Saturday, December 23, 2023
Words are handy things. I often use them to explain something. However, sometimes they don’t do the job adequately. I had lunch yesterday at Empire Garden in Boston with a congenial group of guys and I described the premises as “what I imagine the central Shanghai railway station looked like in 1928.” Of course, what made me think that you would know what I imagined?
Here’s what I actually saw.
This ongepotchket decor, as we say in the trade, evoked an exotic locale for an elite clientele. That was my image of the central Shanghai railway station in 1928. Might someone else imagine a shabby, dingy, unwelcoming setting? So, I’ve saved 1,000 words to use somewhere else.
Sunday, December 24, 2023
Things seem to be getting worse for Harvard University President Claudine Gay after her ineffective appearance before a committee of the House of Representatives. It seems that, although she graduated from Stanford University and got a Ph.D. from Harvard, she should have gone to CCNY to learn to think on her feet.
Monday, December 25, 2023
“The Color Purple” was a novel that became a movie that became a Broadway musical that has now become a movie musical. Today’s newspaper has a review of this latest effort. A little box next to the review contains this useful information: “Rated PG-13 for incest, rape, racism and abuse.” Enjoy.
Tuesday, December 26, 2023
Gentleman Jerry was available for lunch today. We went to the cafe at Fairway Market, 2121 Broadway, now called the 74th Street Cafe, still recovering patrons after being closed for a couple of years.
I had a big bowl of lobster bisque, very buttery with lots of little pieces of poached lobster ($12). Then, a hearty bacon, egg and cheese sandwich on a large brioche roll ($10). The food was very good and gave reason to return.
Wednesday, December 27, 2023
In my writing career, I have tried to respect two limits, not make fun of someone’s name or misspellings on Chinese restaurant menus. But, never say Never. The treasurer of the state of Alabama is Young Boozer III. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
. . .
I don’t care what anybody says, I don’t like wearing my hair long. What remains is thin, straight and dull. Going to Gary the Barber also gave me easy access to Urban Hawker, 135 West 50th Street, the food court devoted to Singaporean street food. It was very crowded at 1 PM, not with the usual IT guys from neighboring office buildings, but with families going to or from the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, Radio City Music Hall or Broadway matinees.
I found a seat and dug into the excellent fish cutlets from Smokin’ Joe, two pieces of crispy fried fish fillets, braised cabbage, a fried egg and rice under a mildly-spiced, creamy tomato sauce ($17.50). Another filling and fulfilling meal at Urban Hawker.
. . .
I just saw the obituary for Tommy Smothers, the seemingly goofy one of the Smothers Brothers.
In 1994, I visited Nate P., then studying for his Ph.D. at Berkeley. It was the third leg of an eventful trip to California — Los Angeles to participate in a Jewish divorce from my Original Wife, Riverside to see Charlotte and John Stanley, Berkeley to spend time with Nate.
One day, we decided to visit wineries and drove the one hour to Sonoma County. We stopped and tippled at 11 wineries, including the casual operation run by the Smothers Brothers. Tommy was on the premises and he spent an hour or so schmoozing with us, displaying his actually intelligent, but genuinely funny, personality. May his memory be for a blessing.
Thursday, December 28, 2023
Ken Klein said goodbye to his visiting grandchildren and swung to the other extreme by joining me for lunch. We went to Parm, 235 Columbus Avenue, and found it jammed with families, unlike a normal weekday in a non-holiday period. Originating in Little Italy, there are now half a dozen locations reaching to Boston.
I ordered one of their special sandwiches, The House Roast Beef, homemade roast beef, sliced thin with fresh mozzarella, mayo & hot peppers on garlic bread ($17). A near-great sandwich.
Friday, December 29, 2023
If you want to end the year in an upbeat mood, looking for peace and joy, do not read the following.
. . .
Happy New Year to the rest of you.
Barb doesnt allow me to call her my first wife.... has obvious negative implications ....first second etc. so i think i will try original [ your word] and see what happens.
ReplyDeleteCall Ruth my first wife. my notice not clear. married ruth in 1959- Barb in 1985.
ReplyDeleteWhile I never met Ruth, I can tell you that Barb is a treasure.
Delete"This ongepotchket decor ... evoked ... the central Shanghai railway station in 1928."
ReplyDeleteHere's the Shanghai Railway Station, built in 1908 (and renamed Shanghai North Railway Station in 1916).
It was destroyed in 1932 by the Japanese during the "Shanghai Incident," rebuilt but then destroyed again by the Japanese in 1937 during the Battle of Shanghai, rebuilt again after the war, and renamed back to Shanghai Railway Station in 1950. In 1987 the station was closed in favor of the new Shanghai Railway Station on Molin Road, which is a decidedly un-ungepachket affair.
Below are Images of the original Shanghai Railway Station. While decorative, it's not ungepachket, but who knows what the interior looked like. Perhaps the more jaded and worldly locals described it as "what the Empire Garden Restaurant in Boston will look like a century hence."
https://image.jimcdn.com/app/cms/image/transf/dimension=640x10000:format=jpg/path/se80bcf7e1bbfb507/image/i214a86a46162388d/version/1559711677/image.jpg
https://image.jimcdn.com/app/cms/image/transf/dimension=1920x400:format=jpg/path/se80bcf7e1bbfb507/image/i2ef26ba6a12caab0/version/1559711960/image.jpg
https://image.jimcdn.com/app/cms/image/transf/dimension=1920x400:format=jpg/path/se80bcf7e1bbfb507/image/ifb8cbab8634e8057/version/1559711960/image.jpg
https://image.jimcdn.com/app/cms/image/transf/dimension=640x10000:format=jpg/path/se80bcf7e1bbfb507/image/i620d7d5b56c5f47d/version/1560725681/image.jpg