Rare DoubleHeader Last nite.....

Party of 3

6:09pm @ 66....5 apps, 2 mains, 1 dessert....
8:14pm @ WD50....3 apps, 1main, 3 desserts...

We almost made it to Florent for a midnight Crabcake sandwich....

brooklyn storefront houses of worship [via tmn]. skinny and i passed one of these in boerum hill on sunday - keith dominion house of god, near the projects on hoyt street - windows were all boarded up but the door was open and there was an amped up gospel blues rock band happening inside. loud. now that's what i'm talking about. far cry from the methodist services of my childhood.

"This guy says some biblical library is on fire." Robert Fisk reporting from Baghdad:

When I caught sight of the Koranic library burning--flames 100 feet high were bursting from the windows--I raced to the offices of the occupying power, the US Marines' Civil Affairs Bureau. An officer shouted to a colleague that "this guy says some biblical [sic] library is on fire". I gave the map location, the precise name--in Arabic and English. I said the smoke could be seen from three miles away and it would take only five minutes to drive there. Half an hour later, there wasn't an American at the scene--and the flames were shooting 200 feet into the air.

Went to the Mermaid Inn last night (low 2nd avenue.) Good crowd for late Monday night. I really like the room. Service was excellent - extremely competent, but also relaxed. The much anticipated $10 mark up on all wine turns out to not be as great as I was (for no real reason) expecting. While the list is very nice, it's also very inexpensive. This is fine, but I had dreams of $50 bottles for $60. It's more like $16 bottles for $26.

Just me and MB so we didn't try everything. Had the fish cowder (hope you like bacon) and the fried oysters to start. Both good, although it's hard to eat fried oysters around the corner from Prune and not think of their most excellent version. And then a very nice fish sandwich (perfect bun) and a sardine app for mains, with a generous side of lobster mashed potatoes (big chunks, yum.)

I'll definitely go back, and won't be surprised if it finds a permanent spot in the rotation. Still, none of the things we ate were a best of kind experience. Great addition to the neighborhood though.

Skinny is fat.. Skinny has rated 39 restaurants so far in 2003, many dozen have been eaten and didnt make the cut. The year is 104 days old. Skinny needs a diet.

The Minnow is tasty!! 1*

re staged photo (lost the thread)

Rumsfeld on Meet the Press just said living in a free democratic society means accepting that in exchange for freedom we give up certain things, eg., the right to settle scores with violence(?)

Unless of course it is an overwhelmingly, militarily superior super power administrating the violence.

He also glossed over the looting of antiquities, calling them "things." When Russert phrased his question "how did we allow that (the looting of antiquities) to happen" Rumsfeld became nonplussed and acted as if it were not within our control to stop anything because in case you forgot, we are fighting a war.

I think one tank parked in front of the museum might have sufficed

In Baghdad, looters made off with a priceless collection of irreplaceable antiquities from the National Museum on Saturday, stripping the building of treasures dating back to the dawn of civilization in Mesopotamia.

"They have looted or destroyed 170,000 items of antiquity dating back thousands of years...They were worth billions of dollars," said deputy director Nabhal Amin, weeping.

we are off soon to California for 42 hours to give support for 2 long time pals....it will include 2 meals out, both at Slanted Door , one of my favorite restaurants in the US:>):>)

day 2 @ WD50 with a pal from bizz world, we ate 4 apps, 4 desserts, 2 mains and i had only 3 repeats from the first nite (1 app/2 desserts), now I have worked thru all 8 (current) app's and 6 of 8 mains and most desserts.....to start the f gras anchovy thing is w/o and ?? the most beautiful dish I have ever seen PERIOD, it also confirms one major love in food (it tasted amazing, Monkfish is also insane yummy), that texture, flavor, color/presentation can all be = to make the "bang zoom deluxe"..... Kai, 66, WD50 are my three best of NYC 2003, these three provide this experience as best as possible, and Hangawi right there also.....

Babatunde Olatunji "...76, the Nigerian drummer whose 1959 Columbia Records album, 'Drums of Passion,' helped introduce African music into the American mainstream, died of complications of diabetes April 6 in Salinas, California."

Skinny, you must have seen him. I did once with the Dead at the Garden. Impressive presence.

Is there a word for a sudden spike in P2P file sharing network searches for recently deceased artists?

the mushroom house

Get your war on. Hot off the press.

Bigwood & Barlow !!

2003
(New York unless listed otherwise)

Passadis Del Pep (Barcelona) 4*
WD50 4*
Kai 4*
66 4*
Slanted Door (SF) 3*
Carballeira (Lleida, Spain) 3*
Uglesich's (New Orleans) 3*
Hangawi 3*
Wallse 3*
Al Di La 3*
El Torreone (Torrisellas, Spain) 2*
Asados Nazareno (Roa, Spain) 2*
Piro (Gratallops, Spain) 2*
Frankie & Johnny's (New Orleans) 2*
Mother's (New Orleans) 2*
Zuni Cafe (SF) 2*
Peristyle (New Orleans) 2*
Kebab Cafe 2*
Itzocan Cafe 2*
Le Bernardin 2*
Botafumeiro (Barcelona) 2*
Milos 2*
Town 2*
Washington Park 2*
Il Gattopardo 2*
Grand Sichuan Int Midtown 2*
Otto 1*
Minnow 1*
Arnaud's 1*
Herbsaint (New Orleans) 1*
Felix's Oyster Bar (New Orleans) 1*
Camellia Grill (New Orleans) 1*
Fuleen Seafood 1*
Counter 1*
Holy Basil 1*
Bao 1*
Felidia 1*
Cambodian Cuisine 1*
WOOCHON 1*
Tommasso's 1*
Restaurant del Remey (Lleida, Spain) 1*
El Agua (Villafranca del Bierzo, Sapin) 1*
Villa Laguardia (Laguardia, Spain) 1*
Every Taverna not listed above that we ate in Athens/Thessaloniki (Greece) was 1* some we would never know the names....

WD50 is opening this week and we had a preview......we were a table of 4 and we tasted 9 dishs plus 4 desserts......all were very good and most were excellente, for me the squid pasta app (available as a main) was insane great, the lamb main course was one of the most yummy things I have eaten all year, the desserts were awesome, aromas and flavors all over the map......the much talked about Foie gras/anchovy terrine was n/a last nite but that is even more a reason for me to go back soon, there is a dangerous guy working the bar making some cocktails, we tasted 3 and they ROCK!!....love the room, love the people.....

Arnauds opened in red Hook and its the 2nd new restaurant to open there in resent time, the first Hope and Anchor is supposed to be good, Arnauds is also....we had a tasty escargot wonton's (they called them ravioli), nice bass, and amazing oysters (Fisher Island)....I love Red Hook....

Vertigo then and now: "before and after images of various San Francisco locations used in Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 masterpiece." (via fimoculous)

snow din

an interview with billy wilder about his noir films. also some essays related to noir.

"Next month, a former factory in a small town an hour north of New York will become the first museum dedicated to the greatest generation of American artists. Not Pollock, Rothko and de Kooning. The next generation, the one that came of age during the 1960's and 70's, the one that includes Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, Walter De Maria, Michael Heizer, Robert Smithson, Sol LeWitt, Andy Warhol, Robert Ryman, Agnes Martin, Bruce Nauman and Richard Serra. The history of American art is going to need a little rewriting."

mixed reviews for Cowboy Bebop movie.

also mixed are the reviews for neil jordans The Good Thief, a remake of jean-pierre melvilles Bob Le Flambeur starring nick nolte. can anyone think of one successful (critical or box office) remake? heres an article about melville.

pre-matrix history via animation at anamatrix.

made it finally over to Itzocan Cafe....place seats 12, food was excellente (dont miss the dumplings), its BYOB (till they open a new space), will go back soon....