the Outpost, but were a bit bummed the spot had been blown, and the crowd had been larger in recent years, but thats just how it goes. One can only keep this kind thing a secret for so long. Habana Outpost also act as a community center holding movie nights in the summer months and vending opportunities for local artists, Peep the website for full details of that and check the snaps Andy got and finally go enjoy socially conscious and first and foremost tasty food http://www.ecoeatery.com/