EMPIRE ROLLER SKATING CENTRAL

200 Empire Boulevard
[2, 5 to Sterling; D, Q, S to Prospect Park]
http://empirerollerskating.com/

Me: So ... how is this fun? I thought there'd be obstacles ... ?
JP: We do the same thing in a circle, over and over - how is that not fun?
...
I'd been trying to validate JP's existence for some time when the opportunity to meet a bunch of his friends at one of their birthday parties came up - sweet, no ? I made the hike out to Empire in the hot hot sun (please note: its not terribly far from the train, but there is literally negative shade between the subway and the rink) and finally stepped into ... 1979. But, yknow, with better music. As we observed (or rather, JP observed and I agreed), the younger kids made asses of us all with their twirling, backwards skating, not falling, etc. And they did it without lacing up their skates! But we had a great time anyway, despite my initial skepticism and the fact that rentals + admission cost me $10 (check the site for specials - Tuesday is Ladies' Night! - and the potentially sketchy Adult Skate...)