Cruz Control

Saturday, May 28, 2022

“Children, keep on finger painting while I go outside and shoot the bad man.”

. . .

Sunday, May 29, 2022

Gen Z are people born between 1997 and 2012.  (What does that make us?)  The older among them are settling down, a term that I have always been uncomfortable with.  In any case, here is an analysis of home mortgage offers to them in the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan areas in 2021.   

https://www.lendingtree.com/home/mortgage/the-most-popular-us-cities-for-gen-z-homebuyers-ranked/

These young people (babies?) are seeking homes inland, Salt Lake City, Louisville and Oklahoma City the most favored destinations.  They are least likely to be looking on the coasts generally, where property values are higher and still climbing  steeply.  For those of us on the Upper West Side this means that our hallways will probably continue to smell more of garlic than marijuana.

. . .

How not to win friends and influence people: "Thousands of Israeli nationalists, some of them chanting 'Death to Arabs,' paraded through the heart of the main Palestinian thoroughfare in Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday, in a show of force that risked setting off a new wave of violence in the tense city."  https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/29/israel-jerusalem-march-death-arabs-00035862  

Monday, May 30, 2022

Usually, I am wary of fusion restaurants, because they are likely to be mishandling several cuisines.  We partially tested this proposition tonight at Spice Symphony, 150 East 50th Street, in the company of Eva and Jerry P.  It serves the food of India and China, countries that share a 2,100 mile long border, not always peacefully.  No hostility was evident in or about the kitchen, although we all stayed on the Indian side of the divide with success.

It's a fairly large restaurant, almost 30 tables in a cool, modern setting that could envelop any cuisine.  It was about 2/3 full on what should have been a quiet evening.  

We shared most of the dishes, but I leaned much more heavily into the chicken than the vegetables.  We had samosas ($10 for 4 pieces); tandoori Achari mushrooms, pickled mushrooms cooked in the tandoori oven ($10 for 4 pieces); Tellicherri pepper chicken cooked with freshly crushed black pepper, fennel, dry coconut and sun dried chili ($23); Aloo Gobi, potatoes, cauliflower, spices and herbs ($20); Chana Masala, chickpeas, onions, tomatoes, spices and herbs ($20); Baghare Baingan, eggplant in curry sauce ($20); plus naan and rice and wine.  Everything was very good, the mushrooms and the BB curry sauce superb.

Tuesday, May 31, 2022

As all of you Australians know, Bourke Street Bakery is a growing Sydney-based chain.  There are now three open in the Holy Land; I ate at their new 313 Amsterdam Avenue location, a hole in the wall, the only seating outside at four small café tables.  From the Internet, it appears that the other local locations are larger and more differentiated.  

This site offers an interesting array of baked goods, a few sandwiches, coffee drinks and a down-home specialty, Australian meat pie ($8), my choice for lunch.  A light lunch, actually, because it was hardly 4" in diameter, about 1" deep, although the brisket filling was very good.  Skip the dressing, Australian ketchup which overpowered the meat.  Also, note that there is no Diet Coke, but you can enjoy blood orange Galvanina Organic Fru.It, sparkling beverage with pulp from Italy.  

Wednesday, June 1, 2022

Maybe they heard us.  The first two pages of today's New York Times sports section are completely devoted to the New York Mets and the New York Rangers before moving on to a tennis match in France.  This doesn't necessarily foretell a return to printing team standings in the major sports, however.  At dinner last night, Jerry P. noted that the elimination of team standings was preceded by the elimination of television listings.  Possibly, the New York Times is taking a stand against fine print, in general, and is likely to jettison the weather report next.

. . .

A daily double.  Michael Ratner and I went to Citi Field today to see the Mets play the Nationals, my second visit of the season.  After the preordained Mets victory, we went to Flushing's Chinatown, barely one mile from the stadium.

From a long list of possibilities, we went to DaXi Sichuan Cuisine, 136-20 Roosevelt Avenue, which has been reviewed favorably by Michelin.  It is a large, well-decorated place, with a very high chamfered ceiling, sitting on the second floor of a sleek mall.  It could easily be mistaken for the comfortable lobby of a good hotel.  

The menu is fully illustrated.  Among the highlights were Sauteed Bullfrog in Chili Sauce, Marinated Pig Mouth, Soft Tofu Pudding with Salty Egg Yolk and Spam, and Pig Blood & Chili Sauce.  We reluctantly skipped those and started with cold noodles in a rice wine sauce, a somewhat mild treat ($10.99).  Then, we had Stir Fried Shrimps & Spareribs in Dry Pot (sic) ($32.99) and Sichuan Style Spicy Chicken ($23.99), not only the most expensive Chinese dishes that I have ever ordered, Peking duck aside, but the spicy hottest dishes I have eaten in this century.  The very large size of the portions was a mixed blessing.  I can only sum up that this was an experience.  

 

Thursday, June 2, 2022

The Scripps National Spelling Bee concluded tonight.  Words in the final rounds included scyllarian, pyrrolidone, Otukian and Senijextee in case you were feeling smart.

Friday, June 3, 2022

William Franklin Harrison is 21 years old now, less than two decades away from running for President of the United States.  As I first commented in 2014, William Franklin Harrison is the right name for the President of the United States.

Today, we did not talk politics over lunch at Don Antonio, 309 West 50th Street, although the Iowa caucuses are only 14 years away.  The Don is known for his  Neapolitan-style pizza cooked in a wood-fired oven, producing a thin crust with a blistered edge.  We each had the 10" Margherita with sausage and mushrooms, tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, basil, crumbled sausage, assorted mushrooms and extra virgin olive oil ($22).  Bellissimo.