In the city, backyards are a bit of a novelty. So, when throwing a Brooklyn BBQ one must get a little creative.
It’s a good thing this isn’t our first rodeo.
For me, having rooftop access trumps a backyard any day. I love the ability to head to the roof, soak up the sunlight, and chill – something I do almost everyday. It’s hard to beat rooftop yoga and meditation.
Last year we had our first Brooklyn rooftop BBQ and it was excellent. Good friends, good food, and even a little kiddie pool to keep the drinks cool. But the good times were actually cut short by the rain and a lightning storm.
This year I wanted to step up my game a little. We upgraded the pool to V2. Setup two grills, added our own game of corn hole, rented more chairs, had louder music and of course invited more awesome people.
For me, The best way to survive living the city life is by “Having only the things you need and nothing that you don’t.”
Everything else is either rented or borrowed. However I like to use the term “rented” very loosely.
Sure the tables and chairs were actually rented from a party shop. But corn hole? I pulled an Apache switch, which is when you combine the ol’ craigslist flip, Buy on CL, use once, sell on CL but you add some profit and sell it for more than you bought it for.
That my friends, is my favorite way to rent.
Ingredients for a kickass Rooftop BBQ
Rooftop Access
Cornhole
Blowup Pool
Caution Tape
Umbrellas
Tables and Chairs
Hand Grilled Food
Deep Beer Selection
Good Friends
Great Music
Gorgeous Sunny Day
No Stress
The pool however, was worth keeping and passing onto my nephews and nieces.
This pool was a bit bigger than last year so we had a bit of a challenge filling it. Last year we carried 13 gallon trash cans full of water up the stairs. Now don’t get me wrong, I love a challenge as much as the next person, but I’m also a big advocate of working smarter not harder. Instead of trash cans, I decided to give the hose a try.
Obviously a normal faucet couldn’t push water up to the roof but luckily my tub didn’t have just an ordinary faucet. This super faucet’s water pressure had no problem sending water up to fill the pool.
As the pool filled, Ryan, Mike & I made a quick caution tape run around the perimeter and were set. When you have a rooftop party 5 stories up, you don’t take any chances.
While we were busy setting the stage, Josh, Grill Master #1, was putting the finishing touches on his grilled chicken strip recipe. Care & Olivia finished filling the coolers with the rest of the food and we were just about ready to light up the grill.
We had just about everything we needed for an excellent time. Just crank up the music and let the story unfold.
View The Entire Gallery
These were just the highlights – follow the link below to view the rest of the photos and download your favorites!
Click Here
The PixelStick
This was the first time I had a chance to play with a new kickstarter toy. After the sun went down I broke out the PixelStick – a LED light stick for long exposures.
It was a blast playing with it and the shots turned out pretty awesome. Though next time I’ll have to use a flash so our faces aren’t so morphed .
To end the night we setup the projector and watched a movie until we all crashed.
And that my friends is about all I have to say.
For now…
JJ
Other Perspectives
Pull Slider
Want To Share Your Experience?
Do you have photos from this event? I’d love to share your perspective. Contact me on Facebook.
