Saturday, November 8, 2025
You can stop holding your breath, Melania Trump has been named Patriot of the Year. https://www.firstpost.com/
. . .
We paid a shiva call at the Goldfarb home tonight. David is gone more than a year-and-a-half and now Connie is gone, leaving a huge hole in our social and intellectual lives. Whether fish, wine, cheese, European history, Middle Eastern history, opera, apples, orchids, Jewish practice or tomatoes, one or the other or both had authoritative opinions about the subject. They are irreplaceable.
Afterwards, we went to dinner with Eva and Jerry, equal admirers of the Goldfarbs, to Joanne Trattoria, 70 West 68th Street, owned by Lady Gaga’s parents. In spite of this glitzy association, it operates in a friendly manner, with a conventional Italian American menu and mid-range prices. Although not full (we arrived just before curtain time), it was noisy, but bearable.
We shared a pitcher of white Sangria, mildly but effectively alcoholic ($29.95). We also shared a Caesar salad, definitely including the anchovies ($21.95). I had Joanne’s spaghetti and meatballs, four of the latter, needing a bit more spices. Eva had a generous portion of Mom’s Lemon Artichoke Chicken, chicken breast, flour, salt, pepper, lime juice, parmesan cheese, white wine, artichoke hearts, chicken stock, and parsley ($32.95), while the spouses each had Big Joe’s (presumably Papa Gaga) Eggplant Parmesan ($28.95). A successful meal with good friends.
Sunday, November 9, 2025
An unpublished letter sent to the New York Times, reacting to a profile of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. “The main reason that Josh Shapiro is a more credible face of the Democratic Party than any ‘progressive’ is that he runs against and beats Republicans.”
. . .
Affordability may be the word of the year. It was a critical element in the recent local mayoral election and there is evidence that it is an issue of national consequence. This survey shows that the median age of first-time home owners is up to a record high of 40-years old and that there are fewer first-time homeowners than ever before.
https://www.nar.realtor/newsro
The real estate market has simply outpaced the job market, leaving younger people at a disadvantage. It made a difference here politically and it is certain to be a theme in other venues.
Monday, November 10, 2025
One byproduct of the New York City mayoral race are headlines like this: “From Texas to Tel Aviv, invitations go out to Jews fleeing ‘Mamdani’s New York’”
I’ll say this categorically, if you are now in Texas or Tel Aviv or Timbuktu, do not anticipate with fear or glee an influx of New York Jews. We ain’t going nowhere. We are packing our mezuzahs only in the fervid imagination of Rupert Murdoch's journalists and the like.
If you want are impatient waiting for the Jews to arrive, here is where to find them while they are still in college. https://www.hillel.
apparently drew a bye on this round.
Thanks to Dan Quiz Show for sending “The One Food You Should Travel for in Each State” https://share.google/
I found it worth citing, because it did not resort entirely to clichés. While Connecticut gets the clam pizza deservedly, pizza is not the choice for (Chicago) Illinois or New York (City), Italian beef sandwiches and Jamaican patties, respectively. Similarly, Philadelphia cheese steak succumbs to scrapple, hog odds and ends mixed with cornmeal and fried, for Pennsylvania. On the other hand, scrapple?
Wednesday, November 12, 2025
You know the shul you'll never set foot in, well, Panda Express is the equivalent among Chinese restaurants. Today, I broke ranks and had lunch at Panda Express, 1277 First Avenue. There was a good reason for this lapse. At 11:45 AM, I drank a potion labeled Drink Me in the Nuclear Medicine Department at Weill Cornell Medical Center, 525 East 68th Street. One hour later, I was given an injection of some radioactive stuff, so that three hours later a machine could track how the stuff navigated its way through through the cookies, ice cream and pretzels that are my bricks and mortar. In that three-hour interval, I was free to wander. The sprawling hospital complex ends at First Avenue, where a number of fast-food joints await the patronage of hospital personnel in a rush to snog in supply closets.
I tried Panda Express, which has over 2,550 stores around the country. It’s unlikely that I’ll go to another. I had the “Bigger Plate,” three more-or-less main courses along with rice or noodles ($17.60). I chose honey walnut shrimp, black pepper steak and orange chicken with lo mein, labeled chow mein for some reason. The real problem with the noodles was that they were decidedly al dente, more Italian than Chinese. The other dishes were mushy or overly chewy. I had no complaint, though, about the one liter cup of Coke Zero for $3.20; a lot of places are selling a cold 20 oz. bottle for $3.29.
. . .
The last penny was produced today. The government decided to stop minting them, costing almost four cents each, making your thoughts several times more expensive.
Thursday, November 13, 2025
I am enthused. Law Professor David was in town for a special study session and there was no way to keep his mother from seeing him before he got back on a train to Boston. So, we met for dinner at Bar Primi, 349 West 33rd Street, across from Moynihan Train Hall. It has three large spaces, an indoor restaurant, a covered patio with heaters and an uncovered patio. During the very busy happy hour, we were seated comfortably in the covered patio even with temperatures in the low 40s.
The menu is Italian and it was easy to make choices. Mother and son shared fusilli giganti, spirally pasta in pesto sauce ($27) and ricotta agnolotti, pasta folded over cheese ($29). I had New Haven white clam Sicilian squares, eight 2” x 3” rectangles topped with baby clams and lots of garlic ($28), a fabulous concoction. I drank a near-pint of Greenport Harbor IPA with it ($9).
We also indulged in dessert. The pair enjoyed Strawberry Fantasia, ice cream, shortcake, whipped cream ($17). I had affogato, espresso poured into a scooped out cup of ice cream, rather than over it ($13).
Next time that you are going to or coming from Pennsylvania Station or Madison Square Garden or Macy’s or B&H Camera or that neighborhood generally, try Bar Primi — reservations strongly recommended.
Friday, November 14, 2025
It’s University College London; it’s 2025. Watch the clip.
Always a pleasure to read you weekly. Thank you
ReplyDeleteYou missed the boat at Panda Express. Their teriyaki chicken is excellent. Their egg rolls, on the other hand, are from hunger. Also, you're better off eating at PE in New Jersey; the "bigger plate" costs about $12 across the Hudson.
ReplyDelete