Well, I know I've been gone for a while, but a bit of travel is always good for the mind, body and soul. I hit up NYC for a week and the equally cosmopolitan Macon, GA. I saw some wonderful things, ate some great food, met some great people, and there was Macon, too. As a native of middle Georgia, I'm allowed to make that joke. So, I thought, in the spirit of lists and talking about my favorite things and preferences, I would make some lists from the trip.
In NYC, I stayed with KTL and the Librarian. KTL's a working man, but the Librarian volunteered her duties as a tour guide. I'm very grateful to them and can never repay them for their kindness. I was a full-time client and they never let up showing me a good time. Thanks, guys. Oh yeah, KTL is a damn fine driver, too. I hope he keeps his GA plate so as to surprise all the locals.
Favorites:
10. Bar Reis
It's great to feel like a regular in a place you've never been
9. The Hayden Planetarium at AMNH
The universe is a mystery, but one we must occupy. And a visit to the Rose Center and a trip around the Hayden Sphere will give you some insight into to all the cosmic goings on around us. You really see how everything compares to everything in time and scale. It's impressive.
8. Murakami at the Brooklyn Museum
This was an afterthought to my trip, but I'm glad I went, and the more time that goes by, the more important it becomes to me. His work is at times tentative, at others lively, but always amazing.
7. Soup Dumplings at Joe's Shanghai Restaurant (Chinatown)
Oh man, these were great. They're amazing little dumplings with soup inside and they're apparently pretty popular. The place is always busy and if you don't have a big enough crowd, you'll be sharing a table with strangers. Which turned out great for me, because everyone we sat with was polite, welcoming, and open to conversation. The only problem was that 3 of them attended Florida (boo). Seriously though, go for the dumplings, enjoy the conversations.
6. Brunch at Tom's Restaurant
I loved the service, staff, owner, atmosphere, options...I cannot do it justice. Just check out the reviews.
5. Sixpoint Craft Ales (Brooklyn)
I had never tried a beer from this brewery before this trip, but I am so glad I corrected that! I was only able to try 2 different beers (sweet action and brownstone) and both were delicious. This is not to take anything away from Brooklyn Brewery, but I had just never heard of Sixpoint before and was happy to sample the fare. Cheers to the many pubs and bars who keep this and other local crafts on tap regularly.
4. Antiquities at the Met
I'm a history nerd, so seeing these things from the dawn of civilization is awe-inspiring and in some ways, very rewarding. I always feel a bit guilty when I see things like this because I feel like I'm not living up to the level of life promised by the ingenuity, invention, art, and power of ancient civilizations. But, I guess we can't all change the world or secure the world for progeny or build lasting monuments for humanity. Oh well. I bet I could beat Nebuchadnezzar's best artist, architect or soldier in a game of NCAA 09 on my xBox 360.
3. Seeing In the Heights
Before this, I would have said (and did) that I was not a musical person. I was wrong. I see why this won all the awards it did. It's a must see.
2. Blind Tiger Ale House (Bleecker St.)
I love to check a good beer bar off my list when I can and I was hoping to use the trip to NYC to hit several. Well, I only hit 2 that rank highly on the lists and polls, and this was the one I enjoyed the most. I was fortunate enough to stumble into a Victory Brewery (which is one of my faves) event and was able to sample a rare V-12 keg. Wowzers! The locals were open to conversation and passing out pointers on other pubs to hit. The staff is very knowledgeable and the selection is great. Even the food's top notch pub fare. Cheers!
1. All the people
Everyone I met was not just hospitable or pleasant, they were genuinely nice. KTL and the Librarian have chosen some wonderful people to surround themselves with. From bartenders to bowlers to Bible-kids there wasn't a rough spot in the bunch. Even the strangers I ran across were great. You know where new Yorkers are rude? Movies from the 80's and the minds of people who never leave whatever small town they live in. The rudest New Yorker I know has got to be KTL himself. Now, I know there have to some rude people there (hell, there's 8 million folks, some body's gotta be a douche) but they're easily avoidable. I wish that could be said about the ATH or the south in general anymore.
Things I'm Hating On:
10. Nobody cares about College Football up there.
Bunch of Savages in that town.
9. The Librarian's constant nagging
This one's mainly for fun. I enjoy picking on her and she loves me for it. She's a bit controlling, but she never made a bad decision. I bitched about almost every change of venue or shift in plans, but enjoyed most everything we did.
8. The woman with the bike at the Bastille Day fair
You know who you are. Get a clue. Also, the little kid kicking sand out of the Petanque court. Douche.
7. Pickled vegetables (especially when touted as awesome)
Pickled vegetables are not terrible. But they are not great, either. I don't even like it when my people pickle things; I generally avoid the pickled section of soul food buffets. So, I do not think I need to embrace other cultures' pickled vegetables. Pickled watermelon rine or pickled cabbage? Neither. You hear me, Librarian? Cook some meat.
6. Not enough time
Too much to see. I always hate leaving NYC.
5. Hipsters
Please, stop it. Hipsters have dulled the edge of every fad they've embraced. They're pretentious, annoying, intolerant, and just plain terrible; a blight on the land. I thought the hipsters-Lite we had in ATH were bad, but no. The are nothing in comparison. I really think KTL is about two weeks away from going all Batman on Williamsburg and sweeping all the tight cardigans and fixed-gear bikes off the streets.
4. Idiots at Museums
It's 2008 and people still don't know not to use flash photography on the world's most precious and important art? Seriously? We saw a girl propping up on a statue and two idiots leaning against a painting for a photo-op. Free Fridays at MoMA really brings out the knuckle-draggers, huh?
3. Duk Boki with cheese at Bon Chon
Traditional Korean rice noodle dish, but covered with cheese. Hey, I like cheese and i enjoyed dukboki the times I tried it before, but I do not recommend them together. In the future, keep 'em separated. Also, apparently, don't go to the Bon Chon in Manhattan, hit the one in Queens instead.
2. The chairs at Church! of Park Slope
The church service was great, even to someone whose not so religious, like me. And, the people there are welcoming and non-judgemental. But, as it's a smaller church renting out a gym, they need easily storable and stackable chairs. That equals small and light. As a larger than average individual, I was worried that I might absolutely destroy the one in which I sat. Hallelujah, though, I made it through the service and the chair made it back on the rack. The Lord works in mysterious ways, indeed.
1. Sitting on the plane for 4 hours before we even took off!
Fuck this! It was god-awful. We boarded the plane and moved 1o feet every 15 minutes. It was hot and cramped and they never really told us what was going on. But, there were storms in ATL and in NYC and planes got backed up at Hartsfield-Jackson for hours. Oh, the perils of air travel.
As far as the weekend in Macon, I had a blast. It was good to see an old friend, meet a new one, have some deep conversations and debates (I got lawyered several times), drink beer and play Rock Band. Oh yeah, we quoted the hell out of Seinfeld. The only bad thing about it was the drive. I hate the span of road from ATH to Madison. Oh, and I drank Absinthe for the first time. Who would have thought that what have happened in Macon and not New York.? It tastes like a black liquorice liqueur and provides a softer, more euphoric buzz. Pretty cool. But I think the O-Bombs definitely took over before the night was out.
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