Meet the Regulars

Based on the column The Regulars on the New York magazine partner Bedford + Bowery, the celebrities and everyday people who love the local joints of the world’s coolest borough.

Meet the Regulars captures a previously unseen and entertaining portrait of the people of Brooklyn and the places they love. In talking with the regulars at bars, restaurants, and shops in the world-famous borough, author Joshua Fischer delivers deep and delightful stories presented alongside stunning snapshots from accomplished photographers including Nina Westervelt (Vogue.com, New York Times), Phil Provencio (Variety, Saturday Night Live, and CBS), and Nicole Disser (Bedford + Bowery and Brooklyn Magazine online). Meet the Regulars reveals the great power in the connections we make with the people and places where we live.

Originally an interview series on the New York magazine partner Bedford + Bowery, Meet the Regulars introduces us to a diverse and changing Brooklyn through its regulars: the first-generation American Latino café owner who drinks Coors out of a can and loves a good debate with the lawyer and plumber at his corner bar, the blogger who fixes her hair and heart at her cherished salon, the lady so loyal to her local bar she has its logo tattooed on her arm, the Asian hipster couple who drink and dance for "exercise" at their new-school Brooklyn hangout, and the burgeoning filmmaker who walks twenty blocks for sage advice from a legendary bartender inside a bowling alley.

Familiar faces include party rocker Andrew W. K. spicing things up at the Thai joint from his early days, Saturday Night Live performer Sasheer Zamata reliving a break-up at her go-to brunch spot, Radiolab host Jad Abumrad sippin' whiskey to Black Sabbath, beloved NY1 news anchor Pat Kiernan chowing down on meatballs, actor Jessica Pimentel (Orange Is the New Black) championing her local metal bar, actor Kevin Corrigan (Goodfellas, Pineapple Express) contemplating a Guinness at his favorite Irish pub, and more.


From Meet the Regulars:
"These are stories about people finding a home in an ephemeral world of bars, restaurants, shops, and clubs that open, explode, and burn out like so many stars hidden in that bright and sleepless New York night sky." —Joshua D. Fischer, from his introduction

Meet the regulars of Meet the Regulars:
"It's a sense of continuity. You thread your history through a place. . . . That's what makes me a regular." —Jad Abumrad, host of public radio's Radiolab, regular at Splitty

"Once you have the cell phone number of the bar owner, then you're a regular." —Twin comics the Lucas Brothers, regulars at Tutu's

"I can tell if a person is cool if their vibe mixes with this place." —Sasheer Zamata, Saturday Night Live cast member, regular at Enid's

"Brooklyn is this unattractive, could-never-go-to-the-prom borough. And now, not only does everyone want to take you to the prom, but everyone wants you on their arm." —Eric Adams, Brooklyn borough president, regular at Woodland

"Read the book. Talk to everyone about it. . . . Move to Brooklyn with nothing but the contents of a suitcase. Be in the world's most annoying band. Get a bunch of hideous tattoos. Whatever." —Meredith Graves of punk band Perfect Pussy, regular at Roman's

"This bar saved my life." —Ariel Pellman, costume designer, regular at the Way Station

Joshua D. Fischer is a writer in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, where he's lived in the same apartment for twelve years. He is a graduate of the Cultural Reporting and Criticism master's in journalism program at New York University, and his work has been published in the New York magazine partner Bedford + Bowery, Nylon, and Salon, among others. Originally from the Detroit area, Joshua currently lives with his lovely wife, Suzanne, and their crazy-cute dog, Ernie—who also happens to be the unofficial mayor of the block.

"With the heart of a sociologist, [Fischer] wanted the unique and diverse stories of Brooklyn’s most interesting people . . . Meet the Regulars delivers an entertaining account and intriguing perspective on 46 people who were either born, bred, or have lived in Brooklyn long enough to talk about it." —Our BK Social

"While the book’s original focus was not about gentrification, the topic came up in a majority of his interviews with the regulars. As a result, the book became a voice of those who may be struggling to stay in touch with a place that is losing its identity, but aren’t exactly complaining about changes either . . . At its heart, Fischer hopes readers feel they are in on the conversations in the book. —amNewYork

"Meet the Regulars is the perfect portrayal of everything Brooklyn and New York City represent . . . And while you might think this book is all about the cool places in Brooklyn—and okay, it kind of is—it also uses these places to tell the stories of Brooklyn." —Lara's Book Club

"Fischer is very conscious of the image that springs to mind at the word 'regular' . . . Meet the Regulars does away with any sense of the conventional." —Citylab

"When you live in such a populated, ever-changing place like Brooklyn, it's important to have an anchor. You need a place that will outlast your lease, your day job, or your roommate situation. And it's nice to have a tangible, offline snapshot of all that." —Jim Tews, comedian and author of Felines of New York