Sideways Glances

Chimichurri Grill

2011-11-10T23:16:00.000-05:00

Luswin the Lifesaver treated me for birthday dinner at this very nice (emphasis on the nice) Argentine restaurant in Hells Kitchen.

(tangent: the city tries to promote this neighborhood as "Clinton". Anyone who has spent an August in Manhattan knows better.)

We'd been trying to connect over the last many weekends. But basketball - his new religion - and my aversion to weeknights kept getting in the way. So, we had a few months of reconnecting, reaffirming to do. Which we did with the help of his vodka and cranberry and my Tom Collins.

We started the meal with empanadas. He ordered the Churrasco Argentino with the namesake sauce. I had a small serving of rabbit stew over noodles and a side of asparagus. We finished with Panqueques de Dulce de Leche for dessert. I had a cup of coffee.

We finished the night with another round (or two) of drinks at Barrage. Finally we left for Penn Station where he was greeting a friend in from DC. I picked up a few toiletries for my upcoming weekend retreat and we said goodbyes. Hopefully not as long before the next meeting.

Mercato

2011-11-10T17:58:00.000-05:00

Boss Lady took me to lunch for my birthday. I picked this small Italian place on 39th Street - just down the block from the NY State Correctional Services Parole Division offices.

We shared a bowl of olives and bruschetta with olive paste, tomatoes and mushrooms. I avoided the mushrooms, as usual. She ordered the ravioli and I had a bowl of pumpkin soup and the rucola salad. We each had a glass of red wine.

Our Uruguayan waitress made us giggle mildly appropriate Miss Universe jokes. Office gossip was at a minimum.

Today on the L Train

2011-05-04T09:55:00.002-04:00

I did not witness either of these, but the L Train has been in the news lately.

After learning of the death of Osama bin Laden, one patriotic Brooklynite tried to get his hipster neighbors excited during their commute. Predictably, it didn't go over so well.

Also in the ether, others had more success in transforming the space of the L Train by turning it into a pop-up eatery.

Now if either of these had been blended with a mariachi band, I'd say we'd seen everything. Except that on the L Train just about anything is possible, so even that wouldn't be unexpected.

Two More Down the Garbage Disposal

2011-04-15T10:01:00.000-04:00

Cost cutting and sinking ratings pound two more nails in the coffin of the daytime soap opera.

All My Children will go off the air in September and One Life to Live breathes its last in January 2012. This will leave four shows - The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, Days of Our Lives, and General Hospital.

Ocean View Diner

2011-03-06T10:19:00.001-05:00

Prior to a trip through Target, the Boy in the Checkered Shirt and I met Luswin for a quick bite. Omelettes, coffees, and toast. The waitress was a little confused but she did scream our orders into the kitchen in true diner style.

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Hope & Anchor

2011-02-12T11:17:00.001-05:00

Between stops at Lowes and Ikea, the Boy and I stopped at this bar/restaurant in Red Hook for breakfast. We had omelettes and coffee , but bypassed the turkey bacon.

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Julius

2011-02-11T21:22:00.001-05:00

Long day at work (but my last official day of trafficking. Shout out to Focus Features for keeping me late. Grrr.). Met up with the Boy in the Checkered Shirt for a burger and beer at this W. Village/NYC/Gay History institution. The table under the Bea Arthur picture was occupied, but we made do by the windows.

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Fortunato Brothers

2011-01-16T15:45:00.001-05:00

After our Thai lunch we migrated to this Italian bakery. We each had a pastry filled with French cream. The Boy ordered a cappuccino and I a black coffee.

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Lily Thai

2011-01-16T15:20:00.001-05:00

I was craving some Thai, so The Boy in the Checkered Shirt and I headed down to Bushwick Ave for Note Thai. When we got there, in the cold, it was shuttered. So we kept on walking and came to this better, calmer restaurant on Grand Ave. We split a Thai salad, an order of curry puffs and some fish cakes (not so good), and then a serving of the chicken kaprow.

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The Grey Dog

2011-01-15T09:44:00.002-05:00

After an all night dinner party at R&S the Boy in the Checkered Shirt and I went to this salty sea coast inspired café. The Boy had scrambled eggs, home fries, and toast. I started with another cup of coffee and ordered the granola and yogurt.

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Brooklyn Diner

2011-01-05T20:58:00.001-05:00

After another long day at work, the Boy in the Checkered Shirt came by Muji - conveniently located in the site of record's lobby - where Simone and I met him before heading to Walgreens. Simone needed cough syrup. So she said.

Simone and the Boy ordered burgers, his without bacon. I ordered the turkey.

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Fighting poverty

2011-01-04T15:38:00.001-05:00

I found this column on the site of record interesting. It details the effectiveness of a poverty fighting scheme in Mexico that has been replicated around the world.

Coffee with Fins

2011-01-03T15:34:00.004-05:00

Finally a coffee cup that doesn't require a disposable sleeve.

2011-01-03T13:42:00.000-05:00

The Weekend

2011-01-02T16:40:00.000-05:00

New Year's Eve we ended up dancing to 1970s Motown music at Nowhere Bar.

2011-01-02T13:41:00.005-05:00

The Weekend

2010-12-29T17:17:00.000-05:00

Christmas on Saturday and a blizzard on Sunday. It was a homebound weekend.

Roberta's

2010-12-27T13:51:00.007-05:00

The day after Christmas brought a blizzard to the city. Housebound all day after sleeping off the Christmas dinner food coma (preceded by the Boy's mother's cooking food coma) and playing with our new toys, we planned to go see a movie. However, the weather changed our minds, yet being inside all day and night wasn't a satisfying way to pass a day off. So, with our neighbor Joel, we layered up and bundled ourselves out the door into the storm to get a drink.

We headed down Troutman towards Tandem, only to discover the bar wisely shuttered. We turned back and stopped by 250 for another layer and then re-treaded our way towards Roberta's.

The restaurant was not entirely empty. I removed my upper layers, and set my wet socks on the seat to warm up. With my feet bare under the table we studied the menu.

Joel and I each ordered a mug of eggnog laced with bourbon. The Boy ordered a Cheeses Christ pizza, which he shared. We topped of the night with a glass of beer each - a lager for Joel, an ale for the Boy, and a pilsner for myself.

And then we headed back through the heavy winds and stretching drifts of snow towards the warmth of home.

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The Gift
Lt. Blender's Eggnog in a Bag, 12-Ounce Pouches (Pack of 3)

The Weekend

2010-12-18T00:13:00.000-05:00

Almost done with Christmas shopping and shipping.

Star on 18

2010-11-21T14:43:00.000-05:00

After brunch with Luswin I met up with the Boy in the Checkered Shirt and Ramona to check out some galleries in Chelsea. Among them the Prince Street Gallery and the Bowery Gallery, both no longer found on their namesake streets.

After a couple hours of taking in art and walking under the High Line, we found this diner on 10th Avenue. The Boy ordered a cup of chamomile tea and an apple turnover, while Ramona and I had coffee and pie (blueberry for her, apple for me). We all helped ourselves to bites from a scoop of ice cream on the Boy's plate.

La Grainne Cafe

2010-11-21T13:39:00.000-05:00

It had been a while since Luswin and I had some one on one time to kvetch about everyone else, so we met up at noon on Saturday at this French cafe in Chelsea. He was early and I was on time.

We each had a cup of coffee (mine with cream, his with skim milk) and shared a croissant aux amandes. He ordered an omelet and I had a bowl of muesli with fruit and yogurt.

Today on the L Train

2010-11-20T23:07:00.003-05:00

After the loud skater teens got off to terrorize Union Square, the hipster girl in horn rimmed glasses and day-glo hair sitting across from me turned to the guy in the OSU hat and asked him if the Buckeyes/Wolverines game was today. A lengthy discussion of OSU's football schedule ensued, followed by the disclosures that she is from Mayfield, Ohio and he from Dublin, Ohio. His friend sitting silently nearby was from St. Claire Shores, Michigan. I chimed in too, but they had never heard of Put-in-Bay and I effectively killed the conversation.

I momentarily missed the loud skater teens. The train felt very slow.

And then it finally arrived at 8th Avenue and we parted.

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Today on the M Train

2010-11-09T07:52:00.001-05:00

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Chez Frank

2010-11-07T16:44:00.001-05:00

With our extra hour from the end of daylight savings time, the Boy in the Checkered Shirt and I went to Frank's new place in Chelsea for brunch. Frank is subletting the apartment for the next year and it is lovely.

Amusing to me, it is a railroad apartment. Reminiscent of a trailer, these narrow floorplans dot the city. They can be difficult to decorate, cohabitate, and entertain in due to their flowing layout. In Bushwick they are the standard and a stumbling block to the neighborhood's gentrification.

But in Chelsea, Frank's place is stunning. Wood floors, intact molding, open doors, southern exposure, and ingeniously created closets plus the comfortable leather club chair made the afternoon a relaxing end to the weekend.

When we arrived he had French sandwiches, grapes and cantelope, mint tea, nuts, chips and hummus waiting for us.

We followed the meal with a walk down the High Line.

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El Centro

2010-10-25T22:36:00.001-04:00

After seeing Alan perform in a developmental reading of Allegiance, Legally Blond and I were joined by the Boy in the Checkered Shirt. We waited for Alan outside the theater while he was adored by his fans.

From there we went to this Mexican diner. Alan had a chicken quesadilla (sans jalapenos), LB chicken enchiladas with cabbage on the side, and the Boy and I shared a chicken quesadilla and a vegetarian burrito.

Alan and LB had large margaritas.

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