Places to Visit pick of 1/7/08
Here's what I said then:

With all these days off and nothing in particular planned, cabin fever was beginning to set in and a quick day trip was definitely in order. Initially we planned on a small hike through the Greenbelt Park on Staten Island. We were excited to make our first actual trip to the borough, only having passed through it in the past. As we exited, we saw signs for The Staten Island Zoo and were easily swayed to visit there instead. I was expecting small and cheap and depressing, but we found it to be intimate, quirky, and lots of fun.

The zoo is intimate in many ways. Firstly, all the animals felt oddly close, even to the point of feeling a bit dangerous at times (though I am sure it wasn't dangerous at all), making it a great zoo to snap good photos and get a more detailed look at them. It may not have the size of one of the more famous local zoos, it took about an hour to see everything, but they make up for it with the variety the do house. Enjoy marveling at an impressive selection of giant cockroaches and other huge, gross out bugs, fuzzy meerkats, lemurs and prairie dogs, regal baboons, fish and snakes of all kinds, pheasants (including one whose plumage makes it look like his heads been chopped off and is dripping blood), and even fake dinosaurs which unfortunately were closed the day we visited.

There is also a sense of intimacy with the staff. Several zookeepers came up and spoke to us, giving us zoo gossip. For example, this gorgeous vulture (how could I not love any zoo with such a great bird of prey) got upset over the holidays when his usual keeper was on vacation and totally took it out on the pants of the poor girl who took his place. And these guys, called “Lasso” from Madagascar, only came to the zoo a few months ago. They're rare to find in any zoo and the keeper said they were the only animals he was genuinely afraid of. Apparently they have a bite grip that could easily take your hand off and are clever, usually circling the keeper when he goes in their cage and cutting off his exits. Another keeper told us that these lovely creatures are two year old sisters named Vixen and Lady.

The quirky side of the zoo is apparent in the murals, especially this one depicting a young boy with a zit on his nose (I wonder why the artist felt it necessary to include) eating a watermelon whole, and this one which depicts a small boy, a bear, and?a large bat living in a tree. Don't forget the time honored tradition of having your photo taken as a giant otter either. Other quirkiness comes in some of the exhibits themselves. They got especially creative with the snakes. One of the best environments is for the king cobra which holds various faux artifacts and a severed mummy's hand. Other snake sets include a southwestern suite, the attack in the garden tableau, and another favorite, the beach bum Aruba snake surrounded by beer. I like a little showbiz with my nature, and this is the perfect execution.

We were both surprised by how much fun we had, and with it only being about a forty minute drive, there's no excuse not to go.

Runner Ups:
Southern Vermont
Eastern State Penitentiary
Bailey Arboretum
La Brea Tar Pits
Saugerties Lighthouse

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Posted on November 3, 2008

href=”http://www.brixpicks.com/Best_Ways_to_Spend_a_Couple_of_Hours-t-11.html”>Best Ways to Spend a Couple of Hours category pick for the week of 4/28/08
Here's what I said then:

As you know, I was very, very, very excited for the Live Tim and Eric Awesome Tour Show–I'm very, very, very happy to report that it did not disappoint. The show was held in the really odd Highline Ballroom, a theater within a Western Beef, which I imagine was super amusing to Tim and Eric. It's kind of like a beat Miami club (or at least me idea of a beat Miami club), if that club ran out of nearly every ingredient required to make the cocktails on their menu. Like VIPs we nabbed a booth to watch the show from, a great idea since not only could be see everything clearly, but we could see the show in comfort?And what a show it was!

DJ Douggpound opened and blew our minds. His puns “spoiler alert!” “word play!”; his remixes of NPR sound bites; his pick-up lines like, “Damn, girl you shit with that ass?”; his knock-knock jokes: “Who's there?” “Yahoo.com”; and his endlessly repeated bad Fm radioy introduction IN THE MIX–they all combined to eclipse the crowd's anticipation of the main show. One of the best opening acts I've witnessed.

As for the main event, I won't give too many surprises away (they even ask for us not to take photos, so future kids seeing the live show can be experience the magic themselves), but rest assured that lots of crowd favorites make an appearance (like Casey and his brother and Papa John's biggest fans). The costumes are fantastic, not only the more elaborate ones, like a burger costume that just allowed Erics tightie whitey goods to show–but absolutley no one can wear a pair of pleated pants (even the butt pockets had pleats!) at just the right totally wrong spot on the belly like my new buddy Tim Heidecker can.

There's also a slew of videos icluding the best Dr. Steve Brule clip I've seen, David Liebe Hart acting weird, new Beaver Boys, and a music video about cheating hearts called sexual something.

After the show they were both hanging out on stage talking to soft spoken and adoring fans. Tim had a smaller crowd around him, I think because he seems like he'd be meaner, so I waved to him and he waved back. I told people I knew him and that made it okay for me to plow my way through the throngs of Adult Swimmers to nab this fab photo. Tim and I… this could be the beginning of best friends forever type relationship.

If the show comes to your town GO! They wanted to make the kind of comedy show that they'd want to see, and they succeeded in creating a show that any fan of their work would be crazy to miss.

Runner Ups:
Lindsey Buckingham
Mitsuwa Market
Choice Eats
Bowling at Gutter
Greenwood Cemetery
Cyclones Game

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Posted on November 3, 2008

Restaurants category pick for the week of 1/14/08
Here's what I said then:

I can almost recapture a warm, yummy-in-my-belly feeling just writing this; see, Ramen Setagaya, the new noodle spot on First Avenue, was such a pleasing eating experience that even thinking back on all the details of the meal is satisfying. And it's all in the details when it comes to ramen, the simple but complex dish treated with reverence and awe in Japan. At least, that's what I'm lead to believe by the movie Tampopo.

Foodies here in the states also take this bowl of noodles, egg, pork, vegetables and broth (all of which you can see in this lovely photo from Gothamist) very seriously and, if they're to be believed, Ramen Setagaya is the very best in the city. If you don't trust them, listen to the spirited chef Charlie Huh, who famously challenged Momofuku when he opened. And if you feel you can't trust any of the above, you can always listen to me.

While I cannot compare this to all the competition, this was not only an exceptional ramen, but one of the most gratifying food experiences of any kind. Most run of the mill ramens that I've had suffer from the sad indignity of flavorless broth. Here however, the broth is fragrant, rich, full of flavor with a fishy tinge of greatness. Floating in the broth are toothsome curly ramen noodles the likes of which top ramen has never known. Also present? Fresh scallions for crispness, seaweed, bamboo shoots, and beautiful pork slices. Two of the slices are glistening and fatty and melt in your mouth, the other two are hearty and lean. But what amazed me the most was the egg. Cut in half in the perfect state between soft and hard boiled, most people would have to take a photo to see an egg kept in that condition.

The food is so good, including their gyoza, that we didn't even mind a wait (there was a line at 5:00 pm, only thirty minutes after they opened for dinner) or the stools. The tiny space is bustling and transports you to a ramen house in Tokyo, which always reminds me of Blade Runner – although this spot is too bright and cheery for the likes of a robot killer.

Restaurants category pick for the week of 5/26/08
Here's what I said then:

In a ramen loving town like this one, Ippudo is possibly the most anticipated – the mecca of authentic Japanese ramen. I was lucky to avoid the notorious hour long waits by going at lunch hour during the week. On my sister's advice, who visited the chain in Tokyo, I ordered their specialty : shiromaru (white broth) which is the cloudy, porky broth with intense flavor that takes 14 hours to make.

I am perhaps a slightly bigger fan of Setagaya's clear broth, but this is one superb bowl of ramen. On future visits I'd like to try the shiromaru with special sauce out of curiosity.

At lunch the menu offers a side dish of spicy cod roe and rice, yum. Other non-ramen dishes are available (but that's not why there are lines out the door, is it?).

The atmosphere is nice and upscale with arty bamboo fixtures and natural?surfaces of wood and stone. A tranquil environment to enjoy your ramen which I prefer to stools and rushing.

Ippudo is considered by many to be the only “real” ramen option in the city and “ramen king” Shigemi Kawahara is revered by ramen maniacs, (so my Setagaya comment is sure to upset some). And I can't really comment on that, as I am no expert in these matters. I do know that this meal, which runs about 12-16 dollars is worth every penny and I am thrilled to have this outpost in New York. I can't wait to go back.

Runner Ups:
Franklin Corner
Savoy
Alta
Shopsin's
Bozu

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Posted on November 3, 2008

Style Icons (Male) category pick for the week of 10/6/08
Here's what I said then:

I have nothing but delightful things to say about Jack Vance, the greatest sci-fi writer ever, and the more I learn about him, the bigger a fan I become. He plays kazoo! He also wrote mysteries under the awesome name of Ellery Queen (a famous pseudonym created by two Brooklyn cousins who later farmed the work out to a series of different writers, a little bit like the later work of V.C. Andrews); he sailed around in a houseboat with Frank Herbert; and he kept writing even after he became legally blind in the 80s.

I've recommended just a few of his best on this blog, (Showboat World, Tales of the Dying Earth, and this week's The Blue World) but there are so many more that I love, including my personal favorite, a series of five novels called The Demon Princes (which I'm waiting to re-read before it makes my blog) .

He's a genius! I love him and live for his work! Nothing could make me sadder than the knowledge that Lurulu, written in 2004 is, as he's told the press, his last. Why? It's so unfair!

Vance is the only reason I have found an “in” to sci fi fiction. Sure, I've enjoyed an occasional book by, Asimov, Silverberg and Clarke, but Vance goes beyond traditional science fiction, which is usually about an unflappable hero who can do no wrong: the One. Vance's work is, by contrast, quite funny and more often than not, the hero is a totally?jerky–but frequently lovable–scoundrel.

Vance is the first person in a long time that I have felt the inkling to write a fan letter to–and maybe I just will.

Runner Ups:
Thierry Mugler
Tennessee Williams
Alan Moore
David Hockney
Ossie Clark

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Posted on November 3, 2008

Albums pick for 3/24/08
Here's what I said then:

So I had this song on my ipod, I must have downloaded it from somewhere. It was unnamed with no artist listed, but come on, I could recognize that finger picking and that warbling anywhere. It was -?as it only could be -?the great Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. Thing is, I couldn't find it on their nudie cover first album Buckingham Nicks, but I was not going to let something as magical as this song elude me.

I soon found out the name was Sorcerer and it along with other great rough gems are collected on the Coffee Plant Demos. It was never recorded for a studio album by the two of them (for shame – it was rerecorded with Sheryl Crow, but never speak of it to me, for I will not acknowledge it's right to exist) but it is one of their coolest efforts.

Just imagine Stevie lyrics of “black ink darkness” “snow dreams” and “finery” with primo Lindsay finger picking, but with out any production gloss. It is called the Coffee Plant demos because the two of them, young, unfamous, and in love used the basement of his dad's coffee plant to record them.

The hope and youth on this album, the burgeoning love that turned out the way we all know it did, lends a sadness to the listening experience. They had everything, and if their love could have produced something like this album (which, I might add, is superior to their studio recorded album) why oh why, did their love fail? Is there hope for anyone?

That said, I will return to the music. Sorcerer is not the only treasure here. Nomad, also known as Candlebright, is a creeping, melodious ballad of a woman who is “something of a dreamer” and can not be tied down to just one man.

Garbo is another great one, and one where Nicks lyrics evoke more than just their usual witchy vagueness, but, to me at least, are quite effective.

This album has been like a dream come true for me, discovering someone you admire made music superior to even your some of your favorites a long time ago is insanely exciting. If you're a fan too, enjoy!

Runner Ups:
Selda
Folk Songs of Olde England Vol 1
Paris 1919
In the Flat Field
For Your Pleasure

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Posted on November 3, 2008