Area restaurant still a mystery

ATP has no clue what goes on inside the Meytex Lounge.  All we know is that, at times, it's very, very loud in there.

Sadly, we've heard that the proprietors of Meytex Lounge are not that friendly to all types.  Has anyone dared to venture inside?

Comments

[alyndea]

Maybe you should go in yourself. Don't you live in the area? If you are adventurous enough to live in PLG, why not enjoy what it has to offer?

[chris]

My boyfriend ate a meal there recently and said the people there were very friendly and the food was quite good. I think the restaurant got a good review in the Village Voice a while ago and that's what prompted him to check it out. Sounds like a nice place to me.

[Ed]

Hey Alyndea - That Meytex lounge certainly isn't the best of what the neighborhood has to offer. It's loud. It's got dark tinted glass. It's plain ugly and tacky. I think it's great that the neighborhood serves up good african food, but come on, let's be fair - why does it have to be served in such a raunchy, tacky eyesore of an establishment?

When you want to look good, you wear nice clothes, right? Why can't a restaurant represent itself with tasteful decor. This is New York City after all - the capital of fashion and style for the whole world. Frankly, that place looks about as attractive as a livery cab center.

Meanwhile, what is so "adventurous" about living in Prospect Lefferts Gardens?

[Ceelledee]

Oh, gee, I sure hope this thread isn't going to start sounding like a clone of Brownstoner.com!

IMO, Meytex does not look "tacky" or "raunchy" or like a "livery cab center." If anything, it looks like a rather mysterious place that invites you to enter in if you really want to know what's going on behind that tinted glass. The colors of the signage and the flag depicted are representative of this establishment's African roots. (And, let's not forget that it is the African community within PLG that is the target clientele of this establishment). Morover, plenty of more "upscale" restaurants in other more "gentrified" nabes also use dark tinted glass on their exteriors. "Night of the Cookers on Fulton Street (FG) and "City Lighting" on Flatbush Ave. (PH) come to mind.

Please, people, if this blog is going to grow in popularity, let it via the route of positive "can do" spirit and not by way of promoting attitudes of condemnation.

The "adventure" of living in Prospect Lefferts Gardens can be found when we open our eyes, ears and minds and seriously engage the substantially diverse groupings of people who reside and do business here. From what I can see, such diversity is increasing daily and that's a good thing.

Think about it: do you think you could find both an ATP and a Meytex Lounge in Park Slope or Brooklyn Heights?

[Shev]

Nothing about this photo is appetizing. Except that the small word "food" is on the sign, there's little else to indicate that this place, in fact, serves food. It could just as easily be a car service, a locksmith, a laundromat, a private investigator's office, etc.... Is it really a restaurant?

The combination of dark glass and the word "lounge" says bar more than restaurant and not a very inviting one at that. It doesn't welcome folks in; it looks like a private club.

The windows at City Lighting were cheap, but not tinted--the pace was just dark and divey. The new owner wisely decided that it's important for potential diners to see inside and he invested a lot of money on really nice windows. I'm guessing that explains the crowds in there, because the food and drinks leave a lot to be desired.

Of course, it's silly to waste a lot of money on such expensive windows if you're opening a new place, or if you're not sure about the amount of business you'll be doing as you get things going. [And the amount of money spent on the facade of Burrito Bar & Kitchen (formerly City Lighting) would have been better spent on menu items.] But it would be nice if Meytex had something in the front to invite folks in. The flag and colours are a good start, but the fact that only 1 out of 5 commentors knows anything about what goes on inside really says a lot.

[Alyndea]

Ed,

I'm surprised at your lack of understanding. I'm surprised that you live in PLG.
This neighborhood is not Manhattan or Park Slope. It contains mostly lower income people, it's sad that people like you show so much disrespect for others who scrape hard to open up a restaurant to serve their community.
The type of person who opens up places like Meted Lounge doesn’t have trust funds and can't take equity out of their parent’s home. They actually work hard as cab drives, nurses, janitors or live-in nannies for other people’s children.
I don't mean to give you a lecture but I don't think you'll be living in PLG for much longer. Caribbean, African people are very tough and rigid; they'll not going to kiss your ass. Maybe you should open up your own restaurant or even better why don't you tell the restaurant owners how you feel.

[Alyndea]

Ed and Shev,

I'm surprised at your lack of understanding. I'm surprised that you live in PLG.
This neighborhood is not Manhattan or Park Slope. It contains mostly lower income people, it's sad that people like you show so much disrespect for others who scrape hard to open up a restaurant to serve their community.
The type of person who opens up places like Meytex Lounge doesn’t have trust funds and can't take equity out of their parent’s home. They actually work hard as cab drives, nurses, janitors or live-in nannies for other people’s children.
I don't mean to give you a lecture but I don't think you'll be living in PLG for much longer. Caribbean, African people are very tough and rigid; they'll not going to kiss your ass. Maybe you should open up your own restaurant or even better why don't you tell the restaurant owners how you feel.
Did you guys ever think that this place serves a certain type of clientele and that you guys are not it? In communities like this the restaurants are ethnically based, an African, Haitian, Jamaican person opens a restaurant for their community not for you. If an African wants to eat good homemade food he/she is not going to go to Park Slope or Boerum Hill he/she will go to an area where his/her people live.

[Shev]

Hi Alyndea. I can see that it's a place for folks in the community and I'm not suggesting that people should have to go outside the neighbourhood to eat. I just think a menu in the window would go a long way. Kombit in PH is for/by the Haitian community, but it's inviting and not just to Haitians.

[Alyndea]

Kombit is made for a different clientele. Like you said it is inviting not just for Haitians, that is because it is not in a Haitian community.
What you should try to understand is that many restaurants and stores were created by these ethnic groups to serve each other and no one else. Now that new people are coming into these neighborhoods they find it hard to understand that these ethnic groups do not see everything in a Euro-American point of view.
You really should go out more and talk to the people in your community. For example in Flatbush/PLG a West Indian or African person knows exactly what these restaurants have so there are no need for menus on the window.
For example a Haitian would come home from work and say I want to eat "griot avec dirue avec pwa." Then they'll just walk to the corner and get what they want. It's hard to believe but that's how some people in these communities operate. Just imagine when they came to NY 40- 30 years ago there where no restaurants or Korean grocers that catered to their needs.

[Gary]

There are African restaurants all over NYC. I've eaten in a few and enjoyed the meals. Until this thread, it would never have ocurred to me to walk into this joint - it just doesn't look inviting.

[Shev]

Alyndea. I'm familar with a variety of restaurant types and communities. I get that they're by/for and that they exist by word of mouth and community knowledge. That's not a mystery to me. I guess it's the serving each other "and no one else" part that troubles me. I like to think that businesses welcome new folks--especially since food is such a social thing--so I'd think it's an easy place for different communities to mingle and share. But it seems with Meytex, not so much. Oh well. There are plenty of other places in so many neighbourhoods that are more open.

[Ceelledee]

I now realize it was probably a mistake of my earlier post to state that the Meytex Lounge "looks like a mysterious place that invites you in" to solve the mystery of what goes on in there.

In truth, I have to agree with some of you who have remarked that it doesn't look all that inviting. And, especially if you are not a member of the target consumer group that this business is looking to attract, I would think it doesn't look inviting at all. However, like Gary, I have never given a thought to going into the Meytex Lounge . . . primarily because I don't do lounges! And, even if I did, I probably would not have felt a strong lure to go into that place.

But that's ok with me! In fact, it's more than fine with me that there all kinds of businesses in this neighborhood that were never conceived with me in mind, are not looking to "invite" me in and will thrive, nevertheless, off the business of their target markets. Perhaps I am at ease with this because, as a Black woman in America, I'm real familiar with a social phenomenon known as exclusion. Right or wrong, that's a power that tends to be exercised against a minority by those who hold membership in a group majority.

Rather than be disturbed by those businesses that aren't striving to include me, I'm much more interested in working with the ones that clearly want my business but haven't figured out how to attract it. (Which I believe to be the clear majority of PLG businesses, anyway). And, I'm also interested in working with PLUS to attract new businesses to the area that may fill the gap in goods and services that we think are missing.

I guess what I'd like to say, especially to the newcomers, is that some of you are now members of the minority group for the first time in your lives. Please be assured that more of us understand and feel for your uncertainty than you may know. However, at the same time, you should really consider taking some care in how you approach this new and unfamiliar territory upon which you have entered.

You can either come in like arrogant gangbusters (no pun intended), wagging fingers and simply complaining loudly of what is not "right." Or, with a bit of humility, you can seek to better know and understand your environment and the people in it. Then, you can work productively and diplomatically towards bringing the positive contribution of your particular presence to it.

I hope all us -- both newcomers and oldtimers -- will choose the latter course of action.

[tripster]

I have no idea what any of you guys are talking about.
Meytex is a nice, friendly African bar and restaurant --- it has tinted window, so what?!!
The food is good and the people there are inviting and open to any of you coming in and patronizing the place.
Plunk down $10, enjoy a plate of ox tails and listen to some African music.
Maybe it would open your tiny, little, closed-up minds a bit!
While we're at it, ATP and everyone else, why don't you hold off on the judgments about anywhere until you actually spend the 30 seconds necessary to find out if they hold water.

[livin 11225]

Yep, its the tinted windows what turns me off. if i can't see what is going on inside, makes me very leary of going inside. that usually means they don't want me to know and it is by invitation only. yes that is an assumption, but a reasonable one to make given its reclusive appearance. lack of menu or even general description of what they are offering outside definitely doesn't help much.

i like african food and the casual friendly vibe sounds great, so why not throw a menu on the window at the entrance and take down the window tint. would go a long way toward introducing many residents to what appears (at least to some of us) to be a hidden treasure in our midst.

while i might not want to lounge, i definitely would like to order out or god forbid they delivered.

As it stands now, I just walk on by and I don't pick up the phone to place a delivery order.

[Ceelledee]

I hear you all -- especially, ATP, Whoa, and Tripster. But, I gotta say, Whoa. . . your comment, although pretty spot on in substance, was a bit harsh in conveyance, don't you think?

Bottom line is that I'm glad to see that somebody has even taken the initiative to put a PLG-dedicated blogsite together! Such a task takes considerable time and effort and it's pro-nabe energy that I, for one, have certainly not offered. I think the same can be said for most of us who have now found this new place in the 'hood to occasionally drop into.

Although I wish ATP's author(s)had more experience with and understanding of this place, hopefully that will come in time.
And, honestly while us well-seasoned residents may have some legitimate gripes about the "uncultured" attitudes and behaviors of the newcomers, it's not like some of us oldtimers couldn't use some polishing up on our own diversity skills. (And, when I say this, please understand that I'm including myself in the latter group).

Finally, ATP -- humor is a very tough thing to pull off-- especially on the internet. In my book, you've been a bit off the mark with that approach. I'm by no means saying that you should re-moderate this blog into a solemn and angry electronic public forum. However, I would not mind you becoming a bit more serious about this rather ambitious undertaking.

[NoMoreHipsters]

I hope the creators of ATP are not representative of most newcomers to PLG. If so I think there's still room in Ft. Greene, Clinton Hill, Park Slope and Prospect Heights for them.
Newcomers can find all the cafes, bars, restaurants they want on the 7th Ave and DeKalb Avenue Stops on the B/Q train. I also think there is a Starbucks at the Atlantic Ave Mall.

[Bob Marvin]

I disagree. I really like this blog and would like to welcome the creators of ATP to the neighborhood.

[kinobuster]

Well-stated, Celleedee (in your 2/21 posting)!

I hope everyone who frequents this blog reads your comment, and takes it to heart.

It seems this topic has touched a few nerves. It'd be nice to see a more conciliatory tone in general, rather than the abrasive tones of some "posters."

I really enjoy the humor of the blog, and read it as much for that as for the info—a bit of an “Onion-esque” sensibility that appeals to me, I guess—and as a recent addition to the neighborhood (last fall), I identify with many of the topics they’re exploring, and the notion of “figuring out” the neighbornood. However, you’re quite right that they do cross a line sometimes re: cultural sensitivity...

[Adrian Lesher]

Anyone who has actually spent time in Meytex will be greeted openly and will be offered excellent Ghanaian food and cheap Ghanaian beers.

It's one of the few Ghanaian restaurants in Brooklyn and is very typical of the sort of place you'd find in Accra, Kumasi, or elsewhere in Ghana.

The woman who runs the place Meyrie (I think is the correct spelling) used to have a fabric store and cook meals on the side. The food was popular with local Ghanaians, so she decided to open a restaurant.

[Lily White Jr]

yah, if you go inside they gonna ROB then RAPE you, mon. it's like deepest darkest mutha' AFRICA & even if these Negroes-- oops i mean black people came here voluntarily, they STILL mad & bust you up, yo, if ya'll bust in on 'em unannounced. THEY all remember FELA & ya'll ought to also-- ain't gonna happen like 'dat again no.

if WHITEY scared, as other posters say-- there are PLENTY of places in PARK SLOPE, 212, execrable Smith St etc ad nauseuem that are happy to offer you a more APPLEBEES or BENNIGANS or ZAGAT approved experience. take yr clean white $$$ & inanity there-- leave the streets to those who know how to use 'em. (Or learn how to cook, genius.)

Or is the credo of "Across The Park"

Everyone should be JUST LIKE ME

because otherwise I don't feel "welcome" (boo hoo hoo.)

well, guess what? You're not UNwelcome but you are not now, never have been & never WILL BE "special." Get over being yourself, your own jive customs & comportments & spend even a little THINKING before you post inane garbage like this.

Ya'll welcome--

xxoo,

Lily

[Ed]

You, my dear, are OFF YOUR ROCKER!!! Truly nuts! Your repsonse had me rolling on the floor with laughter.

Now if you can chill with the Miss Cleo impersonation and the overbearing pride for a moment, there really are valid issues to discuss on this blog.

Bring them to the table and make the world a better place.

[Charles]

Four things:

1) The Meytex exterior is 100% uninviting. It screams "if you don't know what is here, don't bother looking."

2) If, like me, you don't care if you are invited in and are curious as hell about what Ghanaian food tastes like, the actual people inside are TOTALLY inviting. And contrary to Alynda, they seem very interested in expanding their customer base (though I doubt that means changing the authenticity of the cuisine to appeal to the new arrivals).

3) I got a chicken and peanut soup dish that was ... too peanutty for my tastes to be a whole meal. I intend to go back for the oxtails eventually because I think it was my personal tastes rather than execution on the peanut soup.

4) I really hope that Ghana makes it back to the World Cup in 2010; Meytex was where the Ghanaians from across the northeast came to watch the games and I'd love to get in the middle of that.