Katie's Visit Continues

First, a bit of a flashback.  Before we left Coney Island we stopped at Footprints for some mighty fine Caribbean food, some of the best in the city, in my opinion.  A nice escape from the hustle and bustle of Coney Island proper.

I can't remember all of what we had, the Zombie that I started with might have had something to do with that.  I do know we had fish fingers.

Who Knew They Even Had Them
 

They came with an assortment of condiments and Katie really like the pickled red cabbage.  They were nice enough to bring her an extra side of it, too.  Just be careful of the habanaros.  They are deadly.

Obligatory Embarassing Picture


If you are ever at Coney Island and are getting a bit tired of the beach food I urge you to give Footprints a shot.  Beach food of a different kind.



Later that evening we decided to pop into the Greek Orthodox street party just down the block from where I live. Great stuff, much of it cooked by the church ladies so it is the real deal. And they have great gyros too. Always a lively time.

Party In The Street


We Settled For The Gyros


They used to have Retsina, a Greek wine with a decidedly pine taste to it. But, alas, they haven't had that beverage here since, oh, for a couple of years, at least. I settled for an Ouzo.

The next day we headed to Chinatown for dim sum. It was Katie's first time and she was quite impressed by the variety of food that was available.

Loading Up Our Table


Digging In


Katie seemed to like most of the stuff, but there were a few things she wasn't quite sure about.

Monkey Paws Or Chicken Feet


Afterwards we took a stoll down Mulberry Street to grab a desert at Ferrara, a somewhat touristy Little Italy institution.

A Couple Of Heads With Cones


Eating your way through New York when you visit is kind of a tradition. While, actually, drinking your way through New York is more up my alley, but I was sensitive to Katie's delicate condition.

I've got a few more pictures of her trip, and I will try to get them posted tomorrow. Katie visited the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens with The Mysterious Chinese Woman and she took a bunch of pictures. Maybe I will throw some of those up as well.

I can't help but thinking that Tony Hayward, BP's CEO, is one of the most obtuse people in the world when it comes to public relations.  The only thing that can be said in his defense regarding his yachting around this weekend is that BP's Chairman Carl Henric-Svanberg has decided to push Hayward aside and turn over his duties to BP Managing Director Robert Dudley.  Still, you would think someone would have advised him to just lay low and not provide anymore fodder for a press looking to hang him out to dry.

Of course if I had been President Obama's PR guy I would have suggested he spend the week-end down in the gulf, not playing golf.

It is funny that nobody has hired me, considering all of the great ideas I have.

Say What???

Now I normally like Dave Barry and consider him to be one of the funniest humor writers around.  However, in a recent recent issue of AARP  he was talking about his recent colonoscopy and said "I like the drug they give you - propofol, I think it's called.  I think it should be part of my day, really."

Given Micahel Jackson's recent death as a result of abusing propofol, I am surprised he would say such a thing.  And I am equally surprised that AARP would publish his comment.

Oh yeah, another reason I am not going to the Mermaid Parade at Coney Island today;  last year, after spending who knows how much on beers at Ruby's Bar & Grill, they charged $1 to use their bathroom.  I still think that, in addition to being morally indefensible, this might actually be illegal.  I think that in New York a bar has to provide a restroom for their customers.  And I don't think they are allowed to charge you.

Speaking of restrooms, Montero's, as many of you know, is one of the last waterfront dive bars in my neighborhood.  However, it is also the closest place with a bathroom to the newly opened Brooklyn Bridge Park area at the foot of Atlantic Avenue.  As a result, young mothers and nannies taking their toddlers to and from the park seemed to think it was perfectly acceptable to use Montero's as a public restroom.  To Montero's credit they quickly put a stop to this by posting signs saying that their restrooms are for customers only.

When you start to see strollers in Hank's Saloon and Montero's you know the world has turned upsidedown.

Coney Island Boardwalk A Mess

Yesterday I posted about how I probably wouldn't be going to the Mermaid Parade at Coney Island this Saturday beause the boardwalk is so torn up and the place looks so grungy.  I guess I am not the only one to notice this because today's New York Daily News had a column headed BOARDWALK TRASHED.

It seems that because the Boardwalk is so torn up that half of it is closed, trash cans have been removed to relieve congestion on the half that is still open.  In the words of Diana Taft-Shumate, who does promotions for Ruby's Bar and Grill, "It almost looks like a tornado hit the Boardwalk.  It's really gross."

Only in New York can you turn a Boardwalk that recently won top honors in Travel & Leisure magazine's list of best boardwalks into a trash heap by removing trash cans.  And just in time for summer.  Perfect timing.

Just In Time For Summer


Under The Boardwalk


You may have heard that Ozzy Osbourne has been asked to donate a sample of his blood to Knome, a research company that is going to map out his genetic code in an attempt to figure out how he survived all those years of abusing drugs and alcohol.  What you may not know is that they asked Ozzy only after I turned them down.

Neice Katie's Visit

My neice, Katie, came for a nice little visit last Friday.  She recently finished up her course-work in Alaska where she earned a degree in environmental science.  She also served as the only intern at the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center.  She did her undergraduate work at Southwest Minnesota State University and was recently featured on the cover of Focus, a magazine for alumni and friends (you can't get this if you still go there, I guess).

Katie, The Cover Girl


As any good uncle would do, I took her to my favorite neighborhood place for dinner on her first night in town. And you can probably guess where that was.

Burgers And Beer At The Waterfront Ale House


Now, to be honest, Katie only took a sip of the beer. She is preggers so she was behaving herself. I am not sure, but I think she might even have had a veggie-burger.

The Mysterious Chinese Woman Went For The Ribs


I had the crab sandwich again and a Brooklyn Brewery Buzz Bomb Ale. This is a bit of a different brew in that it uses wildflower honey for 25% of its fermentable sugar. They also throw in a bit of orange peel for a citrus punch. It isn't a sweet beer, by any means, coming in at a more than decent 8% ABV.

The Buzz Bomb is bright gold, kind of like honey held to the light, and, despite the citrus honey flavor has a very dry finish.

Buzz Bomb Ale is kind of a throwback to braggot, a combination of mead and ale that has a long history. In fact it is mentioned in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and definitely worth tracking down.

The next day we headed out to Coney Island and, of course, once again I had to introduce Katie to one of my favorite haunts, Ruby's.

World Famous Ruby's


My favorite bartender, Willie, was still pouring the brews, although she said this would be her last year. She is retiring to Florida at the end of the season.  Her husband retired last year.

Katie, Willie, And The Mysterious Chinese Woman


Spot The Difference


A Burger And A Root Beer


I was a bit dismayed to see that the boardwalk is pretty torn up for repairs. You really would have thought they would do all of this work before the start of the summer season. There was actually a chainlink fence separating Ruby's from the beach and a torn up stretch of the boardwalk.

Next week is the Mermaid Day Parade but it was such a bummer last year with confusion over the route and bad weather that I will probably just skip it this year. Quite frankly, despite all of the hoopla about the "new" Coney Island it still looks pretty desolate and torn up.

Speaking of desolate and torn up, we had to stop by Hank's Saloon on the way home so I could show Katie my favorite neighborhood dive honky tonk.

No Visit To New York Would Be Complete...


There is, of course, more to this visit, but it shall have to wait.

Lil' Him Comes Up Big

My neice Katie is here for a visit, so I don't have a lot of time to post, but I had to say that Nate Robinson did himself proud again last night as the Celtics evened the series by beating the Lakers 96 to 89 last night.

Nate put in 6 points and 2 assists in the fourth quarter as the Celtics overcame a 2 point deficit to get the victory.  He had 12 points for the game, just one less than Kevin Garnett.

Something tells me David Lee wishes he were still playing with Nate, but obviously not for the Knicks. 

This Is Embarassing

Who would ever think that I would live to see the day that New York grovels before a single man, even if that man is King James.  And if this isn't the most pathetic groveling I have ever seen, I don't know what is.

Okay, LeBron is probably going to be a billionaire one day and he is already worth hundreds of millions of dollars.  So what is New York's big plan to lure him here?  Gene Lemay, CEO of Moishe's Moving and Storage (their motto is "Our Rates Are Low, But You Better Tip The Movers Well") is parking a trailer outside of Madison Square Garden so fans can fill it with gifts for LeBron.

So now New York is in the position of begging someone to come play here, and donated stuffed toys, T-shirts and toys are going to be used as a lure.  On the other hand, this might be a good place for my New York Jets Brett Favre jersey.  Oh, wait, that might be too painful a reminder of what happens when you get what you beg for.

How far the mighty have fallen.

And what makes it so much sadder is that there is seldom this kind of outpouring of generosity to help those who are truly in need.

On a vaguely related topic, Avery Johnson has reached a verbal agreement with the Nets to be their next coach.  Avery, you might remember, compiled a 194-70 record over three seasons with Dallas.  That is the hghest winning percentage of any coach in NBA history.  Not good enough for Mark Cuban, though, who fired him in 2008.

And I happen to think Avery is one of the funniest men in basketball.  If this doesn't work out for him, he should defintely try stand-up comedy.

Oh, and totally unrelated, but with all the news lately about Kim Basinger, How many of you remember what is arguably the creepiest video ever made - Mary Jane's Last Dance with Tom Petty?  It just happend to be playing on VH1 Classic as I was writing this.  Kim doesn't really emote too much.

A Bit Of A Change

Last Sunday was a pretty nice day, kind of hot and humid, but no rain.  The Mysterious Chinese Woman found a restaurant over in the Greenpoint Fort Greene area, not too far from where we live. It is just on the other side of Monsignor McGolrick Park, not that I have ever heard anyone call the park by this nam. Fort Greene Park. Everyone just calls it Greenpoint Park and I doubt if anyone knows who Monsignor McGolrick is anymore.

It is a very nice little park though with playgrounds for the kids and, very unusual, restrooms that are both open and clean. People in the neighborhood like to sit on the benches around the park and just lounge around or catch up with their friends, often times with a bottle of vodka.

Abistro, just a block away, is an easy place to pass by. It is right around the corner from Myrtle Avenue, a fairly busy commercial strip, but sits on a largely residential block with brownstones.

Abistro - Look Sharp Or You Will Miss It


This really is very small place.  I think it might sit about 25 people maximum and at one point while we were there I counted 23 in the place.  Nothing at all fancy here but the food is very good and it is obviously very popular.  Most of the people eating here seemed to be regulars, but the people were so friendly that we kind of felt like regulars too.

Small, But Comfortable


The food is kind of a combination of West African and French.  The owner and his wife are Senegalese which explains the West African influence but they also had mussels and steak frites on the menu.  We saw the brunch menu and that didn't have either of those.  But a few of the in-the-know customers ordered the mussels anyway.  They looked delicious and I may have to make a return trip to check them out.

The Mysterious Chinese Woman and I decided to split the Senegalese fried chicken and it was plenty for the two of us.

A Mighty Fine Brunch


The chicken sat on two jasmine rice cakes that were flavored with pineapple.  They were delicious and you could easily eat them as a desert.  The rice cakes sat on greens of some sort that were also quite tasty.  And the chicken was very good.  Nice and spicy, and I did break a bit of a sweat.  I think that was the Senegalese salsa on top.

Abistro is a BYOB place and almost everyone in there had a bottle or two of wine.  A couple of people had a bottle of Proseco and were mixing it with grapejuice.  A variation of a mimosa, I guess.  I regretted not bringing a bottle myself, but not enough to go across the street to buy one.

The Bottles Are Handy


While we were eating some kind of a bicycle rally went by and there must have been well over a thousand people peddling away.  Kind of like Rolling Thunder, only quieter.

No Playing Cards In The Spokes


We had a most enjoyable brunch and will certainly get back here again.  I really liked the coffee, too.  It had a nice cinnamon flavor.

I strongly recommend popping in here, as out of the way as it might seem to be.  You will be pleasnatly surprised. Oh, the owner, he used to be a sous chef at Aureole, one of the top restaurants in Manhattan. Although he doesn't work the stove anymore he still hovers around and his cooks says he still sneaks "secret spices" into the dishes when they aren't looking.



I was a bit disconsolate about not bringing a bottle to brunch so I decided to stop into Thomas Beisl for a beer. I had a bad dining experience here one New Years Eve, but I still like their beers.

Thomas Beisl


It looks bigger than it is from outside, but is kind of narrow inside.  They do have a little kind of outside eating area under the red awning.  They don't have a large selection of beers, but the ones they have I do like.

Small Selection, Big Taste


And do check out the little reflections in the silver beer station. Another artistic picture.

I had a Czechvar which is brewed by Budweiser Budvar Brewery in Germany. Yes, the original Budweiser. You can't get the Budvar Budweiser in North America, only the Czechvar. And, for reasons that are too tangled for me to untangle here, Anheuser-Busch markets Budvar Czechvar in the United States.

Complicated, But Good


The beer is a nice golden color with a small head. Not a lot of an aroma and kind of a typical light Czech lager. A nice change from a Pilsner Urguel, but a lot harder to find, at least here in the United States.

The Mysterous Chinese Woman opted for a Gosser, an Austrian beer in the Marzen style. It was a nice golden yellow and quite refreshing, but nothing particularly disquishing in terms of flavor.

Went Down Nice, Though


Both of these beers would have gone really well with my Senegalese chicken, though.

Oh, and read the comments. I had my Greenpoint and Fort Greene confused, as well as the name of the park.

I Laughed So Hard...

After visiting Pacific Standard for a few pints I decided to head to Pete's Waterfront Ale House for a little lunch.  I passed Hank's Saloon on the way and was pleased to see it looked as disreputable as ever.

Forever Seedy


I am glad to see there are still a few bars around here that aren't cluttered with strollers.

This has nothing to do with anything, but I thought it looked kind of cool.  It was sitting outside a store on Atlantic Avenue that sells all kinds of neat old stuff, from a pinball machine to old LPs.

The Cock Of The Walk


When we got to Pete's the dining area was packed.  It looked like there were at least two large groups celebrating something and then the rest of the tables were filled with people just stopping in for lunch.  No big deal because I like to have a beer or two at the bar before sitting down at a table for my meal.

I started out with a 21st Amendment Golden Doom, a strong - 7.8% ABV - Belgian style golden ale.  Very good, crisp and spicy and very refreshing.  Maybe I should have had this at Pacific Standard because 21st Amendment is a California brewery.  Actually, I don't think they had it there.

After finishing my beer and chatting a bit with Gaid, the World's Friendliest Bartender, the Mysterious Chinese Woman and I found a table and sat down for lunch.

I ordered a Blue Point Rasta Rye to go with what I had hoped would be my Duck Burger with Ginger Onions.  The beer was good, another strong one at 7.5% ABV and a nice coppery color with a creamy white head.  Similar to the Golden Doom in that it was also a bit spicy but with a little more hoppy bitterness.  Quite good and very quaffable.

Unfortunately the large lunch crowd beat me to the Duck Burgers, they were all gone.  But they still had the Soft Shelled Crab Sandwich so that is what I had.

One Of The Best


Went Well With The Beer


The Mysterious Chinese Woman said something funny and I laughed so hard I had a crab-leg come out of my nose.

Milk Is Bad Enough


The Mysterious Chinese Woman seemed to think this was most amusing.  Especially after I reminded her that crabs that are just about to molt and could have the hard outer shell peeled off are called snots.  Crabbers used to brake a joint of the claw leg to see if the crab was developing a second skin underneath, in which case it could be peeled. The term snot comes from the fluid that emerges at the break.

She Laughed Until She Cried


The Mysterious Chinese Woman had Chicken Wings and I am glad to say she had no mishaps.

Dynamite Wings


She seemed to be very pleased that she got through the meal with no bones coming out of her nose.

So Proud Of Herself


The wings here are always good, and you get a really nice portion.  But it is hard to pass up the crabs when they are in season.  I still wish I had been able to get the Duck Burger.



And my man Nate Robinson shot two for two including a three pointer and made both his free-throws to put up seven points (one more than Kevin Garnett) in the fourth quarter as the Celtics evened the series last night.

Pacific Standard

My neice, Katie, is coming to visit at the end of next week and she expressed an interest in going to an Ethiopian restaurant.  Guess they don't have much ethnic food in Alaska, except maybe raw seal blubber.  I found one (an Ethiopian restaurant, not a seal) kind of in my neighborhood and decided to check it out.  It was quite a walk and the place wasn't open, but at least it is still in business.  Right across the street was an Australian pub named Sheep Station.  Alas, it too was closed.  We will go there one evening when Katie is in town, and they should both be open.

It was a bit of a walk and the day was hot so I bet you can guess the next part.  You are right, I found a neat little bar to pop into.

Pacific Standard


Pacific Standard is on 4th Avenue, a still somewhat gritty stretch that is largely commercial.  But, mark my words, it will undergo gentrification once the economy turns around.  You are already seeing signs, and this bar is an early indicator.  It has only been here three years although it looks older.  Maybe there was another bar here before this one.

Nothing overly pretentious about the place, but kind of cozy looking, like an old pub.  And they have a very decent selection of beers on tap.

A Nice Selection


I started out with a Rye Knot from the Chelsea Brewery that is located in Manhattan.  I have written about the Chelsea Brewery before and it is well worth visiting.  They have a nice restaurant with great views of the marina on the Hudson River.

Anyway, the beer comes in at a nice 6% ABV and is brewed using three types of rye that make-up about half of the total mash.  A nicely flavored beer with a good balance of spice and hops.  But not at all sweet.  A very nice summer beer and you could easily spend an afternoon drinking these.

Quenching My Thirst


I followed that one up with a Captain Lawrence Kaptain's Kolsch.  Captain Lawrence is located in upstate New York and I felt a bit guilty ordering this.  The owner's of Pacific Standard are both from California and they did have several California micro-brews on tap.  Maybe next time.

I generally like the Kolsch style of beer, kind of a light, slightly lemony flavor and very refreshing.  This one is a 5.5% ABV and is a light, pale yellow color and true to its style.  A nice alternative to weiss beers for a summeer brew.

The back room of Pacific Standard is a bit different.  Where you would expect to find a pool table there is a little library.

The Reading Room


There are board games available so you could get yourself a beer or two and head back there to play checkers or read a book or something.  Pacific Standard also hosts readings, so very West Coast.  The owners are probably from San Francisco.

Pacific Standard has a nice website that also links to their blog:

http://www.pacificstandardbrooklyn.com/events.html

They also have their own beer glasses, not just the promotionals from the breweries.

A Glass With Class
 

As I mentioned, this bar has a bit of an old pub feel to it with little tables in nooks up front where you can sit and have a pint or two and chat with your friends.

A Cozy Corner


And let's not forget the mirror which gave me a chance for taking one of my "artistic" pictures.

My Artistic Picture


Actually, I consider any picture that has me in a reflection to be artistic.  If you look closely at the first picture of the exterior of Pacific Standard you can see my reflection in the lower righthand corner.  That makes that an artistic picture as well.

They don't serve food here but have no problem with you bringing in your own from one of the nearby take-out places.  A couple of young ladies got a bag of chicken wings to go with their martinis and graciously offered to share them with the Mysterious Chinese Woman and me.

They might not have food, but they do have nice tee-shirts available.

Take Your Pick


All and all, it was a very comfortable and friendly bar.  The bartender, Glenn, was affable and the whole place had a nice vibe to it.  It was relatively early in the afternoon so it wasn't very crowded, but I will try to pop in one evening to check it out.  It is a bit of a hike from where I live, but would make for a nice stroll on a pleasant summer evening.

Not Jim

One of the reader's of my blog wanted to know if this was my brother-in-law Jim:

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=aJG9Tol1a0U

No, Jim isn't that talented.  But they do look kind of alike.

Jim, A Drinker, Not A Drummer


And they are so cute at that age.

Thanks for sending me that video, Jerry, it was awesome.

My favorite part of the Celtics/Lakers game last night was the jump ball with Nate going up against Pau.

Almost Perfect

Although it is a shame that Armando Galarraga was robbed of a perfect game the other night, look at the bright side.  I do believe that what happened was even rarer than a perfect game.  Correct me if I am wrong, but I think that there are fewer instances of a pitcher throwing a perfect game through 9 2/3 innings and blowing it with the last at bat than actual perfect games.

Still, you have to feel bad for Armando, particularly when he would have been the one who actually got the last put-out.  Now that would have been classic.

You will have to admit, Armando is one classy guy for handling the whole thing so well.  I am glad he at least got a new car out of it, and I see a lot of potential endorsements in the future.  It wouldn't surprise me to see an ad with both him and Jim Joyce in it in the near future.

Now I am starting to wonder, in bowling have there been more 300 games or 299 games?

Another prediction for the New Jersey (soon to be Brooklyn) Nets:  With Phil Jackson in the last year of his contract with the Lakers, look for Mikhail Prokhorov to make a play for him.  What bigger lure could you dangle in front of LeBron, other than money.

Looking forward to watching the Celtics/Lakers series and am hoping that Nate Robinson can make a real contribution for the boys in green.

Haven't heard much about Isiah and Stephon lately. 

Congratulations Nate

I wonder how many of Nate's former teammates on the Knicks wish they could have been traded to the Celtics.  You might want to keep that in mind, LeBron.

Jury duty today and you have to love the government.  You are supposed to show up at 8:30 AM at 360 Adams Street.  Oh, wait, it says the main entrance is on Court Street.  But there isn't any Court Street address.  And if you aren't supposed to show up at the main entrance, why mention it?  Also, if you take the subway and get off at the Borough Hall subway station and walk to the corner, Adams Street is Boerum Place.  And Boerum Place and Adams Street is also known as Brooklyn Bridge Boulevard. I live on the corner of Schermerhorn Street and Boerum Place and I get confused.

Oh yeah, and your Social Security number that you are supposed to protect at all times, you need to write that on the form that you turn in.  A form that will probably be seen by about a hundred people before the day is over.  Ah, but what can they do with that if they don't know your name, address, and date-of-birth.  Oh, wait, that is on the form too.  I am suprised they don't want your mother's maiden name as well.

I won't get selected for jury duty anyway, I am wearing my tee-shirt that says "GUILTY" on the front.

Blast From The Past

I was in the neighborhood so I thought I would drop into one of my old favorite haunts.

Molly's


Now back in the day when this was pretty much my second home (I lived about half a block away) it was known as Molly Malone.  Although the name and the ownership have changed, not much else has.  It looks pretty much the same as it has always looked.

Just Like In The Day


I had the ever reliable Bass Ale to quench my thirst.

Still An Old Favorite


A lot of good memories in this place.  I used to come in here with a friend of mine and we would drink our Bass Ales with shots of Old Grand Dad 114.  One day we came in and they were out of the 114.  We asked when they were going to get more in and were told they weren't going to carry it anymore because not that many people ordered it.  When we protested that we ordered it a lot the bartender said that was the other reason they weren't going to carry it anymore.  Ah, the good old days when we were young and wild.

Another thing that hasn't changed, their hamburgers which are some of the best you can get.  The Mysterious Chinese Woman ordered a cheeseburger with mozzarella cheese.

Lookin' Good


Oh, yeah, the Mysterious Chinese Woman was lookin' good too as she dug in.

Digging In


I opted for the bacon cheeseburger with chedder and then gussied it up with the raw onions and pickles.

Built Big


Mine was a bit messier, though.

Messy, But Good


Ah, I have to admit, I miss this place, but Pete's Waterfront Ale House has become my new Molly Malone.  But I don't go there nearly as often as I once went to Molly Malone, which was about 5 or 6 times a week.  In fact I had a set of keys to my apartment hanging behind their bar in case I lost mine.

I should have tried one of their Irish Coffees, they were the absolute best that I have ever had in a bar and, for all I know, still are the best.  Although their hamburgers are dynamite, all of the traditional Irish pub grub here is a generous cut above the average.

If I still lived in the neighborhood this would be where I would be hanging out.



Heading out to my Mysterious Sister-In-Law's place today for a big Memorial Day weekend.  Smoking ribs for sure and who knows what else.  Maybe a couple of chickens and a leg of lamb too.  We will also be celebrating Jim's birthday so that means a decent feast with lobster, for sure.

We are going out today because Jim knows that I bought him Red Dead Redemption and he wants to spend a few days finishing up Zelda - Twilight Princess on the Wii before he starts it, and the Wii resides at the Mysterious Chinese Sister-In-Law's house.

Oh, yeah, speaking of the Wii, the Mysterious Chinese Sister-In-Law is a huge Beatles fan so she has that Beatles Rock Band.  Watching her and my three neices, ages 7 through 12 singing along to the songs is both amusing, and a bit disturbing.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day and just think about this, Do you think the Rolling Stones would ever allow a video game to be made?  Man, I really hope not.

Such Modesty

Now don't get me wrong, I have lived in New York for about thirty years now and love it.  Although I travel quite a bit and there are other cities that I enjoy; Paris, Amsterdam, Madrid, Puerto Vallarta and many more, I prefer living where I do, Downtown Brooklyn.

But, having grown up in the, according to New Yorkers, sleepy little town of Minneapolis which may or may not be west of Chicago (New Yorkers are very poor at geography) I still recoil a bit from New York's over-the-top braggadocio.  Case in point, today's New York Daily News front page.



Consider this, "Greatest city gets greatest sports event as NFL awards us Super Bowl 2014"

Now being proud of your city is fine, we all should be, unless you live someplace like Detroit.  But is New York really the greatest city?  Just wondering where that came from.  A recent list of the cities with the best quality of life had New York at number 49, below Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Portland, Honolulu (the top rated U.S.A. city) and a slew of European cities.

And "greatest sports event"?  American football is ranked ninth in popularity among sports throughout the world, well below Association Football (soccer to us) and Cricket.  In fact, other than in the United States, ice hockey, baseball, and basketball are more popular than football.  In fact, despite Mayor Bloomberg's statement  "This isn't volleyball..., it's football for God's sakes," volleyball is actually more popular than football, worldwide.  And the Super Bowl doesn't even come close to drawing the crowds of World Cup Soccer.

Okay, how about the "NFL awards us Super Bowl 2014"?  Us?  Excuse me, the stadium is in the New Jersey Meadowlands, it is not in New York, either the city or the state.  Kind of makes you wonder about Justin Tuck's (Justin plays for the Giants) statement "I want to win the Super Bowl in New York City."

Oh well, I know this post will upset some of my New York friends, but really, the Super Bowl is not being played in New York.  We tried to get a football stadium here several years ago, but it was voted down.  We got two new baseball stadiums, though, and are about to get a new basketball arena (right down the street from me, in fact). 

On the other hand, I would bet that most of the partying happens in New York.

How Quickly We Forget

Nick Swisher, he of the New York Yankees, was quoted in the New York Daily News as saying "Minnesota baseball, they've never really had an outdoor stadium to go and enjoy the great weather they have there in the summer."

Guess Nick forgot the twenty years the Twins played at Metropolitan Stadium.  Although, to give Nick the benefit of a doubt, that was 1961 to 1981, a bit before his time.  Nick was born in 1980.

Funny though, the New York Jets left New York in 1983 and the New York Giants left for New Jersey back in 1976,  I guess, by Nick's logic, New York football has never had a stadium in New York.

Still working on the designs for my New Jersey Jets and New Jersey Giants apparal.  Somehow I need to incorporate seagulls into the design.  If you have ever been to a game in the euphemistically named Meadowlands (Swamplands just didn't cut it) you would know why.

But no, I am no longer bitter about the $15,000 per seat PSL the Jets wanted to charge me to continue to be a fan.  Or at least a seat in the seat kind of fan.

Coming Here??

So now the New York papers are full of speculation and anticipation that the Super Bowl will come here in 2014.  Here?  Excuse me, but don't you mean that it might be coming to New Jersey?

Mike Lupica actually said "If the Giants and Jets win this bid, the city wins.  They would finally stop playing the biggest game there is out of town."

First of all, the Super Bowl is far from being the biggest game there is.  World Cup Football anyone?  And, secondly, if the New Jersey Meadowlands isn't "out of town," then I don't know what out of town is.  Last time I looked it was about seven miles from Times Square.

Actually, Jersey Jets and Jersey Giants have a certain alliterative allure.  And, if they changed the name of the teams you could then buy new New Jersey jerseys.

I mean, when the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles from Brooklyn they didn't still keep calling themselves the Brooklyn Dodgers. 

I wonder if the Nets will still be known as the New Jersey Nets once they begin playing in Brooklyn.  After all, it doesn't seem to matter where you play that determines the name of your team, at least not around here.

You know, I bet you could make good money selling New Jersey Jets and New Jersey Giants apparel.