Dairy Diary

Monday, November 6, 2017

The weekend had a variety of pleasures.  On Saturday, we were able to visit a dear and beautiful friend in the hospital, or in hospital as they say in the London.  Then, joined by Robina Rafferty, the soul of charity, we went to dinner at La Barca, 80-81 Lower Marsh, Lambeth, a fine Italian restaurant.  Not only did La Barca offer very good food and wine, and very attentive service, but Derek Jacobi sat down for dinner one table over.  To his credit, he did not stare at us.

On Sunday, we went to a matinee performance of The Comedy About a Bank Robbery, a wonderfully silly farce, brilliantly executed as the British are wont to do.  The delight generated by the performance was necessary after the disappointment at lunch.  As you are well aware, the London theatre (their spelling) district is immediately adjacent to their Chinatown, and you know what that means.  While I have enjoyed other restaurants there, I chose to research a new alternative and came up with the well-reputed (until now) Leong's Legend, 39 Gerrard Street.

The long, dark room, meant to resemble a traditional wooden house, was crowded, as so many other restaurants in the neighborhood seemed to be on Sunday afternoon.  We were seated and then the waitperson, obviously taking waiting very seriously, left us alone for 10 minutes.  Some vigorous waving finally got her attention and we gave her a relatively simple order: hot and sour soup for one (£3.50), steamed vegetarian dumplings (£7.50), scallion pancake (£??) and "Signature Taiwanese Oyster Omelette" (£10.50).  The soup was very good and, like Hikari's Friday night, served in a very small portion.  I guess that hot and sour soup is a rare and expensive delicacy in London, even though you get it for a buck or two in the Holy Land.  

While I've lost the price of the scallion pancake, it was quite good, though smaller than I am used to.  The dumplings presented no problem also, but it was getting that Signature that fouled things up.  Did you enjoy the oyster omelette?  What, you never got it?  Me, too.  After 45 minutes and reminders to 3 waiters, either the chicken or the oysters could not be convinced to cooperate.  On the other hand, the Signature Taiwanese Oyster Omelette appeared on the bill, which took only one glower to correct.  

Fortunately, on the way to the theatre, we passed a Pret A Manger, omnipresent in London, and I pulled a freshly-made hoisin duck salad wrap (£3.75) off the shelf, a good deal in any currency.  

  

As I said, the theatrical farce made up for the culinary farce and in a few hours we were ready for another meal.  Lord Kennington, f/k/a David Brodie, stooped to my level and, upon request, suggested Fishcotheque, 79A Waterloo Road, for fish and chips.  And a very good choice it was.  Madame had a "regular" order of cod (£10.95) and I had a "large" order of haddock (£13.95), each accompanied by a large pile of chips (French fries), closer to American crispiness than British mushiness.  

. . .

Football Scoreboard

Columbia University          6-2

New York Jets                    4-5

New York Ghosts (Giants have disappeared) 1-7

. . .

While Fishcotheque was a fine example of its kind, today we went to the other end of the British dining spectrum, with appropriately superlative results.  We ate at Outlaw's at The Capital, 22-24 Basil Street, Knightsbridge, the Michelin-starred dining room of The Capital Hotel, an elegant establishment that I have never penetrated beyond the ground floor restaurant.  On my first trip to London in 1985, I gave myself a big treat by going to the restaurant, not yet bearing Chef Nathan Outlaw's name.  I have returned many times since for the near-bargain fixed price lunches.  Today, it was 2 courses at £29 and 3 courses at £33.  

I started with Duck Scrumpet, thereby adding a new word to my vocabulary.  It was, in fact, a croquette, served with an interesting homemade ketchup.  Madame had the Cornish Fish Soup, which had a touch of orange.  Outlaw's features fish, so I had "Hake with Roast Chicken & Mushroom Dressing and Smoked Leeks."  Allow me to explain that the "Dressing" was a pureed something, not particularly evocative of chicken or mushroom.  The hake itself was excellent, cooked just right.  My young bride enjoyed "Plaice with Tartare Sauce & Sprouting Broccoli."  Believe it or not, we skipped dessert.  Really, that should read: Believe it or not, I skipped dessert.

Service was exquisite, as usual.  What differed from past visits, however, was the casual dress of the male patrons, who were almost the only patrons.  Short sleeve polo shirts predominated.  The quartet of men at the next table gave gaudy jewelry a bad name.  

Tuesday, November 7, 2017 

Last night, we saw Ink, an excellent new play about the rise of Rupert Murdoch.  While we were unfamiliar with some details of British politics and journalism at the time (1969), the themes of "populism" and "disruption" struck very close to home.  

. . .

British Air and El Al, the most likely candidates to offer efficient service from London to Israel, could only deliver us to Tel Aviv at 3 o'clock in the morning.  So, we flew EasyJet, a bargain airline that charged for each piece of luggage, seat selection and anything to drink, in exchange for a very convenient flight time and low fare.  They avoided putting turnstiles on the toilets, however, so, in all, a reasonable compromise.

We were in our rental apartment in a residential area of North Tel Aviv by 7:30 PM and visiting the second and third generations a few short blocks away by 8.    

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

It was announced this morning that Anthony Scaramucci will visit Israel on November 19th.  His host, the CEO of the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce, said, "Our excitement to partner with Anthony Scaramucci in this quest knows no bounds."  The good news is that we will have left by then.  

. . .

Here is an attempt to understand why so many mass shooting take place in the US as opposed to other countries. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/07/world/americas/mass-shootings-us-international.html?action=click&contentCollection=U.S.&module=RelatedCoverage&region=Marginalia&pgtype=article

In summary, the answer seems to be, because they can.

. . .

This article introduces me to khachapuri and I want it.   https://www.tastingtable.com/dine/national/khachapuri-cheese-bread?utm_medium=email&utm_source=TT&utm_campaign=Daily&utm_content=Editorial

Thursday, November 9, 2017

On Tuesday, we left London and flew to Tel Aviv.  In London, the British pound (£ or GBP) was worth about $1.30 (USD).  Shopping was pretty easy.  Pretend that the number of pounds is the number of dollars.  Cappuccino at Pret A Manger (as reasonably-priced place as you will find in London) £2.35, not bad.  That delicious hoisin duck salad wrap £3.75, a real bargain.

In Tel Aviv, 1 USD is worth about 3.5 shekels (NIS for New Israeli Shekels, no symbol), or 1 NIS equals 28-and-a-half cents ($.285).  So, I go into a supermarket and pick up a container of milk that's either a quart or a liter, priced at 10.90 NIS.  I think that may be a lot, even by New York standards, but I have to stand in the aisle for a few moments doing the calculation.  Then, I look at the box of Special K that will be the center of my breakfast for the next few days -- 29.90 NIS, over $8.50, twice the conventional New York price.  

Prices probably reflect the cost of importing merchandise and the tax regime.  No doubt military spending is an important component of Israel's budget.  As of 2015, Israel was third in the list of per capita military spending at $1,882, just ahead of the US at $1,859.  The United Kingdom was eighth at $1,066 (appropriately).  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditure_per_capita

However, when viewed as a percentage of its national economy, the burden of Israel's military weighs heavily.  According to the CIA's reporting, not entirely current, Israel's defense spending was fifth in the world at 5.69% of gross domestic product (GDP).  The US was ninth at 4.35% and the UK 28th at 2.49%.  https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2034rank.html#od

I've never had a feel for macroeconomics, so I can only observe that Israel has an expensive army and breakfast cereal, while the UK has the Queen, and Queens, New York has the Mets.  Living in Israel also offers the privilege of being admitted to all the local country clubs.  

. . .

Not only am I challenged by the local currency at the supermarket, but I can't even seem to get that expensive quart or liter of milk right.

When I poured from the container on the left into my coffee (and that's another story how the Israelis flock to cafés for high quality coffee, while serving mostly instant at home), I got what Little Miss Muffet got, curds and whey; not what I was expecting.  Yes, it was laban, a fermented milk product, close to yoghurt, not named for Jacob's father-in-law.  It might have been obvious to any local school child, even without the benefit of going to Stuyvesant High School, CCNY, Cornell University or Cardozo Law School.  With this information, I am obliged to set the record straight about the price of milk.  My liter of laban was 10.90 NIS.  Had I reached for milk, it would have cost 5.60 NIS, that is $1.60, a reasonable price, with or without a great air force.

. . .

While New York prices compare favorably with London and Tel Aviv, an e-mail from Jon Silverberg reports on one example of wretched excess back home.  In the golden oldie days, Jon and I often ate at Hwa Yuan, 42 East Broadway, until we saw a very big rat run across the room.  After the owner died, probably before the rat, the restaurant closed in 1992.  Now, the family has renovated the bank building that took over the location and reopened Hwa Yuan as a fancy three-story operation.  Jon, impatient for my return, went to lunch there alone yesterday.  Orange Flavored Beef cost $28, twice as much as anything comparable in Chinatown.  I'm not rushing home for that.     

. . .

Friday, November 10, 2017

Even if the only English-language television here seems to be episodes of 30 Rock, uninterrupted by commercials, we are not out of touch with events in the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave, although the 5,676 miles separating us has a palliative effect.  I think that future generations will cherish the wisdom of Jim Ziegler, Alabama State Auditor, commenting on the Washington Post report of Republican senatorial candidate Roy S. Moore's conduct with a 14-year old, when he was a 32-year old assistant district attorney.  Moore allegedly "took off her shirt and pants and removed his clothes.  He touched her over her bra and underpants, she says, and guided her hand to touch him over his underwear."  https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/woman-says-roy-moore-initiated-sexual-encounter-when-she-was-14-he-was-32/2017/11/09/1f495878-c293-11e7-afe9-4f60b5a6c4a0_story.html?utm_term=.f14193843e7e


Ziegler (a Jewish name?) said, according to the New York Times, that the girl's age was “the only part that is concerning.”  Had the girl been 16 at the time and not 14, he added, “it would have been perfectly acceptable.”  Burying suspicions about his ethnicity, Ziegler went right to the top.  "[T]ake Joseph and Mary.  Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter.  They became parents of Jesus.”    http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/alabama-state-auditor-defends-roy-moore-against-sexual-allegations-invokes-mary-and-joseph/article/2640217

There'll Always Be a Bagel

Monday, October 30, 2017

Several of us made a small effort this weekend to fill the large loss of Stanley Feingold, the CCNY American government professor, who kept educating us for more than 50 years after we left his classroom.  About 50 people gathered at Bar Boulud, 1900 Broadway, to eat, drink and schmooze about our memories of him.  It was not only his absence that distinguished this event from the periodic lunches that we shared with him over many decades.  We were better dressed, more polite and focused on our admiration of him, a topic that he would have immediately squelched, a denial of free speech that he would never otherwise countenance. 

. . .

I lived in a single-family home for less than 4 years of my life.  Although I endured two infestations of bees, two mudslides down my vertical backyard and one backed up plumbing system, which taught me the meaning of Roto-Rooter, I didn't exactly hate the experience.  However, I had little regret fleeing the property and the marriage that went with it. 

I imagine that most Americans posit the single-family home as their desired residence, a symbol of independence maybe as potent as automobile ownership.  The weekend's real estate section profiles the newly-constructed single-family home market.  Most had 3 bedrooms or more; 3 bathrooms were most typical.  The outright majority were built in the South, although many may have to be rebuilt after the current hurricane season.  The median size was 2,422 square feet and sold for $316,200.  More details at  https://nyti.ms/2izHWQa

. . .

I sent this finely-crafted letter to the New York Times book review section last week.  "Condoleezza Rice's discussion of the Russian Revolution in the Book Review seems to incorporate some of the associated turmoil.  She cites 'The Anatomy of Revolution' by one Brinton Crane.  However, the author was Crane Brinton.  Admittedly, the WASP custom of eschewing real first names could lead to such confusion."  Unfortunately, the book review stole my thunder by printing a tepid correction yesterday.

. . .

Accusations of sexual predation, now exploding globally in almost every area of human activity, are frequently countered by blaming the victim.  However, there is never an excuse for stepping outside the bounds of civilization to exploit another human being.  I cannot ignore, though, the instinct for self-degradation shown by some women, even in the absence of rapacious men.  This is the subheading of the story below, addressed to the presumably sophisticated female readers of the New York Times: "The prostitute, courtesan, sex worker — all as presented in popular culture — are exerting a strong influence on the looks you may want to wear now."  Why?  

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/27/style/sex-worker-prostitute-fashion-the-deuce-blade-runner.html?_r=0

. . .

Sports Scoreboard

Columbia University    6-1

New York Jets             3-5

New York Giants          1-6

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

In case your trust fund is underutilized, here are New York's Michelin-starred restaurants for 2018.   http://www.grubstreet.com/2017/10/michelin-stars-new-york-city-2018.html   It seems that each year I fall further behind in the I-can't- believe-that-dinner-cost-that-much department.  

While I personally can't keep up with local expensive restaurants, the country as a whole is possibly growing weary of having just too many places to eat.  

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/31/business/too-many-restaurants-wall-street.html

The articles states that "[t]here are now more than 620,000 eating and drinking places in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the number of restaurants is growing at about twice the rate of the population."  Chain restaurants account for much of this growth, as Americans spend about 44 cents per food dollar in restaurants.  For better or worse, the proliferation of low cost, fast food restaurants probably offers their own low paid employees a rare option for dining out.     

Wednesday,  November 1, 2017

Some airlines, such as El Al, Lufthansa and JetBlue, name individual aircraft after a city in their home country.  Virgin America takes a more whimsical approach, with planes named "An Airplane Named Desire," "My Other Ride is a Spaceship," "Scarlett O'Air" and "Spruce Moose."  Now, Deutsche Bahn, the German state railway system, has aroused harsh criticism by planning to name a new high-speed train after Anne Frank.  The connection of railroad cars and the Holocaust is still vivid and raw.  Anne and her sister Margot were deported by train from Amsterdam to the Bergen Belsen concentration camp in Germany, where they died.  The railroad claims that it "made a deliberate decision to help keep Anne Frank’s memory alive."  

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/31/world/europe/germany-anne-frank-train.html?mabReward=ART_CTS2&recid=0viscUfFgJUQpjsXHXSx0vJ0wxp&recp=0&moduleDetail=recommendations-0&action=click&contentCollection=Food&region=Footer&module=WhatsNext&version=WhatsNext&contentID=WhatsNext&src=recg&pgtype=article

As I write, I not reached a conclusion about this.  Maybe you wish to tell me your opinion?

. . .

One of the branches of Grand Sichuan was located at 307 Amsterdam Avenue until recently.  I found it inferior to its homebase at 229 Ninth Avenue and its sister spot at 123 Canal Street, gone with the building that once housed it.  So, I was optimistic about its replacement, Lily's 74.  The interior has been redone, bright and simple.  The bare walls are painted white above waist-level wainscoting, dark brown as are the tables and chairs.  Off-white ceramic tiles cover the floors.  Lighting comes from cylindrical pendants.   

I skipped the two dozen lunch specials, either $8.95 or $9.25, including rice and soup, and ordered hot and sour soup ($3.45) and sesame cold noodles ($5.95), not available as a lunch special.  The soup was excellent, just what I needed for a stuffy head on a chilly day, except the tiny bowl was vastly over-priced.  The good noodles, by contrast, were fairly priced.  

. . .

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, a leader in its field, has the motto "More science, less fear."  Today's paper has the headline "Pruitt Ousts Scientists From Panels At the E.P.A."  Less science, more fear.

. . .

Tavish McMullen and I were not the only ones comparing bagels recently.  Grub Street, a reliable web site under the aegis of New York magazine, has its say.   http://www.grubstreet.com/bestofnewyork/absolute-best-bagel-in-new-york.html?utm_source=eml&utm_medium=e1&utm_campaign=sharebutton-t

Whether a bit of a joke, it finds Absolute Bagels, 2788 Broadway, has the absolute second best bagel in New York.  The Tablet, a general interest magazine with a Jewish perspective, has an update on the fate of Absolute Bagels, which it considers second to none, that is when it literally cleans up its act.  No joke.    http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/248368/worlds-greatest-bagel-store-shut-down-by-department-of-health?utm_source=tabletmagazinelist&utm_campaign=9462c8a391-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_11_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c308bf8edb-9462c8a391-207618957

Friday, November 3, 2017

The Upper West Side's Power Couple are off again.  We are flying to London during daytime hours today, a change from the usual overnight over-the-ocean journey.  We expect to be settled in our hotel in time to watch Trevor Noah, Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers, if they happen to be on British television when they are supposed to be.  In any case, this narrative will resume from over there.

. . . 

The trip to JFK was uneventful, but I became concerned when we got our gate assignment.  A3 was the first gate on the left, past the over-priced M&M store.  There were hundreds of feet of passageway stretching ahead that we did not have to traverse.  What was wrong?  Had they gotten our reservation wrong?  Was this a case of mistaken identity?  Why were we being spared the inconvenience of walking the last mile and then some to get to the aircraft? 

I did not press the matter and settled into a comfortable flight across the Atlantic.  However, the balance of equities was restored once we got to Heathrow.  The plane pulled up near the Welsh border and it took a friendly shepherd to direct us towards London.

We dashed in and out of our hotel room in no more than three minutes, hungry to enjoy dinner in the land of bangers and mash, fish and chips, and steak and kidney.  Fortunately, not a hundred meters away or a fortnight or some other obscure unit of measure was Hariki Sushi & Noodle Bar, 2 Kennington Road, Lambeth.  We   aimed at the noodle side of the menu with very satisfactory results. My young bride had vegetarian pad Thai (6£), while I dug into a very large portion of "Malaysia Style Stir Fried Ho Fun" (the wide rice noodle a/k/a chow fun) (6.80£).  It had eggs, scallions, shrimp, pork, bean sprouts with some hot pepper flakes mixed in for a kick. Mission accomplished.

It's How You Play the Game

Monday, October 23, 2017

My favorite headline for the weekend, maybe the week or the year:

"To Complain Is to Truly Be Alive"

. . .

Football scoreboard

Columbia University      6-0

New York Jets                 3-4

New York Giants            1-6

While we New York Giants fans are understandably upset by these results, surprisingly so are some Columbia University partisans, unused to success.   https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/24/nyregion/columbia-football-winning.html?_r=0

I have had mixed feelings about Columbia University.  As an undergraduate at CCNY, not even one mile away, a tuition-free institution then renowned as "the proletarian Harvard," I resented the "rich kids" at Columbia, that is those able to pay even a little towards their college education.  

Eventually though, I came to be surrounded by Columbians.  America's Favorite Epidemiologist got her masters and doctorate at Columbia, as did my brother; stepson David got his bachelor's degree there and his brilliant wife received her law degree from Columbia.  While I eventually graduated from CCNY, Cornell University and Cardozo Law School, I missed adding a fourth C for a Columbia degree.  So, for now, I am rooting for Columbia to march to the national college football championship game and beat the University of Alabama handily.  

. . .

Last week, I had the pleasure of hearing Professor Deborah Dash Moore discuss her new book Jewish New York in person.  Right afterwards, the library got me a copy an earlier book by her, the deliciously titled GI Jews.  

Having interviewed more than 30 Jewish war veterans, starting 50 years after the war's end, and with access to letters, diaries, and published and unpublished memoirs, she lets the men, including her father, speak for themselves to a great degree.  We learn about confronting ham and eggs for breakfast for the first time and entering a concentration camp where "[b]odies lay everywhere, with no way to distinguish between the living and the dead."

Professor Moore concludes that "Jewish veterans took from their years in service new understandings of their place in America . . . [and] earned respect as Jewish men, in their own eyes and in those of other servicemen."  Read the rest of the book.

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Tavish McMullen, safely returned to Key Largo, Florida, reports on the cookies that he carried back home from the Holy Land.  Levain's "was very soft and had a doughy texture when you bit into it.  I agree that it feels like you are eating a huge helping of butter, but I enjoyed the rich flavor and gooeynish.  I did find a glass of milk was required. . . . [Regarding the Jacques Torres cookie,] I believe this is still the best chocolate chip cookie around.  The cookie is firm with a great ratio of chocolate to cookie in each bite.  The chocolate is great giving off a similar rich taste as their hot chocolate and not too sweet that it overpowers the flavor [of the] actual cookie.  It can be enjoyed on its own and at the same time holds up well being dipped in a glass of milk."  That's another generation heard from.  

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

R.I.P. Fats Domino.  The following provides a good overview of his work with musical accompaniment.   https://newsstand.google.com/articles/CAIiEJYS_DO3NmwymdSQQul_N40qFAgEKg0IACoGCAowm_EEMKAiMIpb

. . .

For those of us who graduated college in the 20th century, it may be too late to make a career change, but here is a very interesting look at job growth and decline over the next decade.  

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/24/business/economy/future-jobs.html

It's no surprise that we geezers will require an increasing number of non-professional healthcare workers, while "Locomotive firers" (coal stokers?), Watch repairers and Telephone operators will get lonelier.  I only hope that the decline in need for Respiratory therapy technicians results from the increased employment of Solar photovoltaic installers and Wind turbine service technicians, at work supporting the production of clean energy thereby lessening air pollution.  

Thursday, October 26, 2017

I assume those responsible for creating the advertisement below were interested in selling men's clothing to the general public.  However, giving even a cursory glance at the cut and fit of the suit the young man is wearing, I can only conclude that their intent was sabotaged somewhere along the way.  What we see is a poor fellow who has not gone shopping since experiencing a dramatic growth spurt.  Maybe that's meant as an incentive to go out and buy new clothes, so as not to be caught in the same embarrassing pose.

Friday, October 27, 2017

Tom Terrific and Stony Brook Steve joined me at Mee Noodle Shop, 795 Ninth Avenue, serving the closest approximation to Chinatown food outside of Chinatown.  Tom and I shared crispy anise duck rolls ($5), cold noodles with sesame sauce ($6.50), pan fried seafood dumplings ($8.25 for five), and Singapore ho fun (another name for chow fun) ($9.25).  Only the duck rolls failed to delight.  Steve had a lunch special of tofu with lobster sauce ($9.25), which included brown rice and a superb egg roll in his estimation.

Note that Mee's takeout menu differs considerably in format from its in-house menu.  Each seems to have almost the same food and prices, but the headings and organization widely vary.  The takeout menu is more fun to read, containing almost 400 distinct items, sure to arouse hunger even in the sated.  

. . .

"Is Bridge a Sport? E.U. Court Says No" because it was “characterized by a physical element that appears to be negligible.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/26/world/europe/bridge-sport-eu.html

This ruling came from the European Court of Justice and addressed an issue of taxation; sports events avoid certain taxes, other events do not.  There is no indication whether similar determinations have been made about synchronized swimming, ice dancing and a variety of events where people "ski off a ramp that propel them into the air where they perform multiple somersaults and twists before landing."  The latter activity arose, no doubt, to spitefully aggravate parents who drove hours into wintery locales, spent a lot of money on expensive outfits and equipment, rented comfortable quarters and paid for orthopedic services.     

Judges in these Olympic so-called "sports" award points, often to two decimals, based on characteristics opaque to an ordinary human being.  Admittedly, they are contests and require athletic skill, but they ain't sports.  Bridge is a sport.  Teams oppose each other; high card beats low card; you'll pardon the expression, but trump beats all other suits.  There are no subjective standards of form, difficulty, or finesse involved.  Bridge players keep score; it's that simple.    

Finally, anyone who follows any real sport knows that mental errors often make the difference between the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.  And, bridge is decidedly mental.  Plus you have the physical challenge of sitting on a bridge chair (where do you think they got the name from?) for hours and days.  A social game might last for a couple of hours, while a major tournament might go on for a week.  Try that on your tuchus.

Welcome to New York

Monday, October 16, 2017
Tavish McMullen is visiting from Key Largo, Florida, or what remains of it.  He arrived Saturday and we set off on a whirlwind tour of Manhattan by land, air and sea.  From Palazzo di Gotthelf we took a bus crosstown to Second Avenue and walked to the Roosevelt Island aerial tram.  We rode it over the East River with a large crowd of other curious people.  We walked around Roosevelt Island and found that the tram wasn't the only way to get off the island.  There's a new (to me) ferry service on the East River ranging from Astoria to Rockaway Beach.  For $2.75, the same price as a subway ride, we took the ferry to Wall Street, stopping in Long Island City and 34th Street.  It took 30 minutes, which went quickly in the mild, pleasant weather.  Sitting on the open top deck, I even got a sunburn.   
From Wall Street, we walked a mile to Chinatown, not just Chinatown, but Wo Hop, 17 Mott Street, the cathedral of Chinese food.  At 4:30 in the afternoon, we had to wait to get in, a very worthwhile wait.  We only needed the large portions of beef chow fun ($7.75) and shrimp egg foo young ($10.25), with a bowl of brown rice ($1.75), to fill us up and put a smile on our faces.

The subway got us back uptown, leaving out only helicopters as a way to get around the Holy Land. 
. . .

Our sports report
Columbia University    5-0 
New York Jets.             3-3
New York Giants.         1-5
. . .

Tavish and I went to lunch today at Ess-A-Bagel, 831 Third Avenue, at his request.  He recalled that I took him there in the past when I lived on the East Side.  In fact, I probably averaged 40 visits a year for most of my inter-marital period, 1980-2003.  These days, I typically bring home bagels and accouterments weekly from Fairway Market, 2131 Broadway, which I did on Sunday when Dean Alfange visited.  Tavish had gone off to brunch with friends, so he missed a treat.    

I was thus able to compare Everything bagels.  While both are much larger than bagels used to be in my youth, I generally adhere to Mae West's teaching: "Enough is never enough."  I liked the dough and chewability of Ess-A-Bagel more, but, unlike Fairway, its Everything includes kosher salt crystals sprinkled on top, leaving you thirsty until the next meal.

Ess-A-Bagel was convenient to our next stop, the United Nations, on First Avenue, where we booked a guided tour.  Admission to the UN is free, but 1 hour tours available in several languages cost $22 for an adult, $13 for us enfeebled elderly.  The tour was interesting, but yielded no policy insights for the few of you who still read newspapers.  

We walked through midtown to Num Pang, 1129 Broadway (26th Street), now one of six branches of a local Cambodian sandwich chain.  We both had the Ginger Barbeque Brisket sandwich, served on toasted baguette, with pickled shredded carrots, cilantro, chili mayonnaise, and cucumber slices ($9.75).  Seating is on bright orange metal stools grouped at high rectangular tables with butcher block surfaces.  The somewhat battered walls and floor of this joint must be the holdover from an earlier operation, one that must have been around for a long time.  The high walls were covered with square white ceramic tiles bordered by green tiles; the floors had a similar pattern in mosaic tile.  Both surfaces needed significant repair or replacement.  

From Num Pang, we went right next door to Rizzoli Bookstore, 1131 Broadway, relocated from its classic spot on West 57th Street after 29 years.  Professor Deborah Dash Moore, University of Michigan historian, was discussing her new book Jewish New York: The Remarkable Story of a City and a People.  This work is a restatement of the three volume City of Promises: A History of the Jews of New York, which she co-authored.  I asked whether she considered titling the book New York Jews instead of Jewish New York, akin to the ongoing question of identifying us as American Jews or Jewish Americans, she replied that she wavered on this point, but choose the less edgy title.  I'll have to read the book, maybe even buy it.

Next stop was Monday Night Magic at the Players Theatre, 115 MacDougal Street, in the heart of Greenwich Village.  This weekly show has been going on for 20 years, with a different cast each week.  I admit to being a sucker for good magicians and there were several on stage and in the audience during intermission.  Best of all was Eran Raven who concluded with pulling a paper out of a sealed envelope, which had remained in sight during his act, containing a set of numbers and letters, that turned out to be the serial number of a dollar bill taken from a random member of the audience by another random member of the audience (unlike the present administration, no hint of collusion).  We were impressed.  
. . .

My young bride had caught an earlier flight and was already home when we returned for a happy reunion.

Tuesday, October 17, 2017
I gave up the formal study of science many years ago, but with Tavish as my lab partner I proceeded to Zucker's Bagels & Smoked Fish, 146 Chambers Street, to compare their Everything bagel to Fairway's and Ess-A-Bagel's.  I patronized Zucker's regularly when still working at the courthouse nearby and ordered the poppy seed bagel consistently with happy results, but today's mission focused on the Everything bagel.  It was a little smaller than the other two Everything bagels, a little denser, a blander dough and no salt topping.  It's not a bad or disappointing bagel, it just does not go to the head of the class.   

We were downtown on our way to the 9/11 memorial site.  Outdoors, where the twin towers stood, there are excavations exactly at their location, with waterfalls dropping into what appears to be bottomless pits.  The walls surrounding the waterfalls are engraved with the names of all known victims in or around the buildings, on the airplanes, and at the Pentagon.  I was moved seeing the sheer volume of names and the heterogeneity they conveyed.  Victims came from as many as 90 countries.    https://web.archive.org/web/20080516171333/http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2006/September/20060911141954bcreklaw0.9791071.html

We took a guided walking tour of the grounds first, the Official 9/11 Memorial Guided Tour ($17), 45 minutes giving an informative introduction to the physical setting.  Then, we walked a few feet to the 9/11 Memorial Museum and encountered some unnecessary confusion.  Having looked on-line a few days earlier, I purchased tickets for the 9/11 Tribute Museum, which turned out to be a discrete enterprise located 5 blocks south of ground zero, not the 9/11 Memorial Museum, considered effectively to be the "official" museum.  Admission tickets for one were of no use at the other; $17 on Groupon for the Tribute Museum, adult $24 and senior $18 at the Memorial Museum.  We spent some time at the Tribute Museum, but chose to return to the Memorial Museum for 2 hours, a fraction of what is needed to see it all.  There are a variety of packages combining the outdoor tour, Memorial Museum admission with or without guided tours.  I recommend seeing some or all of it, but, unlike me, check carefully in advance on what there is on offer before purchase.  
. . .

The subway took us to midtown, where we ate dinner at Ben's Kosher Delicatessen, 129 West 38th Street, as a launch point for what came later.  First, Tavish and I had combination corned beef and pastrami sandwiches on rye ($17.99), piled high and particularly good tonight.  From there, we walked the few blocks to Madison Square Garden to see my beloved New York Rangers play the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Yeah, they lost.

Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Since Tavish was leaving in the afternoon today, we were less adventurous.  At his request, as someone who spent many years in Chicago, he asked to have "New York pizza" for lunch.  Therefore, we went to Patsy's Pizzeria, 61 West 74th Street, one of its three locations.  We had a large pie ($20 for 17"), with meatballs ($3.95) and mixed roasted peppers ($2.75) added.  

On the way back to Palazzo di Gotthelf, we stopped at Levain Bakery, 167 West 74th Street, and Jacques Torres Chocolate, 285 Amsterdam Avenue, so that Tavish could supply himself with great chocolate chip cookies for his return to the outside world.  Levain bakes butter-soaked golf balls ($4), while I prefer Torres's 4" flat discs ($3, higher for some versions).  He left shortly thereafter, resisting the temptation to sample his purchases at least until he got on the airplane, as far as I could tell.  

Thursday, October 19, 2017
On the fifth day, I rested.
. . .

Speaking of chocolate chip cookies, I have just learned from Danny Macaroons that She's the First, an organization devoted to the education of girls in poor countries (http://shesthefirst.org) is sponsoring a competition among about 20 of the Holy Land's top bakers, including Levain and Jacques Torres.  It will be held on November 4th at the Strand Bookstore, a confluence that is almost unbearably exciting.  But the good news is more than balanced by the bad news.  I will be away at the time and, were I not, the event sold out almost immediately, before I even knew of it.

Danny, whose medium is macaroons not cookies, nevertheless is invited to participate in recognition of the quality of his efforts.  I hope this events recurs at a time and place available to me and you.  

Friday, October 20, 2017
More chickens are coming home to roost.  Yesterday, there was news of a chocolate chip cookie contest and today the New York Times attempts to get to the heart of the bagel.  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/20/nyregion/new-york-today-what-makes-a-new-york-bagel.html?_r=0

It's almost embarrassing to be ahead of the curve so often, but it's the least that I can do to repay the public that provided me a tuition-free education from PS 159 through CCNY. 

Do the Right Thing

Monday, October 9, 2017

It's hard to be (racially) colorblind in American society, maybe impossible.  At times, I admit to being impatient with or exhausted by the racial prism that either distorts or clarifies our view of reality.  Since I am on one side of our racial divide, that occasionally puts me at odds with the other, no matter how I might strive to be fair, open and tolerant.  Anecdotal evidence of racial discrimination sometimes evokes mixed feelings -- there they go again (black squawkers) vs. there they go again (white bigots).  

A new study restores my perspective, at least for a time.  Based on 20,000 e-mails, the rate of response to routine inquiries to government offices by typically white-named people is consistently higher than for black-named people.  

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/06/business/economy/racial-discrimination-government-officials.html?_r=0

Taking the trouble to discriminate in responding to an e-mail inquiry is gratuitously cruel especially under the most benign conditions.  "Justice, justice, you shall pursue."  Deuteronomy 16:18

. . .

This week's football report

Columbia University          4-0 

New York Jets                    3-2

New York Giants                0-5

. . .

In a 1839 United States Senate debate, Henry Clay famously said “I had rather be right than president.”  Currently, we have the complete opposite.  

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

In a strange way, I think that it is kind of romantic that a divorcing couple would go to court over possession of ice hockey season tickets.  There is love there, although maybe misdirected.      http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/divorced-edmonton-couple-faces-off-custody-oilers-tickets/

. . .

Scott Pruitt, the Administrator of the Environmental Destruction Agency, announced that "the war on coal is over."  Okay, now I can concentrate on the war on Christmas.

. . .

It probably took a formidable public relations effort to get this laudatory article about Acme Smoked Fish's whitefish salad.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/01/acme-smoked-fish-whitefish-salad.html

While the production process is interesting, I cannot endorse Acme's result.  It supposedly contains only whitefish and mayonnaise, but it is mushed to such a degree that it emerges as a salty paste.  Fairway Market, 2131 Broadway, is at the pinnacle of the whitefish salad world and should be your destination for this delicacy.  

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

A play daringly entitled Junk is in previews at Lincoln Center.  We went to see it last night with the Goldfarbs; the Weinsteins were unable to join us.

. . .

The MacArthur Foundation announced its "genius" grants today, $625,000 fellowships.  I understand that the president removed his name from consideration because he did not need the money.

. . .

It was undoubtedly a spiritual quest that brought many of you to my modest exertions.  Holy Writ is an essential component in the perpetual search for truth, beauty and justice and I am pleased to refer you to a new bible -- The Macaroon Bible by Dan Cohen a/k/a Danny Macaroons, who, unlike many others, left Great Neck when he left Great Neck.   https://www.amazon.com/Macaroon-Bible-Dan-Cohen/dp/1118472160?utm_source=danny+macaroons+email+of+awesome&utm_campaign=cf7baa16bc-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_10_11&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_030488f6d3-cf7baa16bc-296904953&mc_cid=cf7baa16bc&mc_eid=bb19b3f5f5#immersive-view_1507731909660

Thursday, October 12, 2017

America's Favorite Epidemiologist abandoned me today, leaving me to my own devices and the Ciao Bella blood orange sorbetto in the freezer.  I hope that America's Loveliest Nephrologist and the Oakland Heartthrob appreciate what they are getting, if only for a few days. 

Friday, October 13, 2017

This link shows an amazing sample of the devastation caused by the California wildfires.   https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/10/12/us/santa-rosa-california-fires-damage.html

. . .

I was fortunate that Gil Glotzer, retired attorney to the stars, was able to meet me for lunch on his quick visit to the Holy Land.  We ate at La-Salle Dumpling Room, 25 West End Avenue, a joint that is continuing to satisfy.  We shared cold sesame noodles ($7.95), pan fried pork dumplings ($8.50 for 6), beef wrapped scallion pancake ($8.95, 5 slices 1" to 2" wide), spicy chicken dumplings ($8.50 for 6).  All this was so good, Gil was almost in tears thinking about what he left behind in exchange for Florida sunshine.   

. . .

No, Israel -- the moron's action today on the Iran nuclear deal does not make you safer.  It only raises the security threat to other nations to match yours.

In With the New

Monday, October 2, 2017

This morning, we learned of the mass killing in Las Vegas.  Motive remains uncertain as I write.  One thing is certain, however, the offering of thoughts and prayers for the victims, the knee-jerk response of those in a position to make a difference in lieu of actually making a difference.  Rather than lament this all-too-familiar response to maniacal gun violence, I thought that, in the best American tradition, I would exploit it.  

Therefore, I am establishing the Thoughts and Prayers Club, membership exclusive to elected officials and those required to pay the Alternative Minimum Tax.  Upon the reporting of any significant tragedy involving American citizens, the Thoughts and Prayers Club would offer thoughts and prayers on behalf of our members, who are typically preoccupied doing very important things.  Dispensing empathy in this fashion keeps the names of our members in the public eye, demonstrates their humanity, and avoids them being caught disengaged or uncaring at a moment of public grief.  

Dues are reasonable, considering the station in life that our members have achieved, and additional funding is made available by the National Rifle Association.

. . .

I loved the opening sentence of a column in the Sunday paper: "I have been summoned to jury duty or, as New Yorkers think of it, lunch in Chinatown."  You may wish to read the entire selection. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/28/nyregion/lock-em-up-then-dim-sum.html?_r=0

. . .

The weekend saw Columbia University's football team continue its run toward a national championship.  The local standings are now

Columbia University               3-0

New York Jets                         2-2

New York Giants                     0-4

. . .

A critical part of Yom Kippur services, which we had 48 hours ago, is the Al Het prayer, repeated many times throughout.  As part of our atonement, we ask to be pardoned and forgiven for a litany of sins -- actions, thoughts, inactions, postures, "of which we are aware and those of which we are not aware."   

A comprehensive Orthodox version is provided by Chabad.   

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/6577/jewish/Text-of-Al-Chet.htm

Before Yom Kippur, I heard from several of the sweetest people I know, asking forgiveness in the spirit of the holy day.  On my part, recognizing that there are only so many hours in the day, I limited my appeals to two people, who had to endure some of my worst behavior during the year. 

Tuesday, October 3, 2017 

Regarding gun control in light of the mass slaughter in Las Vegas, the White House asks us to wait "when that time comes for those conversations to take place."  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/10/02/white-house-now-is-not-the-time-to-talk-about-gun-control-but-if-you-look-to-chicago/?utm_term=.27cd4e721693

A couple of weeks ago, Scott Pruitt, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, told us that "to use time and effort to address it [climate change] at this point is very, very insensitive to this people in Florida."

http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/07/politics/scott-pruitt-hurricanes-climate-change-interview/index.html

I approve this logic.  As a Mets fan, after a 70-92 season, I think that this is not the time to talk about baseball.

The New York Times, however, is unwilling to heed the wise counsel from Washington and offers a graphic illustration of gun violence.    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/10/02/opinion/editorials/mass-shootings-congress.html?_r=0

. . .

Speaking of sweet people, Michael Ratner invited me to join him at the New-York Historical Society (they retain the dash for historical accuracy) tonight.  David Nasaw, author of The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P.Kennedy, moderated a discussion with Larry Tye, author of Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal Icon.  Tye, admittedly a fan of Kennedy's, was direct in his criticisms of Kennedy's low points, his service as an acolyte of Senator Joseph McCarthy, and his manic pursuit of Fidel Castro in Operation Mongoose a/k/a the Cuban Project, "a program of covert action, including sabotage, psychological warfare, intelligence collection, and the creation of an internal revolution against the communist government."    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Project

According to Tye, Kennedy never privately accepted the Warren Commission's version of his brother's death and thought that any one of three forces were the underlying cause --  Fidel Castro, Jimmy Hoffa  or organized crime -- all of which Bobby Kennedy had intensely pursued.  

Tye believes that Kennedy would have made an excellent president, effecting an alliance of disprivileged white and black Americans, fighting poverty and inequality, and ending the Vietnam war.  I am particularly skeptical about the latter claim.  As Ken Burns's 18-hour documentary film series is just in the process of reminding us, the societal divisions surrounding the Vietnam War were harsh and deep.  And, in 1968, the presidential election year, there were at least 536,100 American troops in Vietnam, whose withdrawal without the cloak of Nixonian rhetoric of "peace with honor" might have further torn at the  fragile bonds of tolerance and civility required by a democratic society.  

. . .

Michael and I continued the discussion at Flame, 100 West 82nd Street, a large, sprawling Pan Asian restaurant, which features three large hibachi tables, with chefs chopping and flipping and mixing ingredients in a fashion that used to draw criticism from our parents as playing with our food.  Fortunately, we were seated far away from the boisterous crowds surrounding these displays and we concentrated on the Chinese-Malaysian portions of the large menu.  We ordered Charsiu Duck Buns ($8 for three small sticky buns filled with duck in a barbecue sauce), Curry Chicken Samosa ($7 for chopped chicken in four star-shaped fried shells with curried mustard sauce on the side), Indian Roti ($6 for a thin crêpe with buttery curry sauce on the side), Peach Marinate Ribs ($9 for four ribs with the meat falling off the bone), and Crispy Duck Buns ($8 for two 2-inch square, 1/2 inch thick slices of duck breast, Peking style), the best of the lot.  I can also recommend the flavor enhancer of the 10% discount for paying cash.

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

The Onion printed the same headline for the fifth time in 3 1/2 years in reporting the Las Vegas gun violence: “‘No Way to Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens.”  http://www.theonion.com/article/no-way-prevent-says-only-nation-where-regularly-ha-57086

On the other hand, you have to be a bit surprised that the sober Tom Friedman, temporarily diverted from cheerleading for globalism, fails to respect the calls for silence about gun violence coming from on high in a piece entitled "If Only Stephen Paddock Were a Muslim."     https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/03/opinion/stephen-paddock-las-vegas-terrorism.html

Thursday, October 5, 2017

I guess that ten years after his graduation from college, I should drop calling Max K. the Wonder Boy, a label that seemed to fit during those years that we frequently went to Mets games at Shea Stadium.  Now, in addition to some miscellaneous ventures, he operates a residence in Tribeca with four bedrooms offered on Airbnb.  That subject was the focus of our conversation today at lunch at Lilli & Loo, 792 Lexington Avenue, a Pan Asian restaurant with white tablecloths befitting its location one block from Bloomingdale's.  Prices on the menu tended to be in same upscale zone, although the decor remained modest beyond the tablecloths.  

We shared small plates and appetizers as much as a matter of taste as economics.  We had cold sesame noodles ($8.25), Kung Pao chicken dumplings ($9.95 for six), scallion pancake ($8.25), and satay chicken ($9.50).  The noodles and dumplings were very good; the pancake was good, deep fried, crispy outside, chewy inside.  The four chicken skewers were dry, probably grilled long in advance; the accompanying peanut sauce looked more genuine than it tasted.

Friday, October 6, 2017

I think that the arrival of 5778 is sufficient cause to see the departure of all those slit at the shoulder tops that women have been wearing for too long.  I have secured a large collection of fabrics, solids of many hues (but a lot of black) and a wide assortment  of patterns that can easily be used to cover what is, for most people, an uninteresting body part.  As for utility, exposing the shoulder might save time on vaccinations, but do little more.