NYC Restaurant Week Lunches

Funny thing is that i haven't participated in NYCRW in a couple of seasons. I'm not sure why - the food quality certainly has not gone down and the deals are not any less worthwhile. The only excuse I can give is that sometimes when you start traveling around you start forgetting that great food exists in NYC and it's right at your doorstep...either that, or I'm lazy and I didn't feel like battling opentable for reservations [funny story about opentable on next blog].

I really have to thank twitter (nycgo, newyorkology, notablenyc) this year for giving me a heads up to when RW would be, and which restaurants normally participate during this time. Making reservations early is a good strategy if you know your schedule beforehand or if you want to take your chances.

Today's entry is just about the lunches - both of which, I forgot to take pictures of the food. I remembered at dessert, so I have dessert photos and some borrowed from other sites that depict the food I ate at said establishment.

GOTHAM BAR AND GRILL- not sure why i've never been here, but it's always been on my top 10 places! Had a delightful lunch with my friend Lori who luckily had a pretty relaxed afternoon and could take a full 2 hour lunch. Full RW Lunch Menu.

Asparagus Salad and Chilled Corn Soup (courtesy of Yelp)

Both were wonderful and summery. I had the Asparagus salad and the dijon mustard dressing was magical. The soup was surprisingly sweet and completely reinvented the concept of corn.

Chicken Sausage and Mezze Rigatoni with Braised Duck (courtesy of nyctastes.blogspot.com)

I was so full after eating the chicken sausage - it had wonderful seasoning and great accompaniments on the side. Lori's Rigatoni was also very good - the duck was tender and very flavorful.

Toasted Corn Cake and Gotham Chocolate Cake (my own pics!)

Yes, that's a lemon thyme popsicle! The corn cake, blueberry and lemon flavors mixed together beautifully. The Chocolate cake was ridiculously decadent - more ice cream was needed to balance out the chocolatey-ness.

BAR BOULUD - Very unassuming location by lincoln center with a great outdoor seating area. Very nice scenery outside and modern comfortable look inside. I've been to DB and other Daniel Boulud establishments and this one is definitely up there with it's lighter (french food is sometimes too much for me) fare and less expensive prices. Restaurant Week MENU

Pate Grand Mere w/ slices of toasted baguette - Amazing.

(pic thanks to eatingintranslation)

Coq au Vin - this picture is from DB, but it looks exactly the same (pic from joseph mallozzi).

Three large pieces of chicken in a great wine reduction - 1/2 of this came home in a doggie bag with me. The pate with toasted baguette was a meal in itself.

Both desserts - Praline Rouge Bavaroise and the Macaron au Chocolat

The Bavaroise was like a berry panna cotta on a praline cracker in a lemon sauce - tart, sweet and refreshing! The chocolate cookie and ice cream melted in your mouth - best thing ever.

This concludes my restaurant week lunches - next entry will be about the dinners. There are even more pictures of those...thank god i only went to two of each!

Sucked into Comic-Con

I can't summarize everything that made me excited over Comic-Con, but between the G4 & Eonline coverage, twilight & True blood updates from 37 sources, fanatical minute-by-minute tweets, I was definitely hooked on everything. Above is a montage to express my favorite topics at this year's Comic-Con. [from top right: Clone Wars, V, Iron Man, Big Bang Theory, True Blood, Alice in Wonderland, Fringe, and of course, New Moon]

It's funny cause I've always liked sci-fi (star trek, star wars, dark shadows, etc), but not a huge comic book fan other than watching the movies and tv shows that were inspired by them. I suppose that's more than some people who don't like anything in that genre, but I have an older brother and I'm grateful he exposed those shows to me when I was younger. Now, I fully appreciate the fantastical. Maybe I'll hit it up next year in NYC!

In conclusion of a fabulous 4 days, here's Kevin Smith telling his audience what's so great about Twilight at Comic-Con (hysterical)!!

Walter Cronkite (Nov 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009)

Although he was before my time and some kids these days (anyone younger than me is deemed 'kids these days') don't even know who he was. He was a journalist and an anchorman, but that isn't all he was to this country. When I think of Walter Cronkite, I think about the man who told the nation that JFK was shot...or that we landed on the moon...or that Nixon was a liar. He covered Vietnam, the Nuremberg trials and interviewed the Beatles for their first US appearance.

Being known as "the most trusted man in America" is an impressive feat for a news media figure - think about everyone on television today. I can't get through a single news cast with one person, let alone tune in every night and expect intelligence and integrity to shine through the broadcast.

Like I said, he was not my era...but his loss is definitely felt among his peers and all us viewers. Modern news might be faster and multi-faceted, but that increase has decreased some of the other parts - like standard of quality and ethical reporting. Andy Rooney (no one rants better than he does) spoke at the funeral today and I was moved to tears by his good-bye. RIP~

When will then be now?

Gay rights is something that I probably have no business writing about, not just because i'm not gay, but mainly because although I support G&L rights i'm not super-informed about legislation or the history of the movement. All I know is that it's ridiculous to think that gay marriage somehow threatens heterosexual marriage in a country where divorce is booming (slight less boom now that money is tight, but that says even more about marriage doesn't it?). Like some people are born careful and studious, while others are crazy and reckless - some people are born gay. They should have the same rights as everyone else; full stop; end of story.

The title of this entry references Spaceballs for everyone who isn't a pop culture wiz. There will come a time when we look back and realize how impossibly backwards we were at this point in history, and question ourselves like we do about slavery, segregation, women's rights and so on. Sadly, I have asked myself, "when will then be now?" quite often these days (and not just when i talk about leaving work or going on vacation).

I'm choosing this topic to talk about because my friend Lisa sent me an awesome article about gay marriage in South Africa you can view HERE from the NY Times Magazine. I found it especially wonderful because the marriage officer makes it a completely normal government process by complaining about the paperwork and giving you a list of conditions. Then they judge you on whether your gay wedding has enough pizazz by letting you know, "You have full rights in this new South Africa. You have the right to make a fuss." Hey, if you got it, flaunt it right?

The second reason for choosing this topic is Mashable's Twitter "Are your Tweets Straight or Gay?" status posted this afternoon leading to an article about the largest Scandanavian pride festival - Stockholm pride. The application that ties gay pride with your twitter apparently goes through all of your updates and then determines how gay or straight your words make you appear.

How Hetero?

I came out 76% hetero which is a pretty good estimation I think - I'm pretty unemotional and slightly tomboy-ish. I then tried some people I know to be gay (friends and random celebs) and most of them were more hetero than gay, which causes me to question this whole thing. Does being gay affect the words one chooses to use and is one conscious of these choices? Interesting thoughts...

True Blood: Never Let Me Go

I couldn't help myself.

I've been reading Charlaine Harris' the Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Series and it's completely sucking me in (whoops bad pun). It makes me love Alan Ball's True Blood series on HBO even more.

The books are different than the show in plot, but they have the same flavor - gritty, decadent, and most of all, good campy FUN . I feel the heat coming off the damn television it's so hot. Everyone should be watching it - don't get me started on the Emmy snub.

WTH people?

Not going to write synopses or recaps, but I just have to revel in some great moments:

- Jason Stackhouse is awesome. Seriously, this guy invented "game" cause every time he turns around, some beautiful girl is trying to jump him. He also has these wonderful GWB-like expressions that don't even make me mad - it's actually endearing! Like I said - GAME.

- The Fellowship of the Sun represents the next level of evangelism - a Church built on the belief that God wants them to hate others. Thank God Sarah Newlin's hittin' on Jason. He's been too good for too long.

- Why was Sookie wearing a handkerchief dress? Her hair and makeup were terrible. Anna Paquin has unique/interesting features...you can't do that to her and expect people to think she's a pretty gal.

- I can't wait for Eric to come into his character and connect more with Sookie...I CANNOT WAIT. That flashback to his past was very enlightening - warrior looks good on him.

- The whole Maryann thing needs to be resolved soon. She just keeps doing the same crazy stuff and trying to add Tara to some creepy collection she has...this is not in the books, so it's really driving me crazy.

- Lastly, Daphne freaks me out even though she's a shifter like Sam. I have a weird feeling she's connected to Maryann via those claw marks on her back. Best line on a pool table: Nice rack. Best response: Nice balls.

The title of this episode threw me for a loop - reminded me of the Kazuo Ishiguro novel about organ cloning...i wonder. Can't wait for next week's episode where Lorena (Bill's maker) comes to stir up some trouble. Also can't wait for for Evan Rachel Wood to emerge as the Vampire Queen of Louisiana later this season. Sunday's rock.

Great Expectations: A Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Movie Review

At this point, I feel like most hardcore HP fans have already seen the movie but if you haven’t, there are spoilers in this review and you have been warned.

I’ve been a fan of HP since my apt-mate in college lent me the first 3 books and I polished it off in 3 days. I’ve gone to midnight releases and read all of the books multiple times since then. However, re-reading the book before a movie is not a good idea because you end up making point-by-point comparisons and this doesn’t help you enjoy the movie. I learned this after Goblet of Fire, but I forgot about that because it's been 2 whole years since Order of the Phoenix and even longer since I read HBP.

That being said, I know I’m biased because of my love of the books, but I’ve never been truly disappointed in a HP movie. I loved Prisoner of Azkaban and they did an amazing job on 4 and 5 by editing out extraneous things like S.P.E.W., tons of Quidditch (though I would’ve loved to see more Oliver Wood), and angsty Harry-Cho drama. I felt like the director, writers and studio were doing a bang up job until this last film. I don’t want to be longwinded, so here are my 4 main problems:

1) Background/Storyline: WTH happened to all the background info on Voldy? No information about his mother and Tom Riddle Sr., how he ended up in the orphanage, what the significance of the necklace is or what happened to Dumbledore’s hand. No flashback to older Voldy asking for job at Hogwarts or explanations about his behavior and his motivations behind his actions. No instructions from Dumbledore to tell NO ONE what they are looking for even if he dies - that's why he has to go it alone with Ron and Hermione in Deathly Hallows. These are all important for Harry to know in order to move forward and quite frankly, these were the most interesting parts of the book.

2) Ginny: OK so you want to focus on the romance instead of Horcruxes – fine, go ahead but do it right. In the book, Harry and Ginny come together in this climactic-celebratory moment in front of everyone – finally, admitting what they (and Hermione) already knew was brewing for the past few months. Instead they had creepy shoelace tying and one ridiculous kiss in the room of requirement. Him and Cho had more excitement happening. Harry and Ginny never actually become a couple – no snogging in the halls and confiding in each other. LAME.

3) Dumbledore: I hate Michael Gambon’s half-assed Dumbledore impersonation, but I thought he was getting a little better just in time for me to feel sad he died. I didn’t feel anything when he died. He never really has a deep connection with Harry even though they probably spend the most time together in this movie. No emotion and no connection to the students. Also the death scene was an abomination – he should’ve never fell to his death and the students shouldn’t have gathered around him afterwards. Hagrid was supposed to be inconsolable, people were in denial and Harry was an emotional wreck.

4) Ending: Why would you cut out one of the best fight scenes in the HP series? Dumbledore’s army was supposed to band together with the teachers and hold off the Death Eaters. Malfoy was supposed to slide past when everyone was distracted and Harry was supposed to be frozen before Dumbledore was disarmed. When Harry finally unfreezes himself and chases after Snape there’s supposed to be massive chaos – Lupin, Tonks, McGonagall fighting while Ginny and Neville and others were helping best they could. Harry’s confrontation with Snape should’ve been an all out screaming match with things exploding and people firing all around. What we got was lukewarm and the most anticlimactic ending I’ve ever seen. I didn’t even feel like there was impending danger coming after Dumbledore’s death – just a couple of friends chatting it up on the clock tower. Dumbledore’s powerful wand sits lamely on his desk.

Most Importantly: No Funeral = Massive FAIL.

Pros: The movie was amazingly beautiful and visually stunning. It started off wonderfully and didn’t have the generic Dursley scene thank god. Alan Rickman is a genius and stole more than one scene (his face during the hospital scene with Ron was brilliant). Jim Broadbent was perfect as Slughorn and Tom Felton was every bit as tortured as his character Draco ought to be. Daniel Radcliffe equally impressed me with his casual goofiness, newfound confidence and growing intensity – he really should’ve been allowed a bit more fight in the end. Ron and Hermione have a lot more depth and personality – Cormac, Luna, Lavender and supporting cast rocked.

Hopes: Maybe they’ll go over the Horcruxes in the next movie – they could reveal it in a series of flashbacks or Dumbledore’s stored memories. Maybe they’ll begin the movie with Harry and Ginny attending Dumbledore’s funeral. Maybe it won’t suck like HBP...

Blogging for dummies

In honor of theslowginfizz, here's a list of reasons for blogging:

1) so my friends don't have to listen to me rant

2) because i have a lot of issues with the last harry potter movie

3) i need to fill the time between tweeting and facebook with something

4) some people don't have twitter or facebook (shudders)

5) my memory is really bad so i need to write stuff down

6) forced introspection is better than no introspection

7) people can now tell me something about myself non-face-to-face

8) sometimes i have feelings

9) the opportunity to live-blog an event

10) the social media gods told me i had to