Birthday Boys

Monday, December 12, 2011

Happy birthday Frank Sinatra posthumously. I chose to go to sleep shortly after 11 PM last night, with the Dallas Cowboys leading the New York Giants by 5 points early in the fourth quarter of the game in Dallas. I had an almost perfect sense of what would transpire for the next 30 minutes or so. The game would (and did) go back and forth, resolving in the last moments. That would leave me around midnight, aiming to go to work the next morning, very agitated with the result, good or bad. That is, good agitation if the Giants triumphed over America’s Most Hated Team; bad agitation if that pompous, posing, pretentious football team from Big D won, as predicted by most commentators. Instead, I went to sleep lulled by the gentle rumblings emanating from the lovely form at my side.

Therefore, I was delighted to learn, from the newspaper delivered to our door this morning, that Good beat Evil. This motivated me to find a new place to eat and, as a byproduct of visiting Lendy Electric on Grand Street in search of a light bulb that Michelle Bachman would approve of, I found 212 Grand Food Corp., 212 Grand Street. This small joint is a bakery with a hot food counter and about 10 stools at two low shelves in the back. I ordered roast chicken, three 1" pieces of tasty white meat, some sort of stewed chicken, and what I got the server to later identify as kong sei chow fun, after I enjoyed this unusual noodle. Imagine a thin noodle sheet folded back on itself several times and then cut into strips. This was very good, but untraceable once I got back to my desk. Nothing edible matched kong sei on-line, but I found Kong Sei Motor in Kuala Lumpur in case I needed a tow. Oh, by the way, lunch cost $3.50.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Happy Birthday Harold Gotthelf.



Oh, no, this is not a picture of my brother at his Bar Mitzvah. Rather it is my dear friend Professor David L. McMullen, who is licensed in 16 US jurisdictions and two foreign countries to dress this way.

Walking from Lendy Electric on Grand Street, where I played a return engagement this afternoon, to the public library on East Broadway, I had no expectation of finding a new eating place, but I actually found 2 sort of. Malaysia Beef Jerky, Inc., 95A Elizabeth Street, is a tiny place, maybe 6' x 8', issuing the attractive odor of grilling meat. The sign outside advertises nine different jerkys (jerkies?), but there is no room inside to eat even one. It does not even have a ledge to put your food on while eating standing up, as does Xi An Famous Foods, 88 East Broadway. So, I walked on by until I saw XO Taste, 41 Elizabeth Street, which has such a tiny front that I thought it would be about the size of Malaysia Beef Jerky. Entering, instead I found a high-ceilinged room that went on and on, over a half block deep with two dozen or so tables seating four to eight people.

As abundant as the space proved to be, the food selection was equally large. The server gave me 5 menus, 2 for food only, 1 drinks only and 2 with specials. The takeout menu lists 333 items on 11 panels of print. Being decisive, I quickly chose chicken cutlet over rice with garlic sauce ($7.95). I was served on a sizzling hot platter with two grilled chicken paillards next to a mound of rice with a fried egg on top. On the side was a small bowl of soupy garlic sauce. I believe that the chicken insisted that the garlic sauce be served separately because of its pungency. As a result, I think I’ll get a seat on the subway going home without any problem.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

According to Forbes.com – "Six Waltons Have More Wealth Than the Bottom 30% of Americans." John-Boy and Grandpa Walton, such a nice family.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

New York Times reported today from Gaza — "The Hamas movement celebrated the 24th anniversary of its founding on Wednesday by reasserting that it would never recognize Israel nor abandon violence." Upon hearing this news, the British Association of Militant University Faculty, renewed its call for a boycott of all Israeli academic institutions. "How cruel those Zionists are to force these helpless Palestinians to take such desperate steps," said Professor Reginald Gnose-Whartt, secretary general of the association.

Friday, December 16, 2011

I thought I was on the way to eat in my third new restaurant of the week when I headed to Sushein, Kaiten Sushi Bar & Restaurant, 325 Broadway. This would be quite a feat in the 102nd week of this (ad)venture. As I got closer, I saw that it was a Kosher place, not very hard to accomplish for a sushi restaurant as long as it avoids shellfish. For instance, Prime KO, 217 West 85th Street, is both a Kosher steakhouse and sushi bar. Well, Sushein was closed for the day, even though it was hours before sundown. So, I expect to be fed righteously on Monday.