Waterpod Project = high hopes and huge disappointment

We went to check out the Waterpod Project during a bike ride into the Brooklyn Bridge Park.  We brought high hopes with us to check out this 'floating eco-habitat' designed by Mary Mattingly to raise awareness to rising sea levels.  The Waterpod changes where it is docked every few weeks, and is open to the public for viewing and tours on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I can definitely appreciate the work and vision that went into making this project a reality for Mrs. Mattingly.  She, with the help of other artists, have designed a pretty incredible thing.  It was best said on the Waterpod's website:  "The Waterpod is mobile and nomadic, and as an application for the future it can historicize the notion of the permanent structure, simultaneously serving as composition, transportation, island, and residence."

I do have a large complaint with the Project.  This is something you want people not in your community to witness, appreciate, and support.  I felt like I didn't belong when I came there to learn more about it. We arrived about 1pm, a few hours after they "opened" so being the first people there can't be an excuse.  We rode bikes reducing our carbon footprint, so that can't be an excuse.  However, each time we walked up to an area people that worked/lived on the barge looked away.  It was definitely not an open environment.  It was extremely cold and I felt that I was interrupting something.  Other people came while we were trying to understand it all and the attitude directed towards them was completely different, oh - they knew them.  So I would not personally not recommend going to the Waterpod to anyone I know.  I would suggest reading about it online, becoming intrigued and leaving it on a high note.  And for the folks on the Waterpod I'd recommend being more open to folks you don't know, because you never know who your biggest supporter will be.  Maybe it was an off day, maybe not.

ar

paper, rock, scissorhands

Last night Paige and I joined Amy and Driscoll at Movies with a View of the Brooklyn Bridge.  The weather was perfect, upper 60's with no clouds in the sky.  The movie was Edward Scissorhands and I was the only one of the four that had never seen it.  We arrived ~6:30 and the crowd was already pretty full but we got lucky right up front and had a killer spot.  Eventually, for the 1st time in 10 years the event reached capacity and it became a 1 in 1 out situation.  I think people heard I was coming, it usually brings a fervor and a crowd.

A few pictures of the night...

     prior to the movie starting

     this kid jumped up on a stage and started dancing to the music

     the man himself on the big screen

     great view of the brooklyn bridge looking at manhattan

ar

2 wheel warrior

current obsession - getting a bicycle

this involves constant research of the different types of bikes (road/mtb/hybrid/cross), what the components are, how to properly secure a bike in the city, what is a good price, etc.  i hope to get one very soon, however those that know me know that i will cover all angles before committing.

what started the obsession?

Paige and I had been wanting to walk the brooklyn bridge and check out the Dumbo/BK Heights neighborhood's since we moved here.  After hearing about a bike ride Paige had with her father and enjoyed it, I thought it would be a good idea to rent bikes and make that trek.  So we mapped out a ride from Central Park (the bike rental place) down the west side hwy, across the brooklyn bridge, over into Dumbo to see the Waterpod project, over into Brooklyn Heights for brunch, hang out on the water, and then back across the bridge home.  It was about a 25 mile ride and I found it to be very enjoyable.  Definitely fueled the fire for picking up a bike for commuting purposes and also for exercise.  I thought the NYC streets would be much more intimidating but I felt pretty comfortable and know I will only become more confident.

"We live in hell's kitchen, and we can represent even in dorky bike helmets.  You want some?"

ar

Improving aesthetics one dish at a time

So the molé received mixed reviews from readers due to it having aesthetic qualities resembling the aftermath of a high fiber diet.  I went with quality with that one, and achieved that. Frankly, molé doesn't look pretty but it tastes good.

Last night I made a ceviche with shrimp and tilapia.  The shrimp was pre-cooked, the fish was not.  The recipe called for 4 lemons juiced, tomatoes, jalapeño, cucumber, red onion, garlic, cilantro, and parsely.

I put out some plain melba toast crackers and avocado slices.  We then decided the green tabasco would be a great topper.  It came together as a very fulfilling and refreshing dish.  Only critique of this one is that next time I will use limes instead of lemons and perhaps a heartier fish.

ar

I support equality

Yesterday was National Go Topless day?  I had not heard of this but there is an organization "claiming that women have the same constitutional right to be bare chested in public places as men."  NYC has already taken heed to this message and in 1992 ruled that women have the right to be topless in public.  While probably both fortunately and unfortunately, I have not had the privilege of seeing anyone 'enjoying' this right while walking the streets.  However, yesterday there was an organized topless parade through Manhattan and six other US cities fighting for the right.  The primary stipulation I saw was "no need for alcohol or drugs...40 years later, women can enjoy their body in a natural state of mind..."

To show I can't make this up - http://www.gotopless.org

ar

Blister in the sun

We have not been getting the best weather the past day or so here in New York so I have laid relatively low (other than Thursday night at Rudy's and witnessing the naked man).  I have also had the nagging onset of a cold that has yet to manifest itself so that contributing to the urge of watching a moving and retiring early.  But a lot of that has nothing to do with this post.  After the thunderstorm came through last night I took the opportunity to take a few pictures of what turned into a really incredible sky and sunset.  I found it pretty cool this morning when I got up and read the Gothamist (awesome blog about NYC:  http://gothamist.com/2009/08/22/upside_to_storms_beautiful_sunsets.php?gallery0Pic=4#gallery) to see one of their contributors had done the same and posted their pictures.  Needless to say Jen's are far better than mine as I am still working off a basic digital camera.  When the job comes, a new camera will as well.

As for the title, it just happened to be one of the first ones I thought of when writing about a sunset.  My brother turned me on to the Violent Femmes when he was going to school at UGA and played there quite a bit.  They never made it to upper echelon of success, but have retained a cult following.  This song in particular has a few theories behind the meaning.  The best I've have heard it summed up is that "the song is about the general adolescent drive towards excess, over the top sexuality."  If you feel so inclined, take and listen and enjoy:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra8VTlXVqUQ

ar

Bob Dylan and a naked guy walk into a bar...

Last night I went down the street to Rudy's with Driscoll for a few drinks and we spotted a guy talking with the police. Didn't think to much of it until we realized he wasn't wearing pants. After talking with the door guy at Rudy's we find out the guy has been walking around 9th avenue being friendly with other pedestrians. Driscoll has an iphone so he snapped this pic as they were loading the guy into the ambulance. I'm sure he was being taken to Bellevue to stay a few nights and receive a little help.

In a related story if you haven't heard: About a month ago a policewoman picked up an "eccentric old man acting suspiciously" in the Latin quarter. The man identified himself as Bob Dylan, however didn't have i.d. The police officer obviously didn't believe him so she ordered him to the back of the police car until she could determine who he was. The man asked if she would go by a hotel where he was staying after his concert with Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp. She still did not believe him but decided to stop by the hotel when she drove past and saw large tour buses out front. Turns out the "eccentric old man" was indeed Bob Dylan.

This isn't strange, this is New York.

ar

Molé

The past few weeks I've really been wanting to take a stab at making chicken molé. I researched some recipes and then began the search for the right mole sauce. I had been reading about a Dona Maria molé sauce sold at Mexican groceries stores and was pretty sold on it. This was confirmed when Driscoll and I went for tacos at the Tehuitzingo bodega (amazing tacos which I'll elaborate on in a later post) and he mentioned Amy had used it, and they loved it. I picked up a jar for the dish.

The recipe is pretty simple consisting of:

(2) chicken breasts

(3) tablespoons of vegetable oil

half a yellow onion

(3) large garlic cloves

(3) cups of reduced sodium chicken broth

8 oz jar of Dona Maria molé sauce

(1) 16 oz bag of rice

1 teaspoon of salt

I chopped the onion, diced the garlic, and put (3) tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large saucepan to sauté. I then cubed the chicken breasts (~1") and added it to the saucepan. I raised the heat to sear the chicken on all sides and then lowered, covered, and simmered. While that was cooking I brought 2 cups of water, 1 cup of chicken broth, and salt to a boil and then added the rice, covered and simmered.

While the chicken and rice were cooking I combined the 8 oz jar of molé and 2 cups of chicken broth and blended. Once the chicken was done I drained the juice from the chicken and then added the molé mixture. I brought that to a simmer for ~5 minutes. During this time the rice was cooked.

I plated the rice and added the chicken molé atop. I must say it was pretty great for a first attempt at a dish that can be testy.

ar

notes: next time I will only use about 5 oz of molé mixture to 2 cups of chicken broth to balance the chocolate. I will also look into adding poblano peppers to add a hit of spice to the dish.

Good luck Vitris!

Saturday we awoke feeling great after devouring Galaxy diner a few hours prior. The weather quickly became the best weather we've had since moving to NYC so we made the most out of it by planning a trip to the High Line (discussed in detail on post titled High Line on June 29th, 2008) and lunch on the Frying Pan. During this planning a tragedy struck very close to us and where we were going when a private airplane struck a helicopter over the Hudson (read the "Sully" blog posted today for details). Nonetheless we embarked on our outing about 1pm and walked down to the Frying Pan.

The Frying Pan is a barge in the water located on 26th and Hudson that has become a restaurant and bar. On days like this with excellent weather it is a lively time with people soaking up the sun and enjoying a good burger and buckets of beer. We enjoyed both and then headed over to the High Line to continue our walk. The flowers here were captured on the H'Line.

Late Saturday afternoon we went over to Emily's place for a bbq in Vitris' honor (pictured above). There was a great group of people and great tasting food. Emily and Vitris were excellent hosts and we had a great time! Also, Vitris introduced me to Rhymefest whom I have been listening to a lot since then. Afterwards Paige, Christo, Greg and I headed back to Hell's Kitchen so I could introduce Christo to the neighborhood. Paige called it a night after the train ride and we hit up Deacon Brodie's, O'Flaherty's, and Rudy's. We also tried out the West Side Diner and I am going to stick to Galaxy from now on.

Sunday Christo headed out about 3pm and Paige and I lounged around the apartment. It was another very successful weekend in the books. Thanks for coming up Christo and good luck Vitris.

ar

Jenga can become an obsession

This past weekend was the busiest weekend in New York so far. I had a good buddy, Christo, in town for the weekend and also one of Paige's closest friend's from college, Vitris, was celebrating his last week in New York. Vitris went to the University of Texas at Austin with Paige and was accepted into Texas Law, however deferred for two years to participate in the Teach for America program here.

Friday afternoon I was meeting a guy, Robin, for happy hour that Sabrina Hu put me in contact with who moved to New York a few years ago after graduating from UGA. We met a a place called 123 Burger Shot Beer which is a place that will definitely be added to my list of local establishments. As the name states, burgers are $1, shots are $2, and beers are $3. Very affordable, very good, and a lively hangout on a Friday at 6pm.

Christo arrived about 7pm and after dropping his stuff off at the apartment met Robin and I at the bar for a bite and a few $3 Shock Top's. Paige joined about an hour later and after grabbing a bite we headed out to Williamsburg to meet up with Vitris and his girlfriend, Emily. Robin already had plans to go out so we parted ways here. Was a cool guy though so I'm sure we'll all hang out again.

In Williamsburg we met Vitris and Emily at a rooftop bar/restaurant Juliette. It had a very nice rooftop so we sat there for a beer and to catch up on the week. Afterwards we went to the South 4th bar just down the street where our buddy Gregg knows the owner. This proved to be my favorite spot as it combined my 2 loves, beer and games. We found ourselves playing Jenga for over an hour. According to Wikipedia "Jenga is a game of physical and mental skill" which obviously would explain why I excel at it! We made a brief stop at a German beer garden and then on to the Galaxy Dinner back in Hell's Kitchen for some much needed food before hitting the sack.

Video evidence is inconclusive of whether it was Paige or Greg "assisting" her that caused the tower implode. Sorry, it was dark in the bar so I had to adjust the brightness to see it good.  You can be the judge...

Only Sully should fly over the Hudson

On August 8th there was a mid-air collision between a small chartered aircraft and a helicopter over the Hudson only about 25 blocks from where I live. The helicopter tour company that was involved in the crash is located on the West Side highway where I run so I see it everyday (well, almost) and have even pondered taking one of the tours. On this day the helicopter was taking 5 Italian tourists out and the chartered plane had 3 people on board. This made the death count 9 people (including the helicopter pilot), with 2 still not recovered from the Hudson. During a press conference shortly after the crash Mayor Bloomberg was quoted as saying "This is not going to be a happy ending, ... This has changed from a rescue to a recovery mission. Sadly, there's not a lot of rescue to be done."

For those that don't know the reference to Sully, he was the gentleman who successfully landed the U.S. Airway Jet he was piloting on the Hudson River saving the 155 passengers and crew aboard. It is being touted as the "Miracle on the Hudson."

We walked down to have lunch on the river and see what we could witness. Here are a couple pictures ....

- they just finished the press conference with Mayor Bloomberg in the parking lot of the Helicopter Tour place involved in the crash

- the NYPD Helicopter still surveying the area.

- Sway from MTV news (in the brown hat) enjoying lunch with a few lady friends in a table just near us at The Frying Pan on the Hudson. I guess MTV was airing The Real World, something with Puffy, etc and didn't find the crash newsworthy.

ar

So I'm indecisive

Why did I change the blog name? Read the title. While I liked inmanperk I couldn’t help but continue to search for a ‘better’ name. The issue is that I want one that I will never have to change, so it can’t be time sensitive. When I leave New York, I can’t still have a blog titled Living in New York or something similar.

A few names I considered:

See you in hell – taken

Heaven can wait – taken

Heaven’s overrated – taken

Ipreferhell – “too rough”

Yuppiesinhell – “too rough”

Where did the burnt apple come from? I began to think about other names for NYC, a big one being, The Big Apple. (pun intended). I then wanted to use something representing our neighborhood, Hell’s Kitchen. What is the saying – You’ll burn in hell for eternity? I combined that with The Big Apple to get to The Burnt Apple.

I’m still not sure theburntapple is the one, but I made a promise not to change it again. I’ve also signed up the gmail, twitter, and webpage in case it takes off and becomes an overnight success. Or not…

If you don’t like it, please don’t tell me. I will seriously develop an aneurism if I have to find another blog name. Yes, stupid things like this overwhelm and conquer me. However, if you have praise for me, shower on people, shower on.

ar

Have you been drinking?

As an earlier post stated David and Kristi were in town the weekend of July 25th for a going away visit before they head off to Zurich to live for a few years. They have a blog - http://fromatlantatozurich.blogspot.com/ - that is quite entertaining. We had a great weekend visiting and will definitely miss them, though the first trip over Christmas and New Years is already being planned. I can't wait!

Friday night we met up with a good friend of Kristi's from high school, Alvin, his wife, and their new son. They suggested Soba Totto for dinner and I am glad they did. Alvin took the reigns and ordered family style for everyone so we could try multiple things. Some of the highlights were the dumplings, shrimp stuffed mushrooms, and yakitori.

The headline comes in when we attempted to go to Zum Schneider (pictured above) which is a German beer garden in Alphabet City. Alvin spoke pretty highly of this place and I was excited to check it out. When we got out of the cab, I got out on the left which was in the street. A cab going the opposite direction waved me on so I told Kristi and Dave to come on across as Alvin had already done so. When I approached the bouncer he asked me, "Have you been drinking?" I thought he was joking. It was 1 a.m. on a Friday night in New York, of course I had been drinking. However, I was in no way drunk. I responded "somewhat" to which he then said I wasn't going to be allowed to drink here. I was flabbergasted. He said that they don't allow patrons to drink if they have been doing so prior. After I went in with the rest of the group planning to not drink the bouncer told the bartender I was cut off to which he replied just kick us out (in far less polite terms). We again asked what was going on and why I was singled out when I was clearly not intoxicated. He said he made a judgement call when he saw me jay walking, and while it may have been premature he had to stick to it now. It was a joke, but the night was not lost and we continued to have a good time. I plan on going back and just being careful to follow all pedestrian rules within eyesight of the bouncer.

We spent all of Saturday shopping for David and Kristi to help them prepare for their move and went to dinner with Jessica and Lance in our neighborhood. They left first thing Sunday morning and Paige and I focused on finishing up a few things still needed to do in our apartment.

ar

cooking in hell's kitchen

Last week I decided it was my turn to cook for a night. For the record Paige does enjoy cooking (and does so extremely well), but I recognize I should do it more often so she can relax. I was in the mood to slow cook a pork tenderloin in a crock pot so that is what I did. The recipe I chose instructed me to simmer the pork with a 12 ounce root beer for 6 to 7 hours. Then drain and simmer for another hour in "your favorite barbecue sauce". I tweaked it by adding garlic salt, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and a few tablespoons of barbecue sauce to the initial 6 hour slow cook. Our slow cooker cooks a little faster so I did that for 4 hours, drained the sauce and added 12 ounces of barbecue sauce, more garlic salt, onion powder, and cayenne pepper to simmer for 2 hours. The barbecue sauce I used was from Rudy's in Texas. It is phenomenal bbq sauce and the last time paige was home she brought us back two 48 ounce bottles.

I also borrowed a recipe that I've always liked from Kristi (borrowed from Alton Brown) for an asian slaw. After she answered many of my questions I went for it. I'm not a mayonnaise fan so this called for rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, lime, sesame oil, chiles, etc.

I must say it turned out pretty well. The barbecue sauce turned out excellent. I think the cayenne pepper added a great kick to it and I will definitely do it again. You couldn't really taste any root beer which was confirmed by Paige. So I may alter that, but otherwise it was excellent. The slaw also turned out really well. I thought I may have put a little too much vinegar, but Paige said she liked it. Hopefully she wasn't humoring me and enjoyed her much deserved night off.

ar