Restaurant Week Reviews Part 3: Dinner at Adä

The atmosphere at Adä is muted and elegant, with buff colored marble floors, brass accessories, and tasteful Indian-inspired artwork. Apparently an Indian-French fusion, Adä’s fare is organic and includes ingredients not usual to Indian traditional cuisine, (creme brulee, mesclun greens and goat cheese appear on the menu). The restaurant was just beginning its dinner hour, and, among the first to arrive, we were seated in the windowed foyer area. The wait staff was attentive and brought menus and drinks quickly.

The prix fixe selection was fairly wide, with four or five options for each course. I selected the Aloo-Tikki, which is a pan-seared potato pancake which came with carmelized bananas, a small mound of peas, and some chutney. It was crispy and mildly spiced, and the sweet bananas with the fresh-flavored coriander chutney were an excellent combination.

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2007
07/25
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CATEGORY
Food
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Restaurant Week Reviews Part 2: Dinner at the Giorgio’s of Gramercy

Giorgio’s of Gramercy, on 21st street near Broadway, is a long, narrow and dimly lit affair, appointed in earth tones and decorated with somewhat disturbing abstract watercolors. The tables feature small tea light candles and white tablecloths, and curtains and beads hanging from the ceiling make the space cozy and warm.

The staff is pleasant, professional and removed; they do not hover too much, nor do they neglect. Kitchen sounds emanate from the back of the restaurant, and early in the evening (while I waited for my companion), the chef brought out a plate of the night’s special (fish in a spicy remoulade of some kind) for the staff to sample so they would know how to describe it later. When we were seated, we were treated to a plate of crispy bruchetta and offered beverages, the menus, and the wine list.
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2007
07/24
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CATEGORY
Food
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Lets Infiltrate the World of Fancy Food! Restaurant Week Reviews Part 1: Dinner at the Fire Bird

Restaurant Week offers those of us who can barely afford rent to finally try food we could otherwise not even afford to look at in places with grandeur we only encountered on the teasing screens of televisions. The staff of Meandering Entertainer will do what it can to gorge on scrumptious splendor and report the results. The chance to pay a mere $35 for dinner or $24.07 (a nice rounded number) for lunch in a swanky restaurant will last until the 27th of July.

 

The heavy gilded gates marked the Fire Bird as a place apart from the rest of the Restaurants on West 46th street, also known as restaurant street, as it is home to many eateries favored by the theater crowd.

 

Visitors step down into a dimly lit reception room where hosts and hostesses in eveningwear either escort the party to their table or to the gleaming bar where a piano player helps pass the time as one waits for the rest of the party to gather. The walls are painted in dark shades, but also almost entirely covered in prints of classic European paintings easily recognized by Russian clientele as well as shelves filled with beautiful dishes, vases, and various knick-knacks.

 

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2007
07/23
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Food
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Comic Book Geeks Beleaguer Jhonen Vasquez: A Q&A

In guise of an introduction I would like to apologize for taunting googlers with the terms “Jhonen Vasquez” and “interview” for so long in the Coming Soon section. I just felt sick with impotent rage because I could provide no actual photos, and I took plenty. Maybe next year, when I, once again, gain free entry by masquerading as someone who deserves one, I will take photos and NOT format my hard drive without backing anything up. UPDATE: d42 who rocks DID back up said photos, so enjoy!

d42 and superheroes A collection of middle-aged, pudgy men with no pants on never before aroused admiration in so many. Surely, the comic-book-loving, video-game-playing LARPers of NYC came for the scantily dressed girls as well? And yet, the playboy model present, and expecting attention from sex-starved nerds, was almost as lonely at her booth as Gary Coleman was at his, and she wasn’t charging $20 for an autograph.

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2007
07/13
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CATEGORY
Conventions/Festivals
Interview
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And there shall be shrieking violence: A review of the Summer Slaughter Tour

Twenty minutes into the show a couple of cops pushed their way through the crowd. A few minutes later a huge bouncer strolled out of the mosh pit with a stiffly moving metalhead clamped tightly by the neck under his arm. The Summer Slaughter Tour was going as expected.

B.B. King’s has taken to hosting metal shows on Sunday nights and July 8th was no exception. I’ve heard of some of the bands that were playing, but I’ve never actually heard any of their stuff before tonight. Ion Dissonance, and The Faceless are going to make a great addition to my music collection. Cattle Decapitation put on an amazing show, but I can only handle so much screeching and roaring before my ears refuse to process the input as musical. Cephalic Carnage and Necrophagist remained unsampled because in the end it does suck that B.B. King’s schedules these mighty fine metal shows for Sunday nights when Monday mornings loom large in the mind of a commuter.

The tour’s reputation must have preceded it, because there were more bouncers in the pit than there were metalheads. And they kept the lights on. Despite the best efforts to keep order, chaos still ensued until the somewhat flabby arm of the bouncer enforced order. The largest of them simply used his bulk to force an exit on whoever happened to be trapped in front of him, completely unable to get around the mighty gut.

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2007
07/12
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CATEGORY
Music
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The Rise of the Hybrid Children: Beatallibangers Unite!

the band

Beatallica on stage, breaking it down.

“What happens when you combine the greatest band of the 60’s with the greatest band from the 80’s? You get the greatest band of the 21st century!” This quote from Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater) sums up the band that has created not only its own unique sound, but a whole new genre in itself: Hybrid Metal. Beatallica combines the catchy, unforgettable tunes of The Beatles with the speed and intensity of Metallica in a style all their own. Their songs, or “Bash Ups” as they are known, are just as catchy as they are ingenious.

Titles such as “I Wanna Choke Your Band”, “A Garage Dayz Nite”, and “The Thing That Should Not Let It Be” represent their ability to combine two genres, which are seemingly worlds apart. Their lyrics, while containing some allusions to both The Beatles and Metallica, are all original. They address such important topics as drinking, keeping Heavy Metal pure, beer, the death of Glam Metal, more beer, hatred of posers, and, most importantly, beer. Targeting Glam Metal bands, such as Dokken and Winger who are mentioned specifically, Beatallica is on a crusade to keep metal strong and pure, while ridding it of posers who only care for soft music and ballads. This originality has spawned a phenomenon, which has come to the attention of metal fans on an international level.

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2007
07/10
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CATEGORY
Music
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From Suburbia to Ruins: Adventures in Cancun

Cancun Start

I had never traveled alone in my life. I’ve always held the preconceived notion that if I didn’t travel with a friend, I couldn’t possibly have fun in a foreign country. So it was with great reluctance (and a small bit of fear) that I planned an autonomous trip to Cancun. And then I found myself enjoying almost every moment spent there as well as in the surrounding areas (not to mention I overcame my fear of traveling alone).

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2007
07/01
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CATEGORY
Travel
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