Today, I decided to stop off at a hardware store near Zabars on Broadway. They had been there forever but had just gone out of business. Another victim of Depression II. I soothed my hurts with a candied chestnut Gelato and the owner told me about another hardware store on Amsterdam Ave, a few blocks away. This was Beacon Paint & Hardware at 371 Amsterdam Ave, www.beaconpaint,com. The first thing you notice upon entering is a huge Menorah made of plumbing parts. They will happily sell you this Menorah for $109.99 and they will ship it anywhere (although probably at a very substantial cost). Anyway, I got a monster visegrip that makes mincemeat of the Black Walnuts. I am now looking for tougher nuts to crack.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The Plumbers Menorah and Other Tales of NY
After cracking about two dozen Black Walnuts, the very substantial nutcracker that I had bought in Woodstock, broke under the strain. The steel pin linking both halves simply bent under the strain. I went to my local hardware store in Innwood. The proprietor offered me a flimsy nutcracker. When I told him that Black Walnuts would laugh at such a flimsy nutcracker, he began muttering to himself in Yiddish. When I asked for a visegrip, he looked at me like I had lost my mind. He offered me a tiny visegrip that was too small to accomplish anything.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
FISTFA Oct 17 2009
Made beef, barley and mushroom stew again. I was going to bake two Black Walnut pies from the nuts I had packed in the Catskills a few days before. However, the nuts were so tough that they broke my nutcracker. Imagine trying to crack open large pebbles. Made more Sumac-ade from the Sumac pods I picked in the Catskills. The Moslows brought over a huge amount of food, as did the Phillipses. No one starves here. Rather the opposite. Bob Rodriguez enjoyed watching (if that is the term for a blind man) one of my old serials, G-men versus the Phantom Legion. Mike Moslow and I exchanged electronic files. I gave him two old Long John Nebel shows. One featured Ray Palmer as guest and they discussed the Shaver Mystery and the other featured a Mr. van Tassel talking about his trips in flying saucers. Mike let me copy some CD's with hundreds of Jean Shepherd shows. The next FISTFA will take place on Nov 14th as there would have been a conflict with Philcon the following weekend. Today's FISTFA was the 5th anniversary of the current revival of FISTFA.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Chennai Garden and Kalustyan
Chennai Garden, 129 E 27th Street (bet. Park and Lex), 212-689-1000, www.chennaigarden.com, sets out a buffet brunch for $6.95 of wonderful South Indian vegetarian (and Kosher) dishes. Of course being vegetarian makes it easy for them to achieve Kosher certification but the fact is that they have taken the trouble to obtain such certification. I fasted that morning and I piled three plates high and wound up so stuffed that I could not eat any more. I don't think that my meal cost me more than it would have cost me in some fast food feedlot. Out of towners may dote on their cheeseburgers and deep fried Oreo cookies but they can keep that crap to themselves.
After lunch we explored the neighboring Kalustyan's, 123 Lexington Ave, NY,NY 10016, tel 212-685-3451, www.kalustyans.com. Never have I seen such a profusion of herbs and spices as well as specialty Middle Eastern foods. I bought a bag of Gum Arabic for $1.99. Among the peppercorns I found bags of peppers that looked like miniature pine cones. Never even heard of such things. They even sell Sumac berries, so that I don't have to go into the wilderness to pick them any more
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Shopping Lower East Side Oct 13 2009
There are many fine retail food merchants in New York, such as Zabars and Fairway. There you can get first quality foods from the world over. However, on the Lower East Side, there are many food producers who are a step away from the retail merchants. For example, Kossars Bialys, Guss' Pickles, Streits, Yonah Schimmels Knishes. Their products are fresher and they offer a greater variety. Zabars sells Kossars Bialys but they are bagged and are days old by the time you get them. In my experience, the bialys are covered with a fungal beard within 2 days of purchase. Others are not producers but are specialists such as Russ and Daughters whose selection of smoked and pickled fish stagger the imagination. Economy Candy sells candies that you thought had been out of production for decades, such as Sen Sen, Mary Janes, Beemans Pepsin Gun, Teaberry Gum. In addition, they will cut you a chunk of Halvah off a block. Do you want Halvah with or without chocolate, pistachios? Dried blueberries, cherries, strawberries, mangos, cantalupe, candied orange peel. All significantly cheaper than you can get them elsewhere.
A lot of these products are just unavailable outside of NYC. Yes you can get pickled Vita Herrings in a jar outside of NY but how about Matjes Herring, Bismark herring, lox cut paper thin in front of your eyes? And do you want your lox to come from Swedish salmon, Norwegian, Scottish, Irish, Nova Scotia, Alaska? All of these and many more are available at Russ and Daughters. Where else can you get ready made herring and beet salad?
Yonah Schimmels will sell you a jar of yogurt that comes from a Bulgarian yogurt culture that they have maintained since about 1890. The jar is a glass jar with a screw top that they have recycled from elsewhere.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
To Woodstock, Phoenicia and Woodland Valley, Catskills
In the mid 1950's, when my father got his first car, a used 1951 Nash, we drove up to Woodland Valley in the Catskills to go camping. We had no tent of other camping equipment but the Nash had this nice feature where you could move the front seat forward and fold the seatrest down to create a continuous sleeping platform in the whole car. In subsequent visits, we would reserve the lean-to to sleep in. Then we would hike the mountain trails, like the one to Slide Mountain. I had not been to the area since the early 1960's but since I am on vacation this week, I decided to rent a car and drive up there and take some pictures. Woodstock I had never been to but it has been so much in the news as a result of the concert that did not take place there in 1969, that I decided to see the place and to take pictures there as well. Unfortunately, the Woodland Valley campsite was closed for the season and they would not permit me to wander around and take pictures.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Muddy Cup Cafe & Environs Staten Island
And so I bid farewell to Manhattan to embark upon a sea voyage to that remote and misty isle of Staten Island in an effort to determine if there is any civilized life there. As a matter of fact, the Cup Cafe (formerly the Muddy Cup Cafe) is well worth the trip. On the same block is an antique shop, an art gallery, an auction house and an interesting restaurant, Vida. Around the corner is Hoppin John's Southern Cuisine & Catering and, if you must, a few blocks away on Bay Street is a White Castle. The cafe can be reached via the S78 bus from the St George ferry terminal. Get off the bus at the intersection of Beach and Van Duzer St, about a mile from the terminal. The auction house is Ira's Curiosity Place, tel 718-815-0376. Vida's phone no is 718-720-1501. The Exchange Gallery's phone no is 718-717-2253. Hoppin John's phone no is 718-727-2244. The Cup Cafe's number is 718-818-8100
Greenpoint Revisited June 2007
There are bakeries and butcher shops galore. I did not see a single supermarket, which is just as well.
The poppy strudel that I bought at Rzeszowska Bakery (948 Manhattan Ave) was sensational. Next time though, I will try the cheese babka.
There seemed to be a butcher on every block. Sometimes 2 or 3. I bought my meat at Quality Meat Market, 172 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211 Czeslava Dusza, owner. Tel 718-388-3437. All the butchers though seem to be closed on Sundays.
Casa Mon Amour looked interesting. I had never heard of a fusion Dominican/French cuisine before but I also came across a Colombian/French restaurant. Casa is located at 162 Franklin St, tel 718-349-1529. Beatrice Claray Wetcher is the owner. Open Monday to Saturday. Lunch special, all from steam (presumably this means a steam table) small:$5.00, large: $6.00
An interesting pub with 15 ales on tap was Pencil Factory. It was quiet with very broad floorboards. Ladies, the mens room was impeccably clean. I assume that the ladies room is even cleaner.
The place I definitely want to eat in is S&B Restaurant and Deli, Delicious Polish-American food, 194 Bedford Ave, 718-963-1536. Lunch special for $7.50, featuring soup of the day, 2 vegetables and a choice of blintzes, pierogis, potato dumplings, stuffed cabbage, bigos, etc.
The junk shop is The Vortex, 1084 Manhattan Ave, open 11 A.M to 7 P.M., 7 days a week. The owners wife has a similar shop 2 blocks down. Plus, there is a Salvation Army Thrift Store a block down.
There is a sushi restaurant, Katsu, with the menu in Polish. Japonska Kuchnia Domowa i Sushi. 1013 Manhattan Ave. Tel 718-389-2300.
Wild Ginger pan-asian vegan cafe, 212 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211. Tel 718-218-8828
Yet another Indian restaurant, Mamtaj Mahal, 135B North 5th St, Brooklyn, NY 11211. It seems reasonably priced. No Barfi on the desert menu though. Rats. Tel 718-599-1100.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Openhouse New York Oct 2009
My thanks to my ex Barb in London for alerting me to this event. Without her notices, I would not know about half of the interesting things that go on in the city. This is the 7th year of Openhouse. On this occasion, many public and private facilities open their doors and even provide tours. The weekend did not start auspiciously. All the subway lines except for the M train were experiencing delays due to scheduled repairs. And it rained yesterday. On top of that, no one showed up to conduct a tour of The Little Red Lighthouse. Both my camera and my cellphone glistened with water. I decided to head back home and let my equipment dry out. I resumed my visits today but some of the places I really wanted to see were only open Saturday. Maybe I will have better luck next year
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
NY, NY June 2007
What is it that turns me off Hindu art? It strikes me as loud, garish, overstated. Like a woman putting on a vividly colored lipstick but doing it carelessly, smearing it beyond her lips. Or dousing herself with cheap dime store perfume so that she reeks and you can scarcely breather in her presence. The singing is even worse. The lyrics consist of Hare Krishna, sung over and over sung in a bellyaching, moaning style. The lyricist and singers should all be fired. Make that shot, Then pictures of the only Hungarian butcher left in NYC. It was formerly called Magyar Hentes but is now called Yorkville Meat Emporium and they are at the corner of 81 St and 2nd Ave. I was thinking of doing a series "butchers to know and Love" This one would definitely be included.
Gertels Bakery RIP June 2007
Gertels Bakery,a long standing tradition on the Lower East Side closed it's doors forever last Friday.It is due to be bulldozed to make way for, you guessed it, high rise luxury condominiums. One by one all the places that made New York special are being sucked out like marrow out of marrow bones. I used to shop there when I went next door to Kaddouri&Sons to buy the biggest and tastiest dried figs and dates in the known universe. The Kaddouri location is also scheduled to be flattened for the same reason as Gertels. Will this process only end when New York becomes as bland as the rest of the USA?
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Mermaid Parade June 2007
Will this be the last mermaid parade after Thor Equities has flattened half of Coney Island to build luxury high rises? Or will they sponsor future parades consisting of BMW's and SUV's. Is New York fated to become indistinguishable from Duluth or Oshkosh? They are going to kill the goose that laid the golden egg because who would bother comming here if the city was no different from any other?
Bob Whalen Wake June 2007
Getting there was half the fun. The bus from NYC stops miles away and there is no taxi
City Island Bronx July 2007
I explored City Island to see if it might be a suitable location for Cafe FISTFA.. There is certainly a large variety of places to eat from a cheap Mexican joint, Island cafe, 205 City Island Ave, Bronx, NY 19464, tel 718-885-0716 to the huge and expensive Sammy's Fish Box Restaurant (www.sammysfishbox.com). I ate lunch at City Island Chinese Restaurant, 84-86 City Island Ave, 718-885-3775 ( shrimp with lobster sauce $5.25). A lot of businesses were however closed. One of the merchants told me that much of the island population departs during 4th of July week. Presumably these businesses will all be open on weekends. Starving Artist Cafe looked interesting. They have live musical performances and also sell art works and books, but they were closed (www.starvingartistonline.com). There were plenty of antique and art shops. I was told that the Black Whale Cafe has a backyard patio but they were closed. I would have to revisit on a weekend to see the places that were closed. You can reach the island by taking the Bx29 bus from the last stop on the #6 train. This bus runs down to the end of the island. The island is 1 1/2 miles long. The island is also easily reachanble by car and Mark Glasser note) there is no bridge toll.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Astoria Queens July 2007
A brief reconnaissance in force to explore a small area in Astoria for suitability for Cafe FISTFA.. Within about 6 blocks of the Broadway stop of the N train there was an astonishing variety of reasonable cafes and restaurants and one sizable bookshop. The bookshop was formerly Stowel & Sons but is now Seaburn books, 33-18 Broadway, Astoria, NY 11106, tel 718-267-7929 (www.seaburn.com). The Mexican place had some items I had never seen before such as scrambled eggs with cactus and exotic tropical shakes. A lot of places were closed for the 4th of July, like Mundo Cafe at 31-18 E Broadway with one owner who is Turkish and the other Argentine and the cuisine apparently reflects both. The Polish butcher was likewise closed. The Colombian restaurant presents a cuisine that looks sharply different from the Puerto Rican and Dominican that I have a passing aquaintance with This is to the good because I am convinced that only barbarians relish deep fried foods.
Court St Brooklyn and Vicinity July 2007
This time it is Brooklyn's turn. I searched the Internet for bookstores, reasoning that there are often interesting cafes and shops in the vicinity. The stores listed for Willoughby and Livingston streets are no more. This is just as well since the area is crappy, with windblown garbage, etc. I descended down to Atlantic Ave and headed West. There were literally dozens of antique shops, with some unusual pieces of furniture. I took pictures of a few. However,unless you are an antiques buff and reasonably physically fit, Cafe FISTFA should confine itself to Court St. That said, there was an interesting shop at 323 Atlantic Ave, specializing in handcrafted toys, named Acorn.Tel 718-522-3760, www.acorntoyshop.com. Also Zoe Papers at 315 Atlantic Ave, 718-625-5797, www,zoepapers.com specializes in all kinds of things made from paper, including hand made paper
Just off Atlantic Ave on Court St is Yemen Cuisine, tel 718-624-9325. The items on the menu are unusual and cheap. From the breakfast menu (served anytime0 we have, for example Foul (fava beans)topped with tomato, onion, olive oil, sesame paste, eggs $5.00, Kbda (small pieces of lamb liver sauteed), tomato, onion, spices, bread $6.00. Next door is India House.at 139 Court St, 718-852-3486, also cheap. I have been going here for years. Beware the green salsa. It will burn your mouth out. at 187 Court St is California Taqueria. I had a Chile Colorado Taco ($2.99). It was delicious. There is not even a faint resemblance to what is served at Taco Bell.
163 Court St is Book Court, a fairly sizable book shop .At 221A Court St is Brooklyn Artisan's Gallery, 718-330-0343, www.brooklynartisans.com, specializing in things made by hand. Across the street is Community Book Store of Cobble Hill. They were closed. One of the merchants told me that they don't open up until 4 P.M.
I went from here to Park Slope. The internet had identified 4 book shops but two were out of business. I don't think that the neighborhood has much to offer. It didn't have quaint shops and cheap ethnic food like Court St did. Then again, I confined myself to 7th Ave.
Bay Ridge Brooklyn July 2007
One book shop in Bay Ridge. Jean Danet at 7526 5th Ave, tel 718-836-7566 is a great French bakery. They probably make the finest croisants in the city. They glisten with butter. There are many places that I did not look into. I avoided places that seemed to have invested heavily in appearance. To pay for this appearance they would have to increase their prices. I would rather go to a cheap place with a dingy exterior and dried bird shit hanging from the outside security gate (like the Yemeni place on Court St ). The Norwegian diner that was a fixture of the neighborhood for years is gone. No more Fiske Boller (this is not a great hardship). No more frozen lingonberries and no more fish and chips served wrapped in newspaper.
E 86 St and Central Park August 2007
I was alerted to the activation of the Central Park Reservoir Fountain by Maureen Peck, and I decided to take a look, as well as seeing E86th St. Papaya King has been a feature of the landscape since 1932 but I wonder for how much longer? Good hot dogs but they try to misslead you into believing that you are drinking papaya juice. It is actually about 5 gallons of papaya pulp, 25 pounds of parlac (dried milk powder with 33% butterfatt and water, mixed up in a 50 gallon mixer. Tasty though. Inside are posters touting the virtues of hot dogs and papaya juice. You hear that Marlene Dietrich's favorite food was a combination of hot dogs and champagne. Yuck. A long time employee told me that a certain Billy Dubendorfer worked here from 1976 to around 1981. I wonder if this was the same Billy Dubendorfer that I went to school with?
Most of the places that gave the area its unique ethnic flavor are gone to make way for the bland upper east side. My parents bought their first furniture in the USA in the shade of the Third Ave El. Cafe Hindenburg, Cafe Geiger and the Kleine Konditorei are gone as well as Kerekes ( a Hungarian newsdealer who could speak every east European language like a native, many butchers and bakers, shops lile Lekvar by the Barrel, Paprika Weiss, Chechoslovak Praha, The Yaegerhaus, Barney Google's cavernous beer hall. We lived on E 83rd and York when Barney Google's closed down. It was the favorite destination of participants in the St Patrick's Day Parade. You never saw so many REALLY pissed off REALLY big Irish guys in kilts as they discovered that their favorite watering hole was gone.
The pace of destruction is quickening. I had not been here for a year and half a block has been flattened to make way for another luxury high rise condominium. Why is it that they never replace the unique businesses that give the area its charm? Is New York going to turn into a high rise version of Duluth?
Innwood Hill Park August 2007
Sometimes I feel I have to get away from the press of humanity and I am not happy until I feel moss under my feet. Innwood Hill Park offers such possibilities if you avoid the paved pathways and stick to the woodland trails. It is hard to believe that so much natural beauty can be found in Manhattan.
Highbridge Park I August 2007
Hightbridge Park is split by the Harlem River Drive. I discovered there is no opportunity to cross over until you get down to 155th St. I intended to walk back on the opposite side but I had to take a wicked crap (Maybe the Dominican food I ate) and there was no bathroom to be found. I hopped on the C train at 155th and then on to the A and barely made it back in time. Stand by for my continued explorations of this park. I had wanted to continue on at least to Our Lady of Nocturnal Emissions Church but nature prevailed.
Highbridge Park II August 2007
Highbridge Park is rather long and narrow. There are two sets of trails. One hugs the shoreline and the other climbs up and down the ridge line. Today I decided to explore the ridge line trail. It was hot and incredibly humid. I felt that I should have stayed home. Then too, the trail peters out about half way down without any warning. This portion of the park needs a lot of restoration work and I am not likely to return here anytime soon. Areas off the trail look like poison ivy monoculture. There are few breaks in the vegetation leading to a view.I cannot give high marks to the Dominican cuisine sold at the lunch wagon but I was grateful to drink the oversweetened lemonade, having just lost several quarts of sweat. Next time I will bring a canteen.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Fairway Supermarket Sept 2007
What's that? Why am I taking pictures of a supermarket? And I live in Manhattan? Well this is not just any supermarket. This is Fairway by 77St, a Manhattan institution. I have not given it the attention that it deserves because I am usually lured away by Zabars, the Mecca of gourmet foods that is just a few blocks away. I was lured here by a quest for rye flour. This is a substance that is simply unavailable in the tip of Manhattan where I live where the population is mostly Dominican. They like things made from weird tropical tubers and no doubt feel satisfied with it. I occasionally need rye bread like that made in the remote Saxon village where I was born. Bread that has no air bubbles at all. Bread that is so dense that it will break your toes should you be so unfortunate to drop it. Bread that is the ideal accompanyment to slices of raw bacon or spread with goosefat. Bread that would be wellcome and delicious to the gods (well, the Northern gods anyway, like Loki and Thor). Try feeding some Dominican tuber bread to Thor and you will find your head caved in by Mjolnir.
Fairway came to my attention by a newspaper article about it's rabid following among shoppers. They do not sell styrofoam like bread in plastic bags but artisanal loaves that are a beauty to behold. Purple Peruvian Potatoes with purple flesh. Aged sardines. Endless varieties of cheeses, olive oils, balsamic vinegars, caviars, etc. You pick your own olives out of tubs. If you think these olives are the same species as the bland things packed in pasteurized jars found in other supermarkets, you are sadly mistaken. How about Yak cheese from Tibet? And it does not come pre-sliced. None of their cheeses do. There is even a charming cafe on the second floor. The entire second floor is devoted to organic foods.
Before I could finish taking pictures, I was stopped by management. Taking pictures is against their policy,
Out of towners, eat your hearts out.
NYC Lower East Side Oct 2007
So just recently Ira Donewitz advised me via e-mail about this wonderful and cheap chinese restaurant he had found on E Broadway in the Lower East Side. It is all he said it was. You can watch them making your own personal noodle on a table in the corner. I don't know how long it is but one noodle fills your whole bowl. The only utensils provided are chopsticks and plastic spoons. Ira chopped his noodle up with the plastic spoon but I felt like a barbarian and just lifted a section with my chopsticks and bit into it. I was so stuffed that I did not go on to Yonah Schimmels Knishes, as planned. However, I did pick up bialys from Kossars Bialys and pickled okrah form The Pickle Guys, 49 Essex St Between Grand St and Hester St, 1-888-4-pickle, www.nycpickleguys.com, under the Rabbinical Supervision of Rabbi Shmuel Fishelis.
Look closely because in the blink of an eye this will all be transformed into luxury high rise condominiums whose inhabitants will buy their bialys in plastic bags at the supermarket from Lenders and whose idea of pickles will be some bland concoction pasteurized in glass jars without any taste. They will visit Europe and wonder why we can't produce great foods like that in the USA. Mayor Bloomberg, are you paying attention?
Brunch Great Jones Street Jan 2008
wanted to eat at Great Jones Eats but they were full and I didn't want to wait. I was determined to eat on Great Jones Street. The Five Points Cafe (named after the infamous Lower East Side gang, the Five Pointers was also filled to overflowing. We tried the ACME. I had a delicious jambalaya with great mashed potatoes and gravy on the side. The portions were so huge that I was only able to eat half of it. Took the balance home in a doggy bag. As a souvenir, I bought a bottle of hot sauce called "The Hottest Fucking Sauce". The label gives the following warning:
We warned you. This is a serious fucking hot sauce. That's right we said it--because we had to. There is no other way to describe just how hot this sauce is. I suppose we could have said "It's like the fiery depths of hell" or "That it's ass burning" and even "keep away from pets and small children and avoid contact with sensitive areas, but that just seems so wordy.The sauce is hot as fuck! Succinct, to the point, no beating around the bush! Honesty is always the best policy, isn't it? If this sauce burns intensely, don't be afraid to let it out. Scream fuck at the top of your lungs. There is no better verbal therapy.
ACME's website: acmebarandgrill.com
I will take the warning seriously. I note that the sauce contains no vinegar. That way they can cram in more habanero and scotch bonnet peppers.
Borough Park, Jan 2008
This time it is Borough Parks turn for a brief visitation. I have been so tied to Manhattan that I have neglected Brooklyn since I moved back to the city. I couldn't find Shlomo Weiss' bakery (the best humantashen) but I did find Crown Deli. Unfortunately they were out of kasha knishes. Theirs are made of a thin circlet of dough open on both ends and the filling is more onion than kasha. Wonderful. The corn bread at Korn's bakery was fluffier, drier and less sour than I remembered it. Maybe I caught them on an off day.
I was hiking down 65 St heading for 22nd Ave and Motel's bakery for some cheap and good sheet cake but I got pooped and headed home. Borough Park is clearly expanding because I never saw black clad Orthodox on 18th Ave and 65th St before. I saw a fair number of Chinese too. The Chinese will be missing a bet if they don't open kosher Chinese restaurants there.
Lower East Side Houses, Nov 2007
Most of the pictures were taken on Rivington St, some on Broome and Orchard. Not too long ago, most of Manhattan looked like this. The skyscrapers were limited to Downtown and Midtown. The old buildings were for the most part sturdy and handsome, many with architectural details. They are being destroyed at an ever increasing rate to make way for bland luxury high rise condominiums. These are skyscrapers without any architectural details.
I would not argue that a skyscraper is necessarily ugly. Look at the Woolworth building, for example, but what is being put up today has all the beauty of a chicken coop. This uglyness is fueled by a sellers market. Everyone in the world wants to live in Manhattan. I wonder though why they want to live here? Is it just the IDEA of living in Manhattan or do they enjoy the quaint shops and restaurants? These are also being rapidly obliterated and being replaced by chain stores. I would rather have an espresso coffee in Little Italy any day over one at Starbucks or a slice of pizza at one of many great pizzerias over the bland fare produced by the chain pizzerias.
Maybe I should start a campaign to keep people from moving here. No, no, don't move here! The taste of the food is too strong and there is no shopping because we don't have a Wallmart..
Former NY Saloons III Oct 2007
Vices of a Big City (1890) points out that Henry Meagher's All Night House is located directly opposite the offices of the Excise Board. The point is that the Excise Board required saloons to close at 1 PM and to remain closed Sundays
207 Bowery, Bertrand Meyer's Concert Saloon, it is pointed out, is filled with women nightly, who smoke cigarettes and drink gin. The author does not call them "disorderly women" (prostitutes) but simply seems to be repulsed at the idea of women smoking and drinking gin.
255 Bowery, Louis Stajer's Concert Hall. The author states that it was a resort for low women and their male companions who use it as a meeting place.
For the remaining pictures, I have largely limited myself to pictures of buildings identified as "disorderly houses. There were probably hundreds on the Lower East Side.
Following in this series, I have finally found the address of Bismarck Hall, 284 Pearl street. Bismark Hall was the hangout of a reputed vampire, Ludwig the Bloodsucker. Hopefully the building is still there. He was reportedly bald but had hair sprouting from every bodily orifice as well as a large tuft from the tip of his nose. He would drink glasses of human blood in the saloon.
Former NY Saloons II Oct 2007
A most interesting source of information on the saloons, whorehouses and gambling dens in New York is Vices Of A Big City, An Expose of Existing Menaces to Church and Home in New York City, published in 1890.
Golden Swan Park is the site of the former Golden Swan Saloon, more popularly referred to as The Bucket of Blood or The Hell Hole. It was a headquarters of the Hudson Dusters gang and the favorite saloon of playwright Eugene O'Neil who took the setting of The Iceman cometh from the Bucket of Blood.
Kenny's Castaways at 157 Bleeker was formerly the home of The Slide saloon. The 1890 description says that"The place is filled nightly with from 100 to 300 people, most of whom are males, but are not worthy of the name of man. They are degraded and addicted to vices which are inhuman and unnatural." In other words, it was a gay bar.
57 Great Jones Street was the location of the New Brighton Dance Hall and headquarters of Paul Kelly and the Five Pointers gang. I am going to try out Great Jones Eats. It looks like a sleazy joint on the outside but is quite attractive on the inside (54 Great Jones St, 212-674-9304)Example, on the lunch menu Mission Beef Chili 8.95With The Works 9.95
Cooper Union had some weird art project whose significance escapes me, of stacking ice blocks in a rectangular enclosure and letting them melt.
The former Paresis Hall saloon is now the headquarters of The Village Voice. This was a short lived gay bar owned by Paul Kelly of the Five Pointers.
Bill McGlory's The Armory at 158 Hester was long torn down to make way for a massive non descriptive building housing The Chinese Mission Society. Personally I would rather have a saloon there than a church. No trace can be seen of Dry Dollar Sullivan's saloon at 116 Centre St. This was headquarters of the Wyo's gang. The site has been swallowed up by an expansion of the Tombs. A gangster named Piker Ryan was arrested while carrying a menu of the Whyo's services:
Punching $2
Both eyes blacked $4
Nose and jaw broke $10
Jacked out $15
Ear chawed off $15
Leg or arm broke $19
Shot in leg $25
Stab $25
Doing the big job $100 and up
I was intrigued to try the Cha Cha cafe, which has a backyard pation, but I was too stuffed from just having eaten brunch at the Pipers Kilt with my son Adam and his girlfriend Geraldine.
Former NY Saloons I Oct 2007
Nigger Mike's is where a singing waiter named Izzy Balin (Later known as Irving Berlin) started his march to fame. He also sang in The Chatham Club on Doyers Street. According to "Low Life" by Luc Sante, the kind of song that went over best with the thieves, murderers, extortionists and assorted muscle was the sentimental ballad. The tune that supposedly launched Izzy Baline's carreer at Nigger Mike Saulters was Arthur Lamb and Harry von Tilzer's "The Mansion of Aching Hearts":
She lives in a mansion of aching hearts,
She's one of the restless throng;
The diamonds that glitter around her throat,
They speak both of sorrow and song;
The smile on her face is only a mask
And many is the tear that starts,
For sadder it seems, when of mother she dreams,
In the mansion of aching hearts.
Callahan's hired two singing waiters, the Yoelson brothers, who changed their name to Jolson. The younger was named Al. And the rest is history.
During the tong wars, the bend at Doyers had more murders than any spot in NY. Incidentally, next door to 12 Pell St is the headquarters of the Hip Sing Tong, one of the participants in the tong wars. It's opponent, the On Leong Association, is still around also.
Lombardi's has expanded to become a saloon. It was the first pizzeria in North America and in my opinion is still the best. I haven't been there in several years though. They have swallowed up the neighboring businesses and expanded to open a bar. Even though it was raining, there was a line waiting to get in. They are at 32 Spring St, NYC, NY 212-941-7994. http://www.FirstPizza.com
McGurk went on to greater fame to open his Suicide Hall, where people came to kill themselves and others came hoping to witness a suicide. That building was recently flattened to make way for a luxury high rise condominium.
Brodie, of course, is the gentleman who supposedly jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge and survived to tell the tale.
Dietrich's Meats Sept 2007
This is Dietrich's Meats of Krumsville (crookedville in English), deep in Pennsylvania Dutch country ( or Deutsch in German or Daitsch in the Swabian language). The Pennsylvania Dutch originated in the south of Germany. They were Protestants who found themselves on the loosing side of the 30 years war. It was either leave or become Catholics. They would rather have died than to become Catholics. They sold everything they had and headed for ships in Hamburg to take them to the Promised Land (Pennsylvania- yukh). Unfortunately, Germany was not one country but several hundred countries. Every time they crossed a border they had to pay a tax. By the time they arrived in Hamburg, many had no money left at all. Many were taken on board ships on the condition that they sell themselves and their children as indentured servants for 7 years. Arriving in Philadelphia, many found their children sold to other owners and never saw them again. Still, most were highly skilled farmers, blacksmiths, etc. and they slowly rebuilt their lives. Eating weird animal parts, scrapple, pudding, etc., are a legacy of these beginnings in poverty.
Dietrich's sells Moxie soda. This is the only purveyor of Moxie for hundreds of miles from NYC.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Juniors, Brooklyn Sept 28 2009
I just started working in downtown
Juniors is a
Saturday, September 26, 2009
To Bent and Dent and Back Sept 25 2009
I had to travel to Pennsylvania to co-sign my son Adam's lease. Getting to the Outback of Pennsylvania is no simple affair. You can't just jump on the subway. Round trip train costs anywhere from $80 to $120. Then you are left with round trip cab fares. The bus is cheap but is a grueling experience. It made sense to just rent a car in Manhattan. This way I could also look up some old friends and some people in the Old Order Amish and Mennonite communities that I had gotten to know so well. There are a number of people I just did not have time to look up. That will have to wait until next time.
The Old Order Mennonite Nolt's are an interesting case. Mark Nolt came from Canada but his ancestors came from North Germany and he grew up speaking Plattdeutsch. He married Maryanne in Pennsylvania and had to learn a new language, Pennsylvania Dutch. This language is actually Schwaebisch (Swabian to you). Mark and Maryanne produce the highest quality meats and dairy products. The cows are grass fed and the chickens are free range. The difference in taste is immediately noticeable. They are very enterprising farmers and no longer sell milk to the milk truck. All the milk that is not sold from their farm is used to produce cheeses on the farm. The milk, I should add, is not pasteurized or homogenized. It is always a delight to see the Nolts. When I stopped off to see them a few months back, Mark forgot himself and began to speak to me in Pennsylvania Dutch. I guess in his mind, I am not one of the English, as the Plain People refer to those who are not a part of their community.
Click on the thumbnail below to see the pictures.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Harlem Buildings March 2008
In some respects, Harlem is like a fly in amber Row after row of handsome, sturdy buildings with architectural details. A few decades ago, all of Manhattan looked like this. Then"progress" came and the bulk of these buildings were bulldozed and replaced with the blandness of luxury high-rise condominiums. That process is starting here too but it will take time for these buildings to be obliterated.
A lot of Manhattan life revolved around the stoops. In the pre-air conditioning days, people would gather on the stoops to escape the opressive heat, watch the kids playing stickball and gossip with neighbors and the mailman. Visiting salesmen like the Fuller brushman, the Good Humor ice cream salesman, etc., were seized on with avidity. The airshaft in the tenement buildings was used in a similar way to socialize, as was documented in the early 1950's TV show, The Molly Goldberg Show. As I remember, the show began with Molly calling "Yoo Hoo" into the shaft, hoping to entice some neighbor into gossiping.
My son Andrew informs me that the old stoop culture is not quite dead. He told me that several months ago, he encountered a neighbor he had known for 10 years, sitting on the stoop and smoking. He asked her how her foot was (she had had surgery several months before)? As they were talking, people who were about to enter or leave the building joined in on the conversation until, 30 minutes later, a sizable knot of people had gathered in front of the building, actively talking. The stoop culture does not survive the transition to the suburbs but is one of the delights of life in New York.
Crowds of people, mostly white, were gathering in the 12 degree cold with high winds. I was wondering what was going on? A cop told me that Senator Clinton was due to speak at a church. I marveled that these people were willing to endure this bestial cold for someone like Hillary Clinton.
I passed a building that from a distance looked like the biggest White Castle hamburger joint I had ever seen. It turned out to be a church. A dissappointment. I would rather have had a White Castle hamburger at that point. At some future point, I will take pictures of the White Castle in Passaic NJ. This White Castle was a focal point of our suburban teenage years as we raced our cars to see who could get there first. Most of us did not have cars, so a whole crowd would pile into the trunk of Bob Whalen's 1947 Plymouth businessmans coupe. While speeding along the highway, we would open the trunk from inside and make obscene gestures at the traffic following. Allan Hoch loved to stick his naked ass out the window, mooning the population. Yessir, I have sentimental memories of White Castle. The food, of course, is crap.
Middletown PA March 2008
The most noteworthy thing about this town is that it is the headquarters of the Middletown&Hummelstown Railroad. This is owned and operated by railfans. They are a diverse lot, mastering tools like welders, cutting torches, sand blasters, etc. I was introduced to this place by Jim Kovacs, a consulting mining engineer and a member of the Society for Industrial Archeology. He owns his own personal boxcar that he parks on a siding that he rents, as well as a half interest in a caboose. As my sons and I returned with him from an abandoned coal mine, salvaging equipment for the Society of Industrial archeology, he pointed out a drug store with a steam locomotive parked next to it. The owner is a rabid railfan who bought the locomotive to have and to hold forever. Don't know if he ever fired up the boiler but he wouldn't have far to go since the tracks did not extend beyond the locomotive.
The last time I was in Middletown was about 10 years ago. The M&H RR looks much the same, except that there seemed to be a few more rust flakes than previously. The same doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc., in grimy coveralls, working at maintaining and repairing the equipment with their own hands. This is surely a labor of love.
Carroll Gardens March 2008
I thought I was in Red Hook but one business on Columbia St stated that they were in Carroll Gardens and another a few doors down that it was Cobble Hill.
Freebird books, 123 Columbia St is a large and very nice second hand bookshop. They also sell Moxie soda and T-shirts. The owner said that he has it shipped in from Maine and was very interested when I told him that I get it in Kuttstown, PA. www.freebirdbooks.com
DUB Pies, dubpies.com. These are small pies with mostly meat fillings that are designed to be eaten out of hand. Prices range from 3 to 5 bucks. The idea seems to be similar to that of a Cornish pasty. 193 Columbia St.
Mucho Gusto, 115 Columbia St, e-mail infor@muchogustoinc.com, 718-834-8786. I have not been inspired by Carribbean food in the past but they do have a daily lunch special for $6.00. I wound up eating in a Mexican place on Court St and have had gas all afternoon. If Carribbean food is less gassy, I might give it a whirl.
Pit Stop, 127 Columbia St, www.pitstopny.com. Lunch ranges from $7 to $11. A lot of the menu items feature goat cheese, a fact that does not appeal to me. I remember a pair of lesbians out in Pennsylvania who ran a goat farm. Everyone raved about their expensive goat cheese but to me it had the consistency of Craime Fraiche but less flavor than cream cheese. I have concluded that people who offer goat cheese on their menus are being pretentious. As usual, it is left up to me to point out that the emperor has no clothes. That being said I will say that I am intrigued by their Snails in the Potato item on the menu. I love snails.
Jakes Barbeque, www.jakesbbq.com. I don't know why but the idea of barbeque does not make my heart go pitter patter. No special lunch menus. Entries range from $7.95 to $24.95.
Satanic March 2008
Normally I am pretty tolerant but if someone annoys me by forcing my attention to their bizzarre beliefs, then they become legitimate targets for mockery. I mean that if someone privately subscribes to the belief that they are descended from a six tusked elephant, I couldn't care less but if they shout their belief on the subway, disturbing me or paint their belief in public places, then they become legitimate prey. And so it was that , in quick succession, a crazed evangelist woke me on the subway with his ravings and the Jesus Hucksters (whom I previously documented here), tried to block my path while they raved at me. This past weekend I decided to have some fun. I created these posters and intended to surreptitiously post them near the Jesus Hucksters and quietly wait results with my camcorder. To my great frustration, they were not there. I mean, they have manned the same location on the 42nd St platform, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the past year. I am so frustrated. Rather than waste these posters, I decided to post them here. Thanks to the Beatles for "Give Peace a Chance".
Jesus Hucksters March 2008
The early church fathers knew that some of the epistles ascribed to St Paul were bogus. They were not written by him at all. Yet they included them in the bible because they were so good and the church fathers felt that their inclusion would promote belief in Jesus. This is called a pious fraud. It is evident that these gentlemen had the ethics and morals of used car salesmen. Clearly, lying and cheating is OK as long as it promotes belief in the faith. So what can I do to help these gentlemen out? I think we need some gospels about the four footed companions of Jesus. I am thinking of writing The Gospel of Crypto the Wonderdog, the Hound of Jesus and the gospel of Hee-Haw, the Ass of Jesus. Crypto was a seven day sensation because he refused to lick his balls on Fridays and-- well you can see where I am heading
More LES March 2008
Having eaten lunch at my favorite noodle joint on E Broadway, I decided to explore the area just to the east.. After about two blacks the pretty buildings peter out to a vast sea of housing projects built to a style that has been called Stalin Gothic. Sturdy but ugly buildings. In all fairness to the city, they decided to demolish endless blocks of tenements that were an absolute horror to live in. Buildings without air shafts or even windows. Rickety constructions, some built using a single course of bricks, sometimes with the mortar cheapened with an admixture of sawdust. Given the choice, I would rather live in the projects than in those horrible tenements.
Western Rockaways March 2008
I had been curious what the Western end of the Rockaways peninsula was like. It is so tedious to get to that I suspect that few who do not live there ever bother traveling so far. One way of getting there is to take the A train to Broad Channel, a village in the middle of Jamaica Bay with a subway station. There you have to switch to the shuttle which takes you to the end of the line as far as the subway is concerned, the community of Rockaway Park. However, you are still several miles from the gated community of Breezy Point. To travel further in that direction, you take the Q25 bus. The route of the Q25 though ends at 169 St, still about 2 miles from Breezy point. If you get discouraged at that point, you can hop on the Q35 bus which will take you to Flatbush Ave and civilization. I was determined to walk, if necessary. I reached the gated community of Roxbury when it started raining. I took some pictures and walked back to the bus stop in disgust.
Roxbury is a community of the type of construction sometimes referred to as bungalows. I suspect that at one time it was a summer only colony. It looks like cheap construction. Under the clapboards you will probably find cheap beaverboard instead of sound wood. Beaverboard is sawdust glued together. It would probably not pass any modern building codes. Nowadays they would simply have plopped down mobile homes. Even the churches look like cheap bungalows.
There are no tresspassing and beware of dog signs everywhere. I was frequently stopped by people asking me if I was lost. Strangers, it would appear, are infrequent and not wanted. The streets are cement paths the width of sidewalks. The avenues are dirt tracks in the sand. There is no topsoil or grass anywhere. The whole place was built on sanddunes, like in a desert.
There is little for anyone to see so far. However, I am determined to expose Breezy Points secrets to the World. I will be back..
Cypress Hills Brooklyn March 26 2008
Unquestionably, Cypress Hills is the Brooklyn equivalent of that portion of the human anatomy "where the sun don't shine".It is as devoid of charm as any place that I have ever seen. It is a mixed industrial/residential neighborhood with very little architectural beauty. So I say to the people who are wrecking Manhattan with their luxury high rises, please bulldoze this neighborhood. Your elevated chicken coops would improve this neighborhood. Even the churches are former industrial wrecks.
So what is it that drew me here in the first place? As with many things in life, it was a small, seemingly insignificant event. I was bored on the subway and picked up a newspaper that someone had discarded, African Abroad. This is a newspaper that is aimed at the African community residing here in good old New York. Naturally I flipped to the middle of the paper and came across an article "Prophet's Wife Goes to Babalawo to Save Her Marriage. The article read as follows (in slightly fractured English):
In a bid to have her husband spend enough time with her sexually and otherwise, the wife of a Prophet in Asaba, Delta State has decided to seek the help of Babalawo (marabout). Sources close to the Pstor, whose name was given as Rev. Martins Ulokan said the wife had severally accused her husband of lack of commitment to their marital vow as he no longer shows her love, while hiding under the guise of undergoing spiritual purification. The Prophet's wife whose name was given as Mrs. Rita Ulokan was said to have also accused her husband of spending more time than necessary ministering to female memebers ofhis church in the inner sanctuary and extra marital activities with other women. As a result, she did all within her powers to stop her husband from prophetic work, but unfortunately he efforts yielded no fruit. The source said that Mrs. Ulokan became frustrated after the failed bid to stop her husband from prophetic work, to enable him to give her more attention. In this confusionshe consulted a woman who is said to be a member of her husband's church for useful suggestion Both women embarked on a journey to Esan Land in Edo State to meet the Babalawo for some concoction. The Babalawo demanded for the picture of the Prophet in the preparation of the charm, but unfortunately, the charm failed in Mrs. Ulokan didn't adhere to the instruction given her by the Babalawo. It was learn that the woman was asked to drop the concoction into the husband's food seven days but Prophet Ulokan only ate the food for four days and embarked on prayer and fasting thereby neutralizing the medicine.
There was no hint in the article that the concoction failed because magic does not work. Hmm. So I turned the page and saw an ad for a restaurant, Festac Grill African Restaurant, 263 Hendrix St, Brooklyn, NY 11207, tel 347-627-5151. Our outstanding menu consists of: Eba or Amala with Egbono, Egusi, Efo Ewedu, Okra, Edikaikon, Isi-Ewu, Ugba, Nkwobi, etc. On impulse, I took the J train home from work and scouted out the neighborhood and stopped in to have a bite. The waitress warned me that the food is spicy. I found that this was true but not excessively so. I had Moi Moi, which is a fist sized baked item made of some ground up bean but was pleasantly spicy. To be on the safe side, I also ordered "Meat" and fried plantain. "Meat" turned out to be goat meat but cooked so that it turned hard. You are given a fiery sauce to dip your food into. To wash it all down with, I ordered a bottle of Emu. Emu is sparkling palm juice and tastes vaguely like beer. The staff was very friendly but would not let me take pictures until the owner arrived. The owner Abiodun Imasuen, festacgrill@aol.com, gladly gave me permission when she arrived but by that time I had eaten my food and could not take a picture of it. I asked her what Nkwobi was and she said that it was cows foot. The owner and staff are all female and the customers were all male. I will need to eat a wider sample of their foods before I can make a judgement. However, I would say that the food is pleasant but not world class
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