Spidey's Looking a Little Plump

With all the hullabaloo surrounding the new Spiderman 3 trailer, we were shocked to see Spidey himself just chillin' with the rest of us down at Battery Park yesterday. Unfortunately for him, it's looking like Spidey has packed on a few pounds as of late (check out that spare tire). I guess he's got to be making his webs extra strong lately. Sorry about the blurry picture, but I only had my cellphone camera on me.

Travelogue: The French Can Cook

While we were in Paris, we of course wanted to check out the local restaurant scene. I've got to say that except for the occassinal stumble, we did pretty well. While we were there, one of our favorite restaurants we found was called Les Pipos. It's located at 2 rue de L'Ecole Polytechnique, Quarter Latin (5th Arrondissement). Some places have it listed as a wine bar, so if you're looking for it, you may need to look at that section of your guide-book. We found it through our Fodor's Paris Guide. It was relatively close to the hotel we were staying in at the time, so we thought we would give looking for it a try (the books say it's a little difficult to come to if you don't know the area well). When we arrived, we found that the menu changes daily depending on what they have available to cook. Also, it's all completely in French (shocking, since we were in France) and only one member of the staff speaks some English. Basically, they write down the menu on a couple of chalk-boards and away they go (there are about 5 main courses, and a bunch of little dishes that stay the same on a daily basis). They also had a huge wine menu over the bar. Luckily for us, there was a very nice English-speaking woman sitting next to us who helped us navigate the menu. I got an amazing lamb dish that night. I also got the house-special wine for the night - I can't remember what it was, but it was red. We had a terrific meal and only for a few Euros. We liked it so much we went back on the night before we came back home. That night we both got the same dish - "different parts of the pig cooked in a pot with vegetables." It was amazing. I love this place and would definately find my way back there if/when I return to Paris. Be warned, however, it's a tiny place, and although we didn't have to wait for a table either time, you are basically sitting with the people sitting next to you. In fact, my wife had the drunk French lady sitting next to her leaning on her shoulder for a good part of our meal one night.
You can read the tiny New York Times review of Les Pipos here.
The write-up in Fodor's can be found here.

Red Wine and Steak

Back when I was living in Boston, a friend of ours always wanted all of us to go out for steaks and red wine. We never did it then - mainly because we were all too poor to eat at McDonald's nevermind a steak house. However, last night I made my wife and I a couple of filet mignon steaks and I enjoyed a nice glass of Escudo Rojo Baron Philippe de Rothschild 2003 to go along with it. This is a deep dark red with hints of cherries, vanilla, and coffee. Once again, this one was nicer after giving it some time to breathe. The wine is from Chile, and is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet France, Carmenère and Merlot. I first had this wine at the Rocking Horse in Chelsea, NYC - which, is a terrific restaurant. Oh, and my steaks turned out perfect too.

NP: Nothing - it's too early

Travelogue: Why AirFrance Sucks

A couple of months ago, we took a trip to Paris and Barcelona. We were very fotunate to be able to fund our airline tickets with frequent flier miles. The only change we had to make in our trip in order to do this was come back 1 day earlier than we had intended. All in all, not a bad deal. However, we also had to fly AirFrance. Our frequent flier miles were through Continental, and AirFrance is a partner of theirs. We flew in and out of Newark Airport here in the States and Charles de Gaulle Airport. Overall, our trip was terrific and I loved France, Spain and everything we did. However, the airline experience left a lot to be desired.
The first problem occurred when we arrived at Newark to check in to our flight 2 1/2 hours prior to take-off. Weeks before, we called AirFrance and had seats assigned to us so that we new we would be sitting together and my wife had a window seat (she loves the window seats). We were even given a confirmation number. However, when we arrived at the airport, my wife had a seat assigned, but I did not - I needed to get a seat at the gate. And my wife's seat was not the one we were given on the phone. I could not believe our seats were given away, and then they decided to give one of us an assigned seat and not the other, almost insuring that we would not sit together on the 6+ hour flight. The check in lady tried to tell us that it was because a travel agent gave us our seats and not an AirFrance Representative. However after supplying her with the confirmation number she changed her tune. We were told that seat reservations were actually only a "suggestion of a seat" on AirFrance and not an actual reservation. Therefore, we could do nothing at this point. We were told that if we really wanted to sit together we should have checked in earlier (earlier than 2 1/2 hours) and it was our fault we couldn't sit next to each other. Luckily the nice attendant at the gate worked it out and we enjoyed our trip across the Atlantic.
Our second seating issue occured on our flight from Paris to Barcelona. We knew we couldn't get assigned seats from the get-go on this one (when we bought the tickets in the US) so we made sure we got there extra early after the fiasco in Newark. Of course, there were no seats together when we got there. We were seated as close as possible. The rows were as follows (there's a diagram of this to the right): 3 seats on each side with a center isle running through. My wife was given the center seat on the left and I was given the isle seat on the right. We were told to see if someone would switch with us. That was fine, because I couldn't imagine the person on the left isle seat not being willing to switch with me. After we were all seated, we asked the girl across the isle from me if she would be willing to switch. She was so happy to switch because the two people next to me (middle and window seat on the right) were her friends and they were all flying together. When they checked in they were told there were no seats together, and this was the best they could do. They were told to ask someone to switch. Now... if we were both told there weren't seats together when we checked in there had to be some mistake somewhere. Because whoever checked in first should have been able to keep their whole group together, allowing the next group to stay together as well. I think AirFrance just likes to mess with you. They do it on purpose.

NP: Mr. Crowley, Ozzy Osbourne

Drinking the White

Yesterday it was really hot and muggy in NYC. My wife and I had recently returned home from a few days with her family where her grandmother stuffed our stomachs with tons of home-made Puerto-Rican food. There was beef, chicken and pork a-plenty along with every kind of root vegetable imaginable and tons of rice and beans. I loved every minute of it. However, our full bellies and the heat made us want something light and different last night. We opted for some fresh cavatelli pasta with potato pieces and string beans in home-made pesto sauce (this was something we had in Cinque Terre, Italy and have loved since). With this I enjoyed a bottle of Kris Pinot Grigio 2004, Venezie, Italia IGT. I had picked this up at a store in Jersey by my parent's place. This was a great wine to have on a hot night out on the deck enjoying my pasta. It was light and crisp with a little effervescence to it. There were tastes of peaches, green melon and a tiny hint of grape finishing off with some honey (it was a little more syrup-y feeling than I expected). It's 100% pinot grigio (pinot gris) grapes from vineyards in Montagna and the Mulinat Estate vineyards in Friuli.

Global Warming is Alive and Well

The National Academy of Sciences has recently released a statement claiming that the Earth's current temperatures are the hottest the planet has been in the past 400 years. In fact, it may be the hottest the Earth's been in the past 2000 years. Of course, the Bush Administration maintains that the threat is unimportant. They do not want to create new pollution control laws because they are afraid of what they will do to our economy. I do understand that fear, but at some point we need to look at the bigger picture.

NP: Nothing... the sweet sound of nothing

Thornton Beats Out Jagr

The NHL MVP voting results were revealed yesterday and Joe Thornton of the San Jose Sharks beat out Jaromir Jagr for the trophy. Thornton did have a better scoring season than Jagr, compiling a 125-point season compared to Jagr's 123. However, Jagr was key in the resurgance (resurrection?) of the New York Rangers last season. They made their first playoff appearance since 1997 with Jagr in the forefront. Unfortunately they never made it out of the first round against the Devils, but they were decimated with injuries at the time. Although he didn't win, I think Jagr deserved the MVP this year. He (along with The King) helped the Rangers play exciting hockey again, and I even made my first trip back to The Garden in 4 years.

Z and Tesh

Ever think you'd see John Tesh jamming with the Zappa boys on television? Well, one night in NYC it happened. Here's Ahmet and Dweezil jamming out The Wizard by Black Sabbath with John Tesh on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

NYC Most Polite

A recent "study" in National Geographic puts New York City at the top of most polite cities in the world. I guess we beat out the traditional polite cities of Zurich and Toronto (take that, Canada!). According to the article I read, they set up certain situations and recorded how random people dealt with them. New York received a total score of 80, where Zurich got a 77 and Toronto a 70.

The Top 10 Polite Cities are listed here:
1. New York City, USA
2. Zurich, Switzerland
3. Toronto, Canada
4. Berlin, Germany
5. Sao Paolo, Brazil
6. Zagreb, Germany
7. Auckland, New Zealand
8. Warsaw, Poland
9. Mexico City, Mexico
10. Stockholm, Sweden

The city at the bottom of the list was Mumbai, India (scored a 32).
The only problem I see with this "study" is that all of the data in NYC was collected at various Starbucks locations throughout the city. I feel that there has to be some sort of selection bias going on there. At that point, you're only studying people willing to spend $4.00 on bad coffee.

NP: Sportcenter, ESPN

Torre Spina and the DQ

It was Father's Day this weekend, and we went to my sister's house to have a little barbecue and celebrate. On the way there we picked up a couple bottles of wine for the festivities. Since my mom was undoubtedly cooking some sort of chicken on the grill, we grabbed some white wine. (Also, my mom says red wine gives her headaches, so we try to avoid it with her) We picked up some Torre Spina Soave 2004, Italy (retails at $4.99 a bottle in New Jersey). My mom and sister seemed to really enjoy this wine. It was very easy to drink and didn't really interfere with the food at all. However, it also didn't really do much to add to the food either. It was very light, with a lot of lemon in it. There was also a lot of green grass. I'd be pressed to say I tasted much else. Hey, it's cheap and easy to drink, so for a barbecue, not so bad. But I doubt I'll be picking it up again.
On a more positive note - after dinner we headed over to the local Dairy Queen (I've only been to the DQ twice before in my life) for some frozen treats. I decided to get a Vanilla Blizzard with strawberries and Oreos. I was almost swayed by the Banana Pie Blizzard on the menu, but I stayed true to my original plan. I was very happy I did. The perfect ending to a very nice night.


NP: Sometimes Jacks Rule The Realm, 311

Life Lessons

A couple of weeks ago, I was at my friend's house and he showed me a commercial that he had taped on his Tivo. It was starring another friend of ours. The commercial was part of a series on TLC called Life Lessons. Now, they've even come out with a collection of collectable figurines for purchase on their website. You can buy the one of Fredo here. Also, if you want to see the video online, you can see it on this page here.

Roethlisberger's New Plan

Ben Roethlisberger was recently released from the hospital after his much publicized motorcycle crash. In a statement he made soon after, he said that he would wear a motorcycle helmet from now on and that he was lucky to be alive. This was taken from an article published on Foxsports.com: "Roethlisberger said in the statement that if he ever rides a motorcycle again 'it certainly will be with a helmet.'"
That's great. However, I find it a little disheartening that Pennsylvania doesn't have a mandatory helmet law. They used to have one, but it was repealed in 2003. Why would they do that? It's clear that helmet's save lives and reduce injuries. Was it repealed because people like to look cool? I just don't get it. I know that only some states have mandatory helmet laws and Ben wasn't doing anything illegal by riding without one. However, it just seems silly to me to ride without one. Maybe we need national helmet laws. I know there are a lot of people out there who would get very upset over something like that. But sometimes we have to save the stupid people from themselves.

Corteo

Last night my wife and I went to see Corteo by Cirque du Soleil on Randall's Island in New York City. Neither of us had ever been to one of these shows before, so we weren't 100% sure what to expect. It is a circus show, but it's more of a sophisticated circus act than say... Ringling Brother's.
Corteo is the story of an Italian Clown who has recently passed away. The parts of the show are supposed to be things seen through the dead clown's eyes. Are they memories or things actually going on in the world that he is watching? We don't know. According to Cirque du Soleil, it is "a grand procession and festive parade imagined by a clown. ...situated in a mysterious space between heaven and earth. Corteo reveals the strength and fragility of a clown, as well as his wisdom and kindness, to illustrate the portion of humanity that is within each of us."
I've got to tell you that this show was a lot of fun. The actors/performers were amazing. The acrobatics were incredible, with people leaping, flipping and tumbling all over the stage. They were juggling and tossing everything from bowling pins to each other. For me, the highlights included a scene where the acrobats jumped from bed to bed across the stage and when the female acrobats spun and swung high above the stage on some chandeliers. There was also a part where The Clowness (a female little person) was floating above the crowd suspended only by helium balloons. She would slowly float down until someone from the crowd could give her a push back upwards towards the top of the big top. That was a lot of fun for everyone. (The kids in the crowd seemed to get a big kick out of it.) I also thought the music throughout the show was terrific. It ranged from haunting to exciting to fun.
Another nice plus was that Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream was there giving out free samples to everyone. They didn't care how many you took - they had so many samples to give out. We were able to get our refreshments for free.
Now, a comment on getting to and from the show: We did not have a difficult time getting there by car. The drive is very straight forward over the Triboro Bridge onto Randall's Island - and parking was easy (although it does cost $10.00). However, getting home was a nightmare. Everyone trying to get to the Triboro back towards the Bronx/Manhattan/New Jersey was crazy (there's only one lane which then opens up at the Tolls). After waiting for a bit, we decided to go over to Queens and then drive to the 59th Street Bridge back to Manhattan. You may want to consider the public transportation options if you plan on going.
The show runs through July 2nd, 2006. If you want to get tickets, you can go here. After NYC, it moves on to Chicago, Boston and Washington DC.

The Cirque du Soleil website is here.
The Corteo website is here.

NP: Sheena Is A Punk Rocker, The Ramones

Randy's got a good one

Since I complained about Randy Johnson's last outing for the Yanks, I feel that I need to say something good about him after tonight's performance. He pitched 6 1/3 innings of 4-hit ball (1 earned run) against the Cleveland Indians at Yankee Stadium before being ejected from the game for pitching inside to Eduardo Perez. The Yankees won their second straight (both against the Indians) winning 6-1 behind Johnson and home runs by Andy Phillips and Johnny Damon. Too bad I didn't get to actually watch the game.

NP: Late Night With Conan O'Brien, NBC

Cirque du Soleil

Tomorrow night (well... now it's tonight) we're going to see the show Corteo by Cirque du Soleil out on Randall's Island. I'll give a little review after we've seen it.

Ahhh... Wang

Finally, the Yankees won again. Unfortunately, their bats haven't really picked up yet, but they got a solid pitching performance from Chien-Ming Wang against the Cleveland Indians. The right-hander allowed 5 hits and 0 runs in 7 1/3 innings last night. Mariano Rivera closed out the game for his 13th save and a nice and tidy 1.91 ERA. Also good to see was Derek Jeter back on the field at shortstop. Hopefully they can build some momentum and win again tonight.

Suing the Colonel

Yesterday I noticed this article on MSNBC.com about how there is a consumer group suing KFC for using an oil that is too fatty. If you want to read it yourself, you can go here:

Consumer group sues KFC over unhealthy fat.
Fast-food chain accused of using oil that makes arteries "extra crispy"

If you don't feel like reading it, let me sum it up for you: The Center for Science in the Public Interest has decided to sue KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) because the oil that they use to fry (yes, fry) their chicken is too high in trans fats. Part of their complaint is that it is harder to find low-fat choices at KFC as compaired to other fast-food chains. Also, I guess they are complaining about a particular franchise of the fast-food chain in/near Washington DC.
Well... I've got an idea for how these people can avoid the high fat in KFC fried chicken - don't eat at a freakin' fast food restaurant. I just don't understand these people. They eat at fast-food chains, and then wonder why they are getting fat or getting clogged arteries. Did they think this food was good for them? And this particular one is about FRIED CHICKEN! I would like to wonder how these people get so stupid, but the lead plantiff on this case is a physician (retired). Dr. Arthur Hoyte has stated that had he known KFC used unnatural oil and was so high in trans fat, he "would have reconsidered my choices." Ummm... You have a higher educational degree. You have an M.D. You are a physician. And you are surprised that KFC is bad for you? I find that sad. I hope this gets thrown out of court just like when that family tried to sue McDonald's for making them all fat.
People out there need to start taking responsibility for themselves and the choices they make. Stop blaming everyone else. It's your fault you ate at KFC or McDonalds and not the salad place down the block. Instead of spending your time yelling how these people made you fat, how about you go to the gym instead.
Oh... and by the way... I hate KFC. I have ever since I found that spine complete with brain-looking thing in my chicken somewhere off route 95 in South Carolina (or was it North?). I just have better things to do with myself than blame them for my problems.


NP: The Attitude Song, Steve Vai

Birthday!

We went out to Craft last night to celebrate my birthday (which is today). I wasn't exactly sure what to expect when we made the reservation. I had watched Tom Colicchio this year on the TV show Top Chef, and he seemed to be a nice guy who knew what made a great restaurant experience. We decided to give it a try.
First, let me explain how Craft works (which we didn't know until we got there). The menu is all arranged a la carte, with First Courses, Second Courses and Sides. All the food is served family style, so that everyone can share with one another. I believe the idea is that your entire party can craft their own dining experience.
The restaurant recommends 1 first course, 1 second course and 1 side per person. We decided to forgo the first course so we could ensure room for dessert.
Before our food could come out, we were welcomed with a "free sample" from the chef. It was a tiny cup of medium-rare tuna with a cucumber gelatin on top with 2 small cucumber balls (dyed pink) on top of it all as a garnish. This was great. And since my wife cannot eat tuna at the moment, I had hers too. Then we were served our dinner. I ordered a pork roast, which was roasted with fresh rosemary and bacon pieces. Everything is better when you add bacon, especially pork with bacon. My wife had the roasted Maine Diver Scallops. These were terrific too. However, they were made even a little better with the addition of some pieces of bacon. For our sides, we went with the sautéed sugar snap peas and the roasted fingerling potatoes. The sugar snap peas were great (we thought we could taste a little fennel in there too). The potatoes, although cooked perfectly, were a little on the plain side, but that didn't stop us from just about finishing the huge plate they gave us. With this, I had a glass of Pinot Noir, Konigsschaffhausen Trocken 2003, Baden (Germany) on the recommendation of the sommelier. This did go very well with the dinner and I was extremely happy with it. It was a light wine, reddish in color, but not very deep. It had a slight pepper to it, with hints of fruit and a little minerality. Craft has a very nice wine list, which you can see here if you'd like. After dinner we shared a chocolate soufflé (with a warm glacé) and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The dessert menu is also a la carte and you can create a dessert masterpiece if you are so inclined. Before our dessert came out we were given another free sample from the kitchen. This time it was a home-made strawberry ginger ale. This was a nice refreshing way to clear the palate. Then the dessert came out, which was amazing. I cannot say enough good things about this dessert. It was one of the best I've had. I loved it. Finally before we settled the check, we were given one more free sample from the kitchen - home made caramel popcorn with a variety of nuts. My wife loved this, as she really likes this sort of thing. It was good, but not my favorite type of sweet (I liked Cracker Jacks only for the prize inside). The only mistake made throughout the evening was that they forgot my coffee. Which, didn't really affect my experience because in the end, I didn't really want it anymore. But it would have been better if they didn't forget. Other than that, the service was great - very attentive and extremely nice and polite. The place is also very nice - I liked the decor.
The only aspect of the evening I found slightly annoying were the Japanese tourists sitting next to us. They felt the need to photograph each individual dish in each course as they were brought to them (with the flash) and the occassional picture of the dining room. I can only imagine that slide show when they get home. You have to appreciate their zeal for food and photography. However, there are only so many times you want to be photographed in the background of a portrait of potatoes au gratin chewing your pork.
Overall, Craft was great. I am looking forward to going back again.
Oh yeah - they even gave us 2 scones to take home for the next morning. Nice!

NP: If You Want Blood (You Got It), AC/DC

Big Unit my ass

Randy Johnson provided yet another less than stellar pitching performance last night at The Stadium. This time he walked 5, gave up 6 hits, 3 home runs, and 6 runs in only 4 innings. His ERA is now a very less than mediocre 5.62. Once again, it wasn't the Yankees' relief pitching that did them in - it was Johnson. Yes, I understand that he's not the only starting pitcher on the Yanks' staff with issues. Basically, if your name isn't Mussina, you have issues. However, when your name is Randy Johnson, you have to live up to higher expectations than everyone else. He's supposed to be a Number 1 Starter, right? The "Ace of the Staff." When the Yankees got him, everyone thought Johnson would be a terrific addition to this team. He hasn't really lived up to that billing, has he? Personally, I could understand why we traded Vazquez (who at least has an ERA of 4.19) for Johnson, but I didn't think it was the amazing move everyone else seemed to. Youth for extremely old age. It's what Steinbrenner loves - getting great guys past their prime. I think what we're seeing is an old man trying to keep up with the younger crowd. No one likes to see it at parties or in a bar/club. Why would we like to see it on the ball field? Hopefully these mistakes will happen less and less in the future, but who knows.
And maybe I'll be proven wrong - Johnson will become the dominant pitcher we all knew and he'll lead the Yankees into the World Series. Believe me, no one would be happier than me. But we'll have to wait and see.
For now, "Go Yanks!"

NP: Breakout, Foo Fighters

Bowling

Last night we did a little bowling at Bowlmor Lanes. A few years ago this place was always packed. People would even hang at the bar without any plans to bowl. Now, it was a ghost-town. Maybe it's because they raised the price of a game to $9.25 per person. At least they kept the shoe-rental at $5.00 each (yes, it really is that much). They did recently renovate - and the place is nicer. We could only assume that was how they justified the rate increase.
Despite the rising cost of bowling in NYC we had a great time. Enjoyed some bowling, a pitcher of Sam Adams and good company. I also didn't bowl nearly as bad as I thought I would since I haven't bowled in over a year. I know for most people out there, 1 year between bowling games probably isn't too long, but we used to go more frequently than that. I think I bowled a 117, a 126 and then a 98. That last game wasn't too good for me. Especially because that one was for money. And I lost. Ah well. It was a lot of fun anyway.

NP: 4th Symphony, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Dinner party

Last night we had some people over for dinner. My wife invited some of her friends from work for an evening of food and fun. We started off with various cheeses and crusty bread, parmesian-oregano crisps and some grapes. For dinner we had grilled skirt steak marinated overnight in a mixture of red wine, red wine vinegar, worcestershire sauce, onions, garlic, salt and pepper. We also had tequila-lime chicken - grilled chicken breast marinated overnight in tequila, lime juice, orange juice, salt, pepper, and jalepeno peppers. On the side we had a grilled corn and fregula "salad" and an avocado, tomato and cucumber salad.
For the drinks, I went on the cheaper side since I had to buy a bunch of bottles. For a white, I went with the always reliable Papio Chardonnay 2005, California. This is from the line of cheaper wines from Robert Mondavi Vineyards. I don't think it says Mondavi anywhere on the bottle, but that's where it's from. You can go to the Papio website here. This was my first time trying the 2005 vintage. It didn't dissapoint (especially for $4.99 a bottle). It is light, fresh and crisp. There really isn't any oaky-ness in this chardonnay. It had flavors of pineapple, a little lemon and some scents of flowers. I didn't really drink this one with the dinner, but I tasted it to see how it was.
For a red, I went with a bottle of Yellow Tail Shiraz-Grenache 2004, Australia. I've had Yellow Tail many times before, but only the Shiraz or the Chardonnay. This time, I thought we would have something a little different. The first bottle was uncorked (it's a synthetic cork) about 1 1/2 hours before anyone was supposed to show. I poured myself a glass an hour after uncorking. There were still some scents of alcohol that I was a little surprised at. It's a deep dark wine. There were some flavors of pepper and fruits that I associate with the shiraz side, but I felt they were quickly overpowered by the cherries and strawberries of the grenache. I wasn't sure what I thought about this wine at first, but it went down very easily without any harshness in the finish. By the end I was really enjoying it, but was it because I had a few glasses? Who knows. This one went for $6.99 a bottle.
Finally, for desert, we had some home made creme brulee which we were able to torch with our nice creme brulee torch (it's not often you get to use a blowtorch in your own house).
Overall, I think everyone enjoyed themselves. We had a great time. It was a fun evening.

NP: Down Under, Pennywise

The Germans

So, I drank this wine a while ago and kind of forgot to put it up here. I only remembered it when I was throwing out the recycling and found the bottle there. It seems my wife snuck it in there before I could get the label off of it. It is Riesling QBA St. Urbans-Hof 2004, Germany. It is a German Riesling. Wine Spectator gave it a 91 on their 100 point scale, and it was listed in their best 100 best wines of 2005. I've actually had 4 bottles of this wine over the past few months, and the flavors have been pretty constant. It's a nice bottle of wine.
It's a very juicy wine, with a little more sweetness. On initial uncorking it even has a little bubbly-ness going on. It's got some nice citrus and some peach flavors as well. It's a great bottle of wine, especially for one that you can find for $8.99 (at least in NYC). Enjoy this one if you can find it - it will go nice with summer.
St. Urbans-Hof

NP: My wife telling me to come upstairs

Save Zum Schneider

Zum Schneider is a great Bavarian Beer Garden in Alphabet City. We've gone there tons of times to grab some beers and have some spätzle. I love this place. The beers are terrific and the food is great too. Also, it's a fun place and we've had some good times there. It appears their landlord is trying to evict them. Why? I don't know. But they say you can help by signing this online petition.

NP: 6/4 Jam, Jaco Pastorius

No Bagged Salads!

My wife just e-mailed me a story and I thought I would pass it on. I guess people who eat those cut/prepared salads in a bag have been getting sick with E. Coli. If you want to read the whole story yourself, here is the link. For now, I think people should just take the extra 5 minutes and cut and wash their own salad. Unless you want to end up on dialysis too.

Today, some random thoughts

As I've always said, I believe everyone should be able to live their lives the way they want to. Worship who and how you want. Love who you want. Do what you want. It's only when people become fanatical that they become frightening.

Why do so many people in this country care if gay people want to get married? If they're not coming over to your house having dinner or having gay-sex on your couch, why do you care? Let them live their own lives and pay attention to what is really important. Your own family.

Why do people get so upset when you tell them they are healthy? They come to the ER with some complaints - you do some tests - everything is normal. You tell them, "Good news, everything came back okay!" And they get pissed at you - tell you that you suck - that they're unhappy, and at least in the Dominican Republic they would get some antibiotics. Would they rather be told they had some uncurible disease? I don't get people.

Anyone hear Paris Hilton's new single? Or seen the video? It kind of sounds like old No Doubt. Only worse (I know). And the video? Who knew she was so un-sexy? I mean, I don't find her attractive because... well... she's not. But she moves like an 11 year old boy.

Is it ever going to stop raining?

Jason Grimsley took HGH (human growth hormone). You know... it's pretty sad, because he still pretty much sucks as a pitcher. The worst part of the whole thing is that he reportedly ratted out other Major League Baseball Players. Yeah, the should all be caught. Personally, I hate this crap, and would love the game to be free of this stuff. But to turn around and rat on everyone else? That's low. Basically it's him trying to save his ass. It's almost like "don't yell at me, yell at everyone else." Hopefully some good will come of this and we'll get baseball free of this junk. Although I am continuously surprised at the lengths people will go. Knowing what this crap can do to you - I'm amazed they use it so regularly.

Finally, here are some pictures I took around NYC:


Sheeps Meadow, Central Park


Sheeps Meadow, Central Park


Elephant Statue, Southeast Corner, Central Park


The Great Lawn, Central Park


Rockefeller Center, NYC


Dean & Deluca, Rockefeller Center, NYC


Central Park Mall, Central Park, NYC


Third Avenue Street Fair, NYC


Central Park Mall, Central Park, NYC


Derek Jeter, Yankee Stadium, Bronx NY

NP: 5150, Van Halen

Sunset

A couple of nights ago we were eating dinner outside on our deck. After a while, I noticed the orange/red glow on the buildings to the east. When I leaned over the railing and looked down the block westward, I saw the sun setting over Central Park. This is one of the pictures that I took then. I think it's nice. Not amazing photography, but it was a nice night, and this captures it well.

NP: Mr. Cab Driver, Lenny Kravitz

Mmmm... Osso bucco

Last night my wife and I headed downtown to Babbo to celebrate our second wedding anniversary. We had gone there last year for our first anniversary and have decided to continue this tradition as long as we're in The City. It is my favorite restaurant in NYC and probably tied with August in New Orleans as one of my favorite restaurants I've ever been to.
Last night we started off with the Sweet Potato Lune in a Butter & Sage sauce. That was a great way to start the meal. I paired it with a quartino (1/4 litre) of a white wine from Cinque Terre - I don't remember the name and I thought it would be on the restaurant's website, but the wine list isn't updated. This wine was light and crisp, with some minerality and a little green grass, which reminded me of the one's we had while there in Italy. For our main course, we had the Osso Bucco for Two. This was fantastic. It came with a saffron orzo and some greens sauteed in garlic. I love Osso Bucco (especially the marrow), and this didn't dissapoint. I had another quartino with this - a nice Nebbiolo D'Alba from the Piedmont region of Italy. Again, I don't remember the name, but I did enjoy it a lot. It had some nice dark fruits. It wasn't as big and chewy as I expected, but it was good.
We finished up with a chocolate hazelnut cake with hazelnut gelato (and I had a cappuccino). This was a great meal. And, once again, the service was terrific.
Last year, we split the beef-cheek ravioli, and I had a duck dish, which was terrific. We finished with a fig and berry topped panna cotta. This was a great night. A great way to celebrate 2 great years.
Oh, and if you get a chance to go to New Orleans - eat at August. It was terrific too.

NP: Mike & The Mad Dog, 660 WFAN

Identity Theft

Some rat bastard out there stole my credit card number. Luckily, my kick-ass card company called me within one hour of the flagged transaction. I never got charged for it and things are okay. Of course I had to cancel the account, etc, etc... and all in all, it's been a big pain in my ass.
I just wanted to let the slimey-ass people who do this sort of crap know that they all suck.