Noodles at Noodle Bar in the LES. The roti is great. I just wish you get more bread to sop up that sauce. I’ve been a big fan of coconut curry soups lately and my Singapore Noodle broth filled me up just right. I was full at half way, but stopped thinking and stuffed myself the rest of the way.
Afterwards, Rob got me into Rooftop Films’ Dark Toons, which is a great deal. You pay $9, hang out on a rooftop, listen to a band, watch cool films and get a couple hours of open bar. It was on the New Design High School rooftop at Grand and Essex. Walking up the caged stairs and the caged roof felt like a prison, but roof is still pretty rad looking with the graffiti on the walls.
Noodle Bar – 172 Orchard St (btw Houston St & Stanton St) New York, NY 10002
At the outdoor market on East Broadway and Forsyth under the Manhattan bridge, they sell Chinese breads and other fried stuff. I noticed two different pre-wrapped sandwiches. One with beef and one with Chinese Broccoli (Kai-lan). Which pill to take? I wasn’t sure how safe the meat one was, so I went with the veggie, plus it was colorful. Then I thought, “Why would a Chinese Broccoli sandwich be a good idea?” Sounds gross. That is until I ate the whoofed down the whole thing. It’s awesome! Surprisingly delicious! It was stir-fry oily style which soaked into the sesame seed bun. $1.25 holmes. My reality has been shattered.
Our friend Chelsea had a going away party before she heads out to LA to work on the Sarah Silverman Show. So to pump myself up for partying –put on some Flo Rida, downed a 5 Hour Energy and grabbed a bite at Vanessa’s Dumpling at the new location on 14th St. It’s interesting to see cheap dumpling place in that area. I suppose it’s a little more than the Chinatown/LES outlet, but still cheap. 5 dumpling at $1.99 (non-happy hour). Not amazing tasting, but amazing for the price.
Oh yeah, the Sriracha cock sauce bottle was watery. What the fuck?
Vanessa’s Dumpling – 220 E 14th St (btw 2nd Ave & 3rd Ave) New York, NY 10003
I love walking around finding these restaurants where you pick from their steam trays. This one has a pretty decent dining area for a joint that has the pick and point. Three items with rice and soup for $3.50. I got Sichuan Chinese pickled vegetable (Zha cai) in my box that I first thought was bitter melon. It’s an interesting pickled flavor. I don’t know if it worked with the other items I picked, but it’s great if you want to mix up your flavor palate in one meal.
Walked by this place on a previous Chinatown adventure. I was really curious. You would think it would almost be packed by hip kids because of the funny name, Strange Taste Cuisine. We had a hard time communicating when ordering. I would even point at the menu to the Chinese and English writing and number. Eventually a customer helped me order. I think he basically did the same thing but with more authority. Good luck trying to call your order in in English. I got the Dan Dan Noodles $4. It was huge. A big bowl of noodles with minced meat and peanut sauce. Sam got the sparerib noodle soup. And we both got a roast pork bun which was huge at $1. Not exactly strange tasting, but it was different from what I’m used to –from the noodles to the bun filling. I still enjoyed it and the people were really nice. The lady came over to see if I wanted a plop of chili sauce on my Dan Dan. Of course! I felt like she was my aunt. Here’s a good discussion on Strange Taste if you’re interested.
Then we went to the supermarket under the Manhattan Bridge so Sam can pick up some items and buy me a Cici jelly drink. It tasted like an otter pop with bits of jello in it. They have some cool stuff in there. I got shut down by an employee when taking a photo of the Romantic Vacations box of cookies. Something to take on your honeymoon at Niagara Falls?
Strange Taste Cuisine – 20 Henry St (btw Catherine & Market St) New York, NY 10002 New York Supermarket – 75 E Broadway New York, NY 10002 (more like on Henry and Manhattan Bridge)
I was able to find out who’s camera we found in the backyard grill belonged to. This is after I was thinking the Secret and the Universe was trying to manifest cameras for me …more like stealing for me. And after I claimed I didn’t believe in Karma. Moments after I contacted my neighbor about her camera, my friend Todd asks me if I want to go to this MOMA Garden Party with a performance from Estelle. He won tix for being on the PopRally mailing list. I couldn’t believe it. I’ve been obsessed with her “American Boy” song for the past couple of weeks, which I never heard before. It’s been my main karaoke song down in my basement. It was like the Secret and Karma was rewarding me big time.
I had a quick bite of ramen at Men Kui Tei beforehand. The ramen was alright. I was tempted to go to Benihana. Next time, big boy.
The MOMA Garden Party rocked. The outdoor area was huge and packed. Cocktail attire. I wore my dress shoes. I’ve learned my lesson. I saw Ashford and Simpson and ran into Ashley and Megan. We danced it up. We drank it up. Estelle rocked it up.
Then the girls took me to Remedy Diner in the Lower East Side. I really don’t remember how we got there. I had a few bites of my nachos. I didn’t even remember getting nachos until I saw the pics today. I’m surprised I was able to hang my jacket up when I got home.
Thank you Todd, MOMA, PopRally, Estelle, Karma and The Secret!
Update: And thanks to Zach from Midtownlunch for watching my back. I went to Men Kui Tei and not Menchanko Tei. It’s confusing with all the drinking and the awning that says something totally different.
Men Kui Tei – 60 W 56th St (btw 5th & 6th Ave) New York 10019 Remedy Diner – 245 E Houston St New York, NY 10079
Met up with friends at Teddy’s for brunch. I really like their Mounds of Punjabi breakfast. It’s like Eggs Benedict with Indian saag spinach for Hollandaise sauce. Next time I’m going to try the French Toast ham and steak sandwich! That sounds heavy duty. Abel let me use his Nikon D40 camera. Pretty cool. I want a DSLR now, especially since my camera is half busted from karaoke mishaps.
We went to McCarren Park to throw the football around and to compare club soda vs seltzer water. The taste difference, I can’t really tell.
Later Ryan calls me up from the airport to ask if I can pick up his camera he left in a car service. When going to get it, I almost get hit by a bicyclist while walking my bike across the street. I had the walk sign. It’s funny –when you’re on your bike, drivers are assholes. When you’re driving, pedestrians are assholes. When you’re walking, bikers are assholes. We’re all assholes.
Back to my apt for a grill out of dogs and spareribs. Jody mentions how Todd left his camera at his apt during last night’s bbq. Then Rusty finds a pretty nice camera (Canon G10) in a grill in the backyard. I was psyched. The Secret works! Think about cameras and they will manifest. But Russ is right. We should find out who it belongs to. All the lost cameras floating around this Memorial day, I’m sure they would be psyched to have them back. Integrity is more important than the Secret. Plus Russ believes in Karma. He gave the cab driver an extra big tip the night before to which I said “I don’t believe in Karma.” Although I hope Karma gives me back my football I accidentally tossed into the neighbors yard.
The last adventure with the Lincoln MKZ. Before our trip out, Jody and Christa got sandwiches from an Italian deli in my hood. The big guy making Jody’s meatball sub seemed to get agitated when Jody asked for cheese after the guy already cut it. Well Jody was pushing it. Not going to name names of the deli in fear that I’d get my noggin beatin with a bat.
Back in the car, we realized it had air conditioned seats which was nice on this hot day. Also got to play around with the seat positioning, which included lower back support. It was cool. I couldn’t tell what it was doing at first because the seat wasn’t moving. I thought it was a back massager.
Headed to the Queens Museum of Art in Flushing to check out this cool Panorama exhibit, short scale model of the entire New York City. Jody was able to sneak some shots.
We finally figured out how to make the GPS work. Apparently the car can’t be moving when typing in the destination. The option was always disabled when we tried before while driving. This is our first time using GPS navigation and it was really cool. Only one day with it and we don’t know how we would live without it. It talked our way to Chinatown Flushing. My first time there. Seems a little more hectic than the Sunset Park version and a lot more storefront window food places. I got a Peking Duck on a steamed bun for $1 from Corner 88, spicy fish balls on a stick for $1 from AA Plaza, and pan fried dumplings 8 for $2 at Super Snack. I really want to try the point and pick take out boxes from Corner 88 some day.
We went to a grocery store there in Chinatown to pick up some salmon, shrimp, and veggies to bring back for a cook out. They had a bucket of live frogs that two little kids were kicking. The live bucket of turtles freaked Christa out. Who knew the spicy fish balls on a stick would be a precursor for the skewered shrimp and Rusty’s Cheetos on a stick?
Thank you Ford, Rachel and Social Media Group for the lovely car. Had a great weekend!
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Braised Veal Shoulder Blade Chop
Cafe Nijasol
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