Torrisi

Cheers to the good life.

I had to see what was going on at Torrisi since a close friend eats there, like what? Four times a week?

At Torrisi's counter the man with the mouth, Tom, (This will make sense when ya go.) asked if that was my first visit, and if it was, "have the turkey." (Not that the other selections were bad, but turkey is their joker. Yeah, I just played a hand of cards. Canasta.)

When the sandwich was set in front of me on a tea cup plate, I thought, O my this is like a tea party! With out the tea! Then I thought, this is a very messy tea party. Cuz ah look at that sandy, it resembles my desk. (Messy.) Then I took a bite, and I said, (mouth full) thank Gosh aloud....When one is in search of good food, when one does not eat places twice, one has to eat a lot of bad food. I'm sticking to reporting on the good stuff,  which means I feel like I'm poisoning myself most of the time. Yet, it's all worth it when something sensational enters my life.

Now let's talk about the sandwich: There is a roll, spicy cherry pepper sauce (Which I've never had. Wow, good.) thick cuts of turkey, lettuce, red onions, & clows slaw. The clows slaw balances out the spice. If we aren't used to spice, ask for half sauce. (And idea: It would go great with a side of cottage cheese, cottage cheese doesn't get enough credit.)

 The food tasted so top quality that I figured it had to have been imported from Italy. So I asked.

What I learned was that Torrisi is owned by "the good ol' boys," that the ingredients are from the US. The tomatoes are from Nj, the prosciutto: Ohio, the parm cheese: Wisconsin, the coffee is from a small husband & wife company in up-state Ny, the wine: California and Long Island, and the bread is from Parissi, a nearby bakery. When I heard all this I felt as if a number of secrets had been bestowed upon me. The more I know, the better I feel about things.

I know that up until now Torrisi sounds like a sandwich only locale, but it isn't so. They are open for lunch from 11 - 4 a.m. then they close to get ready for dinner which starts at 6 p.m. The dinner menu changes each day, these changes are posted on their Website around 3ish. When I opened their front door (It's usually closed.) to have a peek at dinner, I felt as if I were walking into some one's living room, and every person looked at me as if I were interrupting a family dinner it's that intimate (No reservation required.)....I can't wait to experience their dinner. (The menu is written on the chalk board wall.)

Go. Have a turkey sandwich, or have anything else, I'm sure it'll be amazing as well. (I never suggest anything I've never tried, but my faith in them is big right now.)

Your Welcome.

O, and lastly. I assumed that the picture of a pig with a hat on on their business card was there due to the many pork products. But when I spoke up about it I found out that the owner's sister drew the pig, which is the why reason for it being there. I am so happy that I know this.

'Memoir Breakdown'

Memoir Breakdown
By: Ben Nardolilli

Childhood leaks out to me now,
The old walls I used to keep it back
Are unable to stand still, waves
From the unsettled past, swirling
With the input of today’s events,
Splash over and soon all is wet.

~
Ben Nardolilli is a twenty-four year old writer who lives in Arlington, Virginia, in exile from New York City. He reads the encyclopedia for a living and has been published in Perigee, Elimae, The Poetry Warrior, Cantaraville, and Underground Voices. And he has a blog at http://mirrorsponge.blogspot.com/.

Pier 66 Maritime

The Frying Pan . I was supposed to participate in a first date there last September, but it rained that day.

Yeah, I've been meaning to head over there since then. It can be an easy place to forget due to that "out of sight, out of mind," expression. But I did it. I went! I went last Friday to wish a friend merry birthday. (You may have previously read about this person on here.)

When I got to pier 66a at West 26th, I took in the sculptures at the entrance, the old railroad car, the three boats tied alongside the barge, the main floor, the up-top terrace, and thought, "Yup, I need a nap." I kid you not, I turned back and took a nap on the grass under the shade of a tree out front. The things I saw, it would have all gone to waste if I had gone in on empty. (Day one of no coffee. I am now drinking half a cup, I don't think my body was happy about the cold turkey situation.)

Since my phone had died that day, (Jane can't take picture without phone.) I had no choice but to stop and enjoy the company around me. Damn. I had to watch the sunlight reflect off the water. Damn....The end result? A great day...But I knew I had to return if I wanted ta tell you about it.

At the second visit I learned that the boat closest to the entrance is the Frying Pan, the boat further past that is the John J. Harvey boat, and that the barge is a barge. (The John J. Harvey is a fireboat that assisted firemen for 80 hours during 9/11.) (And the Frying Pan has a it sunk twice history.) What? I have do bore you a little. I also learned that the schooner (sail boat) that was also tied to the barge belonged to Reid Stowe, the man who sailed a thousand plus days to sea, and that a party was thrown for him at the Frying Pan the previous evening. I really didn't know what to do with that information when I heard it, so I left it on the stove with a low flame to continue the exploring.

There's a VIP section at the edge of the barge...I just walked back there like I knew what I was doing and snapped snapped snapped pictures of the view and of the art work by Argentine artist, Raul Farco. The Pan is currently featuring Raul. (With a x number of exceptions,  local Nyc artists are featured at the Pan.)...My favorite was the mutant/fairy /angel or what ever it's intended to be. Can you see the bump at the lower back? It's missing a wing, or spike, which is why I like it....That spot, the edge of the barge, that may be a good place to think about something clearly.

Did I go on the Frying Pan? Yips. I got some awesome shots of barge setup, and I went up into the helm area, where much hasn't changed since the 1950s, as it shouldn't in this case. After mental noting those observations I head down to the Captain's quarters, where an old cot and radio filled up the room. If you go down there try to take notice of the old, cuz it's like taking a trip in a time machine.

The food. I've had the salmon and jerk chicken salads, and their burger. (Wells, I took a bite of a friend's burger to form an opinion.) Of the three, my fav was the burger.

Now, we go back to Reid Stowe and what happened there. I knew I had to speak with him. Yet, I didn't have anything prepared, I also didn't have that thing called a plan. Actually, the plan was get close enough to talk to the persons on schooner, so I climbed onto John J. and did that. Once close enough I asked, "Which man here sailed 1000 days at sea?" The man I directed the question to said, "That's me." (That was an o gosh moment.) I asked if he was busy. He said yes. I asked for one question. He said yes. I asked...."Why?" What he gave me was that voyaging/adventuring was how he grew up. After this I stayed true to one question, expressed my thanks and turned to leave.

When leaving I thought, what are you doing, wrong decision. So I paused to ask this man who was also on the John J. if he knew how long Reid would be docked there. After I heard the following day, he introduced himself as Wave, Reid's brother. When I gave him my name, he then told me how Reid had just finished saying that he wanted to move to New York so that he could network, and meet a Jane, that Reid pulled my name out of the air. Then I met him, and said, "Hello my name is Jane."

That's a sign right?... We'll see. 

The Frying Pan: Head over there between noon and four for a burger and seasoned fries. It's more like the color of sky blue then. (Calming) You can enjoy what I just wrote then. Ands if you're not up for the quiet, yes the Pan is a happening place from sunset on.

p.s. I didn't post any pictures of the whole setup cuz it'll be so much better when you see it for yourself.

Bryant Park Completed

I bet you thought I was done talking about Bryant Park....Nope, not done yet. 

 Last Thursday I went over to the chess area to see what was going on. I didn't find any of the regular chess guys, but I did find a fellow player, Peter, who showed up for the same reason I did.

 Peter was a History Professor at Pace University. Unfortunately, I didn't say anything like, "O my gosh I graduated from there!" I think I said something like, "e-huh." This was not a funny matter, I was attempting to concentrate.... In fin, I lost. Concentrating? What was I thinking! That never works for me. After the game we shook hands, I paid the fifty cents for the use of the board and left in a fury. (He didn't know I was furious. But I felt like one of those goalies that just let one slip by.) 

What else does Bryant Park have to offer? 

There are movie showings on Monday evenings at 5 p.m. I know, everyone has that info. But have you all gone, knowing and doing are two different animals. (Bonnie And Clyde. I'll see you there.)

On Tuesday mornings you can meet Terry who houses twenty-something tropical birds. She brings different ones in each week so that they all get a chance to socialize.

There are free knitting, yoga, and fencing classes. (Fencing is on my list.) Since the 21st of June sixty pianos were donated and placed in various parks of Nyc. Do you know how happy this makes me? There is a piano at 5th Ave. behind the Nyc library by the Bryant Park restaurant. And anyone can play it. Well you can't play during the scheduled performances, but it's yours when the keys are unoccupied. (A WitchCraft peanut butter cookie, this is a yes.)

And are you ready for this? There are poetry and book readings on Tuesday evenings. I know, holy chocolate bars.

For more details on times and days have a look at Bryant Park's Event Calender.

Yoga at Bryant Park

Thank You lululemon for bringing free yoga to Bryant park on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. and Thursdays at 6 p.m.

I learned of this free yoga as I watched people assemble on the lawn with their mats while eating an obligatory (WitchCraft) peanut butter cookie. (It isn't obligatory anymore, I was going through a good phase.) Once the cookie was no longer my main concern in life I felt, this is something to write about.

Yet, since this blog is my take on experiential journalism I signed a waiver form for the following class. I've got to eat the cake so I can tell you about it, right?

This past Tuesday morning I brought my yoga mat to Bryant Park, where I took a spot in the shade. Throughout the class we were asked to visit and revisit the basic moves of yoga. (The Downward Facing Dog, warriors I and II, etc.) Although there were a few wild cards thrown at us. (Head-stands, and some leg stretchy-thing. Yeah, I'm not there yet.)

The class t'was relaxing, once becoming accustomed with the twenty or so onlookers with cameras. But that's one way of looking at it. The other being, I became an attraction of New York within that hour. Cool, no?  In regard to the class, it was kept at a steady and natural motion. The instructor, Rima Rabbath, said lovely things like, "Life is good." And when I couldn't hear her words clearly due to my spot in the shade I turned my eyes to this graceful woman. There's no other way to explain her, she was like a bird, she was like a bird that knew what we were doing at all times. (The person in the headstand position is the graceful lady, Lindsey Boylan. I'll be interviewing her next week. O, the happiness.)

When class was over I walked my jello-self over to the instructor, Rima to say thanks and to exchange info. so I could find out a little more about her.

That night I sent her a few questions via e-mail and this is what I got back.

How did you start yoga? "A colleague at Colgate-Palmolive (Where I used to work for 8 years.) mentioned that I should check out Jivamukti Yoga. It took me six months to act on her suggestion. When I walked into my very first class, an evening class, there were over 60 students in that class, mat to mat. The way I like it now, but at that time it was quite overwhelming... Anyway, the teacher, the method, how hard I had to work without being self-conscious, got to me. Something resonated with me. I did not have to explain it to myself. I loved it. I kept going back, over and over again."

What has yoga done for you? "It made me realize how powerful our thoughts can be. How strong we can be from the inside. It made me discover that part of myself that is perfect and pure, not polluted, not constricted. That part that can be so expressive because expression is how we connect with each other and with ourselves." (Rima.)

While at Bryant, Rima told me she is leaving for India in two weeks...Are you going to India to study yoga? "I am going to Mysore, India. That's where my teachers have gone for the past twenty-five years. It's like following in their footsteps. They laid it all out for me so how can I not go and study...."

How could she not? I guess that's how things happen....by just doing them. So, go do them!

Unfortunately you won't be able to have Rima as an instructor since she's going to India, and no instructor teaches twice over at Bryant Park, but this means no class is alike. Isn't that the point of New York?
"Breath deeply & appreciate the moment. Living in the moment could be the meaning of life." -lululemon's card, grab one and read it before you go to bed. It's a good read.

p.s...On Tuesdays classes are by the Bryant Park Grill, and on Thursdays classes are held on the grass.

'Unrest'

Unrest
By Michael Weems
~
When nowhere in particular feels like home, where do I rest?
When do I get to close my eyes and breathe peacefully – to feel that
       rise and fall and the warmth of safety overcomes my body as I
       drift away?
I sleep without movement or dreams – the bare act of sleep without
       the color to entertain until the next morning.
Yet, who am I to complain?
In this place, I have a surface beneath me each night.
A bed like all others, large, comfortable, and strong - my mate rests
       nearby.
I have solid wood floors, cold and unfamiliar underneath my feet and
       a sturdy roof overhead.
I have food and comfort; I have love and acceptance.
Why do I still wake up lost? Searching for that seemingly impossible
       home.
I wake in the middle of the night and pace the giant halls - a search
       for a secret room of my own that inevitably ends in
       disappointment.
The bed brings no rest; a gigantic mass of cloth and spring that can’t
       lull sleep.
The floors feel foreign and rough on my bare feet; my footstep’s echo
       rings unfamiliar.
The roof hovers - a permanent dome – encapsulating me in this
       moment of stasis.
Tomorrow, when I wake, things will remain the same-
Once my eyes focus, the ceiling will be the same off white color.
As I begrudgingly stand, the floors will be cold to each step.
And as I drive away, the roof will shrink in the distance –
Only to return to it’s original size when I come back later that
       evening.
Life stays the same, but we keep looking. Always looking.
~
Michael Weems ekes out time to write amongst the crazy heat/humidity, incredible and fattening food, his demanding but adorable sons, and dear wife. Michael dabbles in all genres of writing, but ultimately keeps hoping to get his work on display in order to challenge the way people think. http://www.michaeltweems.com/

And crazy heat? Michael is a Yankee gone South. After seven tumultuous years in NYC he now calls Texas home.

Murrays' Cheese Shop

Although Murray's Cheese Shop, the place that houses over two hundred cheeses, from mostly France and a few American farmers, mainly focus on cheese, they also have other products.

A few of these products are commonly called olive oil, olives, crackers, Mom's Sauce, pastas, and other grains. Yes, these are all imports from Italy. The pastas and grains are in the back and they're free. (No boxes. You do have to pay for them.) So, if you want to cook for one, you can. And there's something about being able to touch an object before purchasing it that I like. It's a very village thing to do. So, yes after the first visit and the first grilled cheese sandwich, plus a yummy McClures pickle spear, that cost less than five dollars in total, I decided that a closer look was the only honorable thing to do.

On the next visit I was able to secure a tour of the cheese caves downstairs with Murrays' manager, William Russell. (There are tours at $20 if this interests you.) Before gaining any cheese access I was asked to put on plastic footies and a very attractive hair cap. I guess I lost that picture. "Narf."

 Once in the caves I got to see, smell, and touch the cheeses...I actually got to see cheese in the midst of the process of growing skin! While down there Will bestowed a bit of cheese education upon me..."The softer French cheeses get covered in vegetable ash, which promotes growth of certain strains of molds and bacterias." Also: "Michael, (Another manager.) has interns that come in everyday, to turn and pat down some cheeses so that it looks better, and that way the cheese ages more evenly." (He was referring to goat cheese.) I also learned that most of Murray's cheeses rest for about three months in the caves, but there are exceptions, the eldest cheese there arrived on May 15th, 2009. Once all this information was safely filed away I had to ask when and what started Will's cheese career. He told me that it was the day he tried Cana De Cabra while cooking for a Spanish restaurant. He left it at that. It was a very Batman moment, all is and no because. I'm going to have to try this Cana De Cabra.

After the tour I found out that Murrays' offers cheese pairing classes for serious cheese connoisseurs. This would entail experimenting an assortment of cheeses with beer, or wine,  or whisky. Yes, that's or not and, we're talking about three different classes, and there are additional classes to those. If you're sitting at the edge of your seat about this, you may want to check out their Website under Murray's events. And if you're completely relaxed then ask to try which ever cheese looks good to you at the main level when there. The employees are a merry bunch.     

Now back to that grilled cheese before the credits roll. What kind? Smoked Gouda. Yips, Murrays' offers cheese choices. So, do a little jay-walking if you go, which means save the yellow American for a 2 a.m. diner night...Then head over to Grom because the two balance each other out price wise....

Whattah wonderful Saturday afternoon.

"You made me love you. I didn't wanna do it, I didn't wanna do it."

4 Dot 25 Dot 09

4/25/09

By Yours Truly

~
Myself, plus book, plus pen, plus bathing-suit.

I labored to get here - at this park where parents are rooting for their
         sons' baseball teams.
I quit all sports once I realized they were war like - pinning sides
         against each other.

As soon as I sat, the sun went to lunch with five aggressive clouds.
Maybe the sun was bullied into it?
I look up and scan the upper atmosphere for SOS signals.

He catches my eye and says, "I'll see you in 15."

"In 15! I need you now! I don't have anything left, aside from writing.

Is that enough?

I wish I had enough guts to end it."

"Common you wouldn't do that," says the swarm of flies that are
         flying at all directions two feet above my head.
They look like winged chocolate sprinkles.
Or at least I tell myself they do, so they're close proximity doesn't
         bother me.

"& I know."

What's worse - not having friends or not having friends that don't love
       you enough?

Yet, the reason they don't love you enough is you invariably purchase   one
       way tickets

to internal seclusion when the hard parts of life exasperate you.

"Sun, you said 15 minutes. All I'm getting is a breeze, although the
       breeze is relieving."
The sun peeks his face through, "Minutes? I could have meant hours,
       or days."
"You can't be serious," I say.

"You can't depend upon me or anyone else to make you feel better
       Jane."

"O Sun , you know me by name? That makes me feel better."

"You aren't getting the point."

"I think I'm going to lather myself in Water Babies sunscreen,
             the scent triggers pleasant memories."

It begins to rain.
~

Yes, that is the park. And that was me at the time of that title. Presently, I am very excited about the World Cup. I guess things have changed dot dot dot exclamation mark

Carlo Sampietro

While examining the East Village I walked past a gallery that had a number of  plastic newspaper boxes in the front window display. (Except there weren't any newspapers to be seen.) I continued walking and thought, that's weird, then stopped, and went back where I met Carlo, who explained that he had converted the newspaper boxes into things that could be of better use to us, like a dishwasher, a wine cooler, an aquarium, and a miniature green house. Carlo also went about creating in a right brained manner when he fashioned chairs out of Nyc Dots and tables out of police barricades and glass. Do I want to know how he was able to secure these materials? Nope.

Carlo is Carlo Sampietro

Carlo is an Italian from Lake Como
Who periodically resides in the East Village (Nyc)
In 2002 he won the green card lottery -- Which is big luck when you aren't a citizen

Carlo doesn't read or write in any language very well

But the man has taught himself how to speak English, Portuguese, and Spanish by listening to it on the streets

Shall we?

How were you able to make these appliances? Are you also a electrician? "Ah no, you know, you grow up in a village that is like eight hundred people. Where I grew up, this is a huge jump, but you know the people in Cuba? It's the same thing when you grow up in a mountain, or Lake Como, or in a village, everyone has some manual skills.

I'll give you some example...So the father of a friend of mine was an electrician, so I spend like a summer with him. We used to play with engines and things like that...Every summer I was doing something else. Another summer a friend of mine was a carpenter, so I spent a summer building up a house, and throwing down roof, and things like that. So, little by little, no?"

Can you tell me what it was like growing up in Lake Como? "Ah okay so when I was young the third year of the school I didn't do. I was in the hospital for one year and a half." Why? "I get ah leukemia." What? "Leukemia..." Yeah, I know what it is. (Emotions) "So when I get out of that one I don't go out too much without other people because it was still a little bit dangerous. So I spent time with the fathers of friends of mine. The electrician one, another one with the computer, things like that.

Contributed: For the first two years of secondary school I went to a school two miles north from Lake Como, but I punched a priest in the face, I send him to the hospital, so I need to change schools." Okay? "So they send me to Verona. But even there they arrest me one night, and I have to change schools again." Wait, for what? "They arrest me because I drove like ah a bike that was stolen. No, I didn't steal it, it was stolen in 1972, I wasn't even born. But ah they discovered that I was under 18, so they take me to the school with the police car. They were not so happy at the college. (From left to right, the dishwasher, the wine cooler, and green house.)

Then I finished up the last two years in Milan. Then August I started to do assistant work in advertising. August you normally don't work in Italy, but then and there I start. I worked 10 years in Italy, more or less. Every December and January I took off to South America." What were you doing there? "Traveling, I would take the bus and do ten thousand kilometers and see everything that I could."

Of all these places, which is your favorite or favorites? "The three places that I'm always going back are Cuba, ah Kenya, and Brazil...To live?...In Brazil." Really, why? "If you go in a place like this in Brazil (Esperanto) there will probably be live music like this, there is my grandfather that is ninety years old and my kid that is one month old. These family things don't happen so much in other places."

When did you move to New York? "I won the green card in 2003 and moved to Nyc in 2004."

How was your Nyc beginning? "I had a little bit of savings for a couple of things. If things were gonna be bad, I'm gonna end up washing dishes, or something like that.  In the beginning was very good. I did freelance for advertising, they paid me very well.  And then for a period of nine months I didn't work, everything went down. And I took this loft where I am right now in the East Village, very expensive, and I need to go to Puetro Rico like five days to make the rent. So with my holiday to Puerto Rico I paid the rent." I have no idea what you just said. "I need to pay the rent." Okay. "So to pay the rent I was renting my place for five days to a tourist. You know people that come and stay instead of a hotel they stay in an apartment? So I pay the rent. And they pay me to stay in Puerto Rico for a week, and I still have some money left." (A close up of the aquarium.)

Holy chocolate bars, back to art....What prompted you to make these pieces? "Everything with the advertising company was pretty fun until last year in May when it collapsed. So, I went to Israel, Berlin, Italy, London." What were you doing? "Holiday." Traveling? "Yeah, traveling.  All the money goes to traveling. And savings. So then I come back here in May. Everything started because the loft was empty, so I need ideas to come up with furniture things.. That's why I started with the police table, and then I did the wine cooler because I like wine, and then everything came together."

How did the gallery come about? "Everyone was coming to my apartment to see what beautiful things I made. So I say, you know what? I took the artistic one that I don't sell, and I decided to present it to the International Contemporary Art Fair at the Javit Center in May. So, one day before I open the ICFF booth I open the gallery."

Have you always been an artist? "They say in some way I've always been, but I donno. I call myself unemployed, there they call me artist....There was a time in New York when I was tired of saying where I live and things like that. Everyone, they ask, 'What do you do? Where do you live?' It's a typical question. Let me see if they can make some connection. What they have money wise, things like that, no? So I started to say unemployed. And after awhile I would say that, I come up with a better story. So when they asked me about what I was doing, I say to them, I'm a dildo maker. If you say to someone you're a dildo maker, if they're really interested in you, to go deeper and ask more questions, you have to have balls. So that was a good thing.  For a month I did that. It was fun, very fun. It was funny to see the reaction." How could you possibly go around saying you're a dildo maker? "So people don't bother me too much, you know?"

As an artist or an unemployed person do you have an idea that you're trying to put across?  "I don't believe in art by itself, art must be functional for me. That's why I don't go to the Metropolitan for example. For Picasso and things like, yes I see, I understand the time and the work and the meaning of that one, but it's not for me. For me I like to make people see the culture aspect of life. The project that I did about New York is a commentary of New York.....One day I was walking along the Williams bridge with someone, and I ask that person, what do you see? They say, 'a car, I see a bridge.' I don't see that. No-one creates anything, everything has already been created. It's just the interpretation of the new life that you're gonna give to something that's gonna make you think. It must be functional in a way that makes you think,  it's so simple, but how come I didn't think of it?"  (The glass police table.)

Onto the reoccuring theme. What thoughts or words come to mind when you think New York? "What do I think about New York? I think it's really true that if you want to make it, you can make it. But I can see the limits. You can make it successfully as a business man, but it would be very very hard to be successful with a private life. There are too many distractions. There's no family life in New York, there is like a lonely life. There's a work life, there's an artist's life.....But after you live here, it would be hard to live in another city because they offer so much here. There are so many commodities here that it would be very difficult to adapt somewhere else."

Do you like it here? "I love it, but I can't have complete peace. I would like to move and have a base here, and come here two times a year." (The inside of the dishwasher.) 

Any unusual experiences in New York?  "Unusual experiences in New York? Everyone has an unusual experience in New York.. I have a thousand unusual experiences from New York. From the people that you meet, to dates that you have, to how many girlfriends you can have, from how lonely you can be. You can be sick and no-one will bring you anything, you can do a party and you have like fifty people that you don't know. You think that you go out with your girlfriend and you discover that your girlfriend is going out with another two people. Or you have a girlfriend and you go out with other people. The social system in New York City is completely fucked up......But after awhile you live here you consider New York as a village, so you have your reference, and you don't get distracted by other things. Then you're gonna start to be educated. But for the first four years, five years, you're gonna be in a car without a map."  

Are you happy?  "Am I happy? Every single day. Don't you feel it?" A little bit. "A little bit? You know, I haven't worked for one year, and I'm kind of a little more happy then I was when I was working. Work will come, now it's about enjoying the life."

Carlo's last statement: "See the positive side."

Are you lying about any of this? "Yes, all of it."

If you’re looking for a piece of furniture or an appliance that will start up conversations when persons come for a visit, check out Carlo’s website at www.thestreetisinthehouse.com.

Lunch: Cafe Duke / Guy & Gallard

Since there are so many restaurants to figure out in Nyc I have decided to eat at no place twice. There are only so many times one can dine at WholeFoods before having to admit there may be a serious issue there.

Or if I can't get over a certain spot, it's called order something else on the menu. I'm sticking to reporting solely on good things, since I don't really feel comfortable about trashing people. But who knows what I'll do in the heat of the moment when I take a bite of something truly terrible. (Please root for my self-control.)....Welcome to the "yes" phase of my life. Lets hope it lasts until old age. Actually, why does it have to end at old age? I hope it lasts until I die.

On that note, let's talk about lunch. Lunch is a tricky thing cuz we don't really want to spend a ton of money on it, yet enjoying it is just as important, at least it is for me. O and there's that time issue. M-F Nyc lunches are comparable to rushing.

I tend to be afraid of the places with the many trays on display for various reasons. (WholeFoods does not belong to the scary trays category.) Then, there are the chain restaurants which are dependable in a sense, but not always yummy. Or so I thought, or so I thought.

The pic above is from Cafe Duke. Duke has three locations, but since I've only been to their 41st cafe, I can only honorably vouch for that one. (I'll get back to you about the other two.) While at Duke I put together a salad of Moz. cheese & cherry tomatoes, beets, and pesto ravioli. If you're wondering about the cherry tomatoes since we all know that was a risk, I did not have to spit them out in a napkin.

Furthermore Duke has everything that a person would ever want, plus fresh vegetable juice. The food is fresh, it's inviting, and when ever I walk past, (I do a lot since it's on the way to my internship.) the Cafe is teeming with people. This means nothing sits there longer than it should. And there price per pound is friendly. O and it's clean there! Yes, I promise this is a make believe place.

Then there's Guy & Gallard. There are eight G & G locations. I had no idea there were so many. I can speak for the one at 40th btw 7th & 8th, and the one at 31st & Park. The 31st. G & G is a sit down place, so this may be more of a weekend stop, if you aren't taking it to go.

When I went I took my grilled chicken with mozzarella, tomato confit, and agrugula pesto sandwich to go. When I opened the white box as I waited for the subway (I couldn't wait.) I was happily surprised by a side salad. That side of salad made me very happy for some reason. Then I bit into the sandwich and got really annoyed that only just found out about this place now. The chicken was tender and who does arugula pesto? The ciabatta bread may not be the healthiest choice, but do a couple of push-ups when you get home cuz it's worth it.

The 40th location does not have waiting service. You will have to use your arms and legs, which is super duper great when time matters. I made my own sandwich there. (Do you really wanna know know what it was? If send me an e-mail and I'll tell you.) The vital factor here is that there was no skimping in ingredients. And the whole grain baguette tasted good & healthy versus healthy.

My advice to you when there? Do yourself a good deed and take the extra five minutes to have a sandwich made. The bread doesn't get soggy that way.

Now I'm off the computer -- It's outside time.
p..s. I'd like to thank Sanna Chu for Guy & Gallard...

'The Break Up'

The Break Up
By Sanna Chu
~

~
I do and I don't want to know what you've been up to

I'm near ecstatic when I see you're online

I don't talk to you but it's nice to imagine you there alone at home suffering as well

I sign into every single chat thing

Hoping to find evidence of you not being out

I read every comment anyone has ever left you since 2004

The many many many girls who wanted you inside them

The girls who had you for a time soothe me

I could never tell the world that I wanted to scream your name

And I never loved you as much as Technicolor Girl.
~

Sanna Chu recently graduated from Pace University with a BA in English & Literature. Her focus was writing. Sanna has won a number of awards at Pace in Poetry, Creative Nonfiction, and Journalism. What does she do now? She works for free at an internship, it's such injustice. Her dream job? Publishing, right?

On a more personal note, Sanna is an Australian who now resides in Nyc. Yup. I like that.