Whether you've been skating forever or want to learn how, Homage is the place where skaters of all levels can feel at home. Opened by Michelle Sauer and Jose Portes, both boarders themselves, the shop/skate-rat hangout sells top-of-the-line gear including decks, wheels, shoes, hoodies, backpacks, and headphones from trusted brands such as Etnies, Vans, and Toy Machine, as well as the shop's own excellent brand. (Their Homage T-shirts are seriously soft.) Skating was, of course, invented in Southern California, where you can ride all year round. With the goal of turning more New York skaters into pros, Homage solved the weather problem by opening an indoor 2,500-square-foot skate spot (nearby at 615 Degraw Street), complete with banks, ramps, a rail, and an imitation of the famous skate spot in San Francisco called China Banks. Here, the Homage Brooklyn Skate Academy offers private and group lessons, an after-school program, and week-long instructional skate sessions during the summer and winter-holiday breaks. But if you really have no interest in skating and simply want to support the shop's mission, you can pick up a MUD coffee and a killer treat from their organic snack bar next door. 151 Smith Street, Brooklyn, 718-596-1511, homagebrooklyn.com (11201)