Shochu!

Last night, before heading over to a show at the Museum of Natural History, we headed over to Hells Kitchen for some drinks and eats.

While waiting for our table to be ready at Yakitori Totto, we grabbed a beer at Valhalla. Holy cats is this place loud! Thank god our table was ready when it was. I was starting to lose my mind. That place has good beers on tap, but the echo chamber effect they have going on is insane.

I was salivating in anticipation on the way over to Yakitori Totto. Word on the street was that this is the real deal- mostly Japanese clientele, dynamite skewers, and pretty much unknown to the masses.

What I didn't know was the power of the almighty Shochu. Shochu, for the uninitiated, is a distilled spirit made from grain or potato, a more potent and dryer/cleaner tasting cousin of sake.

We each ordered a shochu with grapefruit while looking over the menu. What arrived was a large tumber of ice filled almost to the top with shochu, with a half grapefruit and juicer served on the side. Incredible. We juiced our grapefruits and topped off the tumbler of shochu. Sweet nine ounce baby Jesus, was this good.... More on the power of shochu later.

Dinner lived up to the hype. We ate almost every skewer on the menu (as well as a surprising good salad to balance things out). Not a single clunker in the bunch. We will definitely be coming back.

So after another shochu and some nice conversation with the people next to us we took off for the show. It wasn't long before I realized how powerful thise drinks really were. First I lost my bank card in the ATM. Then I cut myself off for the rest of the night. It was just as well given where we were headed....

On My Grind: Spitzer's Corner & Kuma Inn

Before heading over to the show last night, we stopped off at a couple of places nearby on the Lower East Side.

First stop was Spitzers Corner, a new upscale beer hall on Rivington & Ludlow. This place has a ton of great beer on tap and a gourmet pub menu. We made our way past the beautiful people loitering outside and snagged a seat at one of the long picnic style tables inside. Beers were ordered and pork-fat popcorn(!!!) was eaten. Then it was off to the next place. Spitzy's, we'll visit you again another time soon.

For dinner we walked a block or two over to Kuma Inn , an out-of-the-way, second story Asian tapas joint. Since it was BYOB, we stopped off at the bodega along the way to snag a few Sapporos's to drink with dinner. Without getting into too many details, this place is great. Incredibly delicious small plates, good service, shockingly inexpensive bill, and refrigerating my beers until needed - perfect. We'll be back

Merrymaking with Calvin Harris @ Mercury Lounge

We took in a great show last night. Calvin Harris made his US debut last night after getting tons of buzz for his DFA-esque dance rock. The packed house was clearly familiar with all his stuff -- singing along, bouncing up and down, and matching him beer for beer. Good times.

One complaint, who the hell uses backing vocals at Mercury. Totally random. Oh well. Still a good show in spite of the (very poor) lip-synching being done by the backing band.

Check here and here for more reviews.

A Weekend in the Green Mountain State

Some math equations to ponder...

Labor Day weekend + running out of real VT maple syrup = Roadtrip

My wife's cousin = Free place to stay (thanks E & T!!)

Broken headlight + VT trooper = Verbal warning

Beautiful weekend + bum foot = Lots of shopping, eating and drinking

Shopping + eating + drinking = $$$$

RTE 22 + Taconic = One sweet drive

Time away from the city + time in VT = Priceless

The US Open and the "Leisure Class"

Took the day off from work to hit day two of the US Open at Flushing Meadows. We took in some great matches, most notably James Blake v. Michael Russell in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Gotta say that there is something so decadent about sipping a bloody-mary before noon on a work day while frittering away the morning at the tennis matches. Which brings up a conversation I had with my wife that afternoon- namely what would you do if money was no longer a concern.

Perhaps, it was our afternoon mingling with the "leisure class" that got us thinking about it. Not sure. Either way, it was pretty clear that the decision to devote ourselves to travel and hedonism versus altruism and philanthropy was not an easy one to make. I guess we can take comfort in the fact that this is probably a decision we'll never be confronted with.

Maybe it's time for another bloody-mary. And, pass the sunscreen.

Day Trip to Long Beach

After scrapping last minute plans to head to Montauk, my wife and I took a day trip to the West End area of Long Beach yesterday. Spent a perfect day on the beach with friends drinking cold beer, body surfing and basically just enjoying a break from responsibility.

Finished the day with some Mexican food and margaritas. Not so bad.

Now all we need is some hurricane swell.

In Memoriam, Terry Holsclaw

My godmother, Terry, passed away this week. She left us way too soon. It happened so quick I'm not sure I have had a chance to accept/believe/understand it.

Terry was a beautiful, talented, and loving soul with a sharp wit and a no-nonsense approach to life. She left behind a lot of family and friends who will miss her dearly.

I always thought she was my coolest aunt. She probably cemented that position the day of my graduation ceremony from high school. When my parents and I came out of the auditorium, Terry was waiting for us in the parking lot. Sitting on the hood of her BMW, she popped a bottle of Dom Perignon and poured glasses for all of us - much to the envy of my underage friends. Bad-ass (maybe that's the best word to describe her).

I'll definitely miss my bad-ass aunt.

Show of the Summer.

Daft Punk played Coney Island's Keyspan Park (home of the Brookyn Cyclones natch) last night. And they blew the lady and me away.

After last night's Beastie Boys show, we didn't even feel like going. Add the imminent threat of torrential rain and people bailing on our extra tickets - and we were somewhat less than motivated.

But we had no idea what was waiting for us next to the Wonder Wheel that night. Bass that shook your clothes, made your hair stand up and possible induced arrythmia. A light show that was beyond words - let's just say they even synched up the lights on the Parachute Drop to the beat of the music. And a too-cool-for-school crowd that was definitely not too cool to boogie their collective asses off for two straight hours.

Visit Brooklyn Vegan (thanks for the pic!) for one of the best comment threads in its history. And check out You Tube for video of the festivities.

Beastie Boys at Central Park Summerstage

Last night my wife and I as well as my two brothers, a girlfriend, and a good-friend took in the Beastie Boys show at Central Park. It was the perfect end to a surreal day in which a tornado dismantled my neighborhood and the subway system buckled, stranding millions.

Beasties tore through an amazing set of punk, funk, jazz and (of course) hip-hop -- seamlessly blending one in to the other. The oppressively humid night couldn't hold back the incredible crowd energy. Great show.

Check out Brooklyn Vegan for more pix and commentary.