Part of an ongoing series in which Bwog takes you to the less traveled corners of our metropolis.

Park Slope: where baby strollers outnumber cars, Starbucks and Ozzie’s Coffee shop co-exist in peaceful latte-chugging harmony, and human-scale Victorian row houses frame Brooklyn’s man-made forest, Prospect Park. In this neighborhood off the B, Q, 2/3, R, and F trains, you’re vegan until proven otherwise, and you’re either pregnant or planning to take paternal leave. Instead of lemonade stands on its tree-lined streets, Park Slope has savvy and precocious twelve-year-olds selling panino to passersby while strumming their sitars.

The neighborhood is expanding fast, as it accepts increasingly richer Manhattanites – recently graduated, corporate-by-day, hipster-by-night types, but also do-gooder non-for-profit freelancers. Park Slope plays host to young writers, (Jonathan Safran Foer lives somewhere on Second Street) and movie actors (Jennifer Connolly, Steve Buscemi). The night life on Fifth Avenue rivals whatever the overpriced Village has to offer.

Find out where to catch some of the city’s best free concerts and where to get designer ice cream after the jump.

beaconsBeacon’s Closet, 220 5th Avenue
Sift through the most fashionable thrift you can find in the city—area women trade their clothes here for store credit, so expect high end. There’s a much larger one in Williamsburgh (Bwog guide to come).

bluebuttonThe Tea Lounge, 837 Union and 350 7th Avenue
On Union street, behind a small storefront there is a huge, dimly lit teahouse with mismatching furniture, overstuffed couches, chess boards, and tables made from Pac-Man machines. Come at night to sip an alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage of your choice to the tune of local eclectic instrumental bands; come during the day to watch tens of young mothers nursing their newborns. A smaller Tea Lounge, for quieter contemplation is on Seventh Avenue by 10th Street.

icesUncle Louie G’s, 741 Union Street and 321 7th Avenue.
Two Park Slope locations, 40 flavors of Italian Ice—including Holi Canoli, It’s a Crime Lime, My HoneyDoo and Canteloupe Balls—and 33 flavors of Ice Cream–including Harvest Pumpkin Pie, Dulce de Leche de Louie, and Grape Nut Escape. There’s always a line on a hot summer day.

orangebuttonCelebrate Brooklyn, at the Prospect Park Bandshell by 9th street
At Celebrate Brooklyn’s first show of the year, Prince showed up in the encore—-don’t miss the next unannounced celebrity. Celebrate Brooklyn always books the best acts for this outdoor venue, where you can sit with a picnic on the grass. On the July 27, Philip Glass and his quartet are playing the soundtrack to the movie Dracula, as the movie is screened.

My imageLa Villa Pizza, 251 Fifth Avenue
Crispy brick oven pizza, huge portions, soft, warm, oniony pre-meal foccacia bread. A small pie is about 8 bucks.