there was a time…  long ago…  when i was in high school…

a bunch of us used to a) go to spilkas for seafood and bad beer and b) joke about going to spilkas for seafood and bad beer.  clams, man.  clams.

i would point to it every time i passed it on the way in to see my family in the last 15 years…  it was closed for quite a long time.  on my most recent trip, i saw the beautiful neon “open” sign all lit up.  spilka’s was open!  (i have no idea for how long…)

and then…

kevin sent me this article from a local utica tv station.  apparently, it is not only open, but people are (still?) getting whacked there.  harsh.  is the prospect of death worth the experience at spilka’s?  that’s a definite maybe. 

as i write this, ronda & phil have been in merry old england for just a few days…

the friday before their departure, there was a gathering at sweet & vicious. a goodbye thang.

sweet & vicious has a nice-sized back “garden” area… thick wooden tables with benches to match. the “gathering” had the entire back wall — which was draped in a huge american flag. apparently, the area that we were in used to be a back bar that served only frozen drinks. the establishment itself is long and narrow — like many nyc bars. the bartender was pretty cool — she even searched high and low for a bottle of pims for me.

the gathering was a mix of friends and co-workers for both ronda and phil. everyone was quite cool and it was great to see so many folks turn out to say goodbye and good luck to ronda and phil.

sadly, i was quite ill on that day and i spent a fair amount of time drinking club soda and dreaming of eating saltines later in the evening.

pics are in: 20070525 - Ronda & Phil - Goodbye…

i am not sure where i saw this over the weekend…

BuyYourFriendADrink.com

apparently, for a $0.99 “fee”, you can use this website to buy someone a drink at a bunch of bars in nyc.

i am not sure whether this is freaky or cool or lame. or all three.

my question, though, is… why would you not be AT the bar with your friend?

first and foremost, alison and i are both excited and pretty bummed that our friends ronda & phil are moving to england. yes, across the pond. near london, i hear. and they are not getting cable. definitely a satellite dish.

they are leaving next week so we wanted to get an excursion in to jeremy’s and the bridge cafe before they headed out.

i arrived at jeremy’s first. and i almost immediately remembered “free wifi at jeremy’s”. laptop - open. (btw, it is FAST, really easy to connect and most definitely free. second office, indeed.) i love getting a beer/cider there. they serve in two sizes: pint or quart. both in styrofoam cups. excellent.

alison arrived and ronda shortly after and we talked (bitched?) about wedding related stuff for some reason. alison did find that… beer does a body good.

off to the bridge cafe… i will not be giving a “formal” review of the place this time around. although i should. soon. however… the bridge cafe is hand’s down our favourite restaurant in nyc. we take everyone there.

as per usual, the staff at the bridge were very cool — in fact, purchasing us a round of pineapple martinis before dinner.

alison and ronda split her favourite appetizer — a fondue-ish concoction with crab, spinach, and artichokes served with flatbread/crackers. i certainly dig it as well, but going out always affords me the opportunity to get…

seafood!!

both phil and i started with a fried oyster appetizer. nicely breaded with something reminiscent of a good fish fry batter with some spices in it (paprika, black pepper…). served in a martini glass on top of blanched risotto and with a light, yet creamy, dipping sauce. when this dish was on the menu (it was a special last night) it used to be served with three dipping sauces. if i had a complaint, that would be it…

we worked through a bottle of l’ecole #41 (2003 napa, ca) — a syrah that was bold in both colour and flavour with a lot of “earthy” notes attached to both the front and the back end. i dug it. alison… notsomuch.

alison and ronda both ordered the same entree. then again, phil and i both ordered the same entree.

we are creative people. clearly.

alison and ronda did the petite lamb chops. i’ll let them comment on them…

phil and i did the diver scallops. for the record, i always get the diver scallops. i love diver scallops. the bridge changes their preparation on them a few times a year. last night, they were served with a cheesy pile of grits that had andouille sausage in it. i liked the complement of the sausage to the scallops. (my fave prep involves their lobster risotto!)

during dinner we had the ballentine old vine zinfandel (2001 ca) — a red zin that was much lighter in colour than i had expected and had a bit of “tart” on the front end.

we skipped dessert. who doesen’t? ahem.

thank you, ronda and phil!! we had a great time!!

the rest of the photos are at: http://www.erock.org/gallery/2007/20070523_Night_Out/

our favourite bartender has moved on…

steve — a friend of both alison’s and mine for years — has been bartending at qdt (quality drinking time) since it opened… it was time for him to move on to bigger, better and “monkier” things. we shall certainly miss having steve behind the bar at the end of a long day — his demeanor, his personality, his wit, and his humour perfectly suited the position…

– steve outside the bar

there are a few other photos in “miscellaneous 2007″ — including some weird “negative” pics…

another beautiful saturday in nyc.

alison and i headed up to o’flanagan’s for some brunch with noga. she is in town for a few days from her self-imposed exile (just kidding!) in iowa. i was particularly interested in some of the linguistic discussion during brunch; how do new hebrew words get created, etc…

alison went for the full irish again, but skipped the puddings. both noga and i went for the eggs benedict. the hollandaise was a little orange-r than i am used to, but the eggs were done perfectly. the home fries neaded salt, but they were made from small potatoes and had a nice mix of onions and green peppers. the bloody marys were not as good as the last time we were there, but the mimosas were served in a pint glass. wow! the staff was very nice, as usual, and we joked around with them — especially the one that was still trying to wake up. there was also a table of 11 behind us with a little girl who had just come from her first communion. white dress and all.

to the back bar for some pool… this was my second time playing in a qualifier at o’flanagan’s. diane was there, but dorie was running the show. we also saw mandy (from the last qual) and talked a bit with misako. i played dave, an SL4, in the first round. i played, arguably, very well. however, i gave dave ball in hand at three critical points over the course of the three games and i lost. i need to work on my shot speed — again. i felt like i rushed a few shots and i need to calm down a bit, chalk up and look at the shot for a few more seconds.

and this is where we decided to spend money.

off to bed, bath and beyond. we went to bbb to purchase a picture frame and a shower liner. we left with hundreds of dollars of “stuff”. i am particularly digging the new couch pillows, but have lingering disappointment that we did not purchase a kitchen gadet that plugs in. although, i’m not sure what i would do with a soft-serve ice cream contraption so i guess that’s a good thing. ahem.

off to the new era cap store. alison and i have tickets to some upcoming cubs/mets games and my cubs hat does not fit right… cubs hat? check. new red sox hat? check. new sabres hat? puh-leeeze. even the new era store in nyc does not have sabres gear in any quantity. i did see the “new” sabres hat that just came out — one of the staff members was wearing it. nice.

the new era cap store is conveniently located near to… the new astor wines location. i picked up a few syrahs that we have not tried before, a big bottle of pinot grigio and a few bottles of prosecco. i really liked the new space, but it certainly felt less “big” than the old location. the wines were laid out by region, but within the regions there was a mix of different varietals. i wish they would sub-section. the irish whiskey section has been halved, unfortunately, but they have a nice new climate controlled area with very expensive stuff.

back to the hizzouse… watched happy feet. or at least alison did. i fell asleep. another penguin movie. caught the end of the ottawa/nj game. ottawa takes the series…

for the record… josh must have been having a great time at the no pants wine swill in dc. at least that’s what we gathered from the text messages! although it was cinco de mayo, we steered clear of tequila. and, although it was kentucky derby day, we both steered clear of mint juleps and, for the matter, actually watching the race. i’m sure a horse won.

a GREAT saturday. out and about. this is why people live in nyc.

saturday night was the celebration.

alison has finished all of her finals for law skool - forever!!

we had a great gathering at qdt (quality drinking time — reade street and west broadway). over 20 folks came out to celebrate and congratulate alison on her amazing accomplishment. both of us had a TON of cool conversation with everyone!

thanks to everyone that came out!