Sachio Ito & Company

Location: Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Event: Sakura Matsuri
Venue: Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Food: Tom’s Restaurant
Drink: Soda Bar
Miscellaneous: Old Brooklyn Parlor

With the Botanical Garden’s Japanese cherry trees in full bloom, they begin Sakura Matsuri (“rite of spring”), celebrating Japanese culture and the cherry trees with J-pop concerts, traditional music and dance, manga art, workshops, taiko drumming, and martial arts. It’s the place where Susanne Vega wrote “Tom’s Restaurant,” but Tom’s restaurant is just as famous for its food. With a near insane breakfast menu, expect items like pancakes with apples and pecans to be brought to you by the sweetest waitresses in Brooklyn. Soda Bar is a great place for drinks. The alcohol is cheap, there’s surprisingly excellent food, and there’s even another room where DJs spin. If it’s too much, you can hang outside in the backyard patio under the stars. The Old Brooklyn Parlor specializes in old school drinks like the Brooklyn Egg Cream and the Lime Cherry Rickey, making it an excellent anchor to this neighborhood.