Trying to Fix the Cursed Corner

Earlier this fall I posted this photo of what I called the "cursed corner" on 23rd and Tenth Avenue, where numerous restaurants have mysteriously failed. Apparently, the location's newest tenant, New York Burger Company, thinks it's a troubled spot, too, so they hired a variety of clergy to bless the space! Check out the story in today's New York Times.

Vintage Subway!

When does the MTA ever make a person's day? Well, it made mine when I accidentally happened upon the holiday vintage special. Off to run errands on the Lower East Side, I was unusually lazy this morning and took the train to First Avenue. When I alighted, I spied the vintage train on the uptown platform and went over to take a look. Told it would be back for another trip in an hour-and-a-half, I ran my errands and returned in time to make the journey up Sixth to Queens Plaza and back.

According to one of the MTA guys with whom I chatted, the cars on the train were built between 1931 and 1947. Some were kind of plain, a few were exquisite, and others unexpected, but all of them were truly amazing. 

Apparently, it's tough-going to get the powers that be to run this special December train. I hope the MTA is smart enough to continue to do this, though, because in this era of continuous fare hikes and service reductions, I've never seen happier customers. Everyone was smiling, chatting, exploring, and having a good time experiencing a bit of our wonderful city's history.

Bring back the green! Chrome is fab, but I kind of dig this color.

In the 1931 car.

The conductor yells his "Stand clear of the closing doors" from between cars.

Why aren't our subway cars this artfully beautiful today?

In the age before air-conditioning, the doors between cars were left open.

Surprisingly, I was told this super-modern car was from the 1930s!

The ceiling vents in the 1931 car.

The old ads were a great touch, too.

"So little more time" ??

I think the MTA should revive this classic ad...

This year, the vintage trains will run Sundays until December 26, from 10am to 4pm. The timetable is on the MTA's website.

Who's Going To Buy Me An Apartment With Rooftop Access?

...so I can plant a groovy-cool space garden like this? I promise I would regularly have you over for dinner! (Check out Grub Street's post on Bell Book & Candle here).

Bell Book & Candle rooftop garden photo by Danny Kim, from Grub Street/New York Magazine.

Truly Cheap Eats: The Tuck Shop

I was truly sad about the closing of the Chelsea Market People's Pops stand (read their farewell letter here, though it's not entirely clear to me that they're gone forever? And some of their signs are still up...). But yesterday, when I checked out the replacement, the Australian meat pie joint Tuck Shop (which has two locations in the East Village), my sadness abated...quite a lot.

The menu looks great (the Thai Green Chook Chili and Guinness Mushroom pies look particularly appetizing) and the vast majority of things are under $6. As I was just there for a late-afternoon snack, I decided to try the Pork and Sage Sausage Roll ($3.50), and--lucky for me--a batch of them had just come out of the oven. I think it may be one of the best of the kind, and well worth the dietary splurge: the pastry's really flaky (they must use lard for the dough), and the filling was incredibly flavorful and satisfying. Frankly, it's really bad that I know these tubes of goodness exist--at $3.50, this cheap eat is officially one of the top things on my go-to list. I'll definitely have to go back for a pie sometime very soon.

(Amusing side note: This meat-centric stand is across from the vegan shop One Lucky Duck. Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum! Might there be a carnivore vs. herbivore smackdown in the future? I hope so!)

If People's Pops does come back, perhaps the two business could do a joint meat/pop thing? Pies on a stick? Pops in a pie? Oh, the possibilities...

Tuck Shop @ Chelsea Market: 75 Ninth Avenue, the stand is in the middle of the market, at the newish 15th Street Entrance. Tuck Shop in the East Village: 115 St. Marks Place & 68 East First Street.

The Truffle Oil Diaries: Potage Parmentier

The best thing about the return of the chilly weather to our fair metropolis is the ability to start making soup again (even though I have air conditioning, the thought of making a bubbling pot of something when it's not below 60 outside makes me a little faint). After spying some beautiful leeks at my market, I decided it was time for the first batch of leek and potato soup (check out my recipe here).

And what did I drizzle on top? Truffle oil.

Yup, it was good. It made me want to expand the flavors in the soup for next time, too. Perhaps stir in some frizzled lardons after puréeing? Or some really deep other mushroomy flavor? Oh, the possibilities...

Hot Peppah Jelly 2010

Thanks to the extra-super-long Thanksgiving weekend, the first teeny-tiny batch of KK & Nanita's Hot Peppah Jelly has finally made its appearance! Thanks to a perfect hot pepper–growing summer, the 2010 batch is some crazy, intense stuff. More is on the way in the following weeks, so if you're looking for the perfect holiday gift, contact us!

Where Does This Sheep Meadow Manhole Cover Go?

I've crisscrossed Central Park's Sheep Meadow countless times, but never before noticed this manhole smack-dab in the middle of it. Where does it go? Is it a magical portal to another part of town? The door to another level of the park? Access to some kind of secret late–nineteenth century mechanical system that feeds the grass?

Curious.

Pic O' The Week

It's been a wild and crazy week, so I'm finally getting around to posting this photo from last Sunday's gathering in Fort Tryon Park to mark the anniversary of the Battle of Fort Washington in 1776. I'm especially proud to have captured the smoking guns, and I also wonder...what's so intriguing to our brave soldier on the right? 

This Weekend in NYC: The Quidditch World Cup

One of the best things about New York City is that the world eventually comes to us. This weekend's arrival: the Quidditch World Cup. I'd read a few articles about how the fictional Harry Potter sport has become an actual thing happening on university campuses. I couldn't decide if it was a good idea or a jump-the-shark moment, so as the QWC was basically in my neighborhood, I decided to go check out what the heck these kids were up to. The answer? Having a good ol' geektastic time. (Though I still can't figure out how they aren't in an enormous amount of pain from running around with broomsticks between their legs...)

It's actually a contact sport--there was a good amount of tackling going on.

And therefore a first-aid tent.

A snitch is captured...

...while another taunts the crowd.

A Video Interlude

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Martha Stewart
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes 2010 Election March to Keep Fear Alive

My apologies for being so quiet lately--I've been busy working on someone else's cooking project. I'll be back in to normal in a few days, but in the meantime, I thought I'd tide you over with this hilarious clip of Martha Stewart and Stephen Colbert from last night's The Colbert Report.