October 10, 2011

EV Grieve put up a post last week and asked everyone where they order their Chinese food from. It got a ton of comments and suggestions. I endorsed Sammy’s Noodle Shop in the West Village and a few people agreed with my suggestion. It made me realize that I haven’t been to Sammy’s in quite a while, so I thought I’d have my Sunday night dinner there.

About a half an hour before I was going to leave I got a call from my friends Goggla and Ed and they said they were in the neighborhood, so I invited them over for a beer or three and they decided to join me on my trek to Sammy's for Sunday dinner.

And so we trekked down 6th Avenue to...

Sammy's Noodle Shop! Some day I need to find out who Sammy is, but tonight I'm too hungry for investigative journalism. Let's go in and get something to eat!

Here's the front kitchen area where the takeout orders are being prepared.

Bags lined up to be filled with boxes of noodles and such.

In the front waiting area a woman teaches her infant to be a zombie texter.

And we're led into the main dining area.

This man just unlocked his noodle badge on Foursquare. So sad. #ChineseFood.

Okay time to look at the menu, by now we are all starvin's like Marvins.

We started out with some steamed dumplings that were delicious. We also got bacon wrapped shrimp, but my photo didn't turn out, so you'll just have to be like John Lennon and imagine that.

And now the main courses. I got the Sour Chili Pepper Noodle Soup. My favorite thing about ordering this is that the waitress will always warn you that this is "very spicy!" And it is, it really clears up your sinuses and it's very tasty as well.

Ed got the Won Ton Duck, as you can see the portions here are huge!

I don't know the official title of Goggla's dish, but it was pork and vegetables and very delicious. We all shared and it was a great Sunday dinner. Thanks to Goggla and Ed for hanging out on a nice and relaxing Sunday evening.

One last look out the door and we're gone. Goodnight everybody and see you tomorrow after dark.

Sammy's Noodle Shop
461 Sixth Ave. (Near 11th St.)
212-924-6688

Further reading: New York Magazine, metromix and facecrack.

Twilley don’t mind if the sun don’t shine all day.

(Surprise link...click on it...I dare you!)

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Bonus Pumpkin!

Lex visited on Saturday and brought me a pumpkin. Here it is in MAD headquarters. I'll be featuring photos of it now and again as I decorate it for Halloween. Thanks, Lex!

October 9, 2011

Live from New York, it’s Cheeseburger Saturday Night! Starring Pop Burger Pub and special guest star Lex! And featuring the Ready For Prime Beef Player, Marty Wombacher. Ladies and gentlemen please welcome, Lex and Pop Burger Pub!

My friend Lex is in town with her family and has a free night out, so she's accompanying me on Cheeseburger Saturday Night tonight. You may remember Lex from her appearance on 365 Bars and back in May on MAD. And we all know, when a guest comes to MAD Headquarters, snacks must be made. Tonight I thought I'd try a nutty mixture, here's the ingredients.

For this recipe you need two snackologist certified bowls.

The base is the Blue Diamond Jalapeno almonds.

Then slowly I add, shape, prune and mix in the other ingredients. As always, I want to warn you not to try this in your house, unless you are a board-certified snackologist. If you don't know what you're doing things can get messy and nasty real quick.

Three hours later the final mix is done. Now all we need is Lex.

And bingo-bambo, here she is, enjoying the snacks and a beer here at MAD Headquarters. Great to see you again, Lex!

Here's the cheeseburger destination for the evening, Pop Burger Pub in Union Square, a short walk from where I live.

When you walk in, there's a giant wall with a takeout window featuring the menu lit up all over it.

The words, "firm fries" were a little upsetting to both Lex and I, although we didn't really know why.

Lex poses with Christian, who's a busboy in the pub. A nice guy, the whole staff is friendly in here.

There's lots of wooden tables and seating in the spacious front room.

But Lex and I chose to sit at the bar in the middle of the pub.

Bartender Peter happily serves us up a beer and the night is underway!

The back wall features some of the bottled beers on the beer menu. Pretty impressive.

There's big wooden booths in the back, let's go say hi to these two women.

Here's Fayola and Jessica at their booth. They had just finished dinner and Fayola had the Superman Burger and recommended it, so that's what we decided to order.

We split an order of onion rings for an appetizer.

See?

The Superman Burger lived up to its name. It was huge and we split one, which was good, because I could never have finished a whole one.

Thanks to Lex for hanging out with me on Cheeseburger Saturday Night! Goodnight everybody and see you tomorrow after dark.

Our Meal
At Fayola’s suggestion, Lex and I got the Superman Burger and it was...well...super! It’s a giant burger that comes dressed with lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese and crunchy bacon on a fresh toasted bun. It comes with fried pickles, but we had them on the side. We started out the meal with onion rings and they were crunchy and delicious.

There’s two other kinds of burgers available, Pop Burgers, which are two slider style burgers and the Invisible Burger which is a portebello mushroom burger. Other entrees include: baby lamb chops; fish and chips; lobster roll with tater tots and a steak sandwich with tater tots.

They have a large selection of draft, bottled and can beer and if you have a sweet tooth there’s hot doughnuts and chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies available.

Cheeseburger Rating
Three Wimpy’s, a wonderful cheeseburger!

Pop Burger Pub
83 University Place (Between 11th and 12th St.)
212-477-7574

Further reading: Grub Street, Steve Eats NYC and Go Craft Cans.

When we met I was sure out to lunch,
Now my empty cup tastes as sweet as the punch.

(Surprise link...click on it...I dare you!)

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Bonus Photos by Gene Rubbico!

MAD pals and two thirds of the BBC, Gene and Smoopy are in Pittsburgh this weekend. Yesterday they visited the Flight 93 crash site and memorial, checked into a Bed and Breakfast and then visited 399 bars and had 2,947 drinks between the two of them. Here's some photos of their day and night. It starts out at the Flight 93 crash site and memorial, then the bed and breakfast and then onto some of the nighttime bar shots. Looks like a splendid time, thanks for the photos, Gene!

October 8, 2011

Okay, it’s Friday, it’s not raining outside or out of my ass and we all know what that means...Occupy Wall Street! Finally!

The outside of Zuccotti Park which has been renamed, Liberty Square by the protesters.

Inside you won't find any trouble makers, just peaceful discussions on how to make things better in this world.

Here people are sending the message of Occupy Wall Street out on laptops in a makeshift work center in the middle of the park.

Nice to see people talking rather than texting for a change.

There's lots of signs that people have made with their personal thoughts about what Occupy Wall Street is all about. Here's two people working on a couple of them.

Change! And she's not panhandling either. Here's some more signs, they don't need captions, they speak for themselves.

There's a free food line in the park. If you live in New York and would like to contribute, you can bring food down to the park. You can also contribute with donations via their website which is listed at the bottom of this post.

Volunteers help to prepare and serve the food.

There's several information booths, I thought I'd go up and say hi to this volunteer behind the booth.

His name is Aaron and he's from West Virginia. I asked him what he would say is going on down here and he told me the idea is to spread information and raise awareness of the unfair conditions that are happening.

Here's Andrea who's helping to spread the word.

This is Tanner who came from Delaware. He's been here over a week and plans to stay in the park through the winter.

Collette's sign reads: "Welcome To Your New Society." It does feel like a new city inside of this park. It's hard to explain unless you come here, but it gives you a feeling of hope that people want to change things and not just sit on their ass and continue to take shit from the greedy and morally corrupt people in charge of Wall Street and beyond.

On the perimeter of the park, a woman dances with a glow in the dark hula hoop.

And the band plays on. To be continued.

Occupy Wall Street
Liberty Square (A.K.A. Zuccotti Park)
Corner of Liberty St. and Broadway
877-881-3020

Further reading: CNN, New York Times and BBC News.

Well big limousine long shiny and black,
You don't look ahead you don't look back.
How many times can you get up after you've been hit?
Well I swear if I could spare the spit,
I'd lay one on your shiny chrome,
And send you on your way back home.

 (Surprise link...click on it...I dare you!)

October 7, 2011

I think planning on going to Occupy Wall Street jinxes me. I was going to go last Friday and then it started pouring down rain, so I didn’t go. Tonight I was going to go after work, but I’m too tired to go. I’ve really been trying not to whine about work on here, and I’m not, I’m just stating the facts. And the facts are that someone at work is on vacation, so I have to get there around ten in the morning and if work comes in at night I have to stay till it’s done. So even if I get out at 10 PM, it’s a twelve hour day. Today was close to 13 hours, so I’m not going down there, maybe tomorrow, since I can sleep in on Saturday.

And there’s another reason and I try to be honest on this blog, so I’m just going to come right out and say it (warning, this may be gross to some people): I have diarrhea tonight and was afraid to be too far away from a toilet. You know, I was thinking about it and why should you feel funny about having diarrhea? It’s not like it’s my fault, but people will rarely divulge when they have diarrhea, except to family and close friends. To me it’s no worse than saying you’ve got a cold or a headache. And you may think this is weird, but if I’m home or in a safe place with easy access to a toilet, I kind of like diarrhea. The cramping part in the stomach is bad, but once it starts flowing out of you, it feels really good. And no one can deny that it does. I took a taxi home tonight and really had to go bad by the time I got home. I just made it in my apartment just in the nick of time, sat on the toilet and started reading the latest issue of Rolling Stone. The cramps were bad and actually made me sweat, kind of like I was in labor, but then the chocolate rain began and all was well in my world. I let out a sigh of relief, it sounded a little bit like I was having an orgasm. In reality, I was having an assgasm. Hey, I just made a new word!* Cool. I also found out that Lou Reed and Metallica have a single out. It got four stars. Crazy, huh?

Since I don’t have any photos, I’m just going to post some YouTube videos for your enjoyment and have a few beers and try to get to bed and get some much needed sleep. But first, I gotta go. And I mean, I really gotta go! See you tomorrow after dark.

*I Googled, “assgasm” and it’s not a new word. Fuck.













Further reading: Medicine Net, Wikipedia and Stereogum.

That’s the way it will be.
That’s the way it will be.
That’s the way it will be.

(Surprise link...click on it...I dare you!)

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Bonus Photo From Bobby Williams!

Bobby Williams is a contributing photographer to EV Grieve and sends me a photo now and again. This is one of the red tailed hawk who's taken up residence in Tompkins Square Park in the East Village. Great photo, thanks, Bobby!

October 6, 2011

A couple weeks ago I tried going to the Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center, but arrived too late. I’m working days this week and if there’s no work, I can leave earlier than usual. Tonight I lucked out and I’m getting out early, so I thought I’d try again. It’s kind of a warm up for my upcoming Empire State Building visit.

And here we are at Rockefeller Center.

The entrance to the Top of the Rock is a couple doors down from the main entrance.

Here's the line for the elevator. It took about ten minutes to get inside of one, and when it started up...

The lights went out and overhead colored lights went on overhead. People were screaming and the elevator zoomed up 67 floors. I hate heights and had a full-blown anxiety attack on the way up, by the time the doors opened up I was covered in sweat. I have an intense fear of heights and realized this might have been somewhat a mistake.

No way could I get as close to  the window as these people. It was a windy night and I swear the building was moving.

These two were leaning into the window. I secretly hoped the window pane would fall out and they'd go crashing down to the ground for their foolishness to get so close to it.

No way could I do this. I'm feeling pretty dizzy at this point. A real Tommy Roe moment.

i summoned up all my courage and got as close to the window for this shot of Manhattan at night.

I'm starting to feel sick.

There's a little lounge area inside, but sadly they don't sell beer.

Aaahhhh!

I won't be NBCing this place anytime soon. And don't hold your breath for the Empire State Building visit. Goodnight everybody and see you tomorrow after dark.

Further reading: Wikipedia, Trip Advisor and Rockefeller Center.

When i see you sky as a kite,
As high as i might,
I can't get that high.

(Surprise link...click on it...I dare you!)

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De Plane, de plane!

Jaws sent in this fear-inducing heights photo. Yikes!

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Bob Arihood by Jefferson Siegel

Photo by Jefferson Siegel

Jefferson Siegel wrote a great article about East Village Photographer/Writer, Bob Arihood in this week's Villager. Check it out online here: Beloved Blogger Arihood's Loss Leaves a Hole in Heart of Ave. A

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Bonus Photo From Crazy Eddie!

Since we're discussing heights and aerial views today, Crazy Eddie sent in this classic, which is titled, "Moon Over The WTC." Ha! Thanks Crazy Eddie!

October 5, 2011

There’s a candlelight vigil for Bob Arihood tonight at Ray’s Candy Store that Shawn and Lindsay organized. Later everyone’s meeting at Lucy’s bar. I’m running late and I’m pretty sure I missed the candlelight vigil, but I’m guessing people will still be at Lucy’s, which is a great East Village bar. And luckily, it’s swizzle stick night, so it’s perfect. Let’s go pay our respects.

Alright, a short walk down Houston to Avenue A and we'll be there shortly.

Even though it's over two hours after the candlelight vigil was held, there's still a good crowd of people outside of Ray's.

Some of the candles and photos of Bob in front of Ray's.

Jim Power, A.K.A. Mosaic Man was taking some videos of the crowd. He was a good friend of Bob's and was the subject of some of Bob's first entries on his blog, Neither More Nor Less.

Two friends of Bob at the vigil hold up a photo of Bob and shared some memories.

Avenue A Jay said that from this day on, someone will always be sharing a story about Bob in front of Ray's.

Avenue A Jay left this message for Bob at Ray's.

East Village activist John Penley shared memories of Bob and said he'd be at Occupy Wall Street all week. Maybe we'll see him down there. I plan on going soon.

And here's Ray with the framed photo of Bob (taken by Melanie) that Shawn and Lindsay donated to Ray's Candy Store. This insures that Bob will continue to look after Ray as he always did. Nice.

Ray points to his friend, Bob.

It's after 11PM now, I wonder if anyone is left at Lucy's.

And there at the bar are Shawn and Lindsay, the two who organized tonight's vigil for Bob.

And here's the lovely owner and hostess of Lucy's, Lucy!

There's no swizzle stick in my vodka and tonic and to be truthful, I'd be disappointed if there was one at Lucy's bar.

A long shot of the wooden bar at Lucy's.

People enjoying themselves at tables opposite the ber.

Lucy taking care of business behind the bar.

At the end of the night, Lucy and I traded stories about Bob and drank a toast to him. Cheers to you Bob! You'll be missed, but forever remembered in our thoughts and in your work.

Ray's Candy Store
113 Ave. A (Near 7th St.)

Lucy’s Bar
135 Ave. A (Near 9th St.)
212-673-3824

Further reading: Neither More Nor Less.

Waterloo Sunset’s fine.

(Surprise link...click on it...I dare you!)

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Bonus Photos By Crazy Eddie!

Crazy Eddie was at the vigil for Bob last night. He left before I got there, but sent me these photos he took. Thanks, Crazy Eddie, hope to see you soon!

October 4, 2011

Last Friday I was going to go to Occupy Wall Street, but it was raining so hard, I postponed it and took photos on my way home and then instead of captions, I put up song lyrics and a link to a video of the song. I really liked the results of what happened in that post. I’ve kind of run out of ideas for “Sixpack Monday,” where I take six pictures of specific things, so I’ve decided to marry the two ideas and every Monday I’ll take six pictures in a part of New York and then add song lyrics for the caption that I think fits the mood of the picture.

Tonight I thought we’d do it in Times Square. I know I rag on about how Times Square is ruined and a squeaky clean tourist trap, but it’s still good for people watching and photo taking. So let’s go and get a sixpack of photos.

Don't sleep in the subway, darlin', don't stand in the pouring rain. Don't sleep in the subway, darlin', The night is long, forget your foolish pride, nothing's wrong, now you're beside me again.

I stepped up on the platform. The man gave me the news. He said, "You must be joking son, where did you get those shoes?"

Bakin' potatoes, bakin' in the sun. Put on your noseguard, put on the Lifeguard. Pass the tanning butter.

I'm taking it to my room. I'm taking it to my lonely place. I'm tempted to hide away. I'm tempted to hide in a tourist town.

Me and my Arrow. Straighter than narrow. Wherever we go, everyone knows, it's me and my Arrow.

We've done very well, but we've been to hell and heaven as well. We're having a lovely time, wish you were here.

Further reading: Andrew Prokos Photography, Laughing Squid and Times Square Alliance.

Picture this —a sky full of thunder,
Picture this—my telephone number,
One and one is what I'm telling you.

(Surprise link...click on it...I dare you!)

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Candleight Vigil For Bob Arihood Tonight

There's a candlelight vigil for Bob Arihood, who died last week. Shawn and Lindsay organized this and it takes place in front of Ray's tonight at 8:00 PM. I've heard it will continue at Lucy's later, where I'll probably join up due to the fact that I have to work. Here's the information from Shawn and Lindsay via EV Grieve:

We wanted to put together a candlelight vigil for Bob in front of Ray's at 8 pm.

Please tell people to bring a candle and or flowers, photos of Bob or photos Bob took. We all think instead Bob would want people to just buy something from Ray's in his memory!

We are presenting Ray with a framed portrait of Bob to hang up so he's always watching over Ray.

UPDATE:

Bob's friend Jefferson Siegel just sent me this email:

There will be a gathering of Bob's friends tonight at 7 p.m. at Lucy's at 135 Ave. A near 9th St. Please spread the word. A memorial is being planned, possibly for this weekend. Also, there was an obit on page 32 of today's Daily News. It's not online, but an image of it is attached:

October 3, 2011

Live from New York it’s Cheeseburger Sunday Night! Starring Island Burgers and Shakes and featuring the Ready for Prime Beef Player, Marty Wombacher. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome, Island Burgers and Shakes!



I skipped Cheeseburger Saturday Night after hearing about the death of Bob Arihood. Shawn and Lindsay were kind enough to call me up and we hung out and reminisced about Bob. But, the show must go on, so I thought I'd do the cheeseburger thing tonight for Sunday dinner, let's go inside and check it out.

Wow, it's crowded for a Sunday night, but luckily there's a couple free chairs at the small bar up front, let's snag one.

And no sooner do I sit down, than Paul, the friendly host/bartender serves up a bottle of Red Stripe. Perfect!

The view of the narrow, railroad restaurant. Close quarters in here!

The specials hang over the tables on this chalk board.

A shot from the back of the restaurant. It's a casual place with kitschy signs hanging on the walls. I like it in here.

Here's an acid-flashback inducing painting of the restaurant on the front wall.

A bucket of iced wine sits atop the bar.

And here's some of the beers on tap.

Okay, some condiments in a box are placed before me, I think it's going to be cheeseburger time any minute now!

I got the cowboy burger and it looks delicious!

It's a great burger, but impossible to eat with your hands.

So I attacked it with my fork.

Burp. Goodnight everybody and see you tomorrow after dark.

My Meal
I got the Cowboy which is a burger topped with barbecue sauce, onion, bacon, cheddar, ranch and it’s served on bakery-fresh soft sourdough bread. it was spicy and delicious. I also had french fries on the side and a couple of bottles of Red Stripe to wash it all down. I was going to try one of their famous shakes or a malt for dessert, but I was too stuffed, maybe next time.

If you like different styles of burgers, this is your place. They have over 60 varieties including: The Clyde which is a blackened burger topped with bleu cheese, salsa and bacon; The Bourbon Street, another blackened burger with, bacon, jack cheese, bayou mayo, onion on sourdough; It’s a Mad Mad World, topped with pesto, salsa, swiss, pickle relish, pita and The Napalm a blackened burger with barbecue sauce, jalapeno, cheddar, habanero sauce, hot stuff indeed! All the varieties are also served as Churascos, which is a grilled chicken sandwich. Appetizers and salads are also on the menu along with baked potatoes with such toppings as cheddar, guacamole, peppers and chili.

If you have a sweet tooth, they serve fresh fountain milkshakes, malts and ice cream floats. Homemade cookies are also available and there’s five bottled beers to choose from including: Red Stripe, Corona, Chimay Rouge and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

Burger Rating
Four Wimpys, an outsanding Cheeseburger that Wimpy would be proud of!

Island Burgers and Shakes
766 Ninth Ave. (Near 51st St.)
212-307-7934

Further reading: New York Magazine, NY Times and Trip Advisor.

 

Here's wishing you the bluest sky,
And hoping something better comes tomorrow.

(Surprise link...click on it...I dare you!)