My food list

Places to try....

UWS
-Patisserie Margot , 2109 Broadway on 74th St, apple turnovers
-Soutine, 104 West 70th St, btw Columbus/Amsterdam Aves, blueberry scone

UES
-Yura & Company, 1650 Third Ave near 92nd St, pies
-Two Little Red Hens , 1652 2nd Ave at 85th St, pies
-Land NorthEast Thai, 1565 Second Ave btw 81st and 82nd St
-Teodora, 141 E. 57th St at Lexington, tuna salad, Italian

Midtown
-Bouchon Bakery, Time Warner Center, jelly donuts
-Five Guys Burgers, 43 West 55th Street, 5th/6th Ave
-Goodburger,Lexington at 54th St
-Gyro cart, 53rd St and Sixth Ave
-Fukumatsu,
212 E 52nd St, 3rd Ave and 2nd Ave, ramen
-Norwegian Seamen's Church, 317 East 52nd St. at 1st/2nd Ave, buffet Wednesday
-Hummus Kitchen, falafel, fresh lemonade, 768 Ninth Avenue (51st Street)
-Kyotofu, 705 Ninth Ave near 48th St, dessert
-Pearl on the Sushi, 695 Ninth Ave at 48th Street, lobster sushi
-Taam Tov, 41 West 47th St at 5th/6th Ave, 3rd floor, central asian
-Becco, 355 W. 46th St between 8th/9th Ave, all-you-can-eat 3 pastas
-Lattanzi, 361 46th St between 8th/9th Ave, Italian-Jewish
-Akdeniz, 19 W. 46th near 5th Ave, Turkish
-Sukhadia's, 17 West 45th St between 5th and 6th Ave, Gujarat
-Sakegura, 211 East 43rd Street, udon and small dishes
-Ceriello's, Grand Central Terminal, good butcher
-Darna, 633 Second Ave, 34th/35th Streets, moroccan
-Dae Dong, 17 West 32nd, Hamhung naeng myun noodles
-Kang Suh, 1250 Broadway at 32nd St, Hamhung naeng myun noodles
-Goodburger,2nd Ave at 43rd St
-Bon Chon Chicken, 314 Fifth Ave at 32nd St, 2nd floor, Korean fried chicken
-Pizza Suprema, 413 Eighth Avenue at 31st Street

Chelsea
-Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Company, 286 Eighth Ave bt 24/25th St, sandwiches
-BBQ Chicken, Korean fried chicken, 232 Seventh Ave, 23rd and 24th Streets
-patisserie des ambassades, senegalese, 161 West 22nd St, lamb, stews
-Havana-Chelsea Luncheonette, 190 Eighth Ave at 20th St, Cuban sandwich
-Swich, 104 8th Ave at 15th St, Trojan Horse and tuna sandwich

Grammercy
-Baoguette, 61 Lexington between 25th/26th, vietnameese sandwiches, catfish sandwich
-Johnny's, egg sandwich, 124 West 25th and 6th and 7th Ave
-Bgr, 287 Seventh Ave near 26th street, burgers
-Great Burrito, 100 West 23rd Street at 6th Ave, carnitas taco, huarache

West Village
-Pardo's, 92 Seventh Ave at Grove St, rotisserie chicken
-Patisserie Claude , 187 West 4th St between Sixth and Seventh Aves, apple turnovers
-Duane Park Patisserie, 179 Duane St between Hudson and Greenwich Streets, apple turnovers (by 10 a.m.)
-Little Owl, 90 Bedford St at Grove St, Mediterranean
-BarFry, seafood po-boys, tomato salad, wasabi pickles, 50 Carmine Street at Bedford Street
-Market Table, hamburger and hoagie, 54 Carmine Street at Bedford
-Hakata Tonton, pig's feet, 61 Grove Street/Bleecker Street
-Perry Street, warm molten chocolate cake, 176 Perry Street at West street

East Village
-Molly's Pub, 287 3rd Ave between 22nd 23rd, onion rings
-Rosa Mexicano, 9 East 18th St at 5th Ave
-Boqueria, 53 W. 19th St off Sixth Ave, tapas
-Tebaya, 144 W 19th St off 7th Ave, japanese wings
-La Nacional,
239 West 14th St, Seventh and Eighth Ave, paella
-Momofuku Ssam Bar, 207 Second Ave and 13th St, Berkshire pork rice bowl; pickles; country hams, grilled rice cakes
-BLT Burger, 460 Sixth Ave and 12th St
-Philly Slim's Cheesesteak, 106 University Pl near 12th St
-Tokyo La Men, 90 University Place
-Stand, 24 East 12th St between University/5th Ave, burgers
-Westville East, 173 Ave A at 11th St, americana
-Sundaes and Cones, 95 E 10th St near 3rd Ave, asian ice cream
-Persimmon, 277 E 10th St, korean, raw fluke
-Dieci, 228 E 10th St, 1st/2nd Ave, japanese-owned italian
-Max Brenner chocolate, 141 2nd Ave at 9th St
-Spoon's Asian tapas, Malaysian, sweet potato pudding,141 First Ave between St. Marks Pl and 9th St
-Soba Koh, 309 E 5th
-Prune, egg/cheese/bacon sandwich at lunch, 54 E. 1st St between First and Second Ave

Alphabet City
-Barbone, 186 Avenue B between 11th and 12th, pasta--fettuccine with lamb
-Bodeguita Cubana, Cuban, 271 E. 10th Street between 1st/Ave A
-Snack Dragon, tacos, 199 E. 3rd St between Ave A & B

LESish
-Balthazar ,80 Spring Street between Broadway and Crosby Streets, apple turnovers
-Bondi Road, 153 Rivington St near Suffolk St, Aussie-style fish-and-chips shop
-BroomeDoggs, 250 Broome St at Orchard St, black angus dog
-Cronkite Pizzeria & Wine Bar, 133 Norfolk Street at Rivington
-Centovini, 25 W. Houston St at Greene St, Italian, polenta, across from Angelika
-Dash Dogs, 127 Rivington St near Norfolk St, stoned dogs
-La Conquita, 236 Lafayette St near Spring St, Rice and beans with pork, barbecued chicken or goat stew
-Barbouche, 92 Prince St near Mercer, French-Moroccan
-Kampuchea Noodle Bar, 78-84 Rivington St near Allen

Chinatown
-Wah Mei Pork Chop Fast Food, 190 Hester Street and Hua Ji Pork Chop Fast Food, 7 Allen Street, taiwanese
-Jobees, 3 Howard between Centre/Lafayette, Taiwanese
-New Malaysia, 46-48 Bowery, oyster pancake, Hainanese chicken rice
-Saigon Vietnamese Sandwich, 369 Broome Street
-Vanessa's Dumpling House, 118 Eldridge St btw Grand/Broome, fried pork and chive
-Fu Zhou Cuisine, dumplings, 15 Eldridge Street
-Hong Kong Station, noodles, 45 Bayard off Elizabeth
-Bánh Mì Saigon BakeryVietnamese sandwiches, 138-01 Mott off Grand St
-Grand Italian Food Center, create-your-own sandwiches, 'new yorker', 186 Grand at Mulberry
-Il Palazzo, pappardelle alla casalinga, 138 Mulberry off Hester
-Sheng Wang, 27 Eldridge St, hand-pulled noodles
-Papatzul, 55 Grand Street, at West Broadway, Aztec, Strong Buzz 12/25
-Bahn Mi Sau Voi Cafe, 101-105 Lafayette St between White/Walker, vietnamese sandwiches

Tribeca/NoLita
-American Diner, Mulberry between Price and Spring
-Tribeca Treats, 94 Reade St at Church, cupcakes
-Bon Chon Chicken, 98 Chambers St at Church, Korean fried chicken

Brooklyn
-Yun Nan Flavour Snack, 775A 49th Street pork and beef noodle soup
-Lunetta, 116 Smith St near Pacific, Boerum Hill, italian
-Sparky's, egg breakfast sandwich, 135A N. 5th St at Bedford, Williamsburg
-Two Little Red Hens , 1112 8th Ave at 11th St, Park Slope, pies
-Baked, mini caramel apples, 359 Van Brunt Street at Wolcott Street, Red Hook
-Lucali's, sausage, mushroom pizza, 575 Henry Street, Carroll Gardens

Queens
-Sheng Jian Muslim Little Kitchen, halal, 41-40 Main St. (41st Rd.-Sanford Ave., inside "Oriental Express Food"), Flushing
-Cedars Meat House, 41-08 30th Ave., Astoria, eggplant sandwich
-Renee's Kitchenette, 6914 Roosevelt Ave nr. 69th Street, Woodside, Filipino sausage
-Dhaka Kabob, 37-11 73rd Street, Jackson Heights, goat curry, cardamom/beef rice
-Spicy and Tasty, 39-07 Prince St and 39th Ave, Flushing, taiwanese
-Arzu, 101-05 67th Road, Rego Park
-Waterfront International Enterprises, 40-09 Prince St at Roosevelt Ave, Flushing, northeast chinese
-Unidentified Flying Chickens, 71-22 Roosevelt Ave at 71st St, Korean fried chicken
-Zabb Queens, 71-28 Roosevelt Ave, Jackson Heights, Isaan Thai
-Pollo Campero, 103-16 Roosevelt Ave, Corona, Guatamalan chicken

Misc
-Hand-pulled noodle places
-Caribbean restaurants in Brooklyn
-Flushing Golden Shopping Mall and Beijing in Flushing
-All the pizza spots in one post
-Top 10 ice cream sandwiches
-Apple Turnovers
-Southern Food
-Tacos to go
-Jjajangmyun in Queens

NJ
-White Manna, Jersey City, burgers

Sources
-Amateur Gourmet
-amNewYork
-Eating in Translation
-Ed Levine
-Food in Mouth
-Gothamist Food
-Grub Street
-A Hamburger Today
-New York Post
-New York Times
-Slice
-Strong Buzz
-Time Out New York
-Village Voice
-Wandering Eater

What makes New York New York

Jimmy Breslin: Inspirational Curmudgeon

NYTimes: It was 1978, I was 25 and living in Buffalo. Through a friend who ran the student lecture series at the SUNY campus, I had the chance to have a beer and wings with Jimmy Breslin. I asked him if he thought a girl from Indiana could make it in New York City. I will never forget his response: “Kids migrating from the Midwest are what makes New York great. That’s the way it’s always been.” -- Kay Johnson

NYC all over again

Some breathtaking photos of NYC; for impish commentary, click the 'I' on the first photo.

NYC: Comedy capital of the world

From Overheard in New York, we learn kids (and vendors) say the craziest things....

Mom: I need a size 'Small.'
Little girl, loudly: Mommy, aren't you a Large?

Ice cream vendor: Why don't you go for it? You are eating for two!
Woman: I am not eating for two.

Rude famous guy: Do you know who I am?!
Waitress: No... But I know your type...

Bimbette: Look, it's not like I mind tall, dark, and handsome, but it's like, 'Look at me -- I'm hot... I should be able to nab a nerd.'
Friend: Nerds aren't like shoes -- you can't just try them on for size. They have feelings, too.
Bimbette: And glasses.

Hefty guy: Excuse me, I really need to go to the bathroom. Can I go in front of you?
Woman in front of him in line: I'm in a rush, too.
Hefty guy, to no one: Can you believe this city? Everyone is in a rush. Everyone is rude. I just need to go to the bathroom... No one will ever help you out.
Woman in front of him: Sir, you are the one that is being rude.
Hefty guy, yelling: I am not a sir, I am a ma'am! [Silence ensues.]

Man: Excuse me, miss, do you have the time?
Girl with headphones: No thanks, I have a boyfriend.

Seven-year-old girl: I'm going to see a movie this weekend. Can anyone guess what I'm going to see?
Seven-year-old boy: Ratatouille! I already saw it.
Seven-year-old girl: Yeah, I'm going to go see Ratatouille this weekend.
Seven-year-old boy: Yeah, I already saw it. And there's this one part -- yuck -- you don't want to see it. It's bad, you really don't want to see that part -- it's gross. [Whispers it to another kid.]
Seven-year-old girl: What? Is there kissing? I can see kissing... If you think I've never seen kissing before, there's kissing in every other movie I have ever seen in my life!

Suit, embarrassed after tapping man on shoulder: ... Sorry, I thought I knew you [starts to walk away].
Man he tapped: I'm your cousin!

Guy: So, when did you guys get married?
Husband: March.
Wife, at same time: May.
Husband: Uh-oh.

High school kid #1: I've never been to Staten Island.
High school kid #2: It's weird -- there are random delis in between houses.

Hot dog vendor: How you like it?
Tourist: Just ketchup, please.
Hot dog vendor: You not like New York style?
Tourist: Sure, but not today.
Hot dog vendor, reluctantly handing over dog: I think you make very big mistake today, sir, and every day, too.

Blackout redux

It was 30 years ago that New York City was plunged into darkness (again)--and this
time, looters came out before the lights came back out.

It's astonishing how much the city has changed, for the better, since then--much of the period articles almost read more as if they're movie reviews of Escape From New York, Batman or Soylent Green than actual dispatches from the flesh and blood city.

The Times' perpetual reporting machine Sewall Chan has pulled together a nice section looking back at the coverage of the blackout that features some great first-person accounts from users who were there.

Although, oddly, no HTML links to the original Times reporting.

Nevertheless, via the magic of a PDF link in a photo caption, we start with the authoritative Times, and their now-legendary (and still working) spot news man, Robert D. McFadden: Power Failure Blacks Out New York; Thousands Trapped in Subways; Looters and Vandals Hit Some Areas

A power failure plunged New York City and Westchester County into darkness last night, disrupting the lives of nearly nine million people.

Spokesmen for the Consolidated Edison Company said that power for all of its 2.8 million customers would not be restored until late this mornign.

By 2 A.M., the utility had restored power to 150,000 customres in the Jamaica, Flushing, Queens Village and Kew Gardens sections of Queens, and to 50,000 customers in the Pleasantville area in Westchester County.

Thought not as big as the nine-state blackout that hit the Northeast in November 1965, last night's power failure was in some respects an uglier experience. There was widespread looting in Manhattan, the Bronx and Brooklyn, and four hours after the blackout began, the police had arrested nearly 900 people.

Several thousand subway riders were trapped in trains between stations--but nowhere near the masses stranded 12 years ago during the rush hour.

With hindsight, the subhead should've put the Looters part about the subway part, since that's what was different about this blackout.

But a masterpiece of concise, this is what happened and this is what you need to know writing. If the looting seems a little undercovered, it's because they broke that part out into the left margin article, by Lawrence Van Gelder.

The PDF of the front page is worth reading; other pieces cover how people helped their neighbors, explained what exactly happened with the lightning bolt, covered the subways, noted Long Island was fine, and detailed doctors at Bellevue using hand-squeezed air bags to resusciate some patients.

Next, the Daily News' lead article, written by Dick Brass: Blackout! Lighting Hits Con Ed System

A massive power failure plunged New York City and most of Westchester County into darkness in sweltering midsummer weather last night, stranding millions in buildings, disrupting communications, slowing fire-fighting efforts, encouraging looting and evoking grim memories of the great 1965 Northeast power collapse.

A Con Ed spokesman blamed the blackout on severe lightning strikes at about 8:40 p.m. on a 345 kilovolt transmission cable suspended across the Hudson River to the company's nuclear plant at Indian Point on the Hudson. The lightning strikes led to what the spokesman called a "cascading effect" that shut down the power system at about 9:30 p.m.

I think Brass tries to do too much with his lead, and in trying to put it all in context leaves you breathless.

In contrast to today's paper, the rest of the News piece is written in a very dry tone; it's facts-on-a-stick, no real personality.

The next day's News lead article, by Donald Singleton, is better and reflects that the News, like just about everyone else, missed the lead the previous night: Lights Go on, End Nightmare: 3,400 Jailed, 558 Cops Hurt in 25 Hours of Terror

The Great Blackout of 1977 ended late last night after 25 hours that saw the city racked by arson and looting in a night and day of "terror."

The awakening from the total power blackout left many streets littered with ugly debris, and a strange, groggy day of empty skyscrapers and locked stores and hushed subways and streets without traffic lights, and buildings that were burning for no sensible reason.

Oddly, the New York Post doesn't have their original coverage up; instead, they've been running boring lookbacks.

The Times' Joyce Purnick, who was at the Post then, remembers what it was like: The ’77 Blackout: Inside the Command Center

I was a reporter at The New York Post then, a mayoral election was under way, I was covering it, and the blackout hit just as I was leaving The Post’s office downtown on South Street that very hot summer night. I ran up the stairs to the city room, said I would find the mayor, Abe Beame, ran back down the stairs, and walked over to City Hall. It was deserted. ...

There were frequent briefings — many by the shirt-sleeved mayor, who was 71 at the time. Throughout the night and into the morning hours, he and members of his administration reflected confidence that the city would get through the emergency, that the mayor was in firm control of a tough situation. “You couldn’t buy this attention,’’ said one of Mr. Beame’s political deputies, obviously confident his candidate had done well.

I still wonder whether they were not fully aware of the city’s trauma that night. Because reporters in the command center didn’t get a valid sense of the city’s reality. We were in a bunker, living on shards of fact, fragments of information, in an era, remember, without cellphones and text-messaging, and on a night without television.

Only later did we learn about the extent of the chaos and looting in the South Bronx, Harlem and in Bushwick. In pockets of the city — in lower Manhattan where the mayor toured hospitals and fire houses at 2 a.m. — things were calm. And in other pockets, New Yorkers were frightened of New Yorkers. In some places New Yorkers were abusing their neighbors.

Only when I got back to The Post the next day did I realize the destructive toll the blackout had taken.

Beame's aides thinking they had handled things well has gotta be one of the all-time political blunders.

Finally, Time magazine's article after the blackout shows the advantages of its extra time, with a great lead and all sorts of interesting details that didn't need to be filed over the phone or by candlelight (oddly enough, there's no byline on the piece): Night of Terror

It was a crisis of light, and of darkness—the kind of event that brings out the best and the worst in people. Certainly the 1965 blackout could never happen again, or so New Yorkers had thought. But something very much like it struck Wednesday the 13th, only this time it was frighteningly different. Through the long, sweaty night and most of the following day, the nation's largest city was powerless, lacking both the electricity on which it depends so heavily and any means to stop a marauding minority of poor blacks and Hispanics who, in severe contrast to 1965, went on a rampage, the first since the hot summer riots of the 1960s. They set hundreds of fires and looted thousands of stores, illuminating in a perverse way twelve years of change in the character of the city, and perhaps of the country. ...

At Hearn's department store in Brooklyn, youths stripped clothing from window mannequins, broke their limbs and scattered them on the floor. Said Miguel Ten, a Viet Nam veteran who stood guarding Arnet's Children's Wear store: "This reminds me of Pleiku in 1966. There was a war out here. And the mannequins remind me of the dead people I saw in Nam without legs and arms." ...

Many looters seemed scarcely aware that they were stealing. Said one of two black boys standing outside a stripped bicycle shop near Columbia University: "We're just out shopping with our parents. This is better than going to Macy's." Some blacks resented all the fuss over the looting. Said Lorraine, 14, who had helped plunder a drugstore in East Harlem: "It gets dark here every night. Every night stores get broke into, every night people get mugged, every night you scared on the street. But nobody pays no attention until a blackout comes."

More people than just store owners had to make fresh starts on the morning after the night of darkness. Rose Stevens, an elderly widow, wandered weeping down Broadway in Brooklyn, looking for a new place to live after spending the night alone in her $57-a-month apartment above a meat market that had been burned out by vandals. "I wish I died," she cried. "I'm almost 70 years old, and I have no place to go."

Many black and Hispanic leaders across the country were dismayed by the rioting. In a typical comment, Carlos Castro, president of Chicago's Puerto Rican United Front, noted that the plunderers were poor and lived in slum housing, though he said of the violence: "You can't justify it." So far, there were no signs of a white backlash, even though many broadcast and newspaper accounts of the power failure emphasized the disorders. Sample headline from the Los Angeles Times: CITY'S PRIDE IN ITSELF GOES DIM IN THE BLACKOUT. Newspapers abroad also focused on the looting. A headline from Tokyo's Mainichi Shimbun: PANIC GRIPS NEW YORK; from West Germany's Bild Zeitung: NEW YORK'S BLOODIEST NIGHT; from London's Daily Express: THE NAKED CITY. ...

Nonetheless, the overwhelming majority of New Yorkers and visitors responded to the crisis with some of the same good humor and willingness to help each other that they had exhibited twelve years earlier. At Beame's request, stores, banks and most offices closed, reducing traffic on the city's streets. At the intersection of Park Avenue and 79th Street in Manhattan, an athletic young man wearing a cape and holding a pink flare controlled traffic like a matador handling a bull. On the other side of the island, traffic was directed on Riverside Drive by David Epstein, 17 He joked: "My mother told me to go out and play in the traffic, and here I am." Sixteen passers-by turned Coney Island's 150-ft.-high Wonder Wheel by hand, enabling stranded riders to reach the ground. ...

Few bars remained open, and they were packed with thirsty people even though their ice supplies were rapidly melting. Said one woman who had visited three other bars before she stopped at P.J. Clarke's, a well-known East Side watering place: "We're typical New Yorkers. We're going to get smashed." At Elaine's restaurant on Manhattan's upper East Side, tables were moved outdoors for a block party. The guests included Woody Allen, Al Pacino, Andy Warhol and Designer Calvin Klein. At One Fifth, a Greenwich Village restaurant decorated with fittings from the cruise ship R.M.S. Caronia, a patron quipped: "We've hit an iceberg." Pianist Nat Jones scrounged a candle to light his keyboard and played It Ain't Necessarily So. Unfortunately, it was. ...

Times photo of people on Broadway in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn looting by Tyrone Dukes.

Paging Eddie Haskell

Like when the whale visited Parliament, there's nothing like an unexpected animal story to get urbanites all excited: After 200 Years, a Beaver Is Back in New York City .

Anahad O'Conner in the Times: A crudely fashioned lodge perched along the snow-covered banks of the Bronx River — no more than a mound of twigs and mud strewn together in the shadow of the Bronx Zoo — sits steps away from an empty parking lot and a busy intersection.

Scientists say that the discovery of this cone-shaped dwelling signifies something remarkable: For the first time in two centuries, the North American beaver, forced out of town by agricultural development and overeager fur traders, has returned to New York City.

The discovery of a beaver setting up camp in the Bronx is a testament to both the animal’s versatility and to an increasingly healthy Bronx River.

A few years ago the river was a dumping ground for abandoned cars and rubber tires, but it has been brought back to life recently through a big cleanup effort.

The biologists who discovered the beaver say they have nicknamed it José, after United States Representative José E. Serrano of the Bronx, who has directed $15 million in federal funds toward the river’s rebirth.

Wildlife Conservation Society image of 'José' via the Times.

Minyan and eggrolls

The Times takes a look at the latest Brooklyn hotspot--an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood: In the Wee Hours, Worship and More

Michal Lando: At 10 o’clock on a recent Thursday night, the corner of 53rd Street and 13th Avenue in the heart of Borough Park was bustling with traffic. In this neighborhood, an ultra-Orthodox stronghold for the past decade, a sea of religious Jews clad in traditional black and white garb scurried in every direction for late-night prayer, shopping or something to eat. This corner of Brooklyn never sleeps, or so it seems.

The main attraction is Congregation Shomrei Shabbos, a 24-hour synagogue where a service begins every 15 minutes. What started more than three-quarters of a century ago as a tiny congregation has grown into a mainstay of this community: transit hub, soup kitchen, community center, bookstore and prayer hall all in one.

The late-night traffic generated by the synagogue has spilled onto the streets, so much so that over the past few years a neighborhood has literally grown up around it. Restaurants and stores are open long past midnight. Peddlers vie for street space in the wee hours. Religious music streams from a small boombox. Men stop their cars in the middle of darkened streets to announce the birth of a child.

A boombox playing religious music? Cars stopped in the middle of streets to herald the birth of a child? It's quite a piece, closing with this:

Thanks to all this activity, the once-inconspicuous synagogue is now a trigger for local nightlife.

“Real estate surrounding the synagogue is in high demand,” said Mendy Handler, owner of Cellular 4 Less, one of several local businesses that stay open past midnight to attract late-night synagogue-goers. His busiest hours are from 6 p.m. to midnight. “People can drop off their phones to be fixed while they are praying next door,” said Sol Oberlander, the store’s manager.

Other businesses have followed suit. Copy Corner stays open until midnight, as does Gal Paz, a music store. Sub Express, a kosher fast-food restaurant whose menu includes what is described as a unique “brisket egg roll,” keeps its doors open until 1 a.m.

Another popular outpost is Deli 52, which on Thursday nights serves two variations of cholent, a traditional Sabbath stew of beans, meat and barley, until 4 a.m. The late-night cholent attracts crowds of men, who often stay and schmooze until the morning hours, a somewhat controversial activity among the ultra-Orthodox, who pride themselves on not wasting time with idle chat.

Oh no--ultra-Orthodox Jews don't believe in chit chat?! How will their non-Jewish neighbors ever get to know them?!

Maybe--in the interest of society of course--the government should force them to give up their religious beliefs?

Famed (or infamous) photo of Emo Nussenzweig by Philip-Lorca diCorcia, found in various places online.

Starts with a sandwich

New Yorkers get typecast as rude and uncaring, but in my experience they're pretty willing to help people who are really in need (and not just fumbling or rude).

When I saw the story about a family that was searching for a missing man over the weekend, I feared the worst--but it all turned out okay--with some very typical Daily News quotes:

Lost in city's jungle: New immigrant Damon Mootoo had been in New York for less than a day when he faced one of the city's toughest challenges: navigating the confusing streets of Queens.

Mootoo spent five long, cold days wandering Jamaica after he got lost during a walk and was too intimidated to ask strangers how to get home. Mootoo, 32, was rescued yesterday by a kindhearted churchgoer who spotted him shivering on a Queens street and gave him food and water.

"I want to go home," Mootoo said last night after his stressful misadventure. "I'm thinking about going back to Guyana."

Mootoo got lost Wednesday, less than 12 hours after arriving in New York for the first time, when he left his brother's South Jamaica house to stretch his legs.

He was being treated last night at Jamaica Hospital for the dehydration and frostbite he suffered in the frigid air.

"When we saw him, he was just crying," said Mootoo's brother Mark Miller, 43. "He said, 'I'm glad to see you.' "

When Mootoo left Miller's two-story house on 152nd St. Wednesday morning, he wasn't wearing gloves or carrying an ID.

Miller said Mootoo had recently received his permanent resident card and was excited about starting a new life in America.

"He said he was trying to find his way back," Miller said. "He said he was just walking all over. He was scared. He heard all the stories about New York."

Mootoo, who is hard of hearing but can communicate in English, told relatives he didn't want to approach a cop because he feared he'd be deported.

He survived by begging several homeowners for water, but he was too ashamed and shy to ask for food or directions back to 152nd St., Miller said. At night, when temperatures plunged into the low 20s, Mootoo slept in an abandoned car or sought shelter from the snow under a piece of wood in a stranger's yard, he told relatives.

Meanwhile, his panicked kin posted flyers with Mootoo's picture across South Jamaica and formed search parties.

"We were thinking the worst after so many days," Miller said.

But just when hope was fading, Michael Bharath, 37, was walking home from church and saw Mootoo near his house on 142nd Place at Rockaway Blvd. "He looked in desperation," Bharath said.

Bharath's wife, Cynthia, made Mootoo a sandwich. Feeling secure, Mootoo told them his situation.

Michael Bharath asked if he had anything with his relatives' address written on it. Mootoo dug in his pockets and found a piece of paper with his stepmother's Foch Blvd. address. Bharath drove him there and reunited Mootoo with his worried family.

"When I see people in need, I try to help them," Bharath said. "He was in need, and I'm pretty sure that within a couple more hours he would have been a dead man."

There's another story out of Beijing that reminds me of a Chinese proverb about water vs. rock.

China phone thief repents after 21 text messages: A Chinese thief has returned a mobile phone and thousands of yuan he stole from a woman after she sent him 21 touching text messages, Xinhua news agency said on Monday.

Pan Aiying, a teacher in the eastern province of Shandong, had her bag containing her mobile phone, bank cards and 4,900 yuan ($630) snatched by a man riding a motorcycle as she cycled home on Friday, Xinhua said, citing the Qilu Evening News.

Pan first thought of calling the police but she decided to try to persuade the young man to return her bag.

She called her lost phone with her colleague's cell phone but was disconnected. Then she began sending text messages.

"I'm Pan Aiying, a teacher from Wutou Middle School. You must be going through a difficult time. If so, I will not blame you," wrote Pan in her first text message which did not get a response.

"Keep the 4,900 yuan if you really need it, but please return the other things to me. You are still young. To err is human. Correcting your mistakes is more important than anything," Pan wrote.

She gave up hope of seeing her possessions again after sending 21 text messages without a reply.

But on her way out on Sunday morning, she stumbled over a package that had been left in her courtyard only to discover it was her stolen bag. Nothing had been taken.

"Dear Pan: I'm sorry. I made a mistake. Please forgive me," a letter inside said.

"You are so tolerant even though I stole from you. I'll correct my ways and be an upright person."

It would be interesting to see where the people in the two articles are in a year.

Uncredited Damon Mootto photo from the Daily News

NYC by light

Check out these enhanced photos on Flickr by Arnold Pouteu of New York City by night; I recommend the slideshow, at 2.1 seconds each.

They're quite good; as someone who's regularly exposed to the works of a great photographer, I'd say his balance is a little off, too much sky/water to city ratio sometimes for my taste. But that may be deliberate.

Like other HDR photos, the luminescence of the scene grabs you... what a beautiful city, how great is it that so many wonderful photographers live here....

Ironically, NYC's interesting contrast of dark and light is being literally washed out--the Times had an interesting article, Tilting at Lampposts, about one woman's fight against light pollution.

Photos by Arnold Pouteu via Flickr.

Gotham of their eyes

Following on the heels of The Brick Testament, a Gothamist post points me to more unlikely lego creations.

Sean Kenney (Lego model maker) has a bunchof NYC icons in miniature at The "Brick" Apple, from skyscrapers (the Empire State Building, Chrysler, WTC, UN) to taxis to water towers. The best creation, in my opinion, is Greenwich Village--it's quite the bustling few blocks, complete with parking meters.

New York Miniland, a section of Brickland, seems to have more of a focus on building big versions of many of the classic skyscrapers. There are just photos here, no real personal information.

The original Gothamist post focused on what seems like an amazing recreation of NYC someone did in Sim City. Unfortunately the site seems to have crashed (hope that's not an omen for Wall Street!)

Until it comes back, check out the classic recreation of NYC, the Panorama at the Queens Museum of Art.

Photo of Greenwich Village from Sean Kenney's site.

Feeding the soul

Spent part of a day at the Met this past weekend. Running through my mind the whole time was what makes a great work of art great--is it really something innate, or does so much depend on context?

Based on my few hours at least, true artistic genius of the past does indeed stand out--if for no other reason because our aesthetic sense has been calibrated by these works. So Picassos, Van Goghs catch your eye, even their less familiar works.

But the merely wonderful is less universal; your mood when you see it, your personal preferences, what it's hung with--all that and more govern whether you zip past it, or stop and give it a second look.

Here's some of what caught my eye that day--although looking at photos of these works online is altogether a different experience than wandering through a crowded exhibit in person, through the thicket of languages and speeds of viewing.

All but the last two works are from the Cezanne to Picasso show (which actually was a retrospective of the career of Ambroise Vollard).




Fishing in Spring isn't as vibrant or thick as what you think of as classic Van Gogh, but I liked the colors and its quietness. By contrast, Woman Rocking a Cradle has a bit more of the popping colors and starkness; I liked this one because of the eyes, the shades of green, and--for some reason--the outlined shapes.


The starkness and composition of Emile Bernard's Breton Landscape appeals to me--but also the back story. The painting's wall tag said it was returned by its first owner, who owned a hotel, because his guests threw bread at it. I guess it was too alien for them.


Picasso is like Shakespeare--you might not always think you'll like it in theory, but you should never pass up a chance to experience one of their works for yourself. And what would fall flat in the hands of a lesser artist always works with their touch.

What is it about The Old Guitarist that I like? The color, first; the shape of the body, the contrast between the guitar and the man, the angle of the head, the feeling you get of a moment always frozen.


The moment I saw Ivan Bilibin's works, I thought wow. The Met had illustrations he did for a version of the classic Russian children's book, Vasilia the Beautiful. Apparently Russians all know his work; they have a feeling of darkness and foreboding that's probably pretty similar in spirit to the original Grimm fairy tales; but also a shining kind of beauty that serves as a visual representation of the way kids hear fairy tales. His work felt very Russian to me, a classic style with a touch of depression.

In addition to the works above, I also liked learning in this show about Julien Tanguy, who apparently ran an arts supply store and met a lot of the impressionists when they were young and poor. He gave supplies for free in exchange for their works--now that'd make a great movie!


I liked this mantel mosaic clock best of all the items from Louis Comfort Tiffany's Long Island home in the Met's exhibit. The Nicole Bengiveno photo above, from the New York Times review's slideshow, unfortunately barely captures the work's luminescence. The clocks themselves tell you day of the week, hour/minute, and month. At night the soft green and purple mosaics were lit from behind.

Finally, Portrait of a Boy blew me away. In look and feel, it could've been made anytime in the last few centuries.

But actually it was made in Egypt--about 2,000 years ago! Absolutely astonishing; it was essentially made out of wax, in a process now referred to as encaustic.

All images via the Met website or found uncredited online unless otherwise noted.

Roof meadow

A Porch and Flowering Meadow, 6 Floors Up

Anne Raver in the Times: David Puchkoff, Eileen Stukane and their daughter, Masha, were sitting on their porch, looking out over a carpet of sedums topped with tiny yellow, white and purple flowers and watching storm clouds build over the Empire State Building. ...

Mr. Puchkoff, who lives with his family on the top floor of a six-story building on Greenwich Street in the West Village, went to an architect friend, Lawrence Tobe, and told him he wanted a porch. “David wanted a folly, something to take him away from New York,” Mr. Tobe said. “I’ve done some roof terraces, but nothing that cool.” ...

This 1,200-square-foot meadow is planted with thousands of sedums. Native mostly to Europe and Asia, these fleshy plants thrive in heat and drought. (When it rains, they absorb water like a sponge).

More proof that you can find just about anything in New York, usually with a twist.

Photo of Eileen Stukane, David Puchkoff and their daughter, Masha by John Lei for the Times.

A good soul, passing through

He Loves New York, and It Loves Him Right Back

The Times: Yuki Endo was just 10 years old when the city first took hold of him. His life in New York might have been a lonely one after his mother moved him here from Japan in early 1996. He was born with a rare chromosome disorder that left him disabled and makes it hard for him to speak clearly.

But in the decade since, the city has nurtured Yuki in small, graceful ways and become his best friend. Through a quirky combination of luck and his own bottomless curiosity, he has formed a kind of extended family out of the firefighters, doormen, security guards, teachers, librarians and shopkeepers he meets on his daily explorations.

He is a landlocked Huckleberry Finn, restlessly caught up with the mystery and minutiae of New York, at least until 7 p.m., when his mother wants him home. He writes poetry about the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and memorizes train conductors' announcements. He entertains firefighters by singing to them in their firehouses, unaccompanied by music, because he likes to. His first home is an Upper East Side apartment; his second is the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He has spent so many afternoons inside the Met that the security guards call out his name when they see him. He tells them what subway lines to avoid because of weekend service changes, which he monitors religiously.

"I want to make sure they won't be late to the museum," explained Yuki, now 20.

This is definitely one of my favorite New York Times articles of 2005. It's got all the hallmarks of what makes the paper great--it's interestingly well-written, it looks at something seemingly small slant, it makes you sad/happy, you appreciate it in different ways depending on whether you live in New York (wow, I never knew) or not (boy, what a city), there's no sense of strings being pulled, you've never seen it anywhere else before, you wonder how the Times found this guy, you forward it to your friends, you find yourself giving it a new headline, you shake your head after reading it and want to go back and read all the back issues of the newspaper you've missed.

And who knows, maybe Endo will one day write for the Times, just as he's written for Wordsmiths: An Anthology of Writing by Teens on the Web.

Don't give up!
When you come to something difficult
Never give up
Just do it or just skip and come back when you have time

Photo of Endo Yuki by Robert Caplin for the New York Times.