April 2005 Archives

I made lemongrass shrimp over rice vermicelli and vegetables the other night. Though a more complicated meal than I normally throw together on a Wednesday night, it was definitely good enough to make again. I'm not sure where it came from, as my sister can't remember what magazine she cut it out of. Even if you don't make the whole recipe, you *must* use the marinade for shrimp--we broiled the shrimp since we're sans barbecue [If anyone knows of a reasonably priced one-bedroom in Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill/Boerum Hill with an outdoor space, let me know]. It's super tangy and easy to make (with the exception of tracking down the lemongrass, which we found at the fruit market on Atlantic next to Sahadi's).

Maybe it's the couple of beers I just had at the White Horse Tavern. Maybe it's the elation of finally seeing the Daily Show taped live. Whatever it is, I've finally got enough courage to say what everyone in the neighborhood must already be thinking: Key Foods on Court Street and 2nd Place S-U-C-K-S. For one, it smells like fresh poop or not-so-fresh dead meat at all times. I try to look at the smell as a strange gift from God, as it stops me from purchasing too much food, which half the time is stale or bad or both. Its produce is a joke--not even the onions can be trusted to be edible. Looking for something special, such as an herb other than parsley or cilantro? No such luck. Interested in tortilla chips that don't fall limply from your fingers? Wrong store. I could go on. What I don't get is that there are tons of people in the neighborhood who eat. Most of them seem like sensible shoppers. Please someone open up a grocery store on our side of the 'hood that doesn't smell and that carries fresh inventory! (One small caveat, the small natural foods stand on Court just below 2nd Place is the more pure gift from the Almighty. I don't know what I'd do without it.)

Fun Facts:
According to this website, the Key Foods was once a theater.
In a mostly unrelated note, I've always enjoyed this story about a monkey in a Manhattan Key Foods.

Living in Carroll Gardens, I'm used to non-living entities popping up in gardens: Easter bunnies, twirling plastic flowers, shiny balls, statues of the Virgin Mary. But still, no amount of statuary could prepare me for what popped up in front of Julienne Catering on Clinton Street a few days ago: Someone "planted" fake mini Christmas trees--with the lights attached--in front of the cafe.

I'm assuming it's the crazy owner who blasts jazz music from his outdoor speakers at all hours of the day to create a perfectly uninviting environment. Now, Julienne has never been known for its good taste in outdoor decorating (the ill-used outdoor copper fire pit) or for its effective selling of food products (the bagels and muffins sit outside in the sun wrapped in plastic wrap all day), but planting fake Christmas trees takes this to a whole new level.

Brooklyn loves its Thai restaurants. But those of us below the Carroll Gardens stop have always had to walk to the upper reaches of Smith or Court streets to get our Thai on. Until now. This weekend, Nine-D opened in the old Josie's Java storefront. The tasteful space isn't just a takeout joint. The interior is covered in dark wood and lit by atmospheric fixtures.  Arty Thai decorations hang on the walls and the pillows strewn across the bench seating adds splashes of color.

We only tried two dishes this weekend, but the results were promising. The duck yum, sliced roast duck with red onion, scallion, basil and peanuts in a tangy vinegar based sauce, was one of the best duck dishes we've had in the neighborhood. I was, however, a bit disappointed by the lack of vegetables in most of the dishes. I had to pay extra to get any veggies beyond peanuts, basil and lime leaves in my panang curry. You also have to pay for rice ($1 for steamed, $1.75 for sticky and $1.50 for brown). I'm of the opinion that everyone eats rice at a Thai restaurant, so it should just be included in the price. As well, the kitchen's timing was all over the place. While our dishes came out at the same time, the table next to us wasn't so lucky. I'm guessing this will be corrected with practice, and judging by the packed dining room this weekend, the staff is getting plenty of it. The waitstaff was also offering Singha beer on the house Sunday night, which always helps to smooth over the wrinkles.

Nine-D. 462 Court Street. (718) 488-9799. Lunch and dinner daily. Take-out.

My husband is sitting here next to me, cracking the whip (no, not like that). After all, he got me this nice new Powerbook with the stipulation that I say fun exciting things in my blog.

We are watching the doves at our bird feeder taunt our cats by strutting and flapping their wings on our fire escape. This has taken me back to my Thursday night dinner at Peasant in Soho. Overall, we were impressed with the food: amazing gnocchi, fresh, al dente pasta tossed with langoustine, creamy risotto and a fantastic panna cotta. I was rather disgusted to see the lips that kiss me eat the heads of two very large sardines (with visible eyes). He claimed he liked the crunch.

There was squab on the menu (hence the dove connection), and I find the presence of expensive squab on the menu of a place called Peasant kind of amusing. Oh, and said hubby ordered what I consider to be one of the worst drinks I've ever sipped, although the bartender did warn us. The restaurant calls it the Apothecary: fernet branca (smells like glass cleaner), sweet vermouth and creme de menthe. Gag.  Still, those bread sticks and fresh olives at the bar almost obliterated the taste.

Update: In doing some research on squab, I found this article about how many of the nearly wingless birds were released at a World Trade Center memorial service. Squabs, of course, can't really fly.

Hey--support the bloggers on the F train's Smith-9th stop. Visit the NYC Bloggers site (it's a pretty cool site whatever stop you're on).

So I was in Williamsburg this weekend, checking out the AllDisco show at Capone's, specifically to hear Morgan Geist spin (who threw down an excellent and super Italo set). Anyway, while trying to dance between flailing elbows and bodies storming to and from the bathroom, I noticed what I think is now a full-blown trend: the hipster hippy. You may have seen him: He has facial hair (a mustache, perhaps), a scraggly mountain man head of hair, and proudly wears his plaidish shirt and differently tight pants with glee. In short, he looks to have crawled out of Alabama. But kids, this is Williamsburg, which means he crawled right off of Bedford Avenue, which is just obnoxious. Only people actually from the South are allowed to dress that way (and I lived in Georgia for six years of my life, so I know of what I speak). Dudes--it's NOT cool. You can't be cool by being the most uncool thing you can think of--that's NOT cool. I repeat, NOT cool. Oh, and to the dude who was running around shirtless and molesting a girl in a skirt, well, that's not cool either.

There's something about Katz's deli that brings out the animal in people.

Exhibit A: One super tasty hot dog gets taken down!

Exhibit B: Don't ever ask this man to pose for a photo without first handing him a pastrami sandwich.

All hail the late-night, semi-drunken chow down on meat products!

So now that I have a laptop, I've gotta get a bag for transportation purposes. And so I'm soliciting advice from my faithful readers. ManhattanUser'sGuide recently did a feature on laptop bags, which got me started. (Check out this bag blog that MUG featured.) I would love comments on the two I found below or suggestions of better options. Basically I'm looking for a very lightweight bag that's not too bulky with a semi inspired design.

Timbuk2 (It comes in red, orange, blue, black and the kelly green below. The Apple site shows it in silver, which is cool.)

Sumdex NeoMetro (It also comes in other colors, but this is the coolest. The website says it has a shoulder strap ...)

STM has two designs: Medium Alley and Medium Wave

Sometimes when we lose something, we gain something else, and that something else is often better. Let's all take a moment to reflect on this deep and profound truth. <moment> In my case, my new f&$king awesome Powerbook is waaaaay better than my old iMac (God rest its soul). It has quite the personality and insisted on posing for its first photograph in a rather provacative way. And you thought I was getting all deep and spiritual ;)

Thanks to my friend Chris, from Athens, Ga., for pointing out this article on the angst that occurs when single men share an evening together in the esteemed NYTimes, which is a load of crap. Men, if you are so worried about being mistaken for being gay when hanging out with a male friend, you should just stick a big sign on your back that says "I am not gay," because that's just about as ridiculous as this article.

Good thing I saved this post before my computer stopped turning on. Yes, so Texas was good. There are so many things I forget about Texas until I go back: The pickup trucks are inumerable, ladies really fix their hair before going out, no one walks anywhere and it's really possible to consume an entire meal that only consists of meat. Other highlights: a trip to WalMart for "fun," a trip to the cowboy outfitter shop for real fun (see the photos below), all the beautiful wildflowers, seeing people eat sausage on a stick at 10am at a fair. (Click the photos for larger versions.)

RIP iMac 2000 - 2005

(Note: This is not a picture of my computer, as that would require my beloved computer to actually be working, but it is the correct model and color.)

Before I ride off into the sunset (OK, not really, I'm just going to Texas for a few days, leaving my blog even more neglected than before), I thought I'd leave you with this link from a friend of mine. Her husband and his partners created a lovely short film called "The Cycle Theory."

A good friend of mine has started a website, Poor Mark, that features his quirky cartoons. It's fun to get inside somebody else's head--even if it is just a cartoon head.

Er ... I mean tapas bars.

Went to a great Spanish one last night, Zipi Zape in Williamsburg. Everything we had popped in the mouth and made us wonder how we could top that dish, at least until the next one came. We started with a simple olive bowl and a glass of the house red, a bright fruity wine which I have no complaints about at $4 a glass. Deciding between the fried baby calamari and the whole grilled calamari proved difficult, but we opted for the fried calamari when the server said "you've never had fried calamari like this." I've heard that refrain at just about every halfway decent place that offers fried calamari, so I decided to take  the challenge. And it was *very* good. The whole baby calamari were tiny, most about half an inch, and the breading had a definite zing to it, which intensified even more when complimented by the garlic dipping sauce. (About the garlic, I consumed countless sweet cloves last night and enjoyed every minute of it, starting with the crisp pickled pieces offered free to start the meal.) Next up: Four grilled shrimp each atop a lemon slice and sprinkled with salt. Despite my hesitancy at removing the shell--the head! all those legs!--the simple lemon and salt seasoning nicely permeated the little critters, who had a smokey flavor thanks to the grill. A dab of red potato salad with garlic mayo from the cold bar tapas proved just as exciting, and had me scraping the obviously homemade mayo off the plate with my fork--and I don't even like mayo.

And then the seriously rich, salty, sop-the-juices-up-with-bread courses came. The generously sized casserole of mushrooms swam in a garlic-wrought broth that we couldn't stop thinking would be amazing on mussels. The piping chicken casserole arrived bubbling in a white wine broth that made even chicken seem like a gaudy, rich and happily heart-clogging dish. Had I had more room left in my expanding belly, I would have sampled the cheese plate or a chorizo dish, but we decided that we had eaten enough. As a testament to the sweet, convincing service, however, we somehow ended up making room for a chocolate souffle. The souffle sat atop a balsamic vinegar reduction sauce and another sweet cream sauce. But the fun came when we broke into the dessert and out came a molten berry and chocolate center. Quite delicious, and desserts do not generally impress me. I will definitely be back.

Check out: The cute little cartoon characters that decorate the outside of the building and inspired the restaurant's name.

Other reviews:
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