Hanging Around at De Kalb

I spent far too much time waiting for trains today.  Still, this De Kalb tiling is handsome, & I kind of like the contrast of the jazzy reflective stripes.

Another Tree Decoration

At Bryant Park in Late October

Bryant Park has now been taken over by Christmas booths, so its early morning bucolic vistas are gone.  That plus it's pretty dark in the park at 7:00 a.m., and the dwindling light seems to have brought out the rats. Time to turn one's back on it more often, & consider the streets. 

At the Library, Grand Army Plaza

Oh That Park Slope Food Coop ...

Try reading the lead article in the most recent Linewaiter's Gazette & see if you can get through it without developing a severe headache.  It defies parody.  Oh & yes, you'll find out that the PSFC is still considering action against Barney's, who continue to take the name of co-op in vain.

After The Rain

This afternoon's rainbow was beautiful.  Unfortunately my photographs made it seem incredibly humdrum , so I've settled for this picture instead.  At this point the rainbrow had faded back into the sky, but the light took on a vivid, wild intensity.



More Astoria

Fourth Avenue

This is a sad Crime Stoppers poster, at the Fourth Avenue station, relating to a murder case from 1987.

OTB Replacement?

Work is underway at the former OTB site on 5th.  I was told that we are to expect "a supermarket or something", which is rather on the vague side. A superette or deli?
Meanwhile, the Magnolia renovation on 6th kicked into action a few days ago, but the interior looks much the same.

Midtown, 7:00 a.m.

Second Avenue

What's For Supper? Rice & Beans With Slab Bacon

Even though it's a cliche-ridden meat by now, you can never have too much bacon.  Here's another cheap meal, hovering somewhere between baked beans & risotto.  It's loosely derived from a Bobby Flay Hopping John Risotto recipe.

8 oz. beans (you choose which ones)
1 lb. smoked slab bacon (this cost me about $3.00)
1 onion, chopped
Several cloves garlic
Chicken stock (not salty)
1/2 lb. arborio rice
Small amount apple juice
Parsley

Cook beans using the easy Serious Eats method, adding 1/2 of the slab bacon, in one piece, & a couple of cloves of garlic.  Drain, & set aside.
Dice the rest of the bacon & cook until fairly crisp.  Along the way, add onion, chopped small.
Add arborio rice & deglaze the pan with apple juice.
Cook rice mixture as you would a risotto, steadily adding chicken stock.
When rice is almost ready, add beans & the rest of the bacon, chopped or shredded.  Cook for a few more minutes.
Season well with pepper, & add plenty of finely cut parsley.

You want to make sure the chicken stock is low sodium, & that you have plenty of it - you want this to be on the soupy rather than the dry side.  You may not need all the cooked beans.  I only used about two thirds of them, & put the rest aside for some other use.  You could use wine in this, but I didn't feel like opening a bottle.

In the Audience - Halloween Freakfest, Tompkins Square

Head in Tree (12th Street between 6th/7th)

Faces of Astoria

Di Fara Documentary

I found this documentary, directed by Margaret Emily Mackenzie, via Serious Eats.


The Best Thing I Ever Done HQ from MargaretEmily MacKenzie on Vimeo.

Albino Squirrel Still Around!

Gothamist

Some Local & Not So Local Stuff

According to the chatter at the Brooklynian/Daily Slope, Freddy's has found a site for its reincarnation  - 627 5th Avenue, between 17th & 18th.  The former Ellis Bar...

Next weekend  On November 6th, there will be a Park Slope Civic Society walkabout and discussion, related to the "evolution" of Fourth Avenue.  This will kick off at 9:30 a.m. on November 6, at the Fourth Avenue station underpass.  The Civic Council often seems rather too brownstone/food co-op-centric for me, but I was pleased to see their agenda includes the reopening of the station entrance on the east side of Fourth.  Their proposed design is a bit bland (I'm curiously attached to the station's decrepitude) , but the thought of zipping up east side steps, instead of navigating the hell of rush-hour traffic, is quite thrilling.  Still, I don't expect miracles, & have often abided by the words of the Second World War poet Keith Douglas:

"To live without hope is the best form of insurance.  It does not mean to live hopelessly."

Keith Douglas, 1920 - 1944

Subway Bench

Rosario's

Rosario's (2255 31st Street) right by the Ditmars Boulevard stop, in Astoria, is a classic deli, with a justly praised pizza slice (one kind only), hefty arancini oozing mozzarella, & a whole heap of grocery items to explore.  There's a small table at the back, where you can hang for a bit, have a bite, & enjoy the store life going on around you - a steady stream of appreciative customers, the old guy holding court at the stool opposite the counter, a lot of laughs.  Who wouldn't want to become a regular?

Queensborough Plaza

Socrates Sculpture Park

Los Portales, 25-08 Broadway, Astoria

If you look through the window of Los Portales, you'll see a big pot of mysterious meat, with sausage & onions bobbing alongside.  If you ask about this inside, you'll discover that it's marinated veal flank steak.  Sit down & try some of the excellent, diminuative tacos (veal a speciality), all priced at $1.50 each.  Fresh, homemade tortillas, with lime, onion & radish garnishes, & a good sprinkle of chopped cilantro, make these little tacos a delight.  Oh & the red & green sauces are great, especially the subtle, smoky red.  Los Portales is pleasingly decorated - pretty sparse, with some old black & white photographs of Mexico & a big TV in the back.  Really nice staff, good atmosphere, & terrific food.  Want to go back & try some other things on the menu.

Chelsea Hotel for Sale (Curbed, via Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Legs on Fifth

New Paint on 148th & Hillside

South Slope/Greenwood

Less Abstract (Blurry) View from 500

Braised Pheasant With Apples, Normandy Style

This is adapted from a Grigson recipe, to be found in Good Things.  Using apple with pheasant is a pretty good idea, because the meat is apt to be dry.  To be honest, I've never had much luck with it, so I hoped I'd do better this time.  Grigson does a straight Normandy apple/pheasant/cream number, which I thought might be a bit too sweet, so I added leek, bacon, & sage, & substituted apple juice & a little chicken stock for the cream. I also decided not to include cinnamon.

This serves two people, with leftovers.

One pheasant
Three large cooking apples peeled & sliced
Two small leeks
Diced bacon
4 oz. apple juice
4 oz. chicken stock
A few sage leaves
Salt & pepper
Butter

In a large, deep pan, melt butter. Brown pheasant until a deep golden colour.  Remove.
Cook bacon & leek & sage for a few minutes.  Put in large casserole.  Place pheasant on top, breast side down. Season with plenty of salt & pepper.
Cook apple slices gently until light brown.  Add apple juice & chicken stock & bring to boil.  Season.
Place apple slices around and on top of pheasant until bird is completely covered.  Pour pan juices over top.
Cover & cook in a 350 oven for about hour.  Check after half an hour & spoon some of cooking juices over top of bird/apples.

Grigson actually suggests that you turn the bird after half an hour, but frankly this seemed like too much trouble, & I figured that it was better keeping the dryer part of the bird immersed in the sauce.

This was really good!  The meat was moist, & the apple/leek/bacon combination was delicious.  To balance the sweetish flavors, I served swede & carrot, diced, boiled & lightly mashed with salt, pepper, & a little cream & butter.

"Aspire Higher"

Today I went to an open house at the 500 Fourth Avenue apartment building, which offers "a new higher level of quality and value for the South Slope". These open houses are very tightly controlled events, and I'm sure I was unconvincing as a prospective buyer.  I think I got the cursory version of the tour, but I did get to hear about the concierge service (no problem getting tickets for Broadway shows!), the $300 per month parking opportunities,  & the Cold Room on the ground floor where the concierge could store my Fresh Direct deliveries until I was ready to pick them up.  I saw the gym, and of course, the suede paneled lobby.  I got shown one apartment on the seventh floor, with glitzy bathrooms ("Lagos Gold honed limestone walls with accents of Mosaic Toffee"), & a rather fabulous view, but was NOT ALLOWED on the balcony (grr).  Nor would my hostess let me visit the groovy Club 500 lounge, with its adjacent landscaped terrace.  Damn. She did let me take photographs through the apartment windows, but they did no justice at all to what I saw.  So here's a blurry might-hurt-your-eyes sort of shot instead. I kind of like it.

Post

Brooks Goes to Two Toms

At Eater ...

Food Problems

This morning was crisp and clear.  For the first morning in months, I managed to get to Union Square early, and bought all manner of pleasing food items: cheese, bread, mussels, sorrel, grapes, potatoes, celery, leeks, swede, some chicken pieces for stock, eggs, &,  in a moment of indulgence, a pheasant.  Back on the R train, in an almost empty car, enjoying the view as the train went express, I suddenly noticed that a small pool of blood was forming at my feet.  This brought about a hasty re-arrangement of all the food as I tried to deal with the dripping carcases, check myself for stray stains, & avoid the scrutiny of my (not very near) transit neighbors.  Didn't do very well.  Squashed half the grapes in the process of containing the blood flow.  Dropped a few potatoes. Emerged at Ninth, laden w. bags, nervously holding the meat aloft, in several layers of torn plastic. The presentation was a little depraved.

Barney's

Found in Brooklyn looks through the window of the new Barney's Coop.

Union Square

16th Street

More Park Slope Domestic Sturm Und Drang - "Will Mommy Divorce Daddy?"

What is it about that Brooklyn Paper?  A One More Folded etc. reader alerted me to yet more personal disclosure (from our star giving friend) one would rather not be exposed to...
http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/33/42/33_42_fearless4.html

Time Travel at Magnolia

Meanwhile, the storm seems to have sent Magnolia hurtling back in time ...

Leaves, Leaves, Leaves ...

Decimation

With every trace of color ripped from the garden, and plants & trees shorn of leaves, the yard is pretty much finished for the season.  Well, a few vines are limping along & it's worth giving them a chance at survival, but basically I'm reduced to putting trays like this in sunny windows, and contemplating recipes for green tomatoes:

Hail Storm

That was a burst of craziness.  Felt like the windows would crack & the sound on the roof was crazy.  Poor quality photographs, but here are some of the ice pellets/hailstones/whatever you call them ...

Solomon Burke - Don't Give Up On Me

Who Needs Ricky's?

Thrown out on 12th Street

Wig on Fence (Disturbing)

Spoons

Who could resist the Schama-esque pleasure of spoons at the Ashmolean?

Work, Laurence, Work ...

This morning's NY Times reports on the declining availability of picture books, and finds that current child rearing practices are partially to blame.  Apparently today's Gradgrind parents insist that their children renounce the decadent kicks that illustrated texts offer, & buckle down to chapter book reading, pronto:

Some parents say they just want to advance their children’s skills. Amanda Gignac, a stay-at-home mother in San Antonio who writes The Zen Leaf, a book blog, said her youngest son, Laurence, started reading chapter books when he was 4.

Now Laurence is 6 ½, and while he regularly tackles 80-page chapter books, he is still a “reluctant reader,” Ms. Gignac said.
Sometimes, she said, he tries to go back to picture books.
“He would still read picture books now if we let him, because he doesn’t want to work to read,” she said, adding that she and her husband have kept him reading chapter books.

Who wouldn't want to rescue poor, deprived little Laurence from such monstrous clutches?

All Souls

It's taking me a while to disengage from my brief stay in Oxford.  Clearly, I haven't been out & about in the neighbourhood very much. I'm still relying on photographs taken over the last weekend & they're mostly of a rather touristy nature.  I'd like to go back, with more free time, & dig a little deeper.  And I will!

Ever Changing Magnolia Sign

Not promising, somehow ...

Lintel Frieze, Hertford College

No Gold Stars For Me!

I'm sorry, I've tried to refrain from comment, but this self-righteous, condescending star giving malarkey is just a bit too much to take. Could it be just a sly parody of Slopeness? Alas, I fear not, & it's making me feel more than a little churlish.

Bergen

Jeremiah's Vanishing New York gets that scary Bergen Pintchik block just right. Shades of The Twilight Zone. I'm pretty amused by Eponymy, though - for some time it's had my vote for silliest store name of the borough, and even possibly the entire city.

The Hunt in the Forest - Paolo Ucello (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford)

Click on image for full picture.

Who so list to hunt, I know where is an hind,
But as for me, alas! I may no more:
The vain travail hath worried me so sore,
I am of them that farthest cometh behind;
Yet may I by no means my wearied mind
Draw from the deer: but as she fleeth afore,
Fainting I follow. I leave off therefore,
Since in a net I seek to hold the wind.
Who list her hunt, I put him out of doubt,
As well as I may spend his time in vain;
And, graven in diamonds, in letters plain
There is written her fair neck round about:
"Noli me tangere," for Caesar's I am,
And wild for to hold, though I seem tame."

Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503 - 1542)

Too Tired to Say Much

Back from Oxford