I had wanted to visit Midwood for some time. I had read that the ultra-Orthodox were swarming to settle there. However the neighborhood does not strike me as being so heavily ultra-Orthodox as say Borough Park The majority appear to be Modern Orthodox with a sprinkling of other peoples, such as Muslim women wearing head scarves and one Halal meat store. In other words, a moderately diverse neighborhood.Mark had suggested that I wear a baseball cap. Wearing a hat would enable me to blend in with the local population because the entire Jewish population here wears some sort of head gear. I couldn't find a baseball cap but my son Andrew had left behind his top hat, and this is what I wore. To say that I caused a sensation everywhere I went would be putting it mildly. Mark was unkind enough as to refer to my hat as "that goyishe hat". So children, what have we learned from this? Simply this. Any old hat will not do if you wish to pass among a Jewish population. A bizzarre fur trimmed streimel would pass muster but a top hat simply will not do.
Midwood is served by a modest sized shopping street, Ave J. The shops here simply serve the neighborhood. If you are looking for Jewish exotica, culinary or otherwise, you would be much better turning to Borough Park
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