Monday, November 2, 2015
Friday night, we went to the theater with the Schneiders. Saturday night, we sat down in our theater seats to find that we were sitting next to the Moskowitzes and directly in front of the Bergs. Now, all of these people are charming folks and welcome company, but I am a strong believer in diversity in public and private affairs. So, I am asking the D'Angelos, the Johnsons, the Reillys, the Changs and the Gomezes to send me some available dates in order for us to meet and mingle with folks from a different gene pool. I'm sure that I would benefit from their ideas based on their life experiences, while they might benefit from almost 6,000 years of wisdom passed on generation-to-generation, burnished by adversity, and proven to garner high SAT scores and to have an ability to sell ladies’ clothing.
But, I'm not the only one worrying about diversity right now. Arthur C. Brooks, the president of the American Enterprise Institute, agonized over the issue in the New York Times the other day. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/
Remember that the American Enterprise Institute has been notably silent over the decades in the face of racial, ethnic, and gender discrimination. When it addressed the subject(s), it usually advised the disprivileged to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and trust to the basic fairness of the great American public, counseling them to put aside thoughts of legislation and aim for the hearts and minds of the population at large. So, what has stirred Mr. Brooks current cry for justice? It is the lack of "ideological diversity in the behavioral sciences." Conservatives are supposedly being frozen out of university positions in psychology, social neuroscience, criminology and related fields, and/or their published output is being inhibited by the lack of status or stature to do their work. What a shame.
While some of us are concerned about discrimination in mortgage lending, jury selection, police targeting, employment hiring and compensation, and voting rights, conservatives are being insidiously denied their place in the groves of academe. Obviously, the hearts and minds of the collectivists running our universities are closed to right reason. Maybe we need to offer Pell grants for subscriptions to the National Review.
I like fried chicken a lot, but it is never served at Palazzo di Gotthelf mainly because of the time and complexity needed to prepare it. Outside the home, a report that a restaurant has demonstrated excellence in frying a chicken is a powerful lure for me. Therefore, I got a vicarious thrill from reading these recipes. http://cooking.nytimes.com/
If you wish, you can convert my vicarious thrills into actual ones by advising me where and when you will be serving anyone of these versions, or even your own functional equivalent. I’ll bring dessert.
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Today is Election Day with the sparest imaginable ballot. In my voting district, there are only uncontested elections for judgeships, only Democrats need apply. Yet, this warrants a day off from work for all of us justice junkies down at the courthouse. While I took all my meals at home, I walked over four miles through midtown Manhattan, enjoying the lovely weather.
Again, the New York Times web site has come up with something better even than dreams of sugar plum fairies, chocolate recipes.
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
I had to sign some papers at a downtown office building, so I decided to eat in the Financial District before returning to Heaven on Earth. I chose Zaitzeff, 72 Nassau Street, corner of John Street, the only outlet for this hamburger joint, without knowing that it got high marks from Trip Advisor and Zagat’s. What attracted me was the basic simplicity of the joint and the busyness it had early in the lunch hour.
Zaitzeff (I have no idea where or who the name comes from) offers sirloin burger, Kobe burger, turkey burger and veggie burger, as well as a BLT, a chicken sandwich and a couple of fried egg sandwiches. The 1/4 pound sirloin burger that I had, the overwhelming majority choice while I sat there, costs $10.50 and comes with lettuce, tomato and grilled onions on a Portuguese roll. Options include bacon, cheese, mushrooms (my choice) and a fried egg, which I resisted in spite of memories of Obie’s in downtown Ithaca, adding $1.50 to $3. My burger, cooked medium without asking, was very good. Doubling the amount of meat to 1/2 pound costs $6 more. My only complaint was too much of good thing, that is the enormous portion of hand cut French fries for $5. They should not serve this to one person. No smaller portion was available.
Zaitzeff used its very small space efficiently. Three country oak dining room tables, each with six chairs, were constantly occupied,while many other people came and went with carry-out orders. I hadn't planned on lingering to do a crossword at lunchtime anyway. The food was better than I had on my first visit ever to Shake Shack, one week ago. Nothing but very large crowds kept me away from any of Shake Shack’s many outlets that I came across, including the stand at CitiField where I could never get close enough to order, day game, night game, good weather, bad weather, Mets ahead, Mets behind. Shake Shack was cheaper than Zaitzeff, but the latter’s quality warranted it. Neither place is for the nervous or the claustrophobe.
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Today’s New York Times pays attention to the demise of Organic Avenue, a local chain of 10 cold-pressed juice stores. It seemed to be very popular with skinny people and beautiful people, who frequently felt the need for a good “cleansing.” http://www.nytimes.com/2015/
Needless to say, I never patronized Organic Avenue; in fact, I had no idea that it even existed. Whenever I am walking the streets of New York and I catch sight of a whirring blender containing a green liquid, my pace increases notably and whoever happens to be ahead of me faces the risk of being stepped on. Maybe Gwyneth Paltrow et alia need to be reminded of the virtues of an artisanal egg cream.
I made my now regular weekly visit to Wok Wok Southeast Asian Kitchen, 11 Mott Street, today. It was busy, about 3/4 of the tables occupied, but service was efficient.
I had ma la wonton ($5.50), seven small wontons cooked in a highly-spiced peanut sauce, and roti wrap ($5.75), a 5" long Malaysian chicken burrito. The thin, slightly flaky pancake surrounded curried chicken, with a small bowl of delicious, buttery curry sauce on the side. I enjoyed it so much that, even though I left two boxes in the crossword puzzle empty, lunchtime was a very satisfying experience.
Friday, November 6, 2015
Today is Love Your Lawyer Day, in case you forgot. https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/images/abanews/LoveYourLawyerDay.pdf
America's Favorite Epidemiologist and I are discussing where she might place the following tattoo.
My guess is she's suggesting appropriate parts of your anatomy.
ReplyDeleteEd Flax
Zaitzeff, right around the corner from my apartment, is one of my favorites. The 1/2 Kobe beef is worth the extra bucks -- and you can get a mix of sweet potato fries and the regular kind.
ReplyDeleteEven as a Southerner, I believe fried chicken is best purchased at an establishment where they know how to properly prepare it. It is never worth the effort to prepare it at home although it was one of two things that the professor's mother cooked well- the other was crab salad for which she usually caught the crabs using a chicken neck on a string (blue crabs only, not the std kind)
ReplyDeleteThank you for adding active links to your references.
Even as a Southerner, I believe fried chicken is best purchased at an establishment where they know how to properly prepare it. It is never worth the effort to prepare it at home although it was one of two things that the professor's mother cooked well- the other was crab salad for which she usually caught the crabs using a chicken neck on a string (blue crabs only, not the std kind)
ReplyDeleteThank you for adding active links to your references.