My mistakes aside, we had a lovely day. We joined the
celebration of Dana and Gary’s second granddaughter’s baby naming. For dinner,
we joined Kim and Terrific Tom at Spice Symphony, 317 West 46th Street, which
mixes Chinese food with a predominantly Indian cuisine. It was fully occupied
with a noisy pre-theater crowd.
We shared Shrimp Piri Piri, three pieces of spicy shrimp in cedar vinegar, curry leaves and Goan chilies ($16). Then, we proceeded in individual directions. I went to the Chinese side of the menu with Triple Szechwan, “Hakka style noodles and rice mixed and stir fried in a Chinese wok with oil, vegetables, soya sauce and fiery red szechwan sauce” with lamb ($26). This hodge podge was very good.
I drank three more glasses of Coke Zero after the first one
was delivered to my lap. I dried off by the time we left to see The
Balusters, a new play by David Lindsay-Abaire. It is a funny take on a
neighborhood association struggling to maintain gentility in the face of
traffic and personal problems.
Nicholas Kristof’s commentary on Israeli treatment of Palestinian prisoners is given two full pages in today’s paper. I believe that it is flawed, but I will leave it to others to dissect. However, I am reminded that Eric Hoffer, a philosopher who taught at Berkeley after working 21 years as a longshoreman, observed in 1968 “Everyone expects the Jews to be the only real Christians in this world.”
I had two tacos, “Short Rib & Egg, Mexican coke
short rib with scrambled eggs, salsa roja, cilantro & cotija on a flour
tortilla” ($7), and “Baja Fish, Tempura-battered cod with cabbage slaw,
jalapeño crema, pico de gallo and cotija cheese” ($7).
After the good food, we went two blocks north to the oddly named Salt & Straw, 360 Amsterdam Avenue. This ice cream company has been in business since 2011. Most of its stores are in the West; one other is in the Holy Land at 540 Hudson Street. Founded in Portland, Oregon, its website drips with sincerity. “Using ice cream as a blank for storyteller, we fearlessly explore ingredients, discover emerging artisans, and share unifying experiences.” https://saltandstraw.com/pages/about
Fortunately, they make excellent ice cream, really excellent ice cream. I had a cup with small (by choice) scoops of Chocolate Babka w/ Hazelnut Fudge and Strawberry & Coconut Water Sherbet. I can’t wait to limp back for more, although it has no indoor seating. By the way, Bob treated, so I don’t know how much it cost, but who cares?
I forgot that it was Tuesday when they offer a very good deal on twin sandwiches and went to the peak of Kosher delicatessen, a center cut tongue sandwich ($36.15). Excellent sour pickles and coleslaw came with it, as well they should at this price. Dr. Brown’s Diet Black Cherry was my beverage of choice ($2.60 a can for a captive audience). We shared a large order of French fries, brown and crispy ($9). Yes, expensive, but Michael and I are 168 years old.
It reached 93° while I was running my errands. That and the promise of thunderstorms later easily convinced me that I wasn’t leaving the house again today. I’m sorry to miss the 25th reunion, but I’ll aim for the 50th.
"Mexican coke"? I hope you had a good snort.
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ReplyDeleteZachary Braiterman, a prof from Syracuse U. has the last word on N. Kris. What he explains is that Kristof used a Swiss company in writing about the sexual abuses of Israelis and the company was really run by Hamas. Kristof needs to be more careful.