We have a winner! Melissa you won the fantastic dinner for 4 from Susie’s Super Club you lucky girl! I can’t wait to hear how much you love it. Do let the rest of us know, won’t you? Though I have no doubt that you will tell us that it was amazing. (Please ask them for a side of their homemade ketchup and tell me you agree that it is the best you have ever had). I am ordering the Braised Pork Tenderloin and Quinoa Cakes this week myself.  And with mother-in-law coming, I know she can’t possibly be disappointed when I serve this!

(For the new giveaway starting today, check the blog here)

There were some fantastic entries to the contest about best or hidden playgrounds… (some of them are right under my nose and I didn’t know about them!)

Here was Melissa’s entry that got picked by random drawing:  Our favorite playground is the Harry Chapin playground in north Brooklyn Heights. Just off the north end of the promenade, this is the go-to playground for people with toddlers. It has 5 bucket swings in the SHADE. In the summer months, the playground boasts a toddler-friendly sprinkler. The playground is best suited for younger kids, as it has lower structures to climb on. Our twins enjoyed the low parallel bars (can be grasped by either side) when they were learning how to walk. It always has a small crowd, but never gets “packed” the way nearby Pierrepont playground does.

To read about the other playgrounds (secret ones and better known) check out the list below comprised from the entries:

• Underhill playground in Prospect Heights is great. Not only is it close to us but it is great for my 2 year old and almost 4 year old. The bathrooms work and are relatively clean, there is only one entrance/exit and best of all you can watch two children on opposite ends at the same time. In the summer the sprinklers are great. The playground also had beautiful tile work and fantastic sculptures that double as sprinklers and playthings.
• Our favorite by far, though we don’t get there often, is the “water” park at the southwest corner of central park. It’s perfect with all the water play, big sandbox, some shade, enclosure so I can let the older one roam freely, and that crazy netting thing in the sandbox that makes a wonderful pirate ship rigging . Our more common favorite spot is the Big Rock at fort greene park, over by the tennis courts. That and the little ‘fort’ area up in the trees between the tennis courts and the monument. lots of great exposed roots and hideaways!
• We have a 9 and 1/2 yr old (and I am currently due in May) and I have to say that it’s a toss up between the Sculpture Garden at Pratt and Fort Greene Park. Both provide a unique backdrop for some intense make believe play. Nothing beats grass, dirt, and sticks when it comes to building mini forts to house my daughter’s Polly prisoners. There’s also tons of room to play ball and do cart wheels. Come Summertime we lounge for hours reading a book and staring up at the clouds…
• We love the park at So. Oxford, north of Atlantic Avenue. My 8 yo can skateboard, use the climbing equipment, kick a soccer ball around the turf area or ride his bike. They also have a beautiful sprinkler system that the kids control. The water shoots out of these tall flower sculpture-like things. There are benches with shade which was great for hanging out in a daze with my newborn this summer while my older guy got his energy spent.
• We love the playground at Fort Greene Park – particularly on a Saturday morning! Our kids love to run over to the Farmer’s Market for a snack and then see all their friends – such a wonderful community of FG families!
• I have two: the Imagination Playground in Prospect Park is wonderful in the summer, with lots of shade, lots of space to spread out a picnic on the “stage” and a creative dragon sprinkler. I also love the water park on the Hudson Parkway around the Meat Packing district, near Jane Street. It’s floating right on the water and there are so many water games and different kinds of sprinklers. They need a bit more shade but it’s fun if it’s not too hot.
• We love Underwood Park on Washington/Lafayette. It’s huge, has two separate areas for big and small kids, plenty of swings(which is key as my daughter loves them and gets really impatient when we go to smaller ones that only have 2 or 3 with a wait) and a great water area that we practically live in during the summer months.
• I think the best-kept local playground secret is one in Fort Greene Park… and not the overrun one at the corner of Washington Park and Dekalb. If you venture toward the northwest corner of the park, you’ll find “New Fort Greene,” which has a fabulously designed metal playground (shaped overall like a fort or castle) perfect for younger and older kids, as well as separate infant/toddler equipment, swings, four sprinklers that spray toward each other, and restrooms (though I can’t vouch for cleanliness). Being shaded at just about all hours, it’s perfect for hot summer days. There are usually only a few kids there at a time, which amazes me!
• I really love the nethermead section of prospect park. Its never too crowded and kind of fun to get to. It totally feels like you are somewhere else, but with all the cool brooklyn peeps to chat with.
• We love the Manhattan Beach Park, especially in the Summer. It is a beautiful park, right on the beach. You can take turns going on the swing and through the sprinklers and then go build sand castles on the beach and dip your toes in the ocean.
• Our favorite playground is the DiMattina Playgound on Rapelye between Hicks and Henry St. There is equipment for little and big kids, sprinklers in the summer and it’s way less crowded than Carroll Park!
• Even though it’s a bit of a haul for us, Harmony Playground at 9th St in Prospect Park, which we call “Trixie’s Playground,” because Trixie goes there in Knuffle Bunny Too. It’s sunny, but has a great umbrella over the sand box for super hot days (if only!), and the benches are mostly shaded. It’s got swings for little ones and big ones, a great tot area and even better big kid area. my kids love the sculptures and the fountain, which is a sculpture in itself, and the giant xylophone type instrument. the bathrooms are clean and well tended, and there always seems to be someone around who is watching over the place. It’s a treat when we get there! A pretty close second is Underhill playground, but there aren’t enough kids there when we go – where is everybody???
• My favorite playground is the Playground for All Children in Queens. It is amazing.
• Pratt Institute. As any toddler armed with a doll stroller will tell you, the winding paths, sculptures, squirrels, and the “Pratt cats” make for a fun-filled afternoon. The grass is always lush, grounds are kept clean, it’s never really crowded, and there’s tons of shade in the summertime.
• The Tot Lot in Prospect Park is great (at Garfield). The equipment and the size of the are is just right for early walkers and crawlers. It is also great that you can easily meet kids the same age as yours since the area isn’t that appealing to the older kids.
• But i also love Rockefeller Park in Battery Park City for a change of pace. Amazing playground with a sandpit, lots of climbing structure, a sprinkler and a merry go round spinner.
• My son loves the water park in the Marine Park playground in the summertime. Lots of sprinklers on timers keep everyone excited waiting for the next blast. Parents can relax on blankets on the shady grass surrounding the playground. It’s a great spot for a birthday party.
• My favorite park for my kids and myself is in dumbo, the pirate ship park, between the brooklyn bridge and manhattan bridge. There is the huge pirate ship to run around. The pirate sandbox, the srinklers, tire swings. It has great views of manhattan and the bridges and so much to do! We love it at any time of the year, but summer with the sandbox and sprinklers is the best.
• As I have 2 boys that are into skateboarding our most frequented
  park has been owls head in Bay Ridge. Though a bit of a trek and
  slightly smelly due to a sewage processing plant nearby the skate park has been the source of many hours of entertainment. It has a pool for doing tricks and at least 4 hills to skate down. There are benches all around for sitting parents. Just across the path in the same park is a nice basketball court and a small water park for those hot summer days. Perfect for cooling off after skating. A local diner down the street provides a nourishing meal with a feel of old brooklyn incl egg creams! Enjoy.

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