Eating Izakaya

The Mysterious Chinese Woman and I got together with my brother-in-law Jim last night and we decided to eat Izakaya.  Well, eat and drink.  An Izakaya is a Japanese drinking establishment that also serves food.  The word Izakaya is a combination of two words, "i" which means "to sit" and "sakaya" which means "sake shop."  These are becoming increasingly popular here in New York.  In fact one stretch on St. Mark's must have about half-a-dozen of them.

The Mysterious Chinese Woman and I took the subway to Astor Place and headed towards St. Mark's.  On our way we passed by Continental, and how can you not stop in there for a $2 beer or 5 shots for $10.

Continental, The Cheap Place To Drink


They have a very strict door policy here, both the Mysterious Chinese Woman and I got carded.  It is kind of a deep dark place and wasn't very crowded when we walked in.  Old Betty Boop cartoons were playing on the back wall and the bartender was busy punching toons into the jukebox.  So busy, in fact, that she didn't pay any attention to us for about ten minutes and totally ignored a guy at a back table that walked right past her to go to the bar to order a round of drinks.  Then when she got back behind the bar she decided she needed to powder her nose.  Service is not their strong suit here.

Oh, and the $2 beers don't include Brooklyn Lager.  They are $4, but still not a bad price.  Maybe I should have stuck to the shots.

After my beer and three cartoons we headed right around the corner to Yakitori Taisho, a little downstairs (these places are almost always downstairs) place.  And they almost always have red lanterns out in front.

Yakitori Taisho


It was pretty crowded, with a line, when we got there and then we had to wait for Jim so I stuck the Mysterious Chinese Woman in the line.  When Jim arrived there were no tables in the front so we were ushered into the back room.

Just Down The Hall


You can't say that they went overboard on the decorating, but then that kind of adds to the ambience.

You Call This Ambience?


They didn't really put a whole lot into decorating the walls, either.

Form Follows Function, Or Something


It actually looks kind of like the modern day version of where Zatoichi, the blind swordsman, might hang out.  Of course then there would be at least half-a dozen dead people on the floor before this peaceful man finished his meal.  You would think people wouldn't hassle a guy who can pick flies out of the air with his chopsticks.

I guess in a place like this it is the people who provide the atmosphere.  That and the sake.

Atmospheric People




Because of the large amount of cabbage they serve with everything, we contributed more and more to the atmosphere as the evening wore on.

One of the attractions of Izakayas is the relatively inexpensive food served in small portions so you can share and sample a lot of different stuff.  We had an assortment of food that included chicken gizzards, pork belly, pork with kimchi (which I didn't think was Japanese), a bunch of chicken stuff on skewers, squid, and lots of cabbage.

The Aftermath






We also tried three different kinds of sake that ranged from fairly sweet to dry.  All were good and served well-chilled.  Then we finished up with a couple bottles of Yebisu, a Japanese beer that is put out by Sapporo.  One of my favorite beers for just quenching my thirst on a hot day is Sapporo.  Clean and crisp and in a big can.  Japan's answer to Budweiser, but I like it better.  The Yebisu is a darker and more flavorful beer and isn't bad at all.

A Yebisu For You, So Don't Be Blue


All and all it was a most enjoyable evening and the Mysterious Chinese Woman certainly looked like she ate and drank her fill.

Ah, The Look Of Contentment


If you are in the mood for a differnt kind of bar food, plenty of sake, and a pretty genuine Japanese pub experience, these Izakayas are a good choice.



Several articles came out in various papers today announcing the amazing (not to me) finding that people who drink tend to live longer than people who don't.  Even heavy drinkers tend to outlive teetotalers.  They are not sure of the reason for this but my guess is that non-drinkers tend to be miserable people who don't know how to have fun and just shrivel up and and die.  Only my opinion, of course.

I love Paris Hilton's explanation of why she had drugs in her purse.  The purse wasn't really hers.  The money in the purse was hers.  The chapstick in the purse was hers.  But the drugs weren't hers because it wasn't her purse.  And, you know, it wouldn't surprise me if she beats the rap with that lame excuse.

It looks like I am getting out of town just before we experience any affects from Hurricane Earl.  I guess I will have to queue up the Dixie Chicks "Goodbye Earl" on my way out the door.

My next post won't be for a few days and should be from Berlin.  Until then, skip the vitamin pill and have a Bloody Mary with your breakfast.  You will live a longer and happier life.

Wobbly At Waterfront

I dropped into the Waterfront Ale House, as I often do on a Friday or (that is an inclusive "or") Saturday afternoon when the World's Friendliest Bartender, Gaid, is on duty.

World's Friendliest Bartender - Gaid


I was pleased to see that Sam, the owner of the place and the captain of the Fuhgeddaboutit BBQ team had won some serious accolades at a recent competition.

Grand Master And Best Beef


I started out with a Lunganitas Lucky 13 Mondo Red because I had never had one before and it was the first thing I spotted on the chalkboard that lists the 19 draught beers that are available.  It was a bit on the heavy side for such a warm day, but it was pretty tasty.  Kind of a cinnamon spicy flavor.  But noticeably strong.  It goes off at a hefty 8.56% ABV and tasted it.  And this kind of explains what happened next.

Gaid, knowing that I generally like Brooklyn Brewery's beer, offered me a taste of Brooklyn Detonation Ale.  The Brooklyn Brewery has a habit of putting out limited run beers that can be infuriatingly good.  Infuriatingly because eventually they are all gone and you can't get anymore.  I still mourn the long gone Buzz Bomb Ale.

After the Lucky 13 the Detonation tasted refreshingly light.  A nice hops bitterness that was well-complemented by the floral aroma and taste of fresh hop buds.  One review commented on its "disturbing drinkability."  And I can attest to that.

A long-time follower of my blog, who goes by the name of Splunge, dropped in and we then proceeded to chat and buy each other rounds of beers and talked with each other and Gaid and basically kind of killed the afternoon.

The Good Life


Eventually the Mysterious Chinese Woman managed to track me down and tried to drag me away.  However, the mighty team of Splunge and Bar Man prevailed and induced her to stick around and party with us.

Hey Bartender, One More Round


I don't remember how many of those Detonations I ended up having.  At least four, and probably more.  Eventually Gaid's shift was over and his replacement, Peter, came on duty.  He looked at my, by now, glassy eyes and asked me if I knew I was drinking a 10% beer.  Well, it isn't quite 10%, but it is 9.2% ABV.  Stronger than the first beer that I had that I thought was strong.  And I had been drinking these like, well, like beer.  Damn, they were good, and disturbingly drinkable.

Oh well, I got a wee bit hammered but it was all for a good cause.  Splunge and I agreed that we should do it again sometime and the Mysterious Chinese Woman abstained from voting.

This morning I put on the coffee and went out to get the papers like I usually do.  But when I got home I decided I needed a morning beer more than I needed my morning coffee.  Luckily I had a few in my refrigerator and decided upon a Magic Hat Wacko Seasonal Ale.

Beer, Not Just For Breakfast


Not one of Magic Hat's better offerings, in my opinion.  And why, because they used beet sugar, they felt the need to color the beer with beet juice is beyond me.  It looks like you are drinking some kind of a Hawaiian fruit punch or something.  There isn't anything distinctive about the beer either, kind of blah tasting.  But after spending the previous day downing the heavy, heavy fuel it was a refreshingly innocuous 4.5% ABV.

By the way, Splunge said that he first went to the Waterfront Ale House to eat their ribs after reading about them in my blog way back and has been coming here ever since.  He agrees with me that they have what are probably the best ribs in town.  And New York is a pretty big town.

Smarter Choice

Okay, we all know the New York Daily News isn't the newspaper for the inteligentsia. Hell, Bar Man reads it. But I thought the people who worked there might be smart.  You have to wonder how they drew the conclusion, from these poll results, that more people would rather be rich than smart or young.



Maybe because Rich was at the top of the list.

I hope the people working at the New York Daily News selected Smart.

Odds And Ends

Just a few random shots to finish up my pictures in Lisbon.  Next week the Mysterious Chinese Woman and I are heading off for a river cruise thorugh Germany with a few days in Berlin and Prague.  Should have more interesting stuff to post about then.

The Spanish Tapas Bar where I went to watch the World Cup games was thinking about expanding their food line to include pizza.  I happened to be there when they were sampling it so I got some and they asked me what I thought.  I was really quite good.  They nailed the crispy crust.

Almost New York Pizza Good


This was a picture that I took of people taking pictures, but I don't think they liked having their picture taken.

Smile For The Camera, Or Not


This was taken in a park not far from our hotel and right behind the subway station that we used all the time.

Another Lovely View


When we went to the beach that one day there was a single airplane doing all kinds of crazy stunts.  Not sure if it was part of a show or if they guy was just out for a joy-ride.

Where's The Barf Bag


Lisbon is kind of like Genoa and Puerto Vallarta in that it is built along a mountain or something and there are a lot of really steep hills and streets.  One way to cope with trams.  Some of them only run a few blocks, just up and down a big hill.

The Local Tram
 

The G-Force Is Terrific


And that pretty much sums up my trip to Lisbon.  A very nice city and one that I wouldn't hesitate to visit again.

And, in the EWWW!! department, I was watching a History Channel program on Napoleon the other day. Did you know that he had leeches applied to his hemorrhoids the night before his defeat at Waterloo?

Egg Delivery System

I just got this email alert from the Washington Post:

News Alert: Massive recall reveals growing vulnerability in egg delivery system

It got me to wonder, hasn't the egg delivery system been pretty much the same all along?

Flashbacks And Running Backs

In Sunday's Gasoline Alley comic strip Skeezix finds an antique radio in the attic and begins to reminisce about old radio shows.  As he does visions of the old characters, Jack Benny, The Shadow, Ma Perkins, The Lone Ranger, Amos N' Andy and, I think, Fibber McGee and Molly float in the background.

Interestingly, Amos N' Andy look just like their television counterparts, but the two characters who portrayed them on the radio were both white.  On the other hand, the guy playing the Lone Ranger on the radio probably wasn't wearing a cowboy hat and a mask.

Showing my age, when I was going to grade-school I used to run home for lunch so I could listen to Ma Perkins every day.  And listening to Inner Sanctum in the evening with my dad was an early treat as well.  Oh, and Bobby Benson and the B Bar B Riders was another favorite.  I had a Bobby Benson alarm clock with little Bobby Benson riding a horse that rocked back and forth as the seconds were ticking off.

Ah, how many miles Bobby must have ridden to get me to where I am today.

Also in Sunday's Daily News, Errol Louis wrote a column about Dr. Laura's outburst on her radio show.  He compared her to others such as Michael Richards, Don Imus and Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder all of whom he said also "blurted out offensive words before a nation."

I take strong exception to Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder being included in this group.  Here is what Snyder said while being video-taped by a reporter for WRC-TV as he was eating lunch in a restaurant:

"The black is a better athlete to begin with because he's been bred to be that way — because of his high thighs and big thighs that goes up into his back, and they can jump higher and run faster because of their bigger thighs. This goes back all the way to the Civil War when during the slave trading, the owner — the slave owner would breed his big black to his big woman so that he could have a big black kid."

Now that may have been inappropriate, but it can hardly be considered blurting out offensive words before a nation.  He didn't use any racial epithets, nor was he really saying anything particularly disparaging.  It was WRC who chose to show the video-tape on Martin Luther King's birthday during a piece on blacks' progress in society, making the proverbial mountain out of what was, indeed, a molehill.
 
I think Mr. Louis owes the late Dimetrios Georgios Synodinos, aka Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder, an apology.

New Name For The Nets

As many of you probably know, the New Jersey Nets have been bought by Mikhail Prokhorov and will be moving to Brooklyn (right down the street from me) in a couple of years.  The papers have been filed to change the name, but no new name has been selected, that we know of.

Here are a few of my suggestions:

It seems like the Brooklyn Nyets would be a natural.

Brooklyn Bombers would be cool, but that is probably politically incorrect these days.

Given the controversy over the traffic congestion the new arena is supposed to cause the Brooklyn Jammers might not be bad.

And, of course, the Brooklyn Shooting Tsars has a certain ring to it.

Feel free to pass along any suggestions.