Las Ramblas

When I spent a couple of summers in Spain, I came to really appreciate the afternoon Tapas culture. People have big lunches, but dinner is well after 9 pm, so that leaves the odd happy hour window as a good chance to grab a snack as hold over till supper time. I liked going to the bars/cafes with the family in the early evening, and getting a beer and a snack (tortilla española.. mmmm)

So on that vibe, I am one of those people who is really happy with how trendy tapas bars are getting. Seriously, what is better than little sample sized shared plates with friends over some good Sangria.

Las Ramblas in The Village.  The place is cute and tiny. So small and intimate, in fact, that I have been in awe before of how they fit so many customers so comfortably in there. That's the thing about an intimate scale, you design lighting correctly and it feels like a restaurant is bustling with life rather than being packed like sardines. We had to wait about a half hour for a table for five, during which time we went next door to Tio Pepe and had some Mojitos. I am not a mojito fan, but these were okay, not too minty.

Once at Las Ramblas we ordered White Wine Sangria, which is sweet and mixed and peach and some type of berry. Very good. I don't drink red wine, so it's nice when places take the same care for their white wine sangria as for the traditional red wine. Then we ordered Tortilla Espanola, bocadillos de jamon y queson, croquetas de jamon, chorizo de pato, alcachofa rellena and some grilled lamb dish. For my money, they make the tortilla espanola to perfection. I could eat it all day. I liked their ham, and thought everything was fried it didn't feel greasy. I was bummed we didn't order morcilla, patatas bravas or albondigas. But some embers of our group complained that the plates were too small and that they were hungry and we made the decision to take off possibly grab pizza somewhere else to address the hunger.

And that's the thing about tapas. I don't know if I would recommend going if you are really hungry. These are not Olive Garden Sized portions. These are small plates that give you a sampling of a variety of different Spanish appetizers. I was a bit disappointed that some people in our group were not embracing the system. It's about having some drinks and having great food. Not getting stuffed on cheese sauce. This is not about a big sit down dinner, it's about the Tapas culture. And in many ways, Las Ramblas is one of the most "authentic" places I've seen in the US. It's small, understated, about grabbing some good food and drinks and going on the next place. No fusion, no fuss, no muss, just about the Tapas.

It's also a problem that since you are ordering some many small plates, the cost can get away from you all of the sudden. It's like sushi, you keep ordering a little here and there, and next thing you know, you have run up a huge tab. We kept it reasonable, tried a bit of everything and decided to go drinking and keep the night going somewhere else. Reasonable, and it the spirit of the place.

Before leaving though, we tried the Porron with muscatel. A Porron, which I had never seen before I went to this bar a few months ago, is something resembling a hipster beer bong. It's a decater, filled with spanish wine, and then each person tips the porron so that a stream of wine flows from the spout into your mouth. Once the stream and it's water pressure has been established  you try to hold the pron as far from your own mouth as possible by extending your arm out. Hilarity ensues when normal mortals tend to spill wine on themselves. Good times.

After Las Ramblas we walked around the Village looking for a place that wasn't bursting at the seams with NYU students before settling at The Belgian Bar, where there was plenty of room on the courtyard to sit and hang out. Good thing it was such an unusually warm February night.

Park Slope Food Coop

I worked my shift today at the Park Slope Food Coop. And despite the fact that I am growing a bit tired of it, I have to admit that the Coop is one of the greatest assets to living in Park Slope.

We joined soon after moving to the neighborhood. I wanted a place that had "a more varied selection of whole wheat pastas" and "better produce, seriously, Keyfoods sucks." Since then, I have discovered that there are indeed other options for good produce in our neighborhood, such as Union Market and the Farmers Market on Saturdays. Furthermore, if need be, we could go to Whole Foods in Union Square or the Union Square Farmer's Market. But it was all those options are more cost prohibitive in the long run. And I have problems shopping at Farmer's markets. Don't get me wrong, love the idea, love the whole concept of farmer's markets. But every time I've gone one, including the Austin Farmer's market, I get this weird feeling that the farmer is just watching me, watching as I make decisions, silently appraising whether I am making good produce choices or not. It keeps me from feeling free to browse and look at things. It's just my issue, not sure where it comes from. And I am mildly ashamed of it, to tell the truth.

This is how the seed of the Food Coop was first planted.  About two or three weeks after moving to Brooklyn, Nate and I were walking down Union St (in Brooklyn) at night, exploring our new digs. And we randomly ran into Matt C., an old high school friend of mine. I hadn't seen him in years... so he seems rightfully shocked to run into me just chillin' in "his" neighborhood half way across the country from Austin. But I digress, in our brief chat he told us he was on his way to the Food Coop, a store which I had seen but hadn't ventured into yet. And that was all the recommendation I needed.

A couple of weeks later we were at the orientation to join.

The way it works is pretty simple and totally socialist. It is a true cooperative. Essentially, only active members are allowed to shop there. Every member pays a one time membership fee and a refundable "investment" that you get back when you leave. And every member has to work 3 hours every four weeks - stocking, cash register, sorting things in the basement, pricing, cleaning, bagging, etc. Because of this, there are very few paid employees at the Coop, who coordinate, and take care of business with providers, etc. But since most of the bulk of the busy work is volunteer based, it allows the Coop to keep prices really low. This was a nice surprise, as we joined because of the produce, not realizing that in addition, it's really cheap.

Love the place. Great selection of cheeses, veggies, whole grains, the whole shabang. Now if they could just do something about the ridiculous lines in the evenings....

Brooklyn Public Library

We are living in the northern end of Park Slope, and the Brooklyn Central Library is only a few blocks from us. I feel like I always dreamed of being able to walk to the library, without a car. We are lucky that the location closest to us is also the largest, so it has a pretty large selection.

Today was such a beautiful day, and I really enjoyed my walk there along Prospect Park and Grand Army Plaza. It was one of those days where it's great to be in Park Slope.

If I had to pick a gripe of the library is that building doesn't engage the street. Nevermind that Grand Army Plaza is a total urban aberration (more on that on a later post), the building has a very severe blank facade. I appreciate that it's architecture of another time, and that in fact they've done a lot putting tables and chairs on the front plaza (I hear it even has free wi-fi), but it's still not an active front. Maybe that's okay. Maybe the fact that the surrounding neighborhoods are vibrant mixed-use areas with commercial diversity means that this civic space doesn't have the responsibility of engaging the area. Maybe the plaza being tree-less gives the space the appropriate grandeur of a building of a different era. I would need to hang out there in the summer. So far, I've only discovered the Library in the winter.

I am currently reading The God Delusion by Richard Dawkings, and could not be happier with the library giving me an opportunity to read for free.

Lonely Island

One of the things about being in the Big Apple is that lots of musicians/celebrities/performers also choose to reside here. As a result, it seems like there should be more chances to go to their events/CD releases/fashion store openings/uh... I dont know.

Today, Nate and I went to the Lonely Island CD release party at the Virgin Megastore on Union Square. The had a Q&A and signed CD's and stuff. I really like the Virgin Megastore - I don't care if it might be the Target of CD buying - they have tons and tons of CD's and DVD's and in my mind they are British so it's all forgiven. And..... they have events such as these.

I got in line super early, since Nate has a bonafide full-time job can't just leave early at a whim. It was okay, cold as flurge, but I chatted with the people around me. I was probably 10 years older than the median age at this thing, but whatever, everyone is nice. Nate joined me when he got off work. 

Turns out our spot in line was awesome. We were by a large window, which faced the back of the Virgin Cafe. It was also the area where The Dudes were taken for a pre-show interview with Access Hollywood. So somehow we ended up at the front of some crazy mob scene all trying to look int the window. Some guy had an old school boombox (of the "Say Anything" style) and started blasting the Lonely Island song. I remember hearing Lazy Sunday and The Natalie Portman Rap, and everyone goes crazy and starts singing along. The Dudes are doing the interview and keep looking our way, really amused by the commotion. The Access Hollywood people even pick up on the craziness and filmed the crowd. And somehow, through it all, Nate and I were at the very front, right against the window. I'll have to see Access Hollywood tomorrow to see if we made it on screen at any point.

The Q&A was good. Standing room only and as crowded as you would expect. It was hosted by Paul Rudd. Paul Rudd!!!!! I loved him in Clueless, and I don't care if that reference ages me. Whatever.

Akiva, Jorma and Andy were funny, answered some questions and overall got the crowd to make a lot of noise. They just looked so.... normal, low key, dorky. It was very endearing.

Afterwards we got our CDs autographed. The guys were pretty chatty. Or maybe its just that I wasn't all that starstruck since they looked so quirky and normal, and my age, so I talked to them. I feel like I could've met those guys at a college party, and we would have smoked a bowl together, and discussed the merits of The Empire Strikes Back over the vastly inferior Clone Wars. Or maybe that was just my idea of fun in
college. I told Andy that he looked just like in Television, and he made some joke back. And I asked Jorma where he got his haircut. Mostly because for the longest time I've been trying to cut Nate's hair to look like his. Jorma has a good style, and his hair type is pretty much like Nate's. Jorma laughs and says his wife cuts it for him, and I tell him that I cut Nate's hair to look like that. And J looks at Nate and says that it looks exactly the same. So.... sucess? We have the right hair style apparently.

Beginning

So I have been living in the New York City Metropolitan area for a little over a year now, and because of the current economic situation, I have a lot more time on my hands.  Unemployment will do that to ya.

And I decided to write about all the things I love about New York.   Maybe love is a strong word.  Dr. Phill would probably tell me to treat it carefully. Rather, I want to have a small outlet to share the "stuff" of NYC, the things I do, the experiences that seem to feel wholly unique to the city, the things that aren't necessarily unique but are happening to me as I live here, the events that I have stumbled upon, the cultural institutions I attend, the hole in the walls I end up with friends.

Here it goes!