by Frank LoesserBaby, It’s Cold Outside!! So warm up with the season’s best lovey time song.. but make sure to do it with one of the many good renditions (Dinah Shore, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, etc) and not, say, Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey.
77 Norman Ave, GreenpointWhen Jim and I were faced with the new Brooklyn Mac sign, he hoped it stood for mac and cheese as opposed to daddy mac – a store that, I supposed would sell Chess King suits, condoms and bongs maybe?
Well, fortunately for him – he was in luck. Just as the hardly-ever-open catering and take out nook moved out, a tiny mac and cheese shop moved in. Unfortunately, they haven’t quite gotten the comfort food dish down pat, at least to my liking.
Don’t get me wrong, the cheese was good and gooey in the Kings County and the smoked gouda and bacon melded perfectly on the second one we tried (can’t recall the name). However, the dense meal – we could collectively only make a dent in half of each size small in one sitting – is kind of like eating a plate of yummy but health destroying cheese.
The mac to cheese ratio needs to be sorted out a bit to make it less intense and easier to go down. But they are brand new and offer so many menu options, I could probably even customize with more pasta and less cheese next time.
I will definitely not loose anymore baby weight if I make it part of my weekly routine, but it is tempting with it opening so close by and offering one of life’s best cold weather remedies.
New York DollRock and roll icon and Staten Island native David Johansen was way ahead of his time both with his sound and style when he fronted the now legendary band, The New York Dolls. Even today they inspire and seem cutting edge.
Johansen went on to create the boozing wild man crooner Buster Poindexter in the 80’s, which is where I was first introduced to the man as a kid and today both tours with the dolls and continues to make unpredictable music making songs for soundtracks and even going country with his band The Harry Smiths.
With an incredibly unique career in music, he’s also an actor and his immense charm can be seen on the NYC episode of No Reservations, where he shows Anthony the best of Staten Island, including the Jade Island tiki bar I am itching to go to.
Click here for the rest of David Johansen
from EmerilI honestly wasn’t even going to snap a photo of this Broiled Fluke with Sesame Asparagus – it looks so unexceptional – but after one bite, I grabbed the camera because I wanted to be sure to share this deceptively flavorful and healthy dish with you!
Aired on BBCWhen I tell people I’ve been watching Skins (available on Netflix instant) and they ask “Oh, is that any good” I always say, “Well, I like it…” The reason for the qualification is because it depends on your threshold for teenage drama. My threshold is extremely high – I will watch tween Disney Channel movies made for eight year olds with glee, so for me, Skins is on the sophisticated end of the spectrum.
If you like the new generation of Degrassi but didn’t think it went far enough with the dirty bits, this British show is for you. Foul mouthed and extreme – it’s an exaggerated take on wild adolescence. Almost cartoonish at times – with adults and foreigners getting the brunt of stereotypes – it focuses on partying and sexual adventures but doesn’t skirt the serious stuff either (mental illness, abandonment, etc…)
I was enjoying it fine, but became more of a die hard fan by the end of season one, which ends with a bang and a musical number… Heart!
Am on to season two now and can’t wait to see what Sid, my favorite character, and all his friends are up to.
MTV is doing an American version, but because I like the way things sound with British accents, I am sure it is going to suck.
Queen of SoulNooo! I was so sad to hear of Aretha Franklin‘s diagnosis of pancreatic cancer but word is that she is doing well with the treatment.
Hailed as the Queen of Soul, no one can belt out a tune quite like Aretha and no one else in the modern world can wear the Diva moniker without it seeming like a VH1 fabricated tramp stamp.
She is a pioneer in music and one of the most successful female musical artists of all time. Plus, her loud and fabulous bow hat at Obama’s inauguration was, in my opinion the greatest fashion moment in political history and, yes, I am including Jackie O.
We are wishing her the best in recovery. R-e-s-p-e-c-t.
Click here for the rest of Aretha Franklin
Awesome Dance RoutineThanks dad for introducing me to the glory that is John Jacobson, the enthusiastic, glowing white toothed choreographer who has introduced me to the double dream hands move. The short instructional video may seem repetitive but you’ll want to stick around for the cabbage patching and free styling at the end.
Jacobson, as frighteningly Disney channel as he is, seems to be a man who means well. According to his site “John is the founder and volunteer president of America Sings! Inc., a non-profit organization that encourages young performers to use their time and talents for community service.”
But still, this just makes me laugh – and want to learn the routine for the next time I am find myself in spandex or in the middle of a dance party.
from Playing House, Inspired by Momofuku Milk BarI was invited to attend a Charity Cookie Exchange (more on that later) and wanted to make something resembling one of my favorites: the Cornflake Cookie from Momofuku Milk Bar. I found a make at home version on the blog Making House.
While I can’t claim they were quite as divine as the rich, exquisite Momofuku ones, I was very pleased with the chewy mix of textures and tastes. I would make these again and can now that I have all the ingredients. (Nice to have mini marshmallows in the house – gives one an excuse to make hot cocoa).
While these are pretty easy to make I have one word of advise: refrigerate the dough before baking – the recipe says it’s optional, but even with hard cold dough, these babies spread like crazy so also make sure to leave room between cookies.
by Augusten Burroughs (2002)So, I am about a decade late in reading the hippest book to have on the train, Running With Scissors, but being behind the times doesn’t hinder the enjoyment of this twisted memoir. Augusten Burroughs‘ story is right up my ally, as I could listen to people gossip about their crazy families all day. I even had a friend who, though I am on bad terms with, I am sometimes tempted to contact just so I can hear the latest on his aunt and uncle hi-jinx.
Very few people, though, can claim a childhood quite as wildly messed up as this one (though I know a few that are at least tied). “Raised” to a very limited degree by an insane poetess mother, given over to en equally nuts Doctor and his unhinged family, having an affair as a preteen with a pedophile, this is a sad tale of adolescence without boundaries, which is no where near as fun as it might sound to an adolescent.
Still, Burroughs manages to make what could be almost unbearable to read pretty hilarious. Looking back with wise and sarcastic wit of an adult, he reminds us that he did, in fact, survive all the madness and has, to the joy of all his readers, lived to tell the tale.
The book was adapted into a movie recently by Glee creator, Ryan Murphy, but was considered to be one of the worst of the year. I can kind of see how the subject matter, always verging on or full on disturbing could be tough to bring to the screen without a really gentle touch (which, from watching Glee is unlikely Murphy’s m.o.).
From Sage General Store, 24-20 Jackson Ave, Long Island CityOn my way to the doctor, taking the awkward and on this day, cold outdoor transfer to the 7 train, I often wonder about the adorably hip, quaint Sage General Store, a new-ish shop that reeks of old timey goodness but with a staff of tattooed transplants serving mouth watering comfort foods.
Since yesterday was the first snow (OK, so it didn’t accumulate, but there were flakes) I was even more tempted by the handmade snoballs in the window (choice pink or white) and just had to take one home to split with Jim for dessert.
It’s a hefty dense white cake (probably made denser by my putting it in the fridge) with sugary, yummy frosting both in and outside and big chunks of coconut. To compare with the store bought, processed version is unfair. It’s an entirely different beast – and, for the record, I still have a soft spot for that weird Hostess puck, at least in memory since I haven’t had one in a while, but I do know that it is nowhere near as tasty as this hand made decadence.
The store features all sorts of sweet and savory goodies and will now be the highlight of that train route for me, beating out the one hundred steps it takes to get to the train.
