Automat

Automat sounds like a laundry or dry cleaning joint

I saw this "restaurant" in St. Marks area and I was reminded of my trip to japan many years ago. The store is just one big vending machine and you pick from a variety of food including corn dogs, burgers, sandwichs, fried dishes, japanese fast food products, etc. It's very convenient and you don't have to interact with anyone to get your food.

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I'm Curious

(I blacked out her last name just in case it was indeed a horrible event)

I went to go meet my cousin for dinner the other day and I saw this posted in the foyer of the motel. It was really interesting because they really did not want this woman to go up there. Was there a dead body? Was there a pest infestation? Did someone steal this woman's belongings? What was the reason? My curiosity is killing me and I need closure!!!

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Love! Don't H8!

As everyone knows, Proposition 8 passed in california banning gay marriage.

(Not from the NY rally but it's just a funny pic)

That's is most stupid law ever.

This law effectively excludes a subset of people from doing something that everyone else has the right to do. It's absolutely ridiculous. It's really scary how stupid people are. All of the arguments used against black people during the era of SEGREGATION is now once again used to SEGREGATE Gay individuals. Some have proposed equal but separate laws for gays. Are you fucking kidding me? Do these people hear themselves talking?


Polls tell us that majority of black voters voted for Prop 8, proving once again that the distribution of stupid people in every race is indeed equal.

Anyway, I was walking on broadway the other day and was passing City Hall when I saw a great number of police officers. I also saw a bunch of other people with shirts with various witty slogans written on them. I saw all of the rainbow flags and banners so I figured it was a gay rally protesting against Prop 8 in california. I did not know that it was a big national event though until I read it online.

But all of the coverage that these protests were supposed to get was diverted to the fires burning in California. Yes, there is an irony here, as well as joke but I figured it's in poor taste at this time so I will refrain from writing it. In any case, the protests were not as effective because mst people were too worried about the out of control fires. Hmmm...conspiracy?

I think the gay community should hold another rally but make it even bigger. Hopefully, that ridiculous law will be overturned soon because having that law on the books makes Californians look retarded.



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Topman: Part Deux

I guess enough people asked about the whereabouts of Topman shop because today they finally painted the name on the facade.

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Christmas Tree

I walked by the Rockefeller Center today and saw a lot of construction going on. Rockefeller always has something going on all year round so I didn't think much of it. However, I saw a huge structure going up so i took a closer look.

It's the xmas tree!

This means that I get to watch Elf on tv again. Of course, I have it on dvd an it's on my portable media player so I have seen it about a hundred times but still I enjoy seeing it on network tv. I don't know why but I do. I feel like I'm connected to others watching the show all over america.

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Just a random picture

I took this pic while walking to the nearest Starbucks...which is on every corner.I thought it was cool. Too bad my camera on the phone sucks ballz.

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Ramen Setagaya

We had really weird weather yesterday. It was warm, then hot, then it rained and cooled down, and then became humid, and then really hot, then cold and windy, and then warm again before day turned to night. In any case, I needed to go back to Union Square farmers market because the number of people who wanted to taste the sweet sweet honey of new york rooftop bees has increased. After I purchased the goods, I headed over to the St. Marks area for some lunch. The area reminds me of a faux Berkeley area with a hint of Santa Cruz. I can't shake the feeling that this area is a yuppie version of all the 'liberal' neighborhoods of the Cal and SF area. I look at the coffee shops and such and it's full of 20 and 30 somethings desperate for the 'cool hippie' scene.

Anyway, I looked around and I couldn't find anything that really appealed to me but just before I decided to give up, I saw this restaurant called Ramen Setagaya. It's a ramen joint and it was packed. That seemed like a good sign so I grabbed a seat at the booth and took a menu.

The menu had all of the familiar dishes you would find in a typical Japanese ramen shop and since it was the first time I was there, I figured I should try with their main dish which was Syo-yu ramen. The ramen was good but nothing I haven't I had before in other ramen shops. I looked around the establishment and it was decorated like I expected it to be furnished with the usual Japanese 'flair'. There was a large lcd screen on the wall playing nhk variety shows which I found was a good distraction while I ate.

Overall I must say that it was a decent meal with no real complaints. I would definitely go back for a quick meal and I think I'll try something different. My conclusion about this place is that it is one of those cookie cutter fast food ramen joints that serves a decent meal for slightly expensive prices.



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Donburiya

Today's lunch time was spent at Donburiya, a small Japanese joint that serves casual comfort food. They have a variety of lunch combos and it is a great place to grab a quick lunch...if you can find a seat. The place is packed and all of the seats are quickly taken by business men and women wanting a delicious meal.

I looked through the menu and I naturally wanted to try them all. However, I wanted try their basic "go-to" meal.

I decided to go with the Suki-don which consisted of marinated beef slices (like Yoshinoya), stewed nappa cabbage, tofu, and an egg on top of white sticky rice smothered in donburi sauce. The meal also comes with miso soup, a small salad with wasabi vinaigrette, and a small sample of pickled vegetables (I got pickled daikon and cucumber). All in all, it was an agreeable meal but I must say I was disappointed by the amount of beef in the dish. It was too damn small. I think Yoshinoya gives you more beef. They give you plenty of rice but not enough beef. Perhaps my disappointment may be due to the fact that I come from a culture that believes in plentiful meat products over rice/starch but I wish that instead of all that napa, I could get a little more of the beef slices.

I will hold judgement on the overall rating on this establishment until I have had the Donkatsu meal and the Hamburg steak meal (my two favorites). Only then can I determine whether this establishment deserves a place on my diner rotation schedule.

On another note, my pics from my blackberry is really subpar (to say the least) in indoor areas. It's adequate in outside shots (barely) but indoor pics are pretty craptacular. This is really sad since other than that, I've had a very good experience with the device so far.

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Mistaken Identity

My friend is always flattered/annoyed that when he goes to a clothing store, patrons mistake him for one of the workers.

My story takes the cake.

It's raining outside and I decided to get takeout and bring food home to eat in the comfort of my room. I went to the restaurant and picked up my order in a brown paper bag. Although it was just one order, this restaurant always uses a big brown bag to place the drink, meal, and sides in it for transport. I took this and started walking briskly down the street. It was pouring at this point and I really wanted to get home quickly.

And then suddenly, one of our finest public servant, a NYPD with his partner, called out to me. I was a bit confused since, to my knowledge, I did not break the law. However, the cop said, "Yo kid, what are you delivering? What did the guy order?" At first, I didn't understand his line of questioning but then it came to me.

Today I was mistaken for a delivery boy.

I have been mistaken for a Best Buy employee, and Circuit City employee but never a delivery boy. I didn't know what to say so I just smiled and said, "the usual" and walked away.

I should be flattered because he thought I was super young.

Obama NYTimes

Oh yeah, I forgot to tell everyone that I have a copy of Nov 5th NYtimes paper. But I don't know what to do with it. Am I supposed to save this? Do I frame it?

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Sunday Street Vendor

I did not intend to go to the Madison Ave street fair Sunday but it was all in my face so I thought what the hell. Most of the vendors sell clothes and knickknacks and then there are a few food stands. Some may think that there are a lot of food stands but this is not the case. There are 3 or 4 vendors that set up multiple stands throughout the street to make it seem like the numbers are more than it really is.

There are about 7 Gyro stands all from the same company/store/restaurant. There are 5 or so stands from the same smoothie store. And there are multiple italian sausage stands from the same company. If they don't get you in the first block, they'll get you later.

This stand sold some interesting pastries and desserts so I decided to buy the Shredded Fillo Dough with walnuts and honey. It was very sweet. As I picked at this sweet delicacy, I felt as though I was developing diabetes. My head started to hurt from the sugar overload so I had to stop eating. It was tasty but it was just too much honey. I think the piece that i got was enough to feed 10 people.

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Oms/b

I am still sick but I had to drag myself to work. My 'coworkers' are downers since all they want to do is work. I decided enough was enough and went for brunch. I decided to try Omusubi (Oms/B) which is a small cafe that sells rice balls. I decided to try the Salmon/cream cheese, lobster corn, tempura vegetable, and spicy cooked tuna. I also got a miso soup.

It's expensive.

All of that came out to 12 bucks. Why does everything cost an arm and a leg? In any case it was a tasty meal. I really liked the lobster corn in wasabi mayo. Very very tasty. I think I'm going to stick to the cheaper versions though. I'll probably get the plain riceballs with veges or something next time because I can't afford to eat these expensive lunches all the time.

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rUN the other way...

I have an irrational fear of the UN. Well...actually, I don't fear the organization but rather I fear the area near the UN building.
Whenever I'm walking near the UN building, I have this fear that one of the diplomats driving one of those fancy cars will run me over. And since they have diplomatic immunity, I believe I have limited legal recourse. I remember from that compelling documentary called "Lethal Weapon 2" that diplomats can do anything and get away with it. One of the actors...erm I mean diplomats said that the police can't even give him a parking ticket.
So when I see black Mercedes with tinted windows, I run the other way.

The Sickness

I'm sick. Really really sick. My sputum consists of green thick fluid that does not look as though it should be coming out of my mouth. I think it may have been a combination of various factors that have led me to this state of pain.

1) I rode in a cab with a woman coughing up something fierce. She complained to me that she doesn't have health insurance and she has no access to healthcare. I hope I don't have strep.

2) It was raining on Saturday. I walked in the rain without an umbrella. That's not good.

3) I walked around in a "touristy" area with many tourists. When I see tourists, I think about all of the diseases that they have brought to the city...all of those weird nasty diseases.

4) I ride the subway everyday and the confined quarters plus sick people equals nastiness. Combine that with "touristy" nastiness, you have a bad situation.

I did get my flu shot on Friday so I hope that I will be protected soon. I'm also drinking fluids and I hope I can get some soup today. I may also need to eat some fresh oysters so I can't get extra zinc...or I may take some vitamins since oysters are so expensive.


ADDENDUM: Oh yeah, I'm also surrounded by sick people. That may contribute to my sickness as well.

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Moving on up: Magnolia

I really like Magnolia cupcakes. For those who do not know, Magnolia is a bakery located on Bleeker street and is the home of those famous cupcakes I wrote about in previous posts. Magnolia cupcakes were prominently featured in the digital music short called Lazy Sunday on Saturday Night Live. It had always been popular but I think the national exposure really helped out this small store in Greenwich village.

They are movin' on up.

They now have a store near Rockefeller Center. It's in a very busy "touristy" area so now everyone can have a taste. The new store is definitely nicer and it looks more like Dean and DeLuca than their original humble store. It's become really slick. The cupcakes taste the same but I feel as though something was lost in the translation. The original store was homey and inviting. This new joint looks sterile and "processed". Still, I suppose that's progress and I wish the "little" cupcake store well.

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Goodburger

I gotta say, Goodburger may actually be slightly tastier than In N Out. I really like In N Out fries just because it's super fresh but Goodburger fries are a better version of the old school McDonald's fries. The burgers are also tasty, as they all come with thick juicy patties.

One aspect of Goodburger that definitely beats In N Out is the ability of to pick the "doneness". I ordered the burger medium and it was fantastic. Also, Goodburger serves beer.

I'm hooked on these burgers.

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Obama Needs a better blackberry

When I saw this picture the other day, I thought to myself, he doesn't look very presidential with that Blackberry 8700 on his hip. How can the most powerful man in the world have a crappier phone than me? Now, i'm not sure if he's going to get a new special phone designed for presidents but man, he's needs an upgrade stat.

RIM has two new phones, Blackberry Bold/9000 or the BlackBerry Storm/95XX. He can choose from either but I would go with the Bold...since i have the bold. The Bold has been reliable to so far and I must say it is the best phone I've had to date. I'm sold on the blackberry platform and I hope that Obama will also adopt one too. Seriously RIM, send him a new phone!!!! This is ridiculous! His phones probably have to be encrypted and shit but I'm sure that can be done.

Milk and Cheese

I went to Union Square farmer's market and I finally found my honey. I was very excited. Sad thing about the honey is that it's WAAAAAAY to expensive. $15 for 8 oz bottle of honey! Are you fucking kidding me? Are these super honey bees or some shit? I can't afford 15 dollar honey!

Anyway, I walked around some more and bought some aged cheese. It's was sharp and sweet and everyone at the booth was buying it. That means of course that I have to buy it too. I bought a quarter pound of a 1 year old aged cheese with a name I don't remember.

I walked around some more and found some family selling milk. It is the Ronnybrooke farm fresh hudson valley milk and I bought a 12oz bottle to drink on my way home. I couldn't tell the difference between regular milk from "stop and shop" and this one. Nevertheless, paying a buck fifty for "organic" milk seemed satisfying.

Although the farmer's market relatively small, it has many fresh vegetables and foodstuffs for your shopping needs. However, the prices are not cheap. Although less expensive than the Whole Foods across the street, many of these products are not for lower income families. Instead, I feel like these greenmarkets are geared toward middle to upper class yuppies.

Perhaps the best part of these local gatherings of colorful people is the interesting conversation you over hear while walking down the path.

Random "Mother": "I'm not related to you by blood. Do you know what that means?"

Random girl: "Chicken and turkey are fine, I'm not going to eat those."

Random guy: "There are so many goat products. It's like a goat fucker's dream."

Random guy: "These cheeses smell like shit."
His friend: "So does your B.O."
Random guy: "Fuck you goat fucker!"

Aburiya Kinosuke

After the grueling fight for Presidency, I felt that I needed to recuperate with a great meal. I've been craving some Japanese so I headed to Aburiya Kinosuke. I have heard some good reviews and I must say that I am happy to have found this joint.

I arrived at the small quaint establishment and was greeted by the courteous staff. I was whisked away to the "bar" and sat down at a prime seat. Of course, the only people at the restaurant at this time were a group of 3 in a private booth and me so I had the pick of the litter. Place settings were neatly presented in front of me and I was handed a small menu describing my choices for lunch. Although there were plenty of interesting dishes for me to try, I was taken aback by the relatively small amount of choices. I suppose I was so used to the endless pages of entrees seen on menus at establishments like Chili's, Denny's, or Applebees, I was amazed that I didn't have to wade through overwhelmingly numerous choices to figure out what I wanted.

I did not have breakfast that morning and I was starving. I looked through the menu and saw variety of dishes I wanted to try. However, I decided I should get the lunch 'prix fixe' to sample the various dishes this establishment had to offer. I was given several choices ranging from moderately priced all the way up to what I would consider "extravagant" for a midday meal. I debated back and forth with regards to these choices and thought to myself, "What would my buddy Ryan do?"

I went for the super lunch combo.

I figured I may not be back and I might as well go for their super special. Not only that, my body cried out for an infusion of omega 3 fatty acids. I started with Asahi Beeru and then requested that my gluttonous journey begin.

16 oz Asahi Beer

I was immediately given a chalice full of Asahi Beer and the waiter explained that the explosion of flavors will soon begin.

Appetizer

I was first presented with salad with wasabi vinaigrette and a small dish containing 3 pieces of stewed japanese radish smothered with a slightly sweet gooey gravy that had pieces of scallop mixed in it. The radish/daikon dish was excellent. When I inhaled these two dishes, the waiter promptly cleared the table.

Appetizer

Next came three more side dishes. The first one consisted of pickled carrots with marinated root of some kind topped with seaweed. The second was roasted eggplant in some gooey topping with white substance I could not identify. Um...yeah. The third was another marinated seaweed dish with another type of vegetable I could not recognize. I enjoyed them one by one until they were gone. All of the dishes were tasty.

Rib Eye

Then an unexpected surprise arrived. The waiter brought out a funky flaming "pedestal" with three bite sized pieces of marinated rib eye. It was cooked rare and was sizzling on top of a wax paper that covered hot stone plate. It was interesting. The contraption looked like a miniaturized portable version of those large stone grill plates often used in korean BBQ restaurants to cook pork belly pieces. The steak tasted great although 3 pieces were ridiculously small and offered just a tease. I ate the plate in about 20 seconds.

Main Entree

Next came the main entree. The main dish, or rather dishes consisted of the following: Cold soba noodles with dipping sauce, miso soup, a small dish of pureed radish for the soba dipping sauce, 2 pieces of white fish tempura, 2 pieces of boneless fried chicken, 3 small pieces of grilled eel, 3 sashimi pieces (white fish, mackerel, salmon) topped with salmon roe, and 4 small sushi roll pieces which had tamago, masago, pickled daikon, picked carrots, pickled vegetable I could not identify and sushi rice. Oh and fresh wasabi was on most plates.

It is a wonderful sight to see the variety of dishes in front of me. I decided to tackle the meal in a counter clock motion (no real reason why but I did it anyway) and tried to savor each piece. I ate and I ate and I ate. I could see in the corner of my eye that one of the waitresses was looking at me. She was either checking me out or she was watching me in disgust as I stuffed my face full of fishy goodness. After about 30 minutes of gluttony, I finished my final piece of chicken. I was really full.

I will run through my review of each portion of the entree. The soba noodles were good. White fish tempura was mediocre and nothing really special. The chicken pieces were not too great as it was too salty for my taste. The grilled eel was excellent! The sashimi pieces were good but not excellent (I've had better), sushi rolls were good but pedestrian. All in all, the main entree portion was a B+ for me.

After adjusting my belt to accommodate my growing waist size, I tried to relax a bit before the final dish. The waiter quickly cleared my table and gave me a choice between vanilla or green tea after dinner delights. I went for the green tea ice cream.

The green tea ice cream came with a green tea cake piece. The combination was a great way to end the dinner. The ice cream was great. When I finished, the waiter cleared the table and brought my hot tea.

I really enjoyed the appetizers and the dessert. I thought the steak was phenomenal. The main entree portions were hit or miss although overall not bad.

I must note that the service was exceptional. I do not know whether the waiter paid extra attention to me because there were very few people in the restaurant or if this was standard practice in this restaurant but there was never a moment when my needs were not taken care of promptly. If I could use one word to describe the service, I would use "efficient".

I really enjoyed my lunch. Although I mentioned that the individual entrees may have not been the best of the best, the overall experience was pleasant and I enjoyed my meal. I would definitely go back. I also think that lunch has a much more limited variety and I am hoping that I may be able to try their dinner meal. I saw some Salmon being grilled and it looked amazing.

By the time I finished my entire meal, the restaurant was packed. There was a line forming outside to get into the restaurant and people were desperately trying to cut ahead of one another. Most of them said they knew the owner. Yeah...right. I left the crowd and enjoyed the rest of my day.

Highly recommended!