Beach, Bridge, Shawarma

Our long-dormant EZ-Pass got a workout towards the end of August, when we borrowed a friend’s car to go to and fro. First stop, Jacob Riis Beach in the Rockaways, which is actually not as nice as the City-run Rockaway Beach:

Later that day we got takeout at Karam’s Restaurant in Bay Ridge:

Traveling between Rockaway Peninsula and Brooklyn meant traversing another bridge, the Marine Parkway Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge between Brooklyn and Queens:

Chinese, Etc.

The Dim Sum Lunch A La Carte at Chinatown Brasserie in Noho is a good deal:

And the Soy Sauce Crispy Baby Chicken at Fuleen Seafood Restaurant in Manhattan’s Chinatown works magic with Pringles:

While you’re at it, watch these asshats post no bills:

June 13-14, 2009

We made yet another trip up to Malouf’s Mountain Sunset Camp in the hills next to Beacon, in Dutchess County:

Malouf’s website explains the deal:

Wow!! Camping without a car? No camping gear? No problem! Welcome to Malouf’s Mountain Sunset Campground, a hike in, hike out, fully catered camping resort. We can supply you with almost everything needed to spend a relaxing weekend in the woods.

Whether coming from the south or north, enjoy a scenic train ride on the Metro North Hudson River Line. From the Beacon train station our shuttle will take you to the hike of your choice. Hikes range in duration from a half hour to five hours. While you hike in to the camp, enjoying the views, we transport your gear to the campground and place it at your site for your convenience.

They didn’t mention the stop at the trailhead at the general store where you can buy your beer, which they’ll also transport to the campsite; that’s also important.

More:

Upon arrival, the first thing you’ll notice is the privacy of each site. You will find a stack of firewood and your fire pit for cooking. You will see your covered platform which is especially nice because you’re not stuck in your tent if it rains. There is also a cover over your fire pit. You can bring your tent or rent one of ours. Then, there is our chow box — it has everything you will need for your stay, from pots and pans to a pad of paper and a deck of cards.

They also have a bathhouse with showers and toilets, big sinks for cleaning and dryers, too. Basically you need your sleeping bag and that’s it. This season they added a shuttle service to and from the train station at Beacon. It’s fantastic and we’ve been there three times now in the past couple of years. It’s about $60 a night for a site for two people. Highly recommended.

The idea is to do a long hike, and end up at the campsite. Here’s the portion of the map of the trail we took:

(You can buy the map here.)

Along the way we took more pictures of and from the old Casino site up on the ridge:

Then we checked in on the Rusted Red Car along the Casino Trail. It’s still there:

And the animals on the trail, what I think was a “Red Eft Newt” and a “Black Rat Snake”:

On the way back to town the next day we had time to poke around the Beacon Farmers Market, held Sundays on the ferry dock next to the train station:

Then one of us dropped by the 7th Annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party at Madison Square:

The other one of us was way too tired . . .

June 5, 2009

Things are looking even bleaker for Counterfeit Triangle:

Negronis at Forlini’s:

Had only been to Golden Unicorn for dim sum a while back, but dinner is good, too:

The ubiquitous Employees Must Wash Hands sign at Golden Unicorn had been existentially reduced to a single “employee” — the first time I’ve seen that:

Walked back north and passed by the new building at the Cooper Union, which had just been reviewed very favorably in the paper:

May 1-3, 2009

Employees Washing Hands, Cacio E Pepe, 182 Second Avenue, East Village, Manhattan, May 1, 2009, 10:53 p.m.:

Employees Washing Hands, Jimmy’s No. 43, 43 East 7th Street, East Village, Manhattan, May 2, 2009, 1:00 a.m.:

Mariachi Entertainment, Tequila Sunrise, 40-01 Northern Boulevard, Astoria, Queens, May 2, 2009, 10:33 p.m.:

Dutch Kills Bar, 27-24 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City, Queens, May 3, 2009, 12:30 a.m.:

Taxis, Jackson Avenue and Queens Street, SE Corner, Long Island City, Queens, May 3, 2009, 2:51 a.m.:

44th Street and Broadway, Looking South, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, May 3, 2009, 3:18 a.m.:

Mister Softee’s Promotion Finally Went Through

Knockoffs:

April 18-20, 2009

Tick Tock Diner, Clifton, New Jersey:

Ehrhardt’s Waterfront Resort, Hawley, Pennsylvania:

A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees game at PNC Field:

Driving through Scranton and seeing Courthouse Square:

Shopping at The Crossings Premium Outlets in Tannersville, Pennsylvania:

Driving back into New York through the Lincoln Tunnel where we saw the booth where someone works a full shift each day checking on traffic and watching out for accidents:

And trying to get a picture of the elusive New York-New Jersey state line mosaic:

Then dinner at Koki-Ri Restaurant in Flushing:

And after returning the car at LaGuardia, pictures of the airport from the M60 bus:

Total for the weekend, 329 miles:

Menus, March 2009

Two new menus added:

• WunderBar German Grill & Bierhaus in Long Island City
• Indian Bread Co. in Greenwich Village

You can get the smoked “bacon” beer (”Rauchbier”) at WunderBar:

Both highly recommended . . .

Citi Field Preview

Some photos from the Culinary All-Stars Media Preview held at Citi Field on March 31, 2009. The Home Run Apple is still there:

Employees Must Wash Hands

I don’t know why I think Employees Must Wash Hands signs are funny, but they are. Two new ones from this weekend — Pearl Oyster Bar and Hi-Life Restaurant & Lounge:

Before it occurred to me to start taking pictures of “Employees . . .” signs, I remember a couple of creative signs — What Bar, owned by freshman State Senator Daniel Squadron, had a good one, if memory serves and Ten63, an early coffee shop in Long Island City (the cafe’s name has been co-opted by a condo development that replaced the building), had a creative one that used claim tickets, again, if I remember correctly. There’s also a whole blog devoted to the signs.

Alligator Lounge, Williamsburg

I’m not sure what the business model is for giving away free pizzas with every pint of beer, but it’s brilliant:

Another thing — when inanimate objects like bars give their “age” on their MySpace page as, say, 24 years old, is it a polite way of telling you that you’ve probably aged out of scarfing pizza there at 2:30 in the morning?

Sripraphai Menu

We updated the Sripraphai menu. The earlier one is still there (what happened to saute pork stomach and mudfish?); if memory serves, it’s from around 2003.

(I have no idea why the Sripraphai website isn’t the first Google hit but it’s not. I like New York Magazine as much as the next guy, but not only are their weekend hours for the restaurant wrong — they close at 9:30, not 10, which is why we had to get takeout — but if a restaurant has its own website, it seems odd that they’re not at the top of the Google hits, no?)

The restaurant has grown a lot since we first went there:

They added the storefront to the left (64-11 39th Avenue?) a few years back, and since then they added the storefront to the right in the picture (64-15 39th Avenue?). Yes, the Jungle Curry is still “Thai spicy.” The Sripraphai website also says that they’re opening a restaurant on Long Island soon.

Something that’s bothered me for a long time: If there can be an authentically cool Thai restaurant (or any authentic, accessible ethnic restaurant), why is there this brick wall when it comes to Chinese food? I hate, hate, hate the existence of a dual menu (or worse) and would be eternally grateful for a Chinese restaurant that not only welcomed adventuresome eaters but encouraged them. It’s especially striking that even in a place like New York there seems to be so few (maybe I’m wrong — if so, please email us!). You would think that they’d clean up. It’s not that there aren’t any great Chinese restaurants, just that more often than not you get the sense that there’s so much great stuff that you’re missing if you don’t read and/or speak Cantonese. Which is to say, I never got that from Sripraphai. Good stuff . . .