A Nice Little Italian Restaurant

As I already mentioned, after seeing the Black Coffee Blues Band the Mysterious Chinese Woman and I headed to Frankie's 457 for a little nosh.

Frankies 457


As I said before, this is kind of a small place, very friendly, and with a homey feel to it. And I don't know why they don't have an apostrophe in their name. This place is at 457 Court Street kind of in my neighborhood and they have another one in Manhattan at 17 Clinton Street and I bet you can guess what that one is called.  Now pay attention, that is Clinton Street in Manhattan, not Clinton Street here in Brooklyn.

There was a short wait for a table inside and it was a bit too chilly for me to want to sit outside so I forced myself to have a beer at the bar.

Someone Has To Do It


The beer I had was an Edelstoff from the Augustiner Brewery in Munich, Germany. This brewery has a history that goes back to 1328 although, obviously, it has changed a bit since then. The Edelstoff is brewed for export only because, as you may know, the United States requires stuff to be added to beer that would violate the Bavarian "Reinheitsgebot" (Purity Law) of 1516. It always amazes me that European's manage to survive quite well drinking beers and eating foods that, by law, are not allowed in the United States. Ah, but all those preservatives and stuff have to be good for us, Right?

Anyway, the Edelstoff is a crisp and sparkly brew that is very refreshing. It is a decent 5.6% ABV and downing a six-pack of this on a hot summer day would be no problem at all. But it was a chilly spring day so I only had one.

More Of A Wine Day




I generally prefer a red wine but the Mysterious Chinese Woman likes the white. I bought a whole bottle of the red because I wanted a Chianti and, surprisingly, they didn't Chianti by the glass. They do let you take the unfinished bottle home with you, as almost every restaurant does.

We weren't overly hungry so we just ordered appetizers. An octopus salad for the Mysterious Chinese Woman and a cold cut sampler and cheese plate for me.

Just A Little Nosh


Although it was too chilly for me outside, there were some hardier souls eating out in the nice looking area.

They Were Probably Drinking Hard Stuff


They had a grill outside but I am not sure how often it gets used. I hasn't been used in awhile, that's for sure.

I Could Fix This Up


There is another indoor area that is separate from and larger than the main restaurant, but it wasn't being used today. Maybe it is for private parties or something.

Perhaps A Party Room


I did bring most of the wine home but it didn't make it through the evening. Hey, once it is open, you know it won't keep. I also took home some of the cold cuts and cheese with some bread and had that for a snack the next day.

I will have to head back to this place again in the not too distant future. There are so many good restaurants that are closer to where I live, Queen being one, that I tend to get lazy and don't wander too far. This one is worth the walk, though.

Court Street Street Fair

A bit on the slow side in terms of getting my posts posted.  Or maybe just a bit on the slow side.  And I figured I better get something up before I go out to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, a day honoring a relatively trivial victory by the Mexicans over the French in a war they eventually lost.  Interestingly, almost nobody in Mexico celebrates this except for the tourists.  But in the United States we use it as an excuse to slam down shots of tequila and drink Margaritas.'

Bar Man, being a bit perverse, will celebrate by going to Bar Tabac, a French bistro, and having mussels in a white wine sauce accomanied by a glass or two of a French vin blanc.  Then I will come home and make a couple of Margaritas and drink them while watching The Social Network that I just got from Netflix.

You probably didn't know that today is also the National Day of Prayer here in the United States. The law formalizing its annual observance was enacted by Congress in 1952 and it is observed on the first Thursday of May.  So, no, it wasn't established to compete with Cinco de Mayo, it just happens to fall on the same day this year.  Kind of like how the Minnesota Fishing Opener wasn't set to compete with Mother's day, it just seems that it usually falls on the same weekend.  Not this year though.

I bet more people bend their elbow today than bend their knee in prayer.

But I digress.  On to the fair.

It was a nice sunny day last Sunday so people were our enjoying the weather at a number of sidewalk cafes.  Well, more like sitting at tables on the sidewalk in front of bars and restaurants.

Enjoying The Sun After A Rainy Spring




Street fairs are always kind of fun even if they are a bit on the cheesy side with most of the vendors just making the rounds all spring and summer and not really having much to do with the actual fair itself. And this one was largely the same.

You Have Your Games Of Chance




Now maybe it is just me, but it sure looks like people are going out of their way to avoid these games. Especially the one featuring the plush stuffed banannas for prizes. Gosh, who wouldn't want one of those.

Some of the food vendors, though, did look like they were a step up from those trucks selling the generic Italian Sausages and stuff.

Sweets For The Sweet


And Sausages Too


I picked up a couple of spring rolls from this place that was set up in front of their little restaurant.

Spring Rolls In The Springtime


Unfortunately they weren't very good. I ate one and tossed the other.

But the day was saved when I got to:

P.J. Hanley's Tavern


This is a great place that has been around since 1874. A big outdoor eating area that, as you can see, was packed. Normally I would have popped in for a beer but it was way too crowded. Besides, I had just had one at Cody's American Bar and Grill and was sure I would have another when I got to where the Black Coffee Blues Band was playing.

Now these guys had some good grilling going on.

Pig In A Metal Blanket


Either A Lamb Or A Small Dog


Don't get excited, it was a lamb.

These Guys Had A Serious Smoker


And the stuff they were cooking was going as fast as they could get it on the table.

Slim Pickings


I had a little better luck with the sausages, there seemed to be plenty of those available.

Sizzling Good Sausages


I chatted with the guy frying up the sausages and told them they looked really good. He asked me if I wanted a taste and I said "Sure." Well, Who wouldn't?

My Taste


Now you have to admit, that was very generous of him. No need to buy one after that "taste."

Oh, and don't let me forget the thrill rides for the kiddies.

Nothing Like A Good Scream


From here I went to see the Black Coffee Blues Band, which you already know about. I will catch you up on Frankie's 457 next time. But now I am off to Bar Tabac.

Okay, I Give

After fooling around with my iPad for a few days I am growing somewhat fond of it.  Kind of like a new puppy who piddles on your carpet.  Once you get it paper trained you get over the initial aggravation and start to bond.

I downloaded a few free apps and got a stylus that eliminates the problems of my not-all-that-fat finger tips.  Figured out how to use Safari better, but still don't know why just clicking the Mail icon will only bring me to my Hotmail Inbox but not let me access, or even see, my other Hotmail folders.  Maybe I am missing something.

Still not happy about that whole having to set up an account with an Apple Store to use the iPad, but what can you do.  And that having to hook it up to my PC to get it to work was a bit of a pain as well.  I had to install iTunes as an administrator because some of the features needed to initialize my iPad were blocked by my firewall.  Not sure what that was all about.

I will be sure to let you know the first time I post a blog with photos from my iPad.  I should be getting my Camera Connection Kit today.  And, yes, I know, I could load photos from my PC to the iPad using iTunes, but that wouldn't make much sense.  As long as I am already on my PC I might as well just use it to post.

So I will play nice from now on and all of you Apple Heads can stop getting on my case for not thinking the iPad is the best thing since sliced bread.  I wonder what the best thing before sliced bread might have been.

I will post a bit about the Court Street Street Fair and Frankies 457 a bit later today.

Black Coffee Blues Band

Yesterday was the Court Street Street Fair.  A bit redundant sounding, but hey, I didn't come up with the name. I have a few pictures I took along the way as I headed the the far end of it (far end if you started where I did) to see my friend Dimitri and the group he plays with, the Black Coffee Blues Band.  Those pictures will have to wait for another post.

Dimitri has a performance place on Court Street where they host various events to promote local talent and this is where they were performing.

Worth Paying A Visit


I didn't even know about this place until I got an email from Dimitri inviting me to watch the band.  For those of you who follow my blog you know that they are a favorite of mine.  I have posted pictures of them in the past, usually at the Atlantic Antic, my favorite street fair. They also play at the Waterfront Ale House, but while they used to play here in Brooklyn they now play at the Manhattan location so I don't see them all that often. Anyway, I will try to keep apprised of future events and post about them so if any or you are interested and in the neighborhood you can attend them.

Me And Dimitri (Rhymes, Doesn't It)


The Mysterious Chinese Woman had gone to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden earlier with two of her sisters and a niece. She did manage to make it back in time to catch the performance, and a beer.

A Belle, Beer And Blues, A Winning Combination


The beer was not your run of the mill stuff, either.  It was Penn Kaiser Pilsner, brewed by the Pennsylvania Brewing Company.  A nice session beer (4% ABV), quite refreshing.   A nice malty aroma and a slight hoppy flavor with some sweeter malt to it as well.

A Good Beer Served Up By A Good Gail


Now Bar Man does like a good blues band, and these guys are really good.  Better than a lot of bands that I have heard in much pricier venues.  Well, this venue was actually free.  They are all talented and, except for the drummer, very good vocalists as well as gifted guitar players.  And for all I know the drummer can sing too.

The Black Coffee Blues Band


Popa Chubby, who usually fronts the group, wasn't there, but man, they rocked out anyway.  If you want to see a video of the group with Popa Chubby playing at the Atlantic Antic, click the link below (you will also see why Popa Chubby is called Popa Chubby and not Popa Skinny).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADgjtZDchuU

The somewhat diminutive bass player is Galea, Popa Chubby's wife. Popa Chubby and Galea also form the nucleus of The Horowitz Blues Band. Popa Chubby's real name is Ted Horowitz. What, you thought his parents named him Popa Chubby. And here is a bit of irony, Popa Chubby's father owned a candy store.

The guy on the left is Big Ed Sullivan and he can really wail on that guitar.

Big Ed Doing Some Guitar Tricks


Hiding His Hand


I told him he reminded me of Eddie Van Halen who used to play with his back to the audience because he was afraid people would film him and copy his fingering.  Of course Eddie is a mess, and if you don't believe me just read Sammy Hagar's autobiography Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock.

Now Dimitri you already know, he is on the far right in the group picture.  The guy next to Big Ed is Doc French who usually plays with the French Cookin' Band  The drummer is Don Castagno of the Debbie Davies Band.  I had Doc's and Don's names wrong on my original post but Dimitri sent me an email so I could correct them.  Sorry Doc and Don, I guess I just wasn't paying attention during the introductions.

The Black Coffee Blues Band does have at least one CD out and, if you search for it I think you can find at least one site where you can download it for free.  I would post the link but that would be like encouraging you to steal.

After watching them perform I had worked up a bit of an appetite so the Mysterious Chinese Woman and I went out for dinner.  I will post about that in a day or two but if you are in this neck of the woods you really should check out this place. It is an authentic old-time Italian restaurant with decent food and friendly service.

Frankie's 457


Not too surprising, it is at 457 Court Street.

Now I know that Fox News isn't the biggest Obama supporter, but do you think this banner that they ran was just a Freudian slip?

Makes You Kind Of Wonder

Enough With The iPad

Okay, my final post on the subject of my iPad.

First, I have said many times that I am on a learning curve and some of the things I have encountered are less than intuitive, in my opinion.

Second, I don't see why I should have to load an Apple application onto my PC in order to get my iPad to work.

Third, I don't understand why I have to give out my credit card information to be able to use my iPad.

Fourth, no iPad ad that I have ever seen indicates the need to buy an additional iPad Camera Connection Kit to use any of the nifty photo apps they have and tout in their ads.

Fifth, nobody seems to contradict any of my factual comments about my experience with the iPad.  Instead they seem to suggest that I am "technically challenged."  I would suggest that my technical credentials are fairly impressive when it comes to mainframes and PCs, and, see my first point,  I am still learning about the iPad.  I am the first to admit that I have a lot to learn.

Sixth, I have said there are things about the iPad that I do like and, that as I learn more, I am liking it more.

Seventh, in my opinion Apple users, be it a Mac or an iPad or whatever, are a very defensive lot.  Why?  I don't know.  I should write a fiction piece about an upcoming war between, not Christians and Muslims, but between PC and Apple users.

Eighth, I am gong back to writing about bars and restaurants and life in general, things that I am less likely to be attacked about.

Ninth, I think Donald Trump is a fool.

Tenth, I hate the Yankees and the Knicks (I used to love the Knicks)  but I  love the Jets and the Twins.  I am totally indifferent about hockey but support the Chivas Mexican football (soccer to us) team.

Eleventh, I now live in Brooklyn but I grew up in Minneapolis so maybe you can understand this (except for the indifference to hockey, the love of the Jets and the support of a Mexican football team).

Twelfth, The iPad still sounds like it should be sold on a shelf next to either the Depends or the sanitary napkins.

Thirteenth, for whomever (Patrick)  said I was technologically challenged, set up your own blog, get your own web address, embed a picture that when you click on it takes you to another website (mine would be fine) and then re-link me to your website. I am sure you can, but I don't think a "technologically challenged" person can.  If you send me your link I will embed it in my blog.

Fourteenth, Can you buy unsanitary napkins?

Fifteenth, How long before Trump demands to see Osama's death certificate?

And that is it.

Or, maybe, not.

More iPad Woes

Okay, after paying my $9.99 a month over and above the $71 a year I already pay for Rhapsody I got it working on my iPad. I can't say that it is as feature rich as the version for the PC, but given the longer battery life on the iPad and the fact that you can download music for your queue to be played later I can see where this will be useful, especially for on a plane and where there is no internet connectivity.

I bought a plastic shield to protect the iPad's screen but after reading the installation instructions I returned it. When I got to the point about leaving the iPad off for 12 to 24 hours and removing the battery I kind of gave up.

Next, I had to order a stylus. I do not have particularly large fingers but I found it almost impossible to highlight words in order to cut and paste. Invariably I ended up highlighting whole blocks of text and then when I tried to use the little dots to resize the highlighted area the whole area usually just disappeared and I had to start over again.

Got my Hotmail working, although not by using the mail icon on the iPad. When I use that it only shows me my primary inbox but there doesn't seem to be any way to access my auxiliary folders. I use Safari to access msn.com and then get to Hotmail that way.

I am getting used to Safari now, I find it works kind of like Chrome in terms of being able to access previously opened sites. There was a little icon up at the top of the screen that you touch.  Took me awhile to figure that out.  Chrome has tabs for your open sites but Safari doesn't seem to have that same feature.  Or perhaps I just haven't discovered it yet.

Another slight problem I am having, the touch screen is somewhat heat sensitive. That is why you need a special stylus and can't just use a pen or something. Often when I am trying to touch a letter or a number on the upper part of the keyboard that fat part of my hand, right below the thumb (the one you can use for a guide as to how well-done your steaks are) brushes the lower portion of the keyboard where you switch from alpha to numeric. This usually means deleting the character that I inadvertently entered and then switching back to either alpha or numeric. I suppose I will have to use my stylus for typing now and that will slow me down a bit because I am a fairly fast touch typist.

On the other hand, with its orange cover it really does look cool. I like the map feature and that GPS thing is pretty neat as well.

I am warming up to it. I do like the long battery life and the 3G connectivity. If Adobe Photoshop and Quicken come out with applications for the iPad I could probably use it exclusively for prolonged trips. Not so much now, it is more of an auxiliary device at this point, but good for a long-weekend getaway.

Not going to hold my breath for Adobe working nicely with Apple though. Click on the picture below to check out a link to one take on why Apple doesn't support Adobe Flash:



Can't we all just get along?

Now, to Apple's credit, I find their customer service people to be very helpful and extremely polite.

And, based upon the number and content of comments I get on my posts about the iPad, I will have to say that Apple users are much more passionate than PC users.  I certainly hope that e-Harmony and those other match-making services have at least one question that asks whether you are a PC or an Apple user.

Happier Subject - A Street Fair

Tomorrow, starting at about noon, there is a street fair on Court Street here in Brooklyn.  It runs from Union to 9th Street and should be a lot of fun.  My friend Dmitri, kind of a Severus Snape look-alike, will be playing with The Black Coffee Blues Band from 2:30 PM until 6:00 PM at 498 Court Street which, I think, is between Luguer and Nelson streets.  They will be playing at an indoor gallery space so if you don't see them from the street, look inside.

Dmitri


Snape


The Mysterious Chinese Woman is going to the Cherry Blossom Festival at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in the morning, but she may be joining me later in the afternoon so be there or be, well, somewhere else.

Death Eaters beware.

Cognitive Dissonance

I am starting to think that the reason everyone raves about the iPad so much is that after spending all the time and money to acquire one they can't admit they may have made a mistake.

Easy to use, I don't think so.  And here is just one example.  I downloaded a free e-book from guttenberg.org, no problem.  But to access and read it you need to download a free app, iBooks.  Okay, again, no problem.  But then no icon shows up.  You need to reboot to get the icon.  And then the icon doesn't appear on the main page of icons, even though there is plenty of room, but on a "hidden" page.  After scrolling to the "hidden" page you can then drag it to the main page.  Now really, would you say that is intuitive?

Also, to use Hotmail (I know, using a Microsoft application on an Apple product) I went to Safari and then went to msn.com and accessed Hotmail from there.  I can't simply use the Mail feature on the iPad because it only shows me my main mail box, but none of my other folders.  Okay, so now I am fine with getting to Hotmail.  But originally when I went to Safari you could get a panel of icons that worked like a user guide.  Now I have no idea how to get that to reappear.

No USB port is also a pain, although I knew there wouldn't be one going in.  But now I don't know how to get pictures from my camera to the iPad without first loading them to my main PC (I did finally manage to get iTunes completely loading by doing the install in Administrator mode) and then either doing an iTunes sync or uploading them to Photobucket and accessing them from there.

Tried to download Rhapsody, which I really like, but it needs Adobe Flash Player.  When I try to download and install that on my iPad I get this message:

"Thanks for trying to access Flash Player.  Unfortunately it is not available for your device because of restrictions that Apple has put in place.  Click here for a wide array of the latest smartphones and tablets that do support Adobe's Flash Player."

I can see where the iPad isn't meant to replace your PC or Mac or whatever, simply augment it.

I realize that I am still on a steep learning curve here, so hopefully things will get better.  Kind of disconcerting, though, when you go on Google and see how much stuff there is on work-arounds for what should be trivial stuff (getting an icon to show up after downloading an application, for example).  Microsoft would be ripped to shreds by Apple users if their applications or operating systems were half as buggy.  Just my humble opinion, of course.

On the other hand, with its orange cover that I bought it goes nicely with my Kindle, which has a purple cover.

Okay, last post kvetching about my iPad.  For now at least.  I am sure there will be more on this subject as time goes by.  Maybe, as I become more familiar with it, my comments may become more favorable.  Or someone will be getting a slightly used iPad for a Christmas present next year.

Yay!! Found the iPad version of Rhapsody.  Only problem is that it seems not to recognize my current membership, Unlimited Access, really isn't that unlimited.  It covers PCs, such as my HP Notebook and my Dell laptop and, of course, my HP TouchSmart.  What doesn't it cover?  You guessed it, "portable devices," which include the iPad.  So although I can load and use Rhapsody on my iPad, it will cost me an additional
$9.99 a month to do so,  My current subscription only costs me $71.88 a year.

A Head Scratcher

I just bought a new iPad2.  This is my first experience with an Apple product other than an iPod and I am a bit perplexed.  The first thing you are asked to do before you can use it is plug it into a Mac or PC or something that already has iTunes installed.  So if this was your first and only PC or Apple product what do you have to do, go find someone who will let you plug into their PC or Apple product?  That just seems silly.

I can't think of another product that I have ever purchased that requires something like this.  Most products, including every PC that I have ever purchased, are usable right out of the box.

On top of that you need to set up an Apple Store account which requires you to enter your credit card information.  Apple sure operates differently than any other product I have ever purchased.

Okay, then it gets worse.  After getting my applications to show up on my iPad and thinking everything was working okay I get a message saying that there is an update available and then the update started.  That kicked my iPad back to the screen where it asks you to connect to iTunes.  Then I get a message saying that the update can't be applied and now here I sit again, back at the same screen I got when I first turned the thing on.  Haven't figured out what to do now, but so far this has been nothing but a frustrating experience.

Why do I even need to have ITunes, an application I never use, installed on my PC just to get a newly purchased iPad to work.  But you do, this is right from the User Manual:

To use iPad, you need:

A Mac or a PC with a USB 2.0 port and one of the following operating systems:
- Mac OS X version 10.5.8 or later
- Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 3
   or later

iTunes 10.2 or later, available at www.itunes.com/download
An Apple ID
Broadband Internet access

Finally called Tech Support and got a friendly person on the other end after a fairly short wait.  Explained my problem and, essentially, he sent me an email detailing the steps I needed to take.  First step was to uninstall iTunes and related programs.  This I did.  Then it said to reinstall iTunes which, when I tried to do it still gave me error messages related to being unable to install the software for communicating with iPods and mobile phones.  I guess this means iPads as well.

Next step, trying to install iTunes on my HP Notebook to see if that works.  It should be noted that the only reason I am installing iTunes on my HP Notebook is to be able to use my iPad.  I have been happily using it without iTunes for over a year now.  Again, think of the irony.  I have to install software I will never use other than to be able to use my new iPad.  And I have to give my credit card information to the Apple Store even though I have no intention of ever buying anything from them.

Okay, just successfully downloaded and installed the iTunes software and now I have updates to install.

Time spent trying to get my iPad to work so far, well over three hours.  Time it spent me to get my HP TouchSmart and my HP Notebook to work after taking them out of the box and plugging them in, ten minutes.

Plugged in my iPad and got a message on my HP Notebook that iTunes has discovered an iPad in recovery mode.  I must restore the iPad before it can be used with iTunes.  Thankfully I have been emailed the instructions for doing this.  Looks like nine steps and probably another hour.  Right now it is downloading a software update that has been saying 25 minutes remaining for about the last 15 minutes.  I think I am going to go read the New York Times on my new Kindle that worked immediately upon turning it on for the first time.

I am sure that after I get this thing working, assuming that I do, I will really like it and find some humor in this whole installation thing.  Right now, not so much.

I will keep you posted so stay tuned.

Yay!!!  Finally it works.  Or at least it seems to work.  I haven't put it through its paces yet but that will have to wait until tomorrow.  Now I just want to go to bed.  I know some of you will think I was naive, but I swear, from watching all of the commercials I thought I could just take the iPad out of the box, turn it on, type in my wireless password and away I would go.  Who knew.

As best as I can figure out, my problem was that iTunes, as it was installed on my HP TouchSmart, was missing some crucial pieces.  Namely, the software for communicating with iPods and mobile phones.  And, for some reason, after trying twice, these components could not be installed.  Therefore I had to do a clean install on my HP Notebook.  Once that was done and I did the restore on the iPad everything looks good.

I am hoping there will be no further updates to this saga.

A Reunion Of Sorts

Kind of late with this post, but better late than never, I guess.

Last Saturday I hooked up with my brother-in-law Jim. He had just returned from Rio where he was working on the movie Fast Five. Well, kind of working on the movie. He does lighting and did the lighting for the interviews with the cast. Pretty cool, though. Anyway, he looks after our place when the Mysterious Chinese Woman and I are in Mexico so I treated to him to a meal for his troubles. Cheap labor, if you ask me.

We started out at, no surprise here, the Waterfront Ale House.

Shameless Plug, I Know


Actually, I have to take a picture of their beer menu because it changes all the time and then I forget what I ordered. Maybe I should resurrect the practice of taking notes on recipe cards.

Jim had a Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball, probably because he liked the name, and the Mysterious Chinese Woman had an Avery's Joe's Pilsner.

Notice The Family Resemblance?


I Opted For The Ramstein Dark Wheat


The official name of the beer is Ramstein Winter Wheat Eisbock and it is brewed by the Highpoint Brewing Company right across the river in New Jersey. Well, New Jersey is right across the river, kind of. The beer is a potent 11.5% ABV but doesn't taste that strong and goes down way too smooth. Has a nice nutty taste to it and I liked it enough to have two. Jim had one as well when he finished his Hairy Eyeball.

Now normally I would just stay at the Waterfront Ale House if I wanted barbecue, or at least barbecued ribs, but Jim wanted to try out a place in Manhattan.

Hill Country




A different type of place, but the barbecue was authentic. It is quite big and really packed up while we were there. You get your menu and order your drinks from the waitress and then go up to the counter and order your food and bring it back to the table.

Checking Out The Menu


They have a big enclosed area where they do their barbecuing and they use wood so everything has that authentic flavor. And not just ribs.

A Big Guy And A Big Brisket, Or Maybe Ribs


Everything Cut To Order


Once we all figured out what we wanted, brisket, ribs, chicken and a couple of sides, we sent the Mysterious Chinese Woman up to collect our food.

Placing Our Order


And Proudly Delivering Them


Lots Of Good Stuff


We got sides of baked beans and collard greens. Hey, that rhymes. And nothing goes with barbecue better than, well, better than Margaritas.

Good Ones Too


And Then We Dug In


Notice how I smile for the camera while Jim just looks retarded?

I have to say that the food here is damn good. If I was just going for the ribs I would stick with the Waterfront Ale House (but then I am biased) but for an overall genuine in the city barbecue fix this place would be hard to beat. Would definitely come back again, especially if I was already in Manhattan.

Might Be Fun At Night Too




And there you have it, a happy reunion, good beer, good food, and good Margaritas.

When You Gotta Go You Gotta Go

Like much in New York, things don't always worked as advertised.  A big deal was made about putting public toilets around the city.  All kinds of arguments about whether they should be pay toilets, handicap accessible, manned or unmanned, you name it.  Kind of funny because there used to be public toilets all over the place.  But the ones in the subway stations have all been closed or converted to news stands, and most of the public bathrooms in the parks are closed.  Even the public bathrooms in newer places are often closed for one reason or another.  Puerto Vallarta in Mexico seems to have more accessible public bathrooms than New York City.  Granted, you are expected to pay a few pesos to use them, but so what.

Well, the new public toilets in New York are pay toilets as well.  But, as you might expect, they don't always work.

The Instructions Seem Clear Enough


Just Put In Your Quarter


Try To Open The Door


Then Do What You Need To Do


Hey, for all I know, this is how they are supposed to work.

And speaking of how things don't always work as planned, I thought this was kind of typical of trying to navigate the subway.

You Really Can't Get There From Here


Ah, life in the big city.  There really isn't anything like it.