First the good news: The ambiance is cool, the restaurant draws a diverse crowd and the artwork outside is dope. Now the bad news: I went for Sunday brunch with three family members and the hostess told us the kitchen was backed up. So the wait was about 30 minutes. But once we were finally seated, our waitress was the worst. It took her at least 15 minutes to take our order and then she disappeared for what felt like another 20 minutes and we didn't have water of utensils until after our food arrived. When our waitress finally came back and brought the utensils she still forgot one set. It's like there was no one over the age of 22 working there. No adult manager in sight until we had finished our meal and she didn't check on each table to see how things were going. To add insult to injury, the portions were pretty small for the prices. I love the Busboys and Poets on 14th Street in DC, so that's why I wanted to check out the Baltimore location. But I doubt I will return to this one; maybe I will have a better dining experience at the Busboys & Poets in Columbia the next time I'm in the area.

Ok, okay. It's like the Godfather 3 saying goes, "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in." After all these years, I still try my luck here once in a while and sometimes they take several things. Plus, the owner/manager has always been nice, which is rare in Brooklyn.

I've been buying and selling at this BE since it opened over a decade ago. I've watched good and not so good managers and salespeople come and go, and it seems they've had another management change. This week, I had a selling appointment with a new manager and at the end of the buy she asked me to sign a seller report because I sold a few new items. This has NEVER happened in all of my years selling here. She tried to explain that it was to show "proof of purchase" since I had a few items with tags. So was she accusing me of selling things I didn't pay for? And these were not designer items; just a few trendy and inexpensive things I bought at Rainbow and thrift stores. Also, some of the things she deemed as new were actually gently used. I signed this seller report only because she had already taken my items. But this will be my last time selling or shopping at this store. I shop and sell for fun, and I don't need any more stress or hassles. I wrote a complaint email to BE corporate and the regional manager called me back. She told me seller reports are standard. I repeated that in all of my years selling at this or any other BE store, I have NEVER been asked to sign a seller report and I have sold new items before. They already take your ID in order for you to sell in the first place. So this extra step felt shady. I was offended and felt like I was profiled. The corporate manager apologized that I was dissatisfied and said she would speak to the store manager about explaining the seller report before the buy. She said there are a number of reasons they ask for a seller report, including something about being audited. But if this is such a standard practice, then why didn't any of the other managers ask me to sign a seller report? I hope that everyone who sells new/tagged items is being held to the same standard. Either way, BE Boerum Hill has lost a longtime customer.

A beautiful, tranquil place to visit and escape hectic New York City life. Also, a lovely spot to have a wedding ceremony in the Rose Garden or overlooking the Japanese Pond.