Monday, August 27, 2007

The Jamaican Dutchy

Where? 51st and 7th street cart

My first job was in a kitchen with a crew of Jamaicans. It was also my first experience with Jerk Chicken. Though every Jamaican's marinade is different, some of the main (there are many) ingredients are olive oil, soy sauce, thyme, cayenne, all spice, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, etc. It all adds up to some of the more flavorful and spicy chicken around.

I had to give the Dutchy a chance and for the most part it delivered. The chicken was definitely the highlight; the rice and veggies were quite bland. I got the large and had it for two lunches. Not bad for $9. Luckily, I seem to have caught it early enough that there was not a huge line.

Definitely will go back, but won't wait in line for 30 minutes (even if there is a flat screen TV to entertain).

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Anti-Defamation League recognizes the Armenian Genocide

Under enormous pressure from a variety of groups, the Anti-Defamation League recognized the Armenian genocide today. This, after firing their regional director a week ago for recognizing the genocide.

Read more here.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Economist goes free

One of my favorite publications no longer requires a subscription to access all of its online content. The Economist is now free, banking on increased readership to boost its advertising revenues. One can only hope the NY Times and others will follow suit.

What websites do you read on a daily basis?

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Looking for good food? Try Chow.com

Chowhound started as a small message board where people discussed food. It was purchased by CNet about a year ago and relaunched as Chow.com. The website has been glossed up a bit, but thankfully the best feature (the message boards) has remained intact.

There is lively discussion about everything from chain restaurants in Arizona to street food in Southwestern China. The message board participants are an educated bunch and I found the site to be useful during my recent Round the World Trip. In fact, a couple of my more memorable dining experiences were a result of the Chowhound.

Enjoy, and please let me know if you find anything good on there.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Getting around New York City with Hopstop

If for some reason you live in New York and haven't heard about Hopstop, it is one of the more useful websites for living in the city.

Simply enter your starting and ending address a la Google maps and Hopstop will pull up the best route on the Subway to get from Point A to Point B. You can specify whether you would like more transfers or more walking, and you can even calculate how much a taxi ride would cost for the same trip. Additionally, you can use Hopstop with your PDA or with SMS.

It isn't just New York that has Hopstop. Boston, Chicago, San Fran and DC also in the mix. There a couple other versions (Long Island and Jersey) in beta at the moment.

Hopstop is great, although it can't help you much if there is a monsoon in the city like there was this morning.

Saturday, August 4, 2007

What's going on with Fungwah?

I like to consider myself one of the original Fungwah bus riders. I have been taking the Fungwah since it was a mere $10 (now its $15) and long before they had a spot in South Station in Boston. I had some interesting rides; one included being pulled over on Route 95 with a busload of 30 people, another involved a driver brushing up on his English for the entire four hour trip.

But nothing compares to my trip on Friday. I made it on the 3:30 bus where the branding of the bus was conspicuously absent. I didn't think too much of it until I sat down and took a look around. This clearly wasn't a "Chinese" bus as there was a USSR flag and signed poster of the Olympic hockey team. Hmmm... Things got even more interesting when our bus driver (named Boris) arrived in his leather vest that had such things as an American flag, his name tag, and Route 66 patch sewn on.

Boris wasn't the friendliest of fellows telling his passengers that we would arrive "verry verry verry late." He pulled over in the middle of Connecticut for no apparent reason, yelled at people if they stood up, and passed about a mile of traffic before squeezing himself in to merge onto Route 84. Boris also refused to turn the AC off and was working about two cellphones and his CB radio (in Russian). He finally acquiesced to stop for a break about 4 and a half hours into the trip. When we did stop and I inquired to how long it would take, he refused to give a range. Five and a half hours after leaving NY we arrived. His final dispatch on the loudspeaker, "Arriving South Station, Boston. Next stop, New York," as if some of us were going to make the return trip with him.

Pulling into South Station, the Fungwah employees seemed thrilled to see Boris, as if there were a 50/50 chance that he would show.

Just another trip on the Fungwah.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Kwik Meal on 45th

Checked out Rahman's Kwik Meal street cart on 45th street, just west of 6th avenue. Rahman is a Bangladeshi who learned to cook in Toronto and was formerly the chef at the Russian Tea Room. Quite the international character as you can gather.

I had the lamb which was excellent although I was a little disappointed in the size. I was still a bit hungry after lunch. Perhaps I'm used to some of the other vendors that serve lesser quality meat, but the portions seemed a little small, particularly when you consider Rahman's lamb is $2.50 more than other vendors. I will say the quality was far superior to the ubiquitous Halal vendors in Midtown.

Been here? What do you think? What is the best street food in Midtown, in Manhattan?

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Free Yoga!

Interested in doing Yoga? You can't beat the price at Yoga Today. Though I've fallen a bit out of practice, these routines are great for the beginner and each last about an hour. There are always four different episodes to choose from with three different instructors. They are even in High Def.

I personally like the ashtanga routines as they are the most physically demanding, but let me know what you like in the comments.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Don't drink the water

Check out what it takes to bring you Fiji water.

I think it is pretty safe to say the backlash against bottled water is certainly gaining steam.

Do you drink bottled water?

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Stock up on groceries



Amazon has some pretty good deals on non-perishable items these days. They have been promoting it pretty heavily and offer free shipping for orders over $25. Think of it as going to Costco's or BJ's without actually having to go there. There are some pretty good values on things like Clif bars and razors.

Another cool feature Amazon has added is subscribe and save. Here you can sign up to receive items you'll need on a recurring basis and Amazon will send them to you every couple of months (you specify the time period). Better yet, you get a 15% discount.

Voza Restaurant

949 Columbus Ave
(between 106th St & 107th St)
New York, NY 10025 (212) 666-8602

My girlfriend and I went here last Saturday night around 7 and there wasn't a soul in the place. Normally I would head the other way, but the interior was nice and the place is about half a block from my apartment. It is bring your own alcohol so we picked up a bottle of wine.

The food was excellent. I would recommend the pork chop, and the salad we had was simple, but made with quality ingredients. The interior is nice, as was the woman from Albania who runs the place. There are only about 5 tables and you can see the chef cooking from your table. He wanted to be sure we enjoyed ourselves, and we did. We had poached pear with Valhrona chocolate and ice cream for dessert, which was delicious.

In case you were wondering about the name Voza, it means wine barrel in Albanian.

A great neighborhood restaurant where you can have a nice meal for 2 for about $60 (wine included).

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Launchy

Launchy is described as a "open source keystroke launcher for Windows." Open source means it is free, and the keystroke launcher means rather than using a mouse you can simply press the alt+tab keys to open a box in which you can type the initial few letters of the program you want to launch (start).

It is one of my favorite new programs because of its simplicity and efficiency. Others agree as it has been nominated for three awards this year.

Take the time to check out Launchy. You'll spend less time with your mouse and less mouse/more keyboard always makes things faster.

Need a new keyboard? Since I'm spending hours in front of a computer these days, I recently purchased a Microsoft Natural Ergonomic keyboard and I couldn't be more pleased. If you have even the slightest problem with wrist pain or carpal tunnel, I'd recommend picking one of these up. The keyboard slopes downward and thus reduces pressure on the wrist.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Grom Gelateria

Checked out Grom Gelateria on 76th and Broadway and I must say I was impressed. One should be impressed for $4.75 for a small cup. There was a longish line of about 10 people.

I had the Fior di latte (a mint flavor) and the flavor of the month, pesca ciocolatto (peach and chocolate). A lot of care is taken into finding the right ingredients. Ecuadorian chocolate, sfusato lemon from Amalfi, Guatemalan coffee, Sicilian pistachios, etc. Grom is a member of the slow food movement, something worth checking out if you have a few minutes.

Grom seems to be doing things right. I spoke with someone working there who was from Turin and she seemed genuinely excited about the product. Another plus, their pistachio gelato isn't green--a sure way to separate quality ice cream and gelato from the inferior stuff.

Interested in trying your own hand at gelato making? If I had the money, I would consider the Lello Gelato Pro 4090. If you do have the money, let me know what you think of it!

Monday, July 9, 2007

Brooklyn Bridge Park Beach

It's hot in New York and what better way to cool down than the beach.

After taking the Series 7 exam (5 hours) I decided I needed to cool down. I picked up a $4 bathing suit (it is hideous) and hopped on the express 2 (or 3) train to Borough Hall in Brooklyn. To get to the "beach," find Joralemon street and walk towards the water until you see a wooden sign that says beach. Follow that sign and you'll soon find the floating pool and Brooklyn Bridge park beach. I got there around 3:30 and had to wait until 4:00 to get a wristband, then until 5:00 to actually swim. Bring a book.

Poolside is a bit of chaos, but it adds to the atmosphere and there is a lap lane if you are serious about swimming. The views are unsurpassed and plenty of room to lie out and enjoy the sun. Around the beach, there is a Harry's of Water Taxi beach fame selling hot dogs and soy dogs. There is also ice cream, lots of picnic tables, chairs for rent, volleyball and soccer.

I'd imagine you'd be crazy to try and go here on the weekend, but if you find yourself with a couple hours on a weekday morning of afternoon, I'd definitely check it out. If for nothing else, I imagine this is one of the best views of Manhattan.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Introduction

The name may be a little narcissistic but the blog will prove not to be. I tried some of my other, perhaps more clever names, but the blogosphere seems quite crowded these days and I'm sick of getting "the blog you requested is not available."

So what is the site about? The idea is to provide readers with quality websites, programs, restaurants etc. To that end, the site covers just about anything. The tech stuff (i.e. websites) will be easy--the idea is that my Mom can follow. My favorite things are food, technology, NYC (now that I'm living here), travel, and getting things a little less expensively (okay, cheaper) than the next guy.

This blog is also my initial foray into a commercial blog. It is my first attempt and while I don't plan on making a living out of this site, I hope I can generate enough traffic to buy a beer or two on the weekend. There might be links to Amazon for a particular product I like, there will be Google Ads, and perhaps a banner or two. So if you like the site, do tell your friends. Or save it to Delicious. Or Digg. Or email it to someone else. Comments are always appreciated as well.